Many Christians are devoted to the will of God and others are fixated about the possibility of having missed out on discovering it because they imagine that there is something secretive about it. ‘What is the will of God for my life?’ they wonder. While God may call them to a special place of service, he does not usually indicate its location by odd means. Rather he burdens them about it, but only after they engage in obeying his instructions about obedience that he has stated clearly in his Word.
This set of verses have been used frequently in arguments over what should take place in public worship. Yet the context is not public worship, but everyday life. Paul informs his readers about the need for them to redeem the time and then he tells them how they can do so.
They need to redeem the time because the days are evil. That was true in his day, and it is true in our day. He did not want them to go with the flow in the first century, or with the flow in any century. The way to go against the flow is to understand the will of the Lord.
One of the features of life at that time was drunkenness. A drunk person has lost control of his or her senses. Christians are called by God to be different and instead of being controlled by wine they were to be controlled by the Holy Spirit (that is what filled with the Spirit means).
How do we know if a person is filled with the Spirit? By what they say and sing. In some ways, that is sort of similar to drunk people (who often say and sing something, except usually their contribution is nonsensical). The Holy Spirit wants his people to speak and sing about spiritual matters.
Where will they find the topics to speak and sing about? Paul tells them in verse 19 in what he calls ‘psalms and hymns and spiritual songs’. Despite much ingenuity in trying to say otherwise, that phrase is a description of the content of the Book of Psalms where these words are found in the titles of the items included within it. Moreover, the word ‘spiritual’ covers not only the word ‘songs’ but also the psalms and the hymns in the phrase. The point that Paul is making is that using those items as we redeem the time is evidence of the filling of the Spirit.
For example, if instead of saying as we meet that it is a nice day or that Boris is doing this or Nicola is doing that, we said ‘the Lord is my shepherd’. Or ‘blessed is the one whose sin is covered’. Paul makes very clear that the Book of Psalms contain ideal conversation starters and themes for discussion and doxology. He also says that doing so enables a praising heart marked by comprehensive gratitude. It also leads to putting other people first, or as Paul puts it, ‘submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.’
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