The Kingdom of Light

Who is Your King? (Kids Tract)

The first way is to keep saying ‘no’ to God and pretending to be your own king. But if you do that, you won’t win, because God is God. God will shut you out of his kingdom forever.

The second way is to stop saying ‘no’ to God, and to ask God to forgive you. Because Jesus took your punishment, you can trust that God will forgive you as his friend—that’s his promise.

You can then start living with God’s son, Jesus, as your king—respecting and obeying him. You can look forward to being in God’s good kingdom forever.

So who will be your king?

Eternal kingdom

Isaiah 9:6–7 NASB95

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

Exclusive kingdom

John 14:6 NASB95

Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Holy Kingdom

1 Peter 2:9 NASB95

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

1. Belonging to the Kingdom of Light (vs. 3-5)

Ephesians 5:3–5 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.

A. Qualities of Darkness

Vs. 3-5 seem to be Paul’s transitional statements about the former life of sin that the believer in Christ has been delivered from. Notice with me the wording that Paul uses in v 3 about the manner of life which is not to be NAMED among you. I think that is purposeful language in comparison to the NAME that Paul states that the believer bears.

We have already looked at these words but we review them again.

1. The Immoral Person

This is a common word for Paul to describe the gross sexual acts that were so prevalent in the culture of Ephesus. With the temple to Artemis located in Ephesus, there was a cultural promotion all around for the worship of the so called goddess of fertility. This gross immorality and sexual lewdness was in escapable all around the culture there.

I read this week the story of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel where the king of Israel displays the typical falling into the sin of porneia. He lacked the self-discipline to turn away from the temptations as a man who seeks to gratify his desires. He gave into his lusts and those lusts turned into scheming, deception and murder.

Paul is making the comparison that PORNEIA is not to be named among those who are regenerate in the church because by comparison, those who make up the church are those named as “holy ones.” To be holy is to be set apart in Ephesus from the sexualized culture that surrounded it.

For a place like Ephesus, to stand against PORNEIA and be set apart as a Christian was to be counter-cultural. Our faith in Jesus Christ not only demands such a stand against sexual immorality but it actually makes Paul’s case that those who practice sexual sin cannot belong to the kingdom of light. Notice that Paul draws the line of ongoing sexual sin by using the present tense of the verb Be Named…which means continually be named. What Paul is saying is you cannot be a truly regenerate follower of Jesus Christ and live in sexual sin. It is impossible! You can confess to follow Christ while living in sexual immorality yet not truly be saved. This is what Paul means in v 5

“ NO IMMORAL MAN has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. “ What Paul will do here is define the division between light and darkness. Regenerate people stumble in immorality but cannot live there. By definition they cannot be both holy and unholy.

Paul has a greater list in 1 Cor 6 regarding this dividing line.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 NASB95

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Now friend, there is grace at the cross for those who fall into sexual sin and who seek repentance in the finished work of Christ. There is a sufficient supply of grace to cover your sin but you must turn from it and in doing so display

The question: How does the church have such a problem with sexual sin?

According to some stats from the Barna Research Group:

67% of pastors have a personal history with porn.

18% of pastors in the United States currently struggle with pornography.17

Friends, let me just point you these sobering words of Paul, so that you will evaluate your own lives. If there is habitual sin like PORNEIA that has taken residence within you, repent and put your faith in Christ. He can and will save you from this.

Paul secondly mentions,

2. The Impure Person

- A-KATHARSIA: this is a more general term for wickedness and evil but it most often means unclean. Literally it is the GREEK word KATHARSIA which means clean and pure with the ALPHA derivative added to the front to give an opposing meaning. Now our sin nature makes us unclean and therefore our sinful acts are unclean before a holy God.

Paul tells us in Romans 1:24 that the sin nature leads a person to worship the creature over the Creator and so in their worship of idols, they would long for a life of impure and unclean living.

Looking to the OT, the people of Israel were given the law of God to distinguish that which God declared clean and unclean in his sight. These laws reflected not only God looking out for the good of His people, but also it was a way to teach his people to think rightly about what is holy and what is unholy.

Using Romans 1 again as an example, Paul continues the thought of the unclean sin by using homosexuality as an illustration of that which is not only unnatural and harmful to those engage in it, but it is also an unholy act because it violates that which the Creator established in the order of creation.

Looking now then to Jesus, friend, we know that those who are truly regenerate in their hearts and lives are people who have been cleansed from their unholy living.

Ephesians 5:26 NASB95

26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

In the upcoming verses, Paul will makes a beautiful illustration of the marriage relationship where the groom, who is Jesus, cleanses his Bride, who is the church, by the washing of water with the word. This means that Jesus cleans us from all defilement and unholiness that separates us from us and God and so that we may be clean.

We are now commanded by Paul to put away that unholiness and defilement that does not represent lives that reflect the light of Christ within us because that which is unclean does not belong with us.

Again, notice the clear statement that those who live in unholiness cannot inherit the kingdom of God and Christ.

Ask yourself have you allowed that which is evil and unclean to permeate and take residence in your life? Have you allowed it because much of the culture allows it and yet the Holy Spirit has convicted you to turn away from it?

3. The Greedy Person

The third example Paul gives is greed which literally means to want or have more. This is the insatiable desire that motivates people all over the world to pursue riches and fame. They are not satisfied with what they have, even when they have more and more.

I see this contrast first hand in my job in construction. I see some people who invest in their property, and humble with their wealth and it encourages me. I enjoy working for them. Then their are others that we work for who can never be satisfied with what they have. They are always wanting more and doing more all the while empty inside because they do not enjoy true satisfaction in a spiritual life. It is just greed!

Paul adds this to the list because this has always been an issue that the church fights against. Believers in Christ are called to find satisfaction in our Lord and Savior and what he gives us. This does not mean we never buy new cars or new homes, or enjoy the pleasures of life. Paul is condemning a heart that can never be satisfied with what God has blessed him or her with.

By the way, I could show you in history that some in the church taught poverty as a virtue of the Christian faith. In other words, they would say that the poorer you lived, the more connected you were to Christ. This is not biblical. That is idolatry.

Instead, Paul states that a person, like the rich young ruler who was overcome with greed can never inherit the kingdom of Christ and God.

Luke 18:22–23 NASB95

22 When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 23 But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.

Why was he extremely sad? He knew in that moment that what Jesus was asking him to do, he could not do it because of his love for money. It was his greed that kept him from truly surrendering himself to the Lord.

Do you struggle with greed? Friend, if you truly follow Christ then you belong to a kingdom that is wealthier than any nation on earth. This wealth is found in Jesus and not material things. But it is this relationship with Him that makes you rich. Notice Paul uses the word inheritance…meaning that in Jesus, you are a brother to Christ and you have inherited the riches of grace and mercy that are found in Him.

All three of these qualities as Paul states reveal those who may come to the church but who do not belong to the church. They may be in the company of citizens of the kingdom of God, the kingdom of light, but they do not belong to that kingdom.

2. Reflecting the Kingdom of Light (vs. 6-14)

Secondly, Paul draws upon his instruction of who belongs to the kingdom and then exhorts the church to reflect the kingdom of light in the world. Light is a picture throughout the Old and New testament that draws upon the holiness, purity, and perfection of God. Light is also seen as the outward visible nature of God’s work in the world.

Jesus tells us that he is the light of the world. Those who follow Him will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. These words draw our attention back to creation when God spoke and light came into existence. That light not only provided a helpful resource for creation but it represents the glory of God in all his creation.

Darkness on the other hand flees when light approaches. Every morning, at dawn, darkness is forced to retreat because of the power of the Sun. Even clouds cannot stop the power of the light to light the day from the night. Nighttime and darkness is simply the absence of the light.

Darkness then in this world represents the separation between God and man because of sin. When we are born again in Christ, the light of Jesus shines forth in our hearts and we are forever free of stumbling around in the dark. Now we see clearly with Jesus as our light.

Paul’s words to the Ephesians are warning to the church as people who belong to the kingdom of God which is the kingdom of the light. As those who belong to this kingdom, they are then called to live in this world reflecting their citizenship of the heavenly kingdom. Paul gives three commands that we need to focus on.

A. Standing Firm V. 6

Ephesians 5:6 NASB95

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

Darkness is still in the world and Satan seeks to tempt us back to our old lives where he seeks to enslave us to our old ways. Paul’s warning is simple:

Do Not be Deceived!

Now we are given much context as to the deception but as it follows what Paul has just said about qualities of darkness, then we have to deduce that deceivers were trying to lead followers of Christ into allowing sin into their lives. Deception is subtle and so it is comes in small obscure, unassuming ways into our lives. Consider the church in our world today and how followers of Christ are tempted to allow that which the Bible prohibits into the church. The reason is to be a more equitable and inclusive church. If we just a little more open minded…. they say.

These are clearly the empty words that are being fed to the church and so Paul’s warning is 2 fold-

1. Do not be deceived in believing error. To state in the positive…stand firm. Know what you believe according to what the Bible teaches and rest in that. If you are firm in your beliefs, you will not be “tossed here and there by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men and craftiness of deceitful scheming.”

To be unlearned in the doctrines of what you believe opens you up to attacks from the lion seeking to devour. Who does the lion and the wolf go after when attacking a herd …the slow, the young, the weak. Do not be these in your faith in Christ.

2. The Wrath of God is certain

Paul reminds us that those who live in darkness will face the wrath of God. Their path is certain because they have rejected their Creator as sons of disobedience. His warning is for those who are being deceived and for those deceiving.

B. Shining Together V7-11a

Ephesians 5:7–11 NASB95

7 Therefore do not be partakers with them; 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. 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;

Vs 7-11 carry the connotation of community. Is our fellowship and community among those of light or darkness?

Two words of importance..

v7 partaker is translated from Gk word that means to have with someone or share with someone.

v 11 also similarly means to have fellowship with someone

both of these words reflect Paul’s thoughts that our fellowship as believers does not make sense in darkness or with those of the darkness. He is talking about the community of light. We belong to a community of light in the body of Christ. Christ’s body is illuminated by his glory and therefore we find joy and satisfaction in this illuminated fellowship of God’s holy people.

We no longer can have fellowship with darkness. We are diametrically opposed in our morals, ethics, beliefs, goals and purposes. Paul is not restricting the church to sever ties with all unbelievers… but he is calling to church to only fellowship with those of the light.

2 Corinthians 6:14–17 NASB95

14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 17 “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you.

It is easy to assume that the message to teh church of Ephesus is for them to leave their old ways of darkness and their old relationships with darkness, but they now dwell in light. Our light in which Christ shines through us should repel and disgust that darkness and as Paul states, the darkness should disgust those who live in the light.

Ephesians 5:12 NASB95

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

Can you feel the tension in Paul’s words? Can you imagine the pull of the Ephesians back to participate in the immoral darkness of the worship of Artemis. To engage in immoral rituals that were now common social settings. We saw this same instruction in Corinth. Can you imagine those tempting the Ephesians to use rhetoric that we hear today about the church:

How could you shuns temple prostitution? That is so unloving of you to treat them as if they do not matter. God loves temple prostitutes and there is a place among God’s people for them to.

Instead, the church should break fellowship with those who live in darkness. You can have relationship with them for the purpose of sharing Christ with them. We obviously all will have biological family who do not follow Christ. It is with this opposing belief that leads us to connect and have true community with those of the faith while understanding why our relationships with those outside Christ is always so difficult.

If you relate better with those in darkness than in the light, you should truly evaluate your life as to if you truly are a child of the light. Paul states this kingdom is one of goodness, righteousness, and truth.

Are these qualities of the kingdom of light reflected in your relationships with others whom you call friends? Do these relationship draw you from kingdom living?

C. Speaking Out 11b-14

Ephesians 5:11–14 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. 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.”

Finally the last command is the opposite of participation. Paul says instead to expose those who are flirting with the dark and evil ways. It seems with Paul’s language that a hearty rebuke is in mind for the believer. This does seem to mean that exposing light to a lost world, although being the light in the darkness in the world, a city on a hill is commanded by the lord Jesus.

Instead, it appears that as the church exposing sin of our brothers and sisters who are flirting with darkness is more of Pauls message because it reflects qualities of the kingdom just mentioned which are righteousness, goodness and truth. It implies that conviction will follow that which is exposed.

Galatians 6:1 NASB95

1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.

This is a similar action of those who walk as children of light. We must stand in community willing to fight for teh sporotual health of ourselves and those around us.

Paul concludes this section in v 14 with a alphabet soup of quutations from two OT passages.

Ephesians 5:14 NASB95

14 For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”

Isaiah 26:19 NASB95

19 Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.

Isaiah 60:1 NASB95

1 “Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

Paul is drawing upon the hope of Christ and his resurrection that we have all experienced who belong to this kingdom. We who belong to Jesus can attest to the spiritual rebirth that we have all been give

Prayer requests/Praise:

-Praise for Alexander pregnancy

-Prayer for Rich Shadden and the elders/members of Park Ave Church in Memphis

Questions:

What passages in the Bible teach us that Jesus is the King?

What does it mean to live under the authority of Jesus as our king?

Explain how light is connected to Jesus and his ministry?

What are the qualities of darkness that Paul warns against in his message to the Ephesians?

Why is the message of the gospel an exclusive message?

How does this message of judgment and wrath get downplayed/replaced in some churches today?

What are some unassuming areas that we might allow sin to creep into lives?

What ways are Christians deceived these days? What avenues does that deception enter our lives?

How does our church family help us to stand firm in our faith?

Why is the church a greater reflector of God’s light than just an individual believer?

How is shining God’s light connected to exposing sin in a brother or sisters life?