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God has given believers an extraordinary inheritance. But knowing what you have is only part of the journey. The real question is: what do you do with it? Ephesians 5:15-20 calls every believer to walk in wisdom, and that call is more practical and urgent than most of us realize.

What Does It Mean to "Walk Worthy" as a Christian?

The book of Ephesians spends its first three chapters laying out everything God has done for believers. You are chosen before the foundation of the world. You are holy and blameless. Your sins are forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ. You are sealed by the Holy Spirit. You have been given an inheritance that is incorruptible and will not fade away.

Then the second half of Ephesians asks a pointed question: now that you know all of this, how are you going to live?

Ephesians 4:1 calls believers to "walk worthy," meaning to live in a way that is equal to everything God has already done for you. That includes walking humbly, walking in unity, walking in righteousness, walking in love, and walking in light.

The capstone of all of it is found in Ephesians 5:15-20: walk in wisdom.

What Does the Bible Say About Being a Fool?

Ephesians 5:15 says plainly, "Be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise."

A fool, in the biblical sense, is not simply someone who makes a bad decision. A fool is someone with no sense of direction, no values, and no desire to learn. They repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

Psalm 14:1 puts it this way: "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" You can have every academic credential imaginable and still be a fool if you look at the universe and conclude there is no Creator.

Romans 1 adds that those who suppress the truth about God, "professing to be wise, became fools." And Titus 3:3 reminds us that before Christ, we were all there: "enslaved to passions and pleasures, spending our lives in malice and envy."

The good news is that the moment you receive Christ, everything changes.

How Does Receiving Christ Make You Wise?

1 Corinthians 1:30 says: "But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption."

When you receive Jesus, you receive wisdom itself. You have inside of you every answer to every problem you are facing, because you have Christ. The Holy Spirit lives in you as a resident teacher, pointing you to the Word of God and illuminating your mind.

Colossians 1:9-10 captures this beautifully: "We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way."

Wisdom is not just something you hold in your head. Wisdom is behavior. It is something that shows up in your life. If you have wisdom, people will see the fruit of it.

Why Does Wisdom Matter for How You Use Your Time?

Ephesians 5:16 says to "redeem the time, because the days are evil." The word "redeem" carries the image of purchasing something. You are either a slave to time, or time is your slave.

There are two different words for time in the New Testament. The first is chronos, the steady tick of the clock from birth to death. The second is kairos, which refers to a divinely appointed moment. A window of opportunity that God has arranged specifically for you.

God is always working. He does not sleep or slumber. Every day He is arranging circumstances, people, and situations to create kairos moments in your life. Moments where, if you step into them, your life changes and eternity is affected.

But if your mind is not grounded in the Word and you are not sensitive to the Holy Spirit, those moments will pass you by. How many times have you said, "I wish I would have"?

How Did Jesus Model Redeeming the Time?

Mark 2 gives a powerful picture of this. After a full day of healing and teaching, with the whole city gathered at the door, Jesus rose early the next morning while it was still dark and went to a lonely place to pray.

He was not just organizing His calendar. He was prioritizing His heart. He was asking the Father, "What do you want me to do today?" Because Jesus said He only did what He saw the Father doing.

When His disciples found Him and told Him everyone was looking for Him, He did not rush back. He said, "Let us go somewhere else, to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also. That is what I came out for."

Jesus was soaked with purpose. When you know your purpose, you can say no to the things that drain your time without producing fruit. But if you do not know your purpose, you will always be a slave to the demands of others.

How Do You Recognize Your Season and God's Plan for Your Life?

1 Chronicles 12:32 describes the men of Issachar as those "who understood the times and knew what Israel should do." They could read the season they were in.

Every person is in a season. Young parents are in a season. Empty nesters are in a season. Those who have just experienced loss are in a season. God has a specific plan for each of those seasons, and He is working in all of them.

Here is how you prepare yourself to recognize and step into those moments:

  • Read the Word of God consistently. The more you know Scripture, the more clearly you will hear God's voice throughout your day.
  • Look for patterns. When a pattern in your life is interrupted, pay attention. God is often doing something new.
  • Build your faith and take steps of risk. Moses parted the Red Sea. Joseph endured years of suffering before his kairos moment came. Both were ready when the moment arrived.
  • Trust that God has a plan, even in pain and injustice.

Ephesians 3:10 says that God's plan is for "the manifold wisdom of God to be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in heavenly places." When you walk in obedience to God's will, that is spiritual warfare. That is the thing the enemy cannot stand against.

What Is the Role of the Holy Spirit in Living Wisely?

Ephesians 5:18 says: "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."

Everything God asks you to do, He gives you the power to do. That power is the Holy Spirit. Without Him, the commands of God are impossible to keep. With Him, they become possible.

The phrase "be filled with the Spirit" in the original Greek is a continuous command. It does not mean a one-time experience. It means constantly, repeatedly being filled. When you feel like you are running low, stop and ask Him to fill you again.

When you are filled with the Spirit, the results are visible. Ephesians 5:19-20 describes them: speaking to one another with psalms and hymns, making music in your heart to the Lord, and always giving thanks to God for everything.

Joy, peace, gratitude, and connection with other believers are the natural overflow of a Spirit-filled life.

Life Application

This week, your challenge is simple but significant: start your day with the Word of God before anything else. Even five or ten minutes of reading or listening to Scripture positions your heart to hear God's voice throughout the day. Kairos moments do not announce themselves loudly. They require a heart that is already tuned in.

Ask yourself these questions as you go into the week:

  • Am I spending time in God's Word consistently enough to recognize His voice when He speaks?
  • What season of life am I in right now, and what might God be trying to do in me during this season?
  • Is there a kairos moment in front of me right now that I have been hesitant to step into?
  • Am I relying on my own wisdom and planning, or am I asking God to fill me with His Spirit and guide my steps?

God has already given you everything you need. You have His Word, His Spirit, and His wisdom living inside of you through Christ. The question is whether you will walk in it. Do not let the moments He has prepared for you pass by. Redeem the time.