Pentecost 14 (2)

(NIV)

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,

rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What place does music have in your life? Do you enjoy listening to music and have your favorite genres of music? Have you ever learned to play a musical instrument? Do you still play it from time to time? Do you love to hear live performances of people singing. Maybe you enjoy singing whether it is alone in the shower or with a group of people such as at church? Certainly, music is a big part of our lives and we would miss a lot if there were no music whatsoever.

The Bible refers to music from time to time and how it is used to praise God and to teach others. The first music referral is found in (NIV)

19 Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes.

At the time of the Exodus, we have a song that was sung in celebration of the safe passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea.

(NIV)

The Song of Moses and Miriam

15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

“I will sing to the Lord,

for he is highly exalted.

Both horse and driver

he has hurled into the sea.

2 “The Lord is my strength and my defense;

he has become my salvation.

He is my God, and I will praise him,

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

We are certainly aware of the musical prowess of David and how he played the harp for Saul and composed many of the Psalms. The book of Psalms has been sung by Jews and Christians ever since even though we don’t know how they were originally performed.

Jesus himself sang. On Maundy Thursday we are told that they concluded the events in the Upper Room by singing a hymn.

Here in our text, we are encouraged to sing as well.

(NIV)

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are encouraged to sing even during difficult times. Ephesians teaches us that we live in a world in which darkness and light compete against each other and we are encouraged to live as children of light. We may believe that our world is full of evil and lament “What is this world coming to?” In our study of Revelation we will read about fantastic images of just how bad things can get. Well, evil in the world is nothing new. Recall the description of evil in our text and the encouragement to rise above it.

(NIV)

8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light

(NIV)

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord.

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

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord.

8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light

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

10and find out what pleases the Lord.

The darkness was explained in the previous verses: (NIV)

10and find out what pleases the Lord.

3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Are these things still present today? We live in a society which condemns pedophiles and sex offenders but in which pornography is legal and readily available if you are over 21. Commercial after commercial fuels our greed for more and more. Filthy language is heard in public like never before and dirty jokes are often considered the funniest. It is shameful even to mention all of the examples of these types of sins as much now as it was when Paul wrote Ephesians.

Paul reminds the Christians in Ephesus that they were among those who sinned in these ways. (NIV)

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.

Application: We may realize and need to confess that we ourselves are not guilt free when it comes to committing some of these sins secretly ourselves and sometimes even openly.

But we have been changed. We have been made God’s children and we are to live as his children not only by avoiding those sins ourselves but also exposing that these are sins and still wrong even though our society no longer agrees. If we don’t, the world will continue to be desensitized and we ourselves will become calloused as to what is right or wrong.

In verse 14 we have this word of encouragement:

(NIV)

14 This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,

rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 5

Wake up, sleeper, and rise from the dead This is not a direct quote from any OT passage. Paul might be alluding to Job 14:12 or Isa 26:19; he also might be borrowing from an early Christian hymn or traditions related to baptism. Sleep is a common metaphor for death

The Bible Knowledge Background Commentary: Acts–Philemon B. Old and New Ways of Life (4:17–5:21)

For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you” (v. 14): This seems to be a baptismal hymn with Semitic influence. The first two lines constitute a synthetic parallelism characteristic of Hebrew poetry related to ethical exhortation while the last expresses the promise of Christ’s aid (Lincoln, 318)

14 This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,

It is believed that this possible song sung at a baptism would encourage Christians to live for the Lord in an increasingly sinful world.

rise from the dead,

We will always live in a sinful world. This causes a struggle for the devout Christian. We strive to live for God even though we are tempted to sin. Paul gives encouragement on how we can succeed.

and Christ will shine on you.”

(NIV)

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

We will have many opportunities to live for the Lord. Our goal is to make use of them to further his glory.

17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

We pray in the Lord’s prayer, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The Bible teaches us what God wants and we do well to seek insight from his living word and to live according to it.

(NIV)

Living for God

4 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4 They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. 5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,

Warning against intoxication and its results.

19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Emphasis on the use of God’s word. Here as it is put to music. Combining words with music is a wonderful way to memorize and to teach information to others and to encourage them. One of the first songs we learned, of course, is the ABC song. As Christians, perhaps one of the first religious songs we learned was “Jesus Loves Me”. Hymns of the liturgy and songs from the hymnal continue to inspire us today.

Some people have been gifted with great musical ability. Others have joined the choir and been asked to sing solo — so low that no one else can hear them. But regardless of our musical ability, we can all benefit from how encouraging music is as a means to encourage one another and to give thanks to God for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(Revelation)