Ephesians 5.8c-The Command to Live One's Life as an Enlightened Child of God
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday March 5, 2026
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 5:8c-The Command to Live One’s Life as an Enlightened Child of God
Lesson # 329
Ephesians 5:6 Continue to make it your habit to never let absolutely anyone cause any one of you to be deceived by means of words devoid of truth because these things are the reason why the one and only God’s wrath is and will be exercised for His own glory against those members of the human race characterized by disobedience. 7 Therefore, each and every one of you as a corporate unit for your own benefit must continue to not make it your habit of conducting your lives as fellow partakers with them. 8 For each and every one of you as a corporate unity formerly were characterized by spiritual darkness. However, each and every one of you as a corporate unit now at the present time are characterized by spiritual light. Like enlightened children, each and every one of you as a corporate unit must continue to make it your habit of living your lives. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 5:8 is composed of the following:
(1) causal clause: ēte gar pote skotos (ἦτε γάρ ποτε σκότος), “For each and every one of you as a corporate unity formerly were characterized by spiritual darkness.” (Lecturer’s translation)
(2) Adversative clause: nyn de phōs en kyriō (νῦν δὲ φῶς ἐν κυρίῳ), “However, each and every one of you as a corporate unit now at the present time are characterized by spiritual light.” (Lecturer’s translation)
(3) Command: hōs tekna phōtos peripateite (ὡς τέκνα φωτὸς περιπατεῖτε), “Like enlightened children, each and every one of you as a corporate unit must continue to make it your habit of living your lives.” (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 5:8 ends with a solemn command, which required the recipients of this letter to continue to make it their habit of living their lives like enlightened children of God.
The conjunction hōs (ὡς) functions as a marker of comparison, which indicates that the recipients of this letter must continue to make it their habit of living their lives “like” those who belong to a particular group of human beings who exist in the state of being characterized by spiritual light, which they are.
In other words, this comparative clause asserts that members of the Christian community must continue to make it their habit of living their lives in a manner which is consistent with those who belong to a particular group of human beings who exist in the state of being characterized by spiritual light, which they were.
In this command, we noted that as was the case in Ephesians 5:1, the noun teknon (τέκνον) in Ephesians 5:8 means “children” since the word pertains to a kind or class of persons, with the implication of possessing certain derived characteristics.
It pertains to a category of people distinguished by some common characteristic.
Here the referent of the word of the Christian community or in other words, regenerate humanity living during the church age.
The word speaks of the members of the Christian community during the church age as those who possess the characteristic of being the beneficiaries, recipients and objects of God the Father’s love as manifested through the work of His Son at the cross (cf. Rom. 5:6-8) and work of the Spirit at their justification (cf. Eph. 2:4-6).
Paul uses the noun phōs (φῶς) in this command and like the first time the word was used in this verse, it is used in a metaphorical or figurative sense to describe a regenerate human being who has been spiritually enlightened when the Father the declared them justified through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
Simultaneously, the Spirit regenerated them, which resulted in them receiving the nature of Christ. Also, the Spirit placed them in union with Christ and identified them with Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the Father’s right hand.
However, in this command, it functions as an attributive genitive, which ascribes to the noun teknon (τέκνον) the attribute of being spiritually enlightened.
It is used in a figurative sense of the Holy Spirit providing the recipients of the Ephesian epistle spiritual understanding or discernment from the Holy Spirit at the moment of justification.
In other words, it refers to the recipients of the Ephesian epistle receiving spiritual understanding from the Holy Spirit regarding the Father’s will for the lives.
Therefore, the expression tekna phōtos (τέκνα φωτὸς) means “enlightened children.”
The verb peripateō (περιπατέω) is employed in a figurative sense with reference to the post-justification lifestyle of the recipients of this epistle.
In other words, it speaks of the church age believer’s lifestyle after they have been declared justified by the Father through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
The second personal plural form of this verb peripateō (περιπατέω) refers of course to the recipients of this letter, who we noted many times in this study of Ephesians, are members of the Gentile Christian community in the Roman province of Asia because this is a circular letter.
The second person plural form of this verb refers to them not only as a corporate unit but also as individuals.
The latter of which is indicated by the fact that Paul is using the distributive sense of the second person plural, which emphasizes no exceptions expressing Paul’s concern for the recipients of this letter not only as a corporate unit but also as individuals.
The present imperative conjugation of the verb peripateō (περιπατέω) is a customary present imperative, which not only expresses the idea of the recipients of this letter “making it their habit of” living their lives like those who are enlightened children of God but also that of “continuing” to do so.
This interpretation is indicated by the fact that Paul affirms in Ephesians 1:15 that they were already practicing the love of God when interacting with each other.
Up to this point in Ephesians, the apostle Paul has on four occasions addressed the lifestyle of the recipients of this letter, namely Ephesians 2:4-10, 4:1-3, 17 and 5:2.
In each instance, Paul employs the verb peripateō (περιπατέω) for the lifestyle of the recipients of this epistle.
Throughout the New Testament there is a concern for the Christian’s lifestyle or conduct and the verb peripateō (περιπατέω) appears often in the New Testament with reference to the lifestyle or conduct of the believer (cf. 1 Cor. 7:17; 2 Cor. 5:7; 10:3-4).
Romans 13:13 Let us for the duration continue to conduct our lives properly as those who, as an eternal spiritual truth, exist in the state of being in the day, not by means of drunken parties, not by means of licentious promiscuity, not by means of jealous contention. (Lecturer’s translation)
Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. (NASB95)
Colossians 2:6 Therefore, just as all of you accepted the teaching concerning your union and identification with the Christ, who is Jesus, who is the Lord, so all of you continue to make it your habit of living your lives in fellowship with Him. (Lecturer’s translation)
Colossians 4:5 Each of you continue making it your habit of conducting your lives by means of wisdom while interacting with those who are outsiders so that each of you are causing yourselves to make the most of your opportunity. (Lecturer’s translation)
1 Thessalonians 2:10 Each and every one of you as well as this the one and only God are witnesses that each one of us conducted ourselves in a holy, righteous and blameless manner in the presence of and for the benefit of each one of you who are believers. 11 Indeed, just as each and every one of you are well aware of the fact that each one of us trained each one of you like a father does train his own children. 12 Specifically, by each one of us making it our habit of exhorting, encouraging as well as urging each and every one of you in order that each one of you would make it your habit of living in a manner worthy of God who effectually called each one of you into His own glorious kingdom. (Lecturer’s translation)
1 Thessalonians 4:1 Therefore, in addition to this brothers and sisters each one of us is requesting, yes urgently, authoritatively encouraging each and every one of you on the basis of the Lord Jesus’ commands that as each of you received from each of us instruction how each of you are obligated to make it your habit to live in a manner so as to make it your habit of pleasing God (as each one of you are in fact making it your habit of living) that each of you make it your habit of excelling more and more. 2 For each and every one of you are well aware of what type of commands each one of us gave to each one of you by means of the authority of the Lord Jesus 3 because this is God’s will, namely, the sanctification of each and every one of you. Specifically that each one of you for your own benefit make it your habit of abstaining from the practice of sexual immorality. 4 In other words, that each one of you know how to make it their habit of possessing their own body with regards to experiencing sanctification resulting in honor, 5 not with regards to the practice of lustful passion like in fact the Gentiles who do not know the one and only God (the Father) personally. 6 In regard to this matter, not to transgress, specifically, not to exploit his spiritual brother or sister because the Lord is an avenger concerning all these things. As in fact each of us in the past communicated for the benefit of each and every one of you. Yes indeed, each one of us for our own benefit solemnly warned of for the benefit of each one of you. 7 For the one and only God by no means effectually called each and every one of us for the purpose of practicing sexual impurity but rather with regards to experiencing sanctification. 8 Indeed, therefore, the one who rejects these things is by no means rejecting the authority of human beings but rather the authority of the one and only God who gave as a gift the Spirit who is holy for the benefit of each and every one of you. 9 Now, concerning the topic of Christian love, each one and every one you possesses absolutely no need whatsoever for any one of us to write to any one of you at this particular time because each one of one, each of yourselves are taught by God for the purpose of making it your habit of divinely loving one another. 10 For indeed, each and every one of you are making it your habit of practicing it for the benefit of your spiritual brothers and sisters located throughout Macedonia. However, each one of us are authoritatively exhorting and encouraging each one of you brothers and sisters to make it your habit of excelling even more. 11 Also, for your own benefit to make it your habit of making it your ambition to live a quiet life, of attending to your own business, of working to support yourselves with your own hands as each one of us has commanded each and every one of you. 12 The purpose of which is for each of you to make it your habit of living properly while interacting with those who are outsiders as well as for each of you to possess absolutely no need whatsoever. (Lecturer’s translation)
