Romans 13.12a-The Night Has Drawn To A Close For The Believer
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday February 3, 2010
Romans: Romans 13:12a-The Night Has Drawn To A Close For The Believer
Lesson # 452
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 13:8.
This evening we will begin a study of Romans 13:12 by noting the first of four statements made by the apostle Paul in this passage.
Romans 13:8, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.”
Romans 13:9, “For this, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,’ and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’”
Romans 13:10, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Romans 13:11, “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.”
Romans 13:12, “The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
The first statement “The night is almost gone” teaches that the period in which the church age believer is not in his or her resurrection body and is living during a period of history in which Satan is the god of this world has drawn to a close.
“The night” is the noun nux (nuvc) (neex), which is used in a figurative sense for the period in which the believer is not in his or her resurrection body and is living during a period of human history in which Satan is the god of this world.
This period began with the Fall of Adam and will end with the Second Advent of Christ but for the church age believer this period will end with the rapture.
“Is almost gone” is the third person singular aorist active indicative form of the verb prokopto (prokovptw) (pro-cope-toe), which means “to draw to a close” and is used with nux, “the night” as its subject.
Now, the question arises, is Paul referring to the period in which Satan is the god of this world ending with the Second Advent of Christ?
Or, is he referring to the period ending for the believer with the rapture of the church?
The context indicates that the latter is in view since the following statement hemera engiken (ἡμέρα ἤγγικεν), “the day is near” refers to the immanency of the period of time when each and every church age believer is living in his or her resurrection body and is not living in the devil’s world.
This period begins for the believer with the rapture of the church and will never end and will go on throughout eternity future.
“The day” stands in contrast to “the night,” which refers to the period in which the believer is not in his or her resurrection body and is living during a period of history in which Satan is the god of this world.
Therefore, the verb prokopto indicates that this period called “the night” “has drawn to a close” for the believer.
The verb indicates that the period in which the church age believer is not in his or her resurrection body and is living during a period of history in which Satan is the god of this world “has drawn to a close.”
Paul’s teaching in Romans 13:11 further indicates that Romans 13:12 is addressing the end of the period of time in which church age believers are not in their resurrection bodies and are living in the devil’s world.
In Romans 13:11, Paul commands his Christian readers in Rome to continue making it their habit of loving their neighbor as themselves as a result of what he taught in Romans 13:8-10 that loving one’s neighbor fulfills the requirements of the Mosaic Law.
In this passage, he teaches that they are to continue obeying this command because they are well aware of the significance of the period of history in which they were living in, namely, preceding the imminent return of Christ at the rapture.
This period he teaches is characterized by urgency and opportunity for them, demanding immediate action on their part in that they can gain rewards at the Bema Seat for obeying the command to love your neighbor as yourself.
The apostle also teaches in this passage that it is now already the moment for his readers to be awake spiritually, which refers to the confession of sins to be restored to fellowship with God and maintaining that fellowship by obedience to the Word of God.
Lastly, he teaches that it is now already the moment for Paul’s readers to be awake spiritually because their deliverance from the sin nature, Satan and his cosmic system at the rapture of the church is now nearer to taking place than when they first became Christians.
Paul’s statement in verse 11 emphasizes with his readers the importance of living in light of the immanent return of Christ at the rapture in which they will be permanently delivered from Satan’s cosmic system and will receive their resurrection bodies.
The inferential statement in Romans 13:12 further indicates that Paul is addressing the end of the period of time in which church age believers are not in their resurrection bodies and are living during the period of history in which Satan is the god of this world.
The inferential statement “Therefore, let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” emphasizes with the Roman believers the necessity to lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
The deeds of darkness refers to actions that are characterized as evil because they are in accordance with the standards of Satan’s cosmic system whereas putting on the armor of light refers to the believer appropriating by faith his union and identification with Christ and utilizing prayer.
Therefore, Paul’s emphasis in Romans 13:12 is upon the conduct of the Roman believers in light of their immanent deliverance from this period in which they do not live in their resurrection body and are living during a time of history when Satan is the god of this world.
So the first statement “The night is almost gone” teaches that the period in which the church age believer is not in his or her resurrection body and is living during a period of history in which Satan is the god of this world has drawn to a close.