Ephesians 5:8-14

Introduction

Marc’s Story — Went fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. They went out on a boat hours and hours into the gulf for an overnight fishing trip. In the middle of a moonless, overcast night, on that boat, the engine quit, all electricity on the boat was lost and there was total blackness all around. Complete absence of light. Such darkness can be suffocating as it envelopes us. In such moments we wear it like our skin; there is no escape from it.

Darkness — The absence of light; wickedness or evil. In our unconverted state we were not simply living in darkness but we were darkness. We were the embodiment of darkness.

Now we are light in Christ — Again, it is not that we are living in the midst of light but we have become, in Christ, the light. The Gospel has so penetrated us that we have actually become light.

There is no room for grey area here. A person is either in the darkness or light. Our relationship to the Lord determines who we are: dark or light.

The only path from darkness to light is in the Lord. We cannot do it on our own. There is no other who can transform and change us. In Christ alone is there hope for rescue from darkness into the light.

We were darkness but that life is behind us. That is not who we are anymore. There has been a change; Jesus called it being born again. We are a new creature in Christ and have become light.

When we come to faith in Christ it is the most monumental moment in our existence on earth. It is the great divide in our life.

The Great Divide — A reference to the continental divide in America. It stretches from the Bering straits to the Straits of Magellan. It separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean. Everything west of the divide drains in the Pacific and every river east of the divide flows to and drains into the Atlantic Ocean.

We should have such a divide in our life. There should be a moment we point to and say that is where the flow of my life stopped and changed direction. Hereafter everything was different and my life is now flowing to Christ whereas before it was flowing toward destruction.

So that is a question everyone should ask themselves; do I have a Great Divide Moment in my life? Paul says the answer better be an identifiable, unequivocal yes!

(There will be a few among us who have a hard time doing that. They were raised to follow Christ and as far as they can remember their heart flowed His direction. Be sure that it does! Be certain your life is light in Christ!)

Walk as Children of the Light — Once we have come to Christ and become light we should act like it. There should never be a time in our life when our behavior reverts back and looks like the behavior of someone living in darkness.

A life in the light...

A Life in the Light

Is fruitful — (This is what should be naturally happening as a product of Christ living His life in us…should define us)

Before we get started talking about what constitutes a fruitful life…we have to admit to ourselves that a fruitful life isn’t often the normal kind of Christian life.

Vance Havner — “Most church members live so far below the standard; you’d have to backslide to be in fellowship. We are so subnormal that if we were to become normal, people would think we were abnormal.”

Normal Christian living is extraordinary in the eyes of the world…and in the eyes of many who claim to follow Christ. We currently stand in need of a revival of the normal, fruitful Christian life.

Paul says this kind of living is what constitutes a life lived in the light.

A Normal, fruitful life in Jesus is one that is defined by...

Goodness — Positive moral qualities

Righteousness — Doing things God way.

Truth — To live life based upon that which is real and of God

Finds what is acceptable to the Lord — “Finding out” was a word in Greek used for soldiers tested in battle and precious metal that was proved to be genuine and valuable.

The Christian should seek to find out how God wants him or her to live life and live to please the Lord. Our love for Christ should compel us to seek God and His way of doing things. We do this the way someone might test metal to find its value.

Has No Fellowship With the Works of Darkness — This means literally that we “Stop sharing together in” the deeds of those in the dark.

Unfruitful — Deeds of the darkness are displeasing to God and unfruitful. Nothing about them will lead to anything you want in your life. They never produce any good or positive result.

Exposes the Works of Darkness — This is a tough one for some believers today. It is not enough to be Children of light and hide your life away from the darkness. We must live among those in darkness and expose their deeds. Matthew 5:14-16

Matthew 5:14–16 NKJV

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel! Our light is meant to shine in this world so those in darkness may see their life for what it is. So they might see their deeds for the unfruitful, futile, damning behavior that it is.

Our life, very existence, should cause conviction in the hearts of those living in darkness and death.

Light not only exposes the darkness but transforms it. Darkness cannot exist in the presence of light. So darkness flees from the light in us or is transformed by it.

We do not have the option to keep our light to ourselves in order to avoid the conflict of the two. We are called to put darkness to flight or transform it to light.

Conclusion

Verse 14 is thought to be a baptismal hymn that early believers would sing or shout when someone accepted Christ as their Savior. Ephesians 5:14

Ephesians 5:14 NKJV

Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”

When we come to Christ we awake from the darkness and become light in Christ. He is the Light of the world.

Paul admonishes us to “walk as children of light.” This is an active thing. We are Children of Light…God’s grace made that happen. But, to live as Children of light requires us to do something.

We must actively live our life in light of who we are in Christ. Make different choices. The real question this passage poses to each of us is a simple one, “Are the living as a child of the light?” Are you living an intentional kind of life in Christ?

Longfellow could take a worthless sheet of paper, write a poem on it, and make it worth $6,000—that’s genius. Rockefeller could sign his name to a piece of paper and make it worth a million dollars—that’s capital. Uncle Sam can take gold, stamp an eagle on it, and make it worth $20.00—that’s money. A mechanic can take material that is worth only $5.00 and make it worth $50.00—that’s skill. An artist can take a fifty-cent piece of canvas, paint a picture on it, and make it worth $1,000—that’s art. God can take a sinful life, wash it in the blood of Christ, put His Spirit in it, and make it a blessing to humanity—that’s salvation.

Are you fruitful? Actively seeking what is pleasing to God in your day to day living and doing those things? Have you broken all fellowship with darkness? Are you actively exposing darkness and leading others into a new life in the Light of Christ?