When men amid evil days and portents of danger must be told not to be "foolish" nor "drunken with wine," one is disposed to tax them with levity. It was difficult for these Asian Greeks to take life seriously, and to realize the gravity of their situation. St Paul appeals to them by their duty, still more than by their danger: "Be not foolish, but understand what _the will of the Lord_ is." As he bade the Thessalonians consider that chastity was not matter of choice and of their own advantage only, it was "God's will" (1 Ep. iv. 3), so the Ephesians must understand that Christ is no mere adviser, nor the Christian life an optional system that men may adopt when and so far as it suits them. He is our Lord; and it is our business to understand, in order that we may execute, His designs. For this Christ's servants require a watchful eye and an alert intelligence. They must be no dullards nor simpletons, who would enter into the Divine Master's plans; no triflers, no creatures of sentiment and impulse, who are to be the agents of His will. He can and does employ every sincere heart that gives itself in love to Him. But His nobler tasks are for the wise taught by His Spirit, for those who can "understand," with penetrating sympathy and breadth of comprehension, "what the will of the Lord is." Hence the distinction of St Paul himself, and of John the beloved disciple, amongst His ministers and witnesses,--men great in mind as they were in heart, whose thoughts about Christ were as grand as their love to Him was fervent.
Nowhere does the apostle say so much of "the will of God" in regard to the dispensation of grace as he does in this epistle.[138] For he sees life and salvation here in their largest bearings and proportions. He prayed at the outset that the Gentile readers might realize the value that God puts upon them, and the mighty forces He has set at work for their salvation (i. 18-20); and again, that they might comprehend the vast dimensions of His plan for the building of the Church (iii. 18). Now that he has shown the relation of this eternal purpose to the character and everyday life of the converted Gentiles, "the will of God" becomes matter of immediate import; it is revealed in its bearing upon conduct, upon the affairs of business and society. It is not the purpose, the promises, the doctrine of the Lord alone, but "the _will_ of the Lord" that they have to understand, as it touches their spirit and behaviour day by day. They must realize the practical demands of their religion,--how it is to make them truthful, gracious, pure and wise. They must translate creed into life and act. Such is the wisdom which their apostle strives to instil into the Asian Christians. Their first need was spiritual enlightenment; their second need was moral intelligence. Might they only have sense to understand and loyalty to obey the will of Christ.--And oh may we!
II. There were converted thieves in the Ephesian Church, who still needed to be warned against their old propensities (iv. 28); there were men who had been sorcerers and fortune-tellers (Acts xix. 18, 19). It appears that there were in this circle converted _drunkards_ also, men to whom the apostle is obliged to say: "Be not drunk with wine, wherein is riot."
In view of the following context (vv. 19-21), and remembering how the Lord's table was defiled by excess at Corinth (1 Cor. xi. 17-34), it seems to us probable that the warning of verse 18 had special reference to the Christian assemblies. The institution of the common meal, the _Agapé_ or Lovefeast accompanying the Lord's Supper, suited the manners of the early Christians, and was long continued. The cities of Asia Minor were full of trade-guilds and clubs for various social and religious purposes, in which the common supper, or club-feast, furnished usually by each member bringing his contribution to the table, was a familiar bond of fellowship. This afforded to the Church a natural and pleasant means of intercourse; but it must be purified from sensual indulgence. _Wine_ was its chief danger.