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“See then that you walk circumspectly [carefully],24 not as fools but as wise” (Ephesians 5:15 NKJV).
In the first verse of this chapter, the apostle exhorts us to the whole duty of Christians: “Be imitators of God” (Ephesians 5:1). He gives the same exhortation in other terms in verse 8: “Walk as children of light.” Both of these summarize the whole duty of Christians.
In the following verses, he gives particular rules and directions concerning the particular duties25 of Christianity:
Walk in love (verse 2)
Flee all greater iniquities:
Flee all smaller iniquities:
Partaking in other people’s sins26 (verse 7), which he further exhorts against in verse 11, charging them:
To have no communion with them; to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.
To not approve them, but rather reprove them
Of these strict rules in the text, he presses the strict observation: see that you walk circumspectly, with an eye to every duty and to every direction. This applies not only to the greater and more weighty duties of Christianity, but also to the lesser and smaller parts of it, even to all that the Lord requires. In these words you may observe:
A strict charge: see, or look diligently and carefully to it.
The thing commanded: “walk circumspectly.” Some render this “walk warily,” others “accurately” or “exactly,” others, “walk precisely.” A learned critic affirms that the word ajkribw~ [akribos: exactly, accurately, diligently] most properly signifies “precisely.”
A commendation of this circumspect walking. This is wise walking, “not as fools but as wise.” This implies that to walk loosely is to walk foolishly, but to walk circumspectly is to walk wisely as people of wisdom.
24circumspect: attentive to all the circumstances of a case or the probable consequences of an action; cautious; prudent; wary. The word comes from circum (around) and specere (look). The NKJV uses “walk circumspectly,” the NASB, “be careful how you walk,” the KJ3, “watch carefully how you walk,” the HCSB, “pay careful attention, then, to how you walk,” and the ESV, “Look carefully then how you walk.”
25duties: There are things that we must not do, such a lie, steal, and so on. There are also duties that God requires us to do, such as pray, love one’s neighbor, praise and thank God, speak the truth in love, and so on. Alleine uses “duty” to refer to all that God requires us to do, and often, “holy duty” to refer to duties by which one directly interacts with God such as prayer and Bible reading.
26sin: disobedience of God. One may also sin against one’s self or other people by treating them other than according to God’s commands, which sin is, of course, also against God by disobeying Him. Properly speaking, sin is only with respect to God. Sin does not refer to ordinary errors or accidents due to creaturely limitations.
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