Ephesians 5 Verses 1 to 14 March 9, 2025 Shine

Ephesians 5 Verses 1 to 14 March 9, 2025 Shine The Immeasurable Love of Christ Lesson 10 Class Presentation Notes AAA

Background Scriptures:

• Romans 13:11–14 (NASB95)

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.

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.

13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.

14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

• 1 John 1:5–7 (NASB95) God is Light

5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;

7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Main Idea:

• There can be no fruit, no growth without light.

Study Aim:

• To understand that the key to our growth is for us to only reflect Jesus’ goodness, righteousness, and truth.

Create Interest:

• Think of Paul here as making a fresh appeal to his readers on the basis of their relationship to God as His “beloved children”. He calls them to live a life commensurate with their nature as children of God—those who have been adopted by love into the family of the Heavenly Father and have experienced His redeeming love. Are you part of the family. If not, why?

Lesson in Historical Context:

• Paul continues his exhortation for the Ephesians to live according to the new life they have in Christ. His initial call, which has guided this section of the

letter, was for them to walk in a manner worthy of their calling (4:1).

• Having finished his discussion of putting off vices and putting on virtues, Paul picks back up the language of the “walk” in this paragraph and the next by discussing two themes that should characterize the method of the walk. The first is walking in love. Paul desires the readers to love like Christ did and to exemplify this in particular practices such as morality and purity of speech. He will go on to call them to walk in light in the next paragraph (5:8–14).

Bible Study:

Ephesians 5:1–2 (NASB95)

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;

2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an

offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

• 5:1 The thought of God’s gracious activity in Christ leads the apostle to summon his readers (dearly loved children) to be (imperative, ginesthe) imitators of God. This is the only place in the NT where believers are called upon to imitate God. Elsewhere, Paul asks his converts to imitate him because they are his children (1 Cor. 4:14–16; 11:1; 1 Thess. 1:6; 2 Thess. 3:7, 9) and because he, himself, is an imitator of Christ.

o Here, the imitation of God is introduced within the context of forgiveness, and the apostle wants to use God’s example in Christ as a pattern for personal relationships. It is doubtful that he would make a distinction between imitating Jesus and imitating God since one can only know God through Jesus.

• 5:2 Since forgiveness and love are bound together, believers are admonished to live a life of love. That love finds its example in Christ who gave himself up for us. By implication, the Christian’s love is to be expressed as a self-giving sacrifice (cf. 5:25). Love is the essence of God and is to be the main feature of the believer’s walk (peripateō). By mentioning Christ’s death, the apostle recalls words that were applicable to Jewish sacrifices—namely, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. The sacrifice of Jesus and the sacrificial life of love that believers live, are pleasing to God.

So let’s put this together so we can better understand……………….

• Above all the Christian must imitate the love and the forgiveness of God. Paul uses a typical Old Testament phrase, “odor of a sweet savor,” which goes back to a very old idea, as old as sacrifice itself. When a sacrifice was offered on an altar, the odor of the burning meat went up to heaven and the god to whom the sacrifice was offered was supposed to feast upon that odor. A sacrifice which had the odor of a sweet savor was especially pleasing and especially acceptable to the god to whom it was offered.

• Paul takes the old phrase which time had hallowed—it occurs almost fifty times in the Old Testament—and uses it of the sacrifice that Jesus brought to God. The sacrifice of Jesus was well-pleasing to God.

• What was that sacrifice? It was a life of perfect obedience to God and of perfect love to men, an obedience so absolute and a love so infinite that they accepted the Cross. What Paul says is: “Imitate God.

o And you can do so only by loving men with the same sacrificial love with which Jesus loved them and forgiving them in love as God has done. Good place for discussion……………

How are Christians to imitate God? (5:1–2)

Ephesians 5:3–7 (NASB95)

3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;

4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

• The self-centered vices in conduct and speech (vv. 3–4) are the opposite of the self-sacrificing love spoken of in verses 1–2. Since these vices portray selfishness and unconcern for others, a believer should not have even a hint of these sins in his life. Sexual immorality (porneia), any kind of impurity, and greed are improper for (lit., “should not be named among”) believers. God’s holy people is literally, “saints” (hagiois; cf. 1:1, 15).

• Vs 5:4. Improprieties in speech—obscenity (aischrotēs, “shameless talk and conduct”), foolish talk (mōrologia, lit., “stupid words”), and coarse jesting (eutrapelia, “vulgar, frivolous wit”)—are out of place for Jesus’ followers, because such vices often harm (cf. 4:29), whereas thanksgiving is appreciation for others and is helpful.

o Paul was not intimating that humor itself is sin, but that it is wrong when it is used to destroy or tear down others.

• Vs. 5–6. Paul sternly warned believers that the reason they are to abstain from evil deeds (specifically, immorality, impurity, and greed; cf. vv. 3 and 5) is that those who practice them are not a part of God’s kingdom. Those who have no inheritance in the kingdom have not been “washed,” “sanctified,” and “justified” as 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 so clearly demonstrates. A greedy person … is an idolater (cf. Col. 3:5) in the sense that greed, like idols, puts things before God.

• Christians should not be deceived into thinking that this warning is merely empty words (kenois, trans. “empty” means void of content), for the disobedient, that is, the unregenerate (cf. Eph. 2:2) are the objects of God’s wrath (cf. Col. 3:6).

o God’s view of sin should be taken seriously. Believers should be imitators of God, not of evildoers.

From what practices should Christians abstain? (5:3–6)

Whom do we need to avoid? Why? (5:5–7)

Ephesians 5:7 (NASB95)

7 Therefore do not be partakers with them;

• In our study of the Bible we have learned that when the word, “Therefore” appears, we should look back and see what it is, “There for”…

• Verses 3-6 have just offered that explanation….Let’s move on……….

Ephesians 5:8–10, 13-14 (NASB95)

8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light

9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),

10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.

14 For this reason it says,

“Awake, sleeper,

And arise from the dead,

And Christ will shine on you.”

• The past of every Christian is a dark one. Without Jesus Christ you and I were full of darkness. When a person places his faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, Christ comes into his/her heart. That person immediately goes from darkness to light in his spirit. You become light to this world. In fact, Jesus calls us light.

o Matthew 5:14 (NASB95)

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden”.

o Philippians 2:15 (NASB95)

“so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,”

• We are to walk as children of light. We are to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ. Because the Holy Spirit indwells the Christian, his/her life should be characterized by goodness, righteousness, and truth.

• Walking in the light also involves proving what is acceptable to the Lord. What does that mean? The word “proving” is from the word dokimazo {dok-im-adʹ-zo}. The word means “to examine, scrutinize, to test, to recognize something as genuine after examining it.”

o That is the way we are to live when it comes to the matter of our behavior and what we get ourselves involved in day after day.

o We should be careful about the friends we choose and careful about what we believe that others tell us, especially in matters that pertain to the Bible and Jesus Christ.

 1 John 4:1 (NASB95)

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see

whether they are from God, because many false prophets

have gone out into the world.

• Christians are to carefully determine or learn what is pleasing to the Lord. That should be the goal of anyone who wants to imitate Jesus because that is the way He lived. His desire was to do God the Father’s will. We too, should want to do God’s will in our lives.

o Psalm 143:10 (NASB95)

Teach me to do Your will,

For You are my God;

Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

Thoughts to soak on:

• If you want to know how to please the Lord, study the Bible. God tells us what He loves and what He hates. He tells us how to live.

• Evil is exposed when light shines. People then can see the destructiveness of that evil. One day all evil will be exposed by the Lord Himself. We as Christians are not to live in the darkness of our former lives. We are to wake up and shine for Christ.

o The person without Christ should turn to Him by faith and in so doing, the Lord will shine in his or her life.

• The world today is looking for genuine Christians that truly shine for Jesus Christ, that walk in light. They are tired of talk. They want to see some walk.

o Beloved, an unbelieving world expects this of us, even though they are not saved.

o If we claim to know the Lord, we better act like it. May we shine as lights in this world! Walk in light! Walk in love!

• Vs. 14. Paul quotes from what is almost certainly an early Christian poem or hymn. It’s a call to wake up, to rise up, to live in the light of King Jesus. It is this sort of thing—and no doubt a good deal more of it—that we should imagine being sung both in formal worship by the early Christians and, as Paul here envisages, as they go about their daily business and leisure.

o “Awake, sleeper,

And arise from the dead,

And Christ will shine on you.”

Micah 6:8

“Mankind, He has told you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

Discuss how to do this with this short explanation.

Where Is It?

• Micah voiced a call for repentance to Israel. He laid out the sins they had fallen into and pleaded with them to come back to the foundation of God’s law. He demands holiness and justice from all people. In chapter 6, Micah lists just a few of the things that the Lord has done for the people of Israel, and how they have chosen to repay Him for His goodness.

What Does It Mean?

• The people had God’s law; they already knew what was required of them. The Lord was saying through Micah that it was not obedience alone that mattered; it was the condition of the heart behind it. God calls His people to high moral character. They are not only to be faithful, but to love faithfulness and act justly toward one another. They should be obedient, but walk humbly in their obedience. None of this was new news, but they had drifted away from the truth and thought that they could be good in other ways. They replaced goodness with ritual and thought that would be enough.

Why Does It Matter?

• While this is a specific prophetic word to a specific group of people, the message is still relevant to us today. How easy is it to go through the motions of religion, without actually following what God is calling us to do? How easy is it to justify our actions as “good,” without using the only definition of good that really matters? God has called His followers to goodness. He requires us “to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with [our] God.”

o Ephesians 4:1–3 (NASB95)

1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,

2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,

3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

o Romans 12:16 (NASB95)

16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

Now we can finish our last two Scriptures skipped over earlier…………

Ephesians 5:11–12 (NASB95)

11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;

12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

• Vs. 11. To “walk as children of light” means to live before the eyes of God, not hiding anything. It is relatively easy to hide things from other people because they cannot see our hearts and minds; but “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13).

• An author asked Charles Spurgeon for permission to write his life story, and the great preacher replied, “You may write my life in the skies—I have nothing to hide!”

• But walking “as children of light” also means revealing God’s light in our daily lives.

o By our character and conduct, we bring God’s light into a dark world.

o As God’s lights, we help others find their way to Christ.

o The mind of the unsaved person is blinded by Satan (2 Cor. 4:3–4) and by sin (Eph. 4:17–19).

 Only as we witness and share Christ can the light enter in. Just as a healthy person can assist the sickly, so a child of God can lead the lost out of darkness into God’s wonderful light.

• Vs. 12. Be careful how you deal with the “unfruitful works of darkness.” The motto today seems to be, “Tell it like it is!” And yet that can be a dangerous policy when it comes to exposing the filthy things of darkness, lest we unconsciously advertise and promote sin.

o Paul said, “It is a shame even to speak of those things” (Eph. 5:12). “But yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil”.

 Romans 16:19 (NASB95)

For the report of your obedience has reached all; therefore

I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is

good and innocent in what is evil.

Thoughts to soak on:

• I recall a friend in youth work who felt it necessary to read all that the teenagers were reading “in order to understand them better,” and it so polluted his mind that he himself fell into sin. It is not necessary for the believer to perform an autopsy on a rotting corpse to expose its rottenness.

o All he has to do is turn on the light! “For whatsoever doth make manifest is light”

• The believer is a saint, which means he is a partaker “of the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:12). He is a king, because he has been delivered “from the power of darkness” and has been translated “into the kingdom of His dear Son” (Col. 1:13). He is “light in the Lord” (Eph. 5:8).

Questions to ponder:

Since becoming a Christian, what old habits have you discarded?

How do you see the new nature taking hold in your life?

In what way should you be submissive to other Christians?

What would be the first step for you in changing an old pattern of behavior?

What can you do this week to make your Christian living more consistent?