How Can We Understand the Will of the Lord? — Ephesians 5:17

The Command in Its Immediate Context

Ephesians 5:17 states, “Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is.” This command belongs to Paul’s wider appeal for Christians to live as children of light in a morally dark world. Ephesians 5:15 directs believers to watch carefully how they walk, not as unwise people but as wise people. Ephesians 5:16 then commands them to make the most of their opportunities because the days are evil. The word “therefore” in Ephesians 5:17 connects understanding the Lord’s will with careful conduct and wise use of time. Foolishness in this passage is not a lack of education, intelligence, professional ability, or practical skill. It is the moral carelessness of living without allowing divine revelation to govern one’s choices. Understanding the Lord’s will means grasping what Christ requires and bringing one’s conduct into agreement with Jehovah’s revealed purpose. The devotional force of the verse is direct: the Christian must not drift through the day but must deliberately seek, understand, and obey the will revealed in Scripture.

Why Spiritual Carelessness Is Foolish

Paul’s description of foolishness carries a moral meaning because Scripture repeatedly connects wisdom with obedience to Jehovah. Psalm 111:10 declares that the fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom and that those practicing His commandments possess good understanding. Proverbs 14:8 explains that the wisdom of the prudent person involves understanding his way, while the foolishness of fools consists of deception. A person may possess academic knowledge and still behave foolishly by lying, entertaining immoral thoughts, neglecting family duties, or following corrupt companions. Ephesians 4:25 identifies truthful speech as Christian conduct, while Ephesians 4:29 forbids corrupt speech and commands words that build others up. A Christian who knows those commands but excuses habitual dishonesty or destructive speech is not lacking information; he is resisting what he already understands. James 1:22 warns believers to become doers of the Word rather than hearers who deceive themselves. Spiritual carelessness often begins with small permissions, such as excusing one dishonest answer, one degrading video, one angry message, or one neglected responsibility. Paul therefore commands Christians to reject foolishness before repeated compromise dulls the conscience and reshapes the character.

Understanding Is More Than Collecting Information

The command to “understand” requires more than reading a verse, remembering a doctrine, or repeating correct religious language. Biblical understanding includes recognizing the meaning of Jehovah’s instruction and seeing how that instruction governs actual conduct. Ezra 7:10 presents a sound pattern because Ezra prepared his heart to study Jehovah’s Law, practice it, and teach its regulations to others. Study, practice, and instruction belonged together rather than existing as separate religious activities. Matthew 7:24 describes the wise person as one who hears Jesus’ words and acts upon them. The foolish person in Matthew 7:26 also hears, but he refuses to build his life upon what he has heard. A believer understands Ephesians 4:32 when he not only defines forgiveness but also approaches the person against whom he has maintained bitterness. He understands Colossians 3:23 when he works diligently even when a teacher, parent, employer, or congregation overseer is not watching. True understanding becomes visible when the meaning of Scripture passes from the page into the believer’s decisions, habits, speech, relationships, and priorities.

Where the Lord’s Will Is Found

The Lord’s will is not discovered through unexplained impressions, private voices, dreams, emotional impulses, or mystical experiences. Jehovah caused His will to be recorded in the Spirit-inspired Word so that His servants could possess an objective and dependable standard. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 states that all Scripture is inspired by God and equips the man of God for every good work. The expression “every good work” shows that Scripture provides the doctrinal and moral guidance necessary for faithful Christian living. Psalm 119:105 describes God’s Word as a lamp for the feet and a light for the path. A lamp does not reveal a secret path unrelated to the written Word but illuminates the next faithful step according to divine instruction. When a Christian faces questions about honesty, sexual conduct, companions, entertainment, family responsibilities, forgiveness, worship, or evangelism, Scripture supplies governing commands and principles. John 17:17 records Jesus’ prayer, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth,” identifying divine truth as the means of moral separation and growth. The Christian understands the Lord’s will by accurately interpreting the written Word, praying for wisdom, and submitting his choices to what Jehovah has already revealed.

The Historical-Grammatical Method Protects Understanding

Understanding the Lord’s will requires reading Scripture according to its vocabulary, grammar, historical setting, literary form, and immediate context. A verse must not be detached from its paragraph and turned into permission for whatever the reader already desires. In Ephesians 5:17, the surrounding discussion concerns walking wisely, making proper use of opportunities, rejecting drunkenness, practicing thanksgiving, strengthening fellow believers, and showing proper submission. These surrounding commands define the kind of understanding Paul has in view. The verse does not promise private information about every future event, personal preference, career possibility, or ordinary choice. It commands believers to grasp Christ’s revealed moral direction and live accordingly in an evil age. 2 Timothy 2:15 instructs the Christian worker to handle the Word of truth accurately, which rules out careless interpretation and self-serving application. Acts 17:11 commends the Bereans because they examined the Scriptures daily to determine whether the teaching they heard agreed with the written revelation. The historical-grammatical method protects the believer from inventing a divine message and then incorrectly calling that message the will of the Lord.

God’s Revealed Will Governs Moral Conduct

Scripture frequently states Jehovah’s will in direct language, removing any excuse for confusion about foundational moral responsibilities. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 says that God’s will is the sanctification of Christians and specifically connects that sanctification with abstaining from sexual immorality. A believer therefore does not need a special sign to determine whether sexual conduct outside biblical marriage is acceptable. Ephesians 4:28 commands the former thief to stop stealing, work honestly, and share with someone in need. The dishonest employee, student, customer, or business owner already knows the Lord’s will when the written command has been understood. Ephesians 4:31-32 requires Christians to remove bitterness, wrath, anger, shouting, abusive speech, and malice while cultivating kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. Colossians 3:5 commands believers to put sinful desires to death rather than managing them as harmless private interests. Hebrews 13:5 directs Christians to remain free from the love of money and to be content with what they possess. Understanding the Lord’s will means allowing such direct commands to settle moral questions before desire, convenience, peer pressure, or financial advantage begins arguing against obedience.

Wisdom Uses Time for Jehovah’s Purposes

Ephesians 5:16 commands believers to make the most of their opportunities because the days are evil. Paul is not promoting frantic activity, constant busyness, or a productivity-centered life in which rest and family responsibilities are neglected. He is commanding Christians to recognize spiritually valuable opportunities and use them before those opportunities disappear. A student may have an opportunity to defend biblical truth respectfully when a classmate asks why he refuses dishonest assistance on an assignment. A parent may have an opportunity to correct a child patiently rather than speaking in uncontrolled anger, thereby applying Ephesians 6:4. A believer may have an opportunity to encourage a discouraged Christian through the counsel of 1 Thessalonians 5:11. Another may recognize that hours of empty scrolling, entertainment, or gaming have displaced prayer, Bible reading, family responsibilities, congregation worship, or evangelism. Colossians 4:5 instructs Christians to walk in wisdom toward outsiders while making the best use of their time. Wise time stewardship therefore means arranging daily life so that worship, responsibility, service, rest, study, and Christian witness receive their proper place under Jehovah’s authority.

Making Decisions Without Mysticism

Many decisions are not governed by a verse naming one required choice, but they are still governed by biblical principles. A Christian considering employment may examine whether the work requires dishonesty, promotes conduct condemned by Scripture, prevents essential worship, or damages family responsibilities. Ephesians 4:25 rules out employment that depends upon habitual deception, while Hebrews 10:24-25 protects regular Christian association from careless neglect. A person considering a friendship must remember that 1 Corinthians 15:33 warns that bad associations corrupt good morals. A person selecting entertainment must apply Philippians 4:8 by considering whether the material encourages thoughts that are true, honorable, righteous, pure, lovable, and commendable. A financial choice must be examined in light of Hebrews 13:5, 1 Timothy 6:9-10, and the responsibility to provide for one’s household in 1 Timothy 5:8. Prayer remains essential, but prayer does not replace investigation, scriptural reasoning, mature counsel, or personal responsibility. James 1:5 encourages the Christian to ask God for wisdom, while James 1:6-8 warns against divided loyalty. The believer understands the Lord’s will by bringing all known facts under Scripture and choosing the course that best supports obedience, holiness, responsibility, and faithful service.

Prayer and the Spirit-Inspired Word

Prayer expresses dependence upon Jehovah while the Spirit-inspired Word supplies the revealed truth that directs the believer. Psalm 119:18 records the request, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” The psalmist did not ask for revelation outside the written instruction but for clearer perception of the truth already given. Colossians 1:9 shows Paul praying that Christians would be filled with accurate knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. That knowledge was communicated through apostolic teaching and the written revelation produced under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 commands believers to be filled with the Spirit, and the following verses describe worshipful speech, thanksgiving, and proper submission. Colossians 3:16 presents a closely related command by telling Christians to let the word of Christ dwell richly among them through teaching, admonition, and spiritual songs. Christians are therefore guided as the Holy Spirit-inspired Word fills the mind, corrects the conscience, and produces obedient conduct. Prayer and Scripture operate together when the believer asks Jehovah for wisdom and then carefully applies the answer He has permanently provided in His Word.

Practicing Ephesians 5:17 Today

A Christian can begin the day by asking which revealed responsibilities require particular attention rather than approaching the day without spiritual direction. He may identify a conversation in which Ephesians 4:29 requires wholesome speech, a duty in which Colossians 3:23 requires diligent work, or a strained relationship in which Ephesians 4:32 requires forgiveness. He may recognize that Proverbs 12:22 requires correcting an earlier dishonest statement even though correction may cause embarrassment. He may apply Matthew 5:23-24 by taking the initiative to seek peace rather than waiting for the other person to act first. He may obey 1 Peter 3:15 by preparing a clear and respectful explanation of his Christian hope for someone who has asked a sincere question. At the end of the day, he can examine whether Scripture actually governed his choices or whether convenience, irritation, fear, appetite, or social pressure controlled him. Where failure occurred, he should confess it, seek forgiveness, make necessary correction, and prepare a more obedient response for the next occasion. Proverbs 28:13 states that the person concealing transgressions will not succeed, but the one confessing and abandoning them will receive mercy. Ephesians 5:17 calls every Christian to replace spiritual drifting with a disciplined life in which the understood will of the Lord becomes the controlling authority over each day.

You May Also Enjoy

Finding Peace When Life’s Storms Strike

About the Author

CLICK LINKED IMAGE TO VISIT ONLINE STORE

CLICK TO SCROLL THROUGH OUR BOOKS