SO THEN
DO NOT BE FOOLISH:
dia touto me ginesthe (2PPMM) aphrones.:
(15;
Colossians 4:5)
So then -
If we are going to maximize the use of the time (opportunities) God's
gives us each day, Paul says first stop being foolish or showing lack of
sense (the negative). Then he emphasizes (the positive) that we are to
discern the will of God day by day. In the next verse Paul explains one
of the most important truths about the will of God, negatively not to be
drunk with wine but positively to be "drunk" with the Spirit, letting
Him control your life.
So then (1223)
(dia) in this case is used in its causal sense - in consequence
of, by, on the basis of, on account of the evil nature of the days, stop
being foolish.
(Not)
Be
(1096)
(ginomai) means to become. The
present imperative
with a negative
commands them to stop an action already in progress - stop becoming
foolish.
Paul is saying stop acting as if you
don’t have the ability to understand the situations that occur in your
life and how God wants you to respond because you do have that ability
now in Christ, in the New Self. Second Timothy tells us we are not like
people who are lost but have minds that have been saved (see word study
sophronismos).
We can understand what God wants us to do.
Wuest
translates it...
On this account stop becoming those
who are without reflection or intelligence (Wuest)
Foolish
(878)(aphron from a = without + + phren = understanding,
means originally meant diaphragm and was regarded as the seat of mental
and spiritual activity, then mind or understanding) is literally a lack
of sense, reflection, understanding or reason. Aphron describes one
who is not employing his understanding especially as it relates to practical matters.
Lack of good judgment. It refers to folly in action. It can express a
reckless and inconsiderate habit of one's mind. Not using common sense.
Acting rashly. Unwise, inconsiderate. Mindless or unmindful of the
consequence of a thought or action.
The aphron
was not a dim-witted person or clown (as in ‘play the fool’), but
describes the person in Greco-Roman society who had lost the correct
measure of himself and the world around him.
Lacking prudence
(which is the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use
of reason and includes the idea of acting with or showing care and
thought for the future)
In the present
verse a foolish describes one who does not know the will of the
Lord. Only as one understands what pleases God can he carry it out in
his life, and not to do otherwise is foolish! In Ephesians 5:15
Paul describes the unwise, those who simply lack wisdom, but in this
verse, the foolish behave contrary to what they know to be right.
In the OT exalting
human reason is folly (aphron). The aphron is the fool who denies God in
the Psalms. In Proverbs aphron refers to the simple or inexperienced
person. Josephus uses aphron to describe youthful folly or lack of
restraint.
Vincent
writes that aphron means...
Senseless. In Xenophon’s
“Memorabilia,” Socrates, addressing Aristodemus, says, “Which do you
take to be the more worthy of admiration, those who make images without
sense (aphrona) or motion, or those who make intelligent and active
creations?” (1, 4:4). Sometimes, (aphron is used) also, in the sense of
crazed, frantic, but never in New Testament. (Vincent, M. R. . Word
Studies in the New Testament 1:369)
NIDNTT
writes that in classic Greek use...
aphron, senseless, foolish and
aphrosune, lack of sense, foolishness (both words from Homer onwards)
indicate by the use of the Alpha-privative that the term is essentially
defined by a lack or a negation, i.e. lack of insight and reason. But
the possible development of a diseased mind is not excluded here either
(Homer, Od. 23, 10-14). aphron can thus mean infatuated (Homer,
Od. 21, 102) and aphrosune can be referred back to mania (Aristotle,
Eth. Nic. 7, 6, both times, incidentally, through active intervention of
the gods). But the words chiefly describe deficient perception of value
and truth. (Brown,
Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986.
Zondervan)
Aphron is
used 11 times in the NT (see below) and 111 times in the
Septuagint (LXX)
(2 Sam. 13:13; Job 2:10; 5:2f; 30:8; 34:36; Ps. 14:1; 39:8; 49:10; 53:1;
74:18, 22; 92:6; 94:8; Prov. 1:22; 6:12; 7:7; 9:4, 13, 16; 10:1, 4, 18,
21, 23; 11:29; 12:1, 15f, 23; 13:16, 20; 14:1, 3, 7f, 16, 18, 24, 29,
33; 15:2, 5, 7, 20; 16:22, 27; 17:2, 7, 10, 12, 16, 18, 21, 24f; 18:6f,
22; 19:10, 13, 25, 28f; 20:3; 21:20; 22:3; 23:9; 24:9, 30; 26:1, 4ff;
27:3, 12, 22; 28:26; 29:11, 20; 30:2, 22; Eccl. 2:14ff, 19; 4:5, 13;
5:1, 3f; 6:8; 7:4ff, 9; 10:2f, 6, 12, 14f; Isa. 59:7; Jer. 4:22; 17:11)
Luke 11:40 "You foolish ones,
did not He who made the outside make the inside also? (Comment:
Jesus uses aphron to describe the Pharisees because they thought
that their external works based righteousness could gain favor
with God.) Jesus called the Pharisees fools for their preoccupation with
externals
Luke 12:20 "But God said to
him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and
now who will own what you have prepared?' (Comment: The rich man
was a fool because he had failed to prepare to meet God. A fool is the
one whose plans end at the grave! In both this verse and the preceding,
Luke 11:40, willful and culpable ignorance is involved warranting a
strong reproach. The Pharisees and the farmer both refused to take into
account what God had revealed to his OT people.)
Romans 2:20 a corrector of the
foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the
embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, (Comment: In this
context aphron is used by those who are "religious" to refer to
those they classify as immature in moral and religious matters.)
1 Corinthians 15:36 You
fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies;
2 Corinthians 11:16 Again I
say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even
as foolish, that I also may boast a little.
2 Corinthians 11:19 For you,
being so wise, bear with the foolish gladly.
2 Corinthians 12:6 For if I do
wish to boast I shall not be foolish, for I shall be speaking the
truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one may credit me with more
than he sees in me or hears from me.
2 Corinthians 12:11 I have
become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should
have been commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to the most
eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody.
Ephesians 5:17 So then do not
be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
1 Peter 2:15 (note) For such is the
will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of
foolish men. (Comment: Here foolish describes those
obstinately set against the gospel.)
BUT
UNDERSTAND WHAT THE WILL OF
THE LORD IS: alla suniete (2PPAM) ti to thelema tou kuriou.: (Deuteronomy
4:6;
1 Kings 3:9-12;
Job 28:28;
Psalms 111:10;
119:27;
Proverbs 2:5;
14:8;
23:23;
Jeremiah 4:22;
John 7:17;
Romans 12:2;
Colossians 1:9;
1 Thessalonians 4:1-3;
5:18;
1 Peter 4:2)
In Paul presented
this same idea earlier when he wrote that believers walking as children
of light should continually be
"trying to learn what is pleasing to
the Lord." (See note
Ephesians 5:10)
Understand
(4920)
(suniemi from sun = with + hiemi = send) (Click
word study of related noun
sunesis)
literally means to send together or
bring together. The idea is to put together "pieces of the puzzle" (so
to speak) and to exhibit quick comprehension. Suniemi is
describes the ability to understand concepts and see relationships
between them. Suniemi speaks of reflective thinking. The
present imperative
indicates this is a command to make this our continual practice.
Suniemi
describes the comprehending activity of the mind denoted by suniemi
entails the assembling of individual facts into an organized whole, as
collecting the pieces of a puzzle and putting them together. The mind
grasps concepts and sees the proper relationship between them. Such
understanding includes the moral and religious awareness of man’s heart
Will
(2307)(thelema
from thélo = to will) means what one wishes or has determined
shall be done or that which is desired or wished for. It refers to a
desire which proceeds from one’s heart or emotions. This term expresses
the result of one’s purpose or desire. Thelema has both an
objective meaning (“what one wishes to happen”) and a subjective
connotation (“the act of willing or desiring”). The word conveys the
idea of desire, even a heart’s desire, for the word primarily expresses
emotion instead of volition. Thus God’s will is not so much God’s
intention, as it is His heart’s desire. It is His will not as a demand
but as an inclination of pleasure towards that which is liked, which
pleases and creates joy.
Understanding the
will of the Lord, is virtually identical to Paul's earlier charge
for believers to walk "trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord'
(See note
Ephesians 5:10)
The subsequent verses explain God's will includes believers being
filled with His Spirit, being thankful, submitting to one another, being
loving husbands, being obedient children, being disciplining fathers,
being obedient slaves and being non-threatening masters. The point is
that God's will is best discerned from God's Word.
John explains the
basic principle that "obedience is the organ of spiritual knowledge"
writing that...
"If any man is willing to do His
will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or
whether I speak from Myself. (John 7:17)
In Romans Paul
explains one of the major ways to discern God's will writing...
And
do not be conformed
(present
imperative
with a negative means stop an action
already in progress) to this world, but
be transformed
present imperative
= be continually transformed = proceeding from and being truly
representative of one’s inward character and nature)
by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove (see word study on
dokimazo) what the will of God
is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (See note
Romans 12:2)
(As we choose to be less and less poured into the mold of this world
system which is opposed to God and allow God to change us from glory to
glory as we take in and live out His sanctifying Word of truth, we are
more and more enabled to put things to the test for the purpose of
showing them to truly be God's will.)
We can pray for
God's will to fill us as Paul prayed for the Colossians
writing...
For this reason also, since the day
we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you
may be filled (controlled by - the verb is pleroo, just as in Ephesians
5:18 "be filled with the Spirit") with the knowledge (not an mystical
inner impression or feeling but a deep and thorough knowledge of the
will of God) of His will in all spiritual wisdom and
understanding (See note
Colossians 1:9)
(Comment: Note that being filled with the knowledge of God's will
results in the life or "walk" described in the following verses - we
will be enabled to walk - see notes
Colossians 1:10;
1:11;
1:12)
Paul explains that
a thankful attitude is God's will for believers writing
that...
in everything
give thanks;
(present
imperative) for
this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (NLT writes "No
matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you
who belong to Christ Jesus") (1Thes
5:18) (Comment:
Notice that Paul does not say give thanks for everything
but in everything. And in the context of this Ephesians 5, we see
that the way in which a believer can have a grateful attitude is by
being continually filled with the Holy Spirit - cf notes
Ephesians 5:20
"always giving thanks for all things")
MacDonald
warns that doing God's will is crucial...
Because of the abounding evil and the
shortness of the time, we might be tempted to spend our days in frantic
and feverish activity of our own choosing. But this would amount to
nothing but wasted energy. The important thing is to find out God’s will
for us each day and do it. This is the only way to be efficient and
effective. It is all too possible to carry on Christian work according
to our own ideas and in our own strength, and be completely out of the
will of the Lord. The path of wisdom is to discern God’s will for our
individual lives, then to obey it to the hilt. (MacDonald,
W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson)
Lord
(2962)
(kurios) signifies sovereign power and absolute authority. He is
the One Who has absolute ownership and uncontested power and therefore
the One Whose will is good and acceptable and perfect. As His loyal,
loving subjects we do well to obey His will.
Wayne Barber
sums on this section on knowing the will of the Lord stating that...
Generically, the will of the Lord is
that we be strengthened in the inner man by the Spirit of God, that we
obey Him, that we depend completely on Him, that we be surrendered in
our attitude towards Him. Specifically because of that fear of God, God
will give us wisdom in the specific areas of our life.
GEORGE
MUELLER
ON FINDING THE WILL OF GOD
1. Surrender
your own will.
I seek at the beginning to get my
heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a
given matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people generally is just
here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are
ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in
this state it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His
will is.
2. Do not
depend on feelings.
Having done this, I do not leave the
result to feeling or simple impression. If so, I make myself liable to
great elusions.
3. Seek, the
Spirit's will through God's Word.
I seek the will of the Spirit of God
through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word
must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay
myself open to great delusion also. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all,
He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.
4. Note
providential circumstances.
Next I take into account providential
circumstances. These often plainly indicate God's will in connection
with His Word and Spirit.
5. Pray.
I ask God in prayer to reveal His
will to me aright.
6. Wait.
The best way to
study a subject often begins with a definition of that subject. What do
we mean by the will of God? It is that holy and stated purpose of
the Father to make His dear children as much like Christ as possible.
Without doubt the most important factor in finding God’s will is the
Bible itself. God speaks to us not in some loud voice, but through the
Scriptures.
1) The Scriptures declare He
does have a definite will for my life. “The steps of a good man are
ordered by the Lord” (Ps
37:23). “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you
should go” (Ps
32:8). See also
Eph 2:10;
Heb 12:1.
2) God desires us to know this will for our lives. “Therefore do
not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ep
5:17).
3) This will is continuous. It does not begin when I am thirty
years of age. God has a will for children, young people, adults, and
senior citizens. See
Isa 58:11.
4) God’s will is specific. “Your ears shall hear a word behind
you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it’” (Isa
30:21). “But the way of the upright is a highway” (Pr
15:19).
5) God’s will is profitable (Jos
1:8;
Ps 1:1–3).
What is the will of God for us? As we have already noted, it differs
from believer to
believer. But here are four aspects in the will of God
which apply to every Christian:
It is His will that
we learn more
about God
Col 1:9
It is His will that
we grow in
grace
1Th 4:3
It is His will that
we study His
Word
2Ti 3:14-17
It is His will that
we share our
faith
Acts 1:8;
1Ti 2:4
2Peter 3:9
F B Meyer (in his
devotional on Mt 6:10) writes that...
MANY PEOPLE shrink from God's
will. They think that it always means pain, or sorrow, or
bereavement. They always feel melancholy when you speak of doing the
Will of God. Alas! how the devil has libeled God. The will of God is the
will of a Father. It is the Fatherhood of God going out in action. "It
is not the will of your Father that one of these little ones should
perish." "This is the will of God, even your sanctification."
If only the will of God were
done on earth, as it is done in heaven, there would be peace between the
nations, and love and happiness in all our homes. Love would cement the
union of all men in a city of blessedness. The fact of the world's
present condition is no argument against the beneficence and blessedness
of the will of God. It is because men will not do the will of God that
things are as they are!
In our own life we shall never be
really fight or happy until we have got to the point of saying: "I
delight to do Thy will, O my God." We may not begin there. The first
step is to choose it, then we shall come to accept it lovingly and
thankfully; but, finally, we shall rejoice and delight in it. If you
cannot say "Thy Wilt be done," say: "I am willing to be made willing
that Thy Will should be done." If your will is like a bit of rough and
rugged iron, tell God that you are willing for it to be plunged into the
furnace of His love, so that all which is unyielding and obdurate may
pass away before the ardent heat of the Divine Fire. Depend on it that
He will not fail, nor be discouraged with the long process that may be
required; and that He will not be rough or violent. He will stay His
east wind. He will keep His hand on the pulse, that He may be aware of
the least symptom that the ordeal is too strong.
At first there may be a twinge of
pain, as when a dislocated limb is pressed back into its proper
position, but afterwards there is the blessed restoration of healthy
vigor. You will only lose what you would gladly give up if you know as
much as God does of what promotes soul-health. "Whosoever," said our
Lord, "will do the Will of my Father, the same is my brother, and
sister, and mother." "In His Will is our peace."
PRAYER -
Most Gracious God, to know and love
whose will is righteousness, enlighten our souls with the brightness of
Thy presence, that we may both know Thy Will and be enabled to perform
it. AMEN.
The great Puritan writer Thomas Watson listed the following
principles to invoke in order to rightly discern God's will...
How shall we do God’s will aright?
(1) Get
sound knowledge. We must know his will before we can do it; knowledge is
the eye to direct the foot of obedience. The Papists make ignorance the
mother of devotion; but Christ makes ignorance the mother of error. ‘Ye
do err, not knowing the Scriptures.’ Mt. 22:29. We must know God’s
will before we can do it aright. Affection without knowledge, is like a
horse full of mettle, but his eyes are out.
(2) If
we would do God’s will aright, let us labor for self denial. Unless we
deny our own will, we shall never do God’s will. His will and ours are
like the wind and tide when they are contrary. He wills one thing, we
will another; he calls us to be crucified to the world, by nature we
love the world; he calls us to forgive our enemies, by nature we bear
malice in our hearts. His will and ours are contrary, and till we can
cross our own will, we shall never fulfil his.
(3) Let
us get humble hearts. Pride is the spring of disobedience. ‘Who is the
Lord, that I should obey his voice?’ Ex. 5:2. A proud man thinks it
below him to stoop to God’s will. Be humble. The humble son says, Lord
what will you have me to do?’ He puts, as it were, a blank paper into
God hand; and bids him write what he will, and he will subscribe to it.
(4) Beg
grace and strength of God to do his will. ‘Teach me to do thy will:’
as if David had said, Lord, I need not be taught to do my own will, I
can do it fast enough, but teach me to do thy will. Psalm 143:10. And
that which may add wings to prayer, is God’s gracious promise, ‘I will
put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.’ Eze.
36:27. If the lodestone draw the iron, it is not hard for the iron to
move: if God’s Spirit enable, it will not be hard, but rather delightful
to do God’s will.
Martin Luther said...
“If it
were in the will of God, I’d plant an oak tree today, even if Christ
were coming tomorrow”
When David Livingstone was asked if he didn’t
fear that going into Africa was too difficult and too dangerous, he
answered,
“I am
immortal until the will of God for me is accomplished.”
An illustration of the principles to utilize when seeking the will of
God...
F. B.
Meyer was sailing many years ago to England from northern Ireland. He
told the story of how it was night and, as the ship entered the harbor,
nothing was to be seen but a confusing array of lights. Dr. Meyer
wondered how the captain could hope to navigate into the harbor safely
at night in such a confusing jumble of lights, and so he asked him. The
captain took him up to the bridge and said, “You see, sir, it’s really
very simple. I’ll show you how. Do you see that big light over to the
left? And do you see that other big light over there to the right of it?
And now, do you see that outstanding light farther still this way? Well
now, keep your eyes on those three lights and see what happens.” As Dr.
Meyer watched, the big outer light on the left gradually moved in until
it coincided with the middle one. Then, as the ship turned, the light
gradually merged into the third. “There now,” said the captain, “all I
have to do is to see that those three big lights become one; then I go
straight forward.” The point is that the believer also has three lights
to guide him into the will of God. When Scripture and conscience are
lined up with outward circumstances so that the three become one, we
need have no fear. We may go straight ahead. God’s will is clear.
An illustration of how not to discern the will of God
...
A
middle-aged farmer who had been desiring for years to be an evangelist
was out working in the field one day when he decided to rest under a
tree. As he looked into the sky he saw that the clouds seemed to form
into the letters P and C. Immediately he hopped up, sold his farm, and
went out to P-reach C-hrist, which he felt was God’s leading.
Unfortunately, he was a horrible preacher. After one of his sermons a
neighbor came forward and whispered in his ear, “Are you sure God wasn’t
just trying to tell you to P-lant C-orn.”
Related Resources
The "Will of God"
Matthew 6:9-10: Thy Will Be Done - Sermon on Mount On Site
Romans 11:33-12:2: Discovering Will
of God by Ray Stedman
What Is the Will of God and How Do We Know It?
by John Piper
Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of
God
