I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Ephesians
5:7-14
Ephesians
5:7 Therefore do not be partners with them.
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.”
-- has there ever been a time in
your life when you were in total darkness? -- a darkness so complete that there
was not even the slightest glimmer of light?
-- I have -- one time in my life --
and although I was really young, I remember it to this day
-- when I was about 5 years old, our
family took a trip to West Virginia -- on the way, we stopped off in Tennessee
at a place called the Lost Sea -- it is the world's largest underground lake, found
deep inside of a mountain as part of an extensive cave system called Craig
Caverns
-- we followed a lighted path down
into the bottom of the cave, where the lake was located -- the guide put us in
glass-bottom boats, and we spent about 30 minutes riding on the water and
looking at the pale white fish that would come up to the boat -- he told us how
all the fish were blind because there was no need for sight in the depths of
the lake
-- eventually, we reached the other
side of the lake and we all got out of the boat and began to follow the guided
trail back to the opening of the cavern
-- as we were walking along, the
guide began to tell us about all the people who had used the cave in the past
-- from Native Americans to Confederate soldiers during the Civil War -- he
said that every one of them had one thing in common -- they all needed light
-- about that time, the guide
stopped and asked everyone to stand completely still and he had parents grab
the hands of their kids -- he then turned off a light switch that was on the
wall of the cave -- and we were immediately plunged into total and complete
darkness
-- you've heard the phrase, "It
was so dark I couldn't see my hand in front of my face" -- this was
literally that dark -- it was a pervasive dark -- almost tangible -- almost a
physical presence --void of any hint of a glimmer of light at all
-- you know, it is almost impossible
in our day and age to be in total darkness -- we have so many artificial lights
that even if there is not a light near you, you can always see a glow on the
horizon from a city or a town or even the interstate -- that’s one reason why
we can’t see the stars like we used to -- the sky is just too light and the
stars are just not as visible as they used to be
-- so, it’s a rare thing indeed to
be in total and complete darkness -- to this day, I can still remember how I
felt when the guide turned the lights off in that cave -- the moment that light
switch went off, I found myself in a darkness so thick and so complete and so
stifling and I was immediately gripped with fear and panic -- the darkness made
me afraid because it just wasn’t natural -- it’s not what we were created for
-- that’s the very point the Apostle
Paul is trying to make to the Christians in Ephesus here in these verses --
he’s been explaining to them what it means to live in the Kingdom of God -- how
we are to walk in unity with God and each other -- how we are to walk in
holiness -- how we are to walk in love -- and, here, he explains how we are to
walk in light because we are not created for darkness, but to live our lives in
the light of Jesus
-- so, let’s look at this passage
together now and see how we are to do this
II. Who We Are (Ephesians 5:7-8a)
-- verse 7-8a
Ephesians
5:7 Therefore do not be partners with them.
8a For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
-- last week, in verses 3-6 of this
chapter, we looked at Paul’s counsel to live lives of love and to avoid ungodly
behaviors -- things like immorality, impurity, and greed -- obscenity, foolish
talk, and coarse joking -- and here in verse 7, Paul goes one step further and warns
us to not be partners with those who live such ungodly lives
-- let me explain what Paul means when he says
to not be partners with such people -- what he means is that we are not to be
intimately involved with them -- we’re not to be yoked with them in such a way
that we’re following their lead and their direction
-- there’s an old adage that says that you
are the sum of your five closest friends -- in other words, you become like who
you spend time with -- you start to look like those you are intimately involved
with -- so, that’s why Paul warns us here to not be partners with people like
this because doing so will inevitably lead to us living like they do
-- now, don’t misunderstand this warning
from Paul -- he’s not telling us that we are not to have non-believers as
friends -- that we are not to associate with unbelievers at all -- that’s not
what he’s saying -- Paul understood that we have to live in this world -- that
we are constantly going to associate with unbelievers in our lives -- but he’s
reminding us here that even though we live in this world, we are not of this
world any longer -- therefore, we shouldn’t be living and acting like the world
-- so, we can be friends with
non-believers, but we should not be partners with them -- we should not be so
closely tied to them that we begin to live and to act like them -- you can be
friends with someone and not live like they do
-- how else are you going to share the
good news of Christ with someone if you don’t know them or if you aren’t around
them at work or at school or in life? -- when people see how you live your life
differently than them, they will come to see the truth of Christ in you
-- I’ve got a Christian friend who used to
work at the University of Georgia -- and, because it’s a government
institution, he had to be careful about sharing his faith -- so, at lunch, he
and a few other Christians would gather together in a small conference room for
a Bible study -- they didn’t advertise it -- they’d just go in there, close the
door, and study God’s word over lunch -- one day, he said, they were sitting
there eating lunch and sharing the word when someone knocked on the door --
they opened it, and a coworker is standing there -- he said, “I don’t know
what’s going on in here, but there’s something different about all of you, and
I want that in my life, too” -- what a perfect example of how we are to
influence those around us simply by living our lives in obedience to God
-- that’s what Jesus did -- He spent time
with sinners, but He didn’t become like them -- instead, He drew them to
Himself by how He lived and how He spoke and the relationship He had with the
Father -- and this is what caused them to respond to Him and change their lives
-- so, Paul’s not saying we can’t be
friends with unbelievers -- we just can’t be partners with them or be in close
relationships with them
-- in actuality, Paul was more concerned
about Christians who lived in disobedience -- who continued to live in darkness
and sin after coming to Christ -- than he was about Christians associating with
nonbelievers
-- hold your place right here and turn
with me to 1 Corinthians 5:9-11 or listen as I read those verses
1 Corinthians 5:9 I wrote to you in my
letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the
people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or
idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am
writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a
brother or sister[a] but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or
slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
-- believers should not be living in the
darkness, and Paul is saying we should not associate with those who continue to
do so after knowing the truth
-- that’s why Paul emphasizes the change
that should have occurred in our lives when we accepted Christ as our Lord and
Savior -- here in Ephesians 5:8, Paul says, “you once were darkness” -- the
implication here is that you aren’t darkness any longer -- that’s who you were
-- that’s how you used to live -- but you shouldn’t be living like that any
longer
-- when the light of Christ came into our
lives and brought us out of the world and into the Kingdom of God, our very
lives and nature were transformed -- in 2 Corinthians 5, we read that we are
new creations in Him -- therefore, Paul says, we are no longer to live in
darkness as we once did -- but to live as light in Christ
-- his message here is a call of
discipleship to the believers in Ephesus -- he’s reminding them of how they are
to live now that they are Christians -- he’s reminding them to stop walking in
darkness -- that’s who you used to be, he says, but it’s not who you are now --
instead walk in the light with Christ
III. How We Are Supposed to Live
-- look back at the second part of
verse 8b-9
8b
Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all
goodness, righteousness and truth)
-- do not be partners with the
darkness -- do not walk in sin and darkness any longer -- instead, live as
children of light
-- notice this doesn’t say to live
as children in the light -- it says to live as children of
light -- there’s an important distinction there -- it’s like the time my boss
said that he learned there’s a major difference between a boy being in the
band and a boy being in a band when his daughter was in high
school -- in the same way, there’s a difference between being children in the
light and being a child of light
once again, Paul is pointing out the
transformation that should have occurred in the lives of believers -- when we
become believers, we are united with Christ -- we have become one with Him -- our
very nature and character and being have changed and our lives should be reflecting
the very light of Christ -- we are His light-bearers -- as Jesus said, we are
the light of this world -- and we should be living as children of light
-- to be a child of light means we bear
His light in this world -- we carry His light in our very nature and character
and being -- and this light produces tangible fruit that can be seen by all
those around us
-- Paul says the fruit of the light
consists of goodness, righteousness, and truth
-- goodness refers to how we act -- to be
good is to be like God -- as Jesus said, “Why do you call Me good? No one is
good except God alone” -- as children of light, God’s goodness -- His high
moral character and holiness -- should be flowing through us and into this dark
world -- as children of light, we should be known by the good we do
-- to be righteous is to be in a right
relationship with God and others -- as
one commentary put it, “the righteousness of God is all that God is -- all that
He commands -- all that He demands -- all that He approves -- and all that He
provides -- the fruit of light is a life that is righteous, rightly related to
God and rightly interacting with men.”1
-- truth is the absolute standard by which
everything else is measured -- Jesus is the truth -- He is God’s word made
manifest -- and in Him we know the standard by which we should live -- by
looking at Him, we know whether something or someone is true and right or if it
is not -- to walk in truth is to walk in obedience to Christ and to share the
truth in love -- to walk in truth is to align your life to the word of God and
live lives of personal integrity
-- verse 10-14
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.”
-- how do we live as children of
light? -- what does that look like on a practical basis?
-- first, we must find out what pleases
the Lord -- in other words, Paul is telling us that we have to learn what it
means to walk as children of light -- it’s an on-going process -- it’s
something that we do from the moment we become a Christian until God takes us
home
-- a few years ago, bracelets with the
acronym WWJD started showing up everywhere in Christian communities -- WWJD --
What Would Jesus Do? -- that’s a great starting point in trying to discern what
pleases the Lord
-- as we are faced with decisions in our
lives -- as we seek to walk as children of light -- we can begin by asking
ourselves, what would Jesus do in this situation? -- how would Jesus act? --
what would Jesus say?
-- we find our answers by studying His
life in the gospels -- by studying God’s word in its entirety -- through prayer
and interaction with the Holy Spirit -- and through His church -- as God’s
people speak the word of God into our lives
-- as children of light we should be
continually asking ourselves, “will this please the Lord?”
-- the second way we live as children of
light is by avoiding the darkness -- as Paul puts it here, “have nothing to do
with the fruitless deeds of darkness” -- but live in such a way that the
darkness is exposed
-- this gets back to Paul’s original point
in this passage -- we are to avoid sinful thinking and sinful living -- we are
to stop living as darkness and in the darkness -- we do this by surrendering
our all to the Spirit of God, who will produce within us the fruit of the
Spirit, including the fruits of goodness, righteousness, and truth
-- the Bible tells us that if we resist
the devil, he will flee -- and that when we are tempted, God will show us a way
out of that temptation so that we can endure -- we are told to take captive
every thought to make it obedient to Christ -- meaning that we examine all our
thoughts and desires in the light of Christ and turn away from those that do not
align with His word
-- and, finally, Paul says we are to
expose everything in our lives to the light of Christ, so that we will be able
to walk in the light
-- what Paul is counseling us to do
here is to examine our lives to make sure we do not have darkness lurking in
our hearts -- Psalm 139:23-24 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart --
test me and know my anxious thoughts -- see if there is any offensive way in
me, and lead me in the way everlasting” -- that is the exact same thing that
Paul is telling us to do when he says to expose everything to the light
-- this is an examination of
conscience -- an examination of who we are and how we living -- how close to
the standard of God’s word are we living? -- are we the same people at home or
work or school as we are in church?
-- One afternoon, the members of a
health club assembled for a meeting on nutrition and exercise -- the dietitian
leading the discussion asked each member in turn to describe his or her daily
routine -- the first participant admitted to a number of excesses, including
overeating -- Others joined in agreement, and said they did the same
-- But one seriously overweight member
reported, “I eat healthfully and moderately, I drink moderately and I exercise
frequently.”
-- “I see,” said the dietitian. “Are you
sure you have nothing else to tell us?”
-- “Well, yes,” said the man. “I also lie
extensively.”2
-- the first step in getting healthy is
learning to tell the truth -- to see if you have any offensive way within you
-- to ask God to cleanse you of your unrighteousness and disobedience so that
you might walk in the light of Christ in all facets of your life
-- most commentators agree that the end of
verse 14 is an excerpt from an early hymn -- when Paul writes here to “Wake up,
O sleeper, and rise from the dead,” this is a call for believers to wake up
from their backsliding and the hypocrisy of their lives -- to admit their sins
and their failures -- the darkness in their lives -- and to let the light of
Christ shine on them so that they can live as children of light
-- these three steps -- finding out what
pleases the Lord -- avoiding the darkness -- and exposing our life to the light
of Christ -- helps us to become who we are in Christ -- they help us to become
children of light who live as the light of the world and as the light-bearers
of the King
IV. Closing
-- In his documentary titled, “Light On
Earth,” David Attenborough tells of an unbelievable experience of the S.S.
Lima. On January 25, 1995, as this British Merchant vessel sailed the waters of
the northwestern Indian Ocean, the seas beneath them began to glow.
-- On a clear moonless night, while 150 miles
east of the Somalian coast, a whitish glow was observed on the horizon. And
after about fifteen minutes of traveling, the ship was completely surrounded by
a sea of milky white color with a fairly uniform luminescence. It appeared as
though the ship was sailing over a field of snow or gliding over the clouds.
-- While stories of glowing seas have been
a part of maritime folklore since the 1700’s, they have never been
scientifically confirmed. But a group of scientists had an ingenious idea.
-- Using a Defense Meteorological
Satellite, Dr. Stephen Haddock and his team discovered a large luminescent area
roughly the size of Connecticut -- about 110 miles long -- in the exact area
where the S.S. Lima had reported the glowing seas in 1995 -- marine biologists
discovered that the glowing sea was caused by massive swarms of bioluminescent
bacteria feeding on large populations of algae
-- Imagine that for a moment --
Bacteria are microscopic -- they cannot be seen by the naked eye -- but when
they congregate together, the light they give off transforms the very sea and
can be seen by satellites 600 miles above the earth 3
-- if mere microscopic bacteria can
do this, imagine what the church of Christ could do if we all began living as
children of light -- imagine the brightness of the light that would shine from
us -- and imagine how this light could transform the world and dispel the
darkness in all its forms
-- if you’ve been involved with
church for any length of time, you probably remember the children’s song, “This
Little Light of Mine” -- This little light of mine -- I’m gonna let it shine --
this little light of mine -- I’m gonna let it shine -- let it shine -- let it
shine -- let it shine
-- that is our call this morning --
that is the sum total message that Paul was giving us in this passage -- to
leave the darkness behind -- to live as children of light -- and to let our
light shine before God and men so that this whole world would come to know
Jesus as we know Him
-- so, leave here today with your
light held high and let it shine -- let it shine -- let it shine
-- let us pray
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1
Precept Austin
2
Rich Cathers
3
David Attenborough, “Light On Earth” CuriosityStream.com
(5-9-16)
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