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Check Your Work
Ephesians 5:15
February 27, 2001

I'm getting pretty good at math. That's because every day my son Steve and I have a little math session. He does his 30 junior high math problems, and I help him check them over. Sometimes we even get them all right.

As I go over Steve's math, I notice that he understands how to do his problems. In fact, in some areas he's better at it than I am. But occasionally, despite knowing how to do the problem, he gets the wrong answer. He either gets a little sloppy in using the right formula or he just doesn't check his answers carefully.

Aren't we all a little like that in our Christian life? We know what we should do. We have a good understanding of how to live the Christian life, but we get careless or lazy. We know better, but we fail.

For instance, we know we aren't supposed to gossip. But before we know it, we're roasting a fellow Christian. Or this: We know God wants us to keep our mind and heart pure, but we let down our guard and watch a TV program or movie we know is not edifying.

It's true, isn't it? We all get a little sloppy in how we live for God. Let's be more careful and pay closer attention to our Christian walk (Ephesians 5:15). Let's make sure we're doing quality work for our heavenly Father. —JDB (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

In Ephesians 5:15 and the parallel passage in Colossians 4:5 Paul uses the middle voice which conveys a "reflexive" sense to exagorazo - the idea then is of buying up for oneself, of buying up every opportunity (kairos),  turning each opportunity to the best advantage for oneself.

Conduct (present imperative) yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most (exagorazo = present tense = continually) of the opportunity. (See note Colossians 4:5) (Comment: Wuest translates it  "buying up for yourselves the strategic, opportune time." The idea is to be habitually, continually ''buying up'' all that is anywhere to be bought and not allowing the moment to pass by unheeded or unused but to make it one’s own.)

Thayer adds that exagorazo as used in (Eph 5:16) and (Col 4:5) means to

"Buy up, buy up or out of for one's self and so to make wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good, so that zeal and well doing are as it were the purchase money by which we make the time our own."

The venerable Pastor Harry Ironside wisely reminds us that

MacArthur writes that exagorazo

"has the basic meaning of buying, especially of buying back or buying out. It was used of buying a slave in order to set him free; thus the idea of redemption is implied in this verse. We are to redeem, buy up, all the time that we have and devote it to the Lord. The Greek is in the middle voice, indicating that we are to buy the time up for ourselves—for our own use but in the Lord’s service." (MacArthur, J: Ephesians. Chicago: Moody Press)

Hodge adds that Ephesians 5:15 can be translated

"availing yourselves of the occasion,” i.e. improving every opportunity for good." (Hodge, C. Commentary on Ephesians)

The UBS Handbook Series adds that

The idea then is turning each season (kairos) to the best advantage since none can be recalled if missed. 

“Every time you can do something good you should”.

As someone else has said

"Beware of wasting the present. Instead of killing time, redeem your spare moments today. Wasting the gift of time insults the Giver of time."

Redeem the time! God only knows
How soon our little life may close,
With all its pleasures and its woes,
Redeem the time!        
 — Anonymous

The idea is not to make best use of time as such (although that is certainly advisable), which is what we should do in the sense of not wasting it, but of taking advantage of the opportunities that present themselves.

Expositor's Greek Testament sums up the essence of Paul's charge in this section writing that...

"The sense comes to be this -- the character of wisdom by which their walk was to be distinguished was to show itself in the prompt and discerning zeal with which they made every opportunity their own, and suffered no fitting season for the fulfilment of Christian duty to pass unused." (Nicoll, W Robertson, Editor: Expositors Greek Testament: 5 Volumes. Out of print. Search Google)

An ancient Greek statue depicted a man with wings on his feet, a large lock of hair on the front of his head, and no hair at all on the back. Beneath was the inscription:

“Who made thee? Lysippus made me.

What is thy name? My name is Opportunity.

Why hast thou wings on thy feet? That I may fly away swiftly.

Why hast thou a great forelock? That men may seize me when I come.

Why art thou bald in back? That when I am gone by, none can lay hold of me.”

Buying Time -- Consider this: “If we had to buy time, would there be any difference in how we would spend it? Would the days of our lives be used more wisely?” That’s what time management consultant Antonio Herrera asked the participants in a seminar he conducted on the subject. Then Dr. Herrera became more specific. He asked, “What if you had to pay in advance $100 an hour for the time allotted to you? Would you waste it?” The answer should be obvious. Of course, we can’t put a price tag on the minutes and hours we possess. They are given to us freely. But that doesn’t excuse us from using them conscientiously, carefully, and wisely. The giver of time is God Himself, and that places a far greater value upon it than any monetary figure could suggest. We must therefore use our time intelligently, taking advantage of opportunities it provides for us to serve the Lord and to do His will.

TIME: Three most difficult things to do are: keep a secret, forget injury, and make good use of your leisure time (it's really not yours anyway but His...He's just "loaning" it to you.)

God set a goal, yet gave the choice
To mortals how time may be spent,
Admonishing that worth, not length,
Values time's accomplishment.
                            — Mortenson

Solomon wisely exhorted his readers...

Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going. (Eccl 9:10)

Shakespeare wrote,

There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
(Julius Caesar, 4.3.217)

Time (2540) (kairos) (Click word study on kairos) means a point of time or period of time, time, period, frequently with the implication of being especially fit for something and without emphasis on precise chronology. It means a moment or period as especially appropriate the right, proper, favorable time (at the right time). Kairos speaks of a limited period of time, with the added notion of suitableness ("the suitable time", "the right moment", "the convenient time"). Kairos refers to a distinct, fixed time period, rather than occasional moments.

In a sense kairos alludes to the brevity of life, which begs one to pause and ponder his or her life like flowering grass, here today, gone tomorrow and in light of this truth to take a sincere, possibly sobering inventory of our daily activities of thought, word and deed!

Kairos is not so much a succession of minutes (Greek chronos 5550), but a period of opportunity. Chronos refers to chronological time, to clock time or calendar time, to a general space or succession of time. Kairos, on the other hand, refers to a specific and often predetermined period or moment of time and so views time in terms of events, eras, or seasons. In other words, kairos defines the best time to do something, the moment when circumstances are most suitable, the psychologically "ripe" moment.

In rhetoric kairos is "a passing instant when an opening appears which must be driven through with force if success is to be achieved." (E. C. White, Kaironomia p. 13)

Kairos is a season, an opportune time, an opportunity ("window of opportunity"). It is a fixed and definite time. It is a period possessed of certain characteristics. For example, a "season" is a time characterized by a particular circumstance or feature. Thus the time for bringing forth fruit [karpophoros] is the season (kairos) in which the tree bears fruit, in contrast to late autumn, when there is no more fruit.

Kairos does not emphasize a point of time but rather a time space filled with all kinds of possibilities. And so Kairos characteristically means an "opportunity" (and is so translated in some versions -- in  in the NIV and NASB) which represents the best time to do something, the moment when circumstances are most suitable.

From the Moody Bible Institute's "Today in the Word" we read that the idea of kairos...

is not clock time but what one writer calls “kingdom opportunities,” those openings for ministry that often come at inconvenient times; a friend who wants to talk, a child with a problem, the chance to lend a hand to someone in need.  Paul is encouraging us to keep our lives uncluttered so that we can respond when the need arises—because kingdom opportunities can get squeezed out of an overly tight schedule.  (September, 1989)

Paul uses kairos in a manner similar to his use her in Ephesians in the following examples...

So then, while we have opportunity (kairos) let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. (Galatians 6:10)

In Romans Paul uses kairos exhorting the saints that there is an urgency in regard to the instructions he has just given writing...

And this do, knowing the time (kairos) that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. (See note Romans 13:11)

MacArthur writes that kairos...

denotes a measured, allocated, fixed season or epoch. The idea of a fixed period is also seen in the use of the definite article in the Greek text, which refers to the time, a concept often found in Scripture (cf. Ex. 9:5; see note 1 Peter 1:17). God has set boundaries to our lives, and our opportunity for service exists only within those boundaries. It is significant that the Bible speaks of such times being shortened, but never of their being lengthened. A person may die or lose an opportunity before the end of God’s time, but he has no reason to expect his life or his opportunity to continue after the end of his predetermined time. Having sovereignly bounded our lives with eternity, God knows both the beginning and end of our time on earth. As believers we can achieve our potential in His service only as we maximize the time He has given us. (MacArthur, J: Ephesians. Chicago: Moody Press)

Webster's defines "opportunity" as a favorable juncture of circumstances or a good chance for advancement or progress. Study the following verses and see if you can discern the "window of opportunity" aspect in each verse to help give you a "feel" for the meaning of Kairos (Mt 13:30, 21:34, Mk11:13,13:33, Lu 4:13,19:44, Lu 21:24, Ac 1:7, 17:26, 2Co 6:2, Gal 6:9, Eph 2:12, 2Th 2:6, Rev 1:3). There is no good English equivalent to kairos, and when it it plural with chronos it is translated “seasons,” or times at which certain foreordained events take place.

Wayne Barber gives us some practical advice on how we can "redeem the time" writing...

What do you mean, "redeem the time"? Purchase it. To purchase it, I have to have the collateral. Not only do you have to have the collateral, you have to have the right kind of collateral if you are going purchase anything. So what is the collateral to purchase time? It is my choices. We have to understand this. Life is filled with one choice after another choice after another choice. It is not putting the garment on in the morning and thinking it is going to stay on you all day. You have to continue all day long to make those choices. What are those choices motivated by? They are motivated by what the Word of God has taught us. They are motivated by our respect for God. Now to be the right choice it has to be a choice that honors Christ and His Word. That is the way I purchase time. I have only got one time around, and I have to learn to make proper choices. How many choices did you make yesterday? We have to learn that time is short. We only have one season. We only go around one time. Make those choices. Why? Because every time you choose, you are going to do something. That is called a deed and one day we will answer for those deeds at the Bema Seat of Christ. Are they wood, hay and stubble? What is wood, hay and stubble? They are stupid, fleshly, religious choices. Sometimes they are not even religious. What are precious stones? They are choices that were made based on God’s Word and my willingness to do what He tells me to do. We are making those choices, moment by moment by moment....(In summary) From the time I got saved to the time I die I have an opportunity. I am to make the most of that opportunity. How do I do that? By redeeming the time. How do you purchase time? By the choices that we make. We have to suffer the consequences of wrong choices. Paul says, "You only have from the time you are born again until the time you die. Now make the most of that time. Redeem the time. Make wise choices." (Ephesians 5:15-17 Walking as Light in a World of Darkness)

The idea is not to make best use of time as such, which is what we should do in the sense of not wasting it, but of taking advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. One who lives life carelessly and without forethought would be walking foolishly. One who doesn’t use his time wisely obviously would be unwise. Finally, one who isn’t following God’s will would be most foolish.

"So teach us to number our days, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12)

The great sixteenth-century reformer Philip Melanchthon kept a record of every wasted moment and took his list to God in confession at the end of each day. It is small wonder that God used him in such great ways.

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We missed him. Our chance to change things came and passed and we did not know it was there. A dark-skinned little boy sat through Sunday School classes for three years at a great Baptist Church (First Church, San Antonio) but someone missed him. His name was Sirhan Sirhan, and at age 24 he shot and killed Senator Robert Kennedy. In a welter of words and the shudder of grief throughout our nation, the persistent thought keeps recurring—someone missed him. (Dr. Jimmy Allen, former pastor of First Baptist Church, San Antonio, Texas in Pulpit Helps, May, 1991, from 10000 Sermon Illustrations. Dallas: Biblical Studies Press)