EPHESIANS 5:8-14

WALK AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT

INTRODUCTION

The last time I spoke, we covered with the topic being:

Purity In An Impure World.

Because we are saints, we are to be Pure as God is Pure.

Anyone here raised in the country?

Anyone here raised in the country?

I know JR was raised in the western part of Virginia.

When you are out in the country, away from any street lights, it is amazing just how bright a full moon can be on a cool clear night.

Today our topic will be Walk As Children of Light.

Jesus is the Light of the World.

In , Jesus says:

“… “I am the light of the world.”

John 8:12 ESV

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

He shared this revelation in Jerusalem following the Feast of Tabernacles.

There was a ceremony known as the Illumination of the Temple.

Four giant candelabra would illuminate the Temple area.

It was here that Jesus made the statement He was the light of the world.

To the Jewish mindset, this was a stark revelation.

When the nation of Israel was exiting the land of Egypt, they were led by a pillar of light.

Jesus was telling the Jews He was that light.

He goes on in to tell the people listening:

“Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Lets turn in our Bible to see how this all ties together.

Ephesians 5:8–14 ESV

8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

What is so fascinating in this passage of scripture is what Paul is saying in verse 8:

Jump back to verse 7:

“Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”

Paul is not saying you were “in darkness” but that you were “darkness.”

Likewise; he does not say you are “in light”, but that you are “light.”

This may sound a little confusing.

Listen to how Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse explains it:

When Christ was in the world, he was like the shining sun. When the sun sets, the moon comes up. The moon is a picture of believers, the Church. The Church shines, but not with its own light. It shines with reflected light. At times the Church has been a full moon dazzling the world with an almost daytime light. Those were times of great enlightenment — for example, in the days of Paul and Luther and Wesley. At other times the Church has been only a thumbnail moon, and in those days very little light shone on the earth. But whether the Church is a full or thumbnail moon, whether waxing or waning, it reflects the light of Christ. Our light does not originate with us.

R. Kent Hughes, Ephesians: The Mystery of the Body of Christ, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990), 164.

When Christ saved us, and we became “light” we were given a responsibility in our world.

When Christ saved us, and we became “light” we were given a responsibility in our world.

In our passage today there are two thoughts for us to consider:

A POSITIVE SIDE OF LIGHT (vv. 8b-10)

“Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.”

By walking as children of light, our lives will produce:

Goodness

Righteousness

Truth

Our lives will demonstrate our character!

Goodness is one of the fruits of the Spirit:

Galatians 5:22 ESV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Goodness is love in action.

Righteousness means having a right character or integrity before God and right actions before men.

Goodness and righteousness are based on truth. Which is the absence of falsehood and deception and it comes from the Word of God and the will of God.

In , Jesus calls us “… the light of the world.”

The more time we spend in the Word of God—the more luminous we will be.

Think about the solar lights you place in your yard.

If you don’t put it in the daylight, it will not shine in the darkness.

The more daylight it gets—the longer it illuminates in the darkness.

Do you want to be a shining light for Christ?

Spend time in prayer,

Spend time in the Word,

Spend time in the light of Christ.

Like a battery, if you have a positive side, you will have a negative side.

A NEGATIVE SIDE OF LIGHT (vv. 11-14a)

Ephesians 5:11–14 ESV

11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Light and Darkness are incompatible.

Spiritual darkness brings unfruitful works.

Darkness shelters evil and it festers like an untreated wound.

It becomes so bad Paul tells us:

“... it is shameful even to speak of the things they do in secret.”

There is NO shame at night.

Light as opposed to darkness promotes life.

Many plants will not grow in darkness.

During the winter, it helps to move plants to a room where natural or artificial light will help them grow.

Notice verse 13:

“But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible...”

Try changing a tire at night without a flashlight.

Or better yet:

Do you want your dentist drilling on your teeth without that bright light shining into your mouth?

Light exposes everything.

It shows the flaws, the discrepancies that are missed in the darkness.

We now come to a hard part of scripture:

Again verse 11:

“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”

What are we to do with this verse?

What is Paul telling us to do?

I believe Paul is telling us to expose the works of darkness.

How?

Kent Hughes says:

Preaching the Word: Ephesians—The Mystery of the Body of Christ Negative Instruction for the "Light" (vv. 11-14a)

This is where the going has always been rough, and it is especially so today because our culture has come to put such emphasis on what it perceives as “tolerance.” Christians who would make moral judgments are defined as “sub-Christian” or “subhuman.” The motto of modern man is, “The one thing I will not tolerate is intolerance.” According to the world, Christianity ought to be as broad and accepting as possible. And the fact is that clergy who think in this way, who baptize every form of sin as OK, become the darlings of the media. A cultured accent, a fuchsia-colored bishop’s shirt, and the urging to place condoms in Gideon Bibles will get you a spot on Good Morning, America. Our culture loves the “open-minded,” nonjudgmental, “live and let live” personality.

There is a problem with this: God’s Word tells us differently.

If the Bible condemns something, who are we to say it’s ok?

Understand, this does not give us license to run around pointing fingers at people.

But we still must expose sin.

Adultery is sin.

Lying is sin.

Materialism is sin.

Neglect of the poor is sin.

Child neglect is sin.

Sin is sin.

When we live as light, our very lives exposes darkness.

Whether it is at the office.

At work.

At school.

Even in the church.

We must be willing to risk being called judgmental, puritanical or bigoted.

If God’s Word is calling us to stand up against wrong—sin— it is up to us to be faithful.

CONCLUSION

Let us concluded with this call from Paul.

“Awake, O sleeper,

and arise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”