Ephesians 5:8-21
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.
The distinction between saving faith and sanctifying faith is rarely made in sermons. We are called to receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord of our lives is a giant step. Through His grace alone and with the faith He has given us, we choose against the path of self, and enter the “pilgrim’s progress” towards our Heavenly Home with Jesus as our Hope, our Savior, and our Guide. He tells us to follow Him, not simply to adopt His name, but follow our own whims and desires.
The above Scripture provides many directives about what following Him entails. It will be both edifying and enlightening to review some of these because in my 37 years being saved in New York City, many of these Scriptural directives were never mentioned in the thousands of sermons this pastor has heard here in the Big Apple.
The above Scripture begins with the words “you were once darkness, but now are light in the Lord.” These words can be very challenging. One may ask, ”How different is your life in Christ from other peoples’ lives? Do you remember when your life was different than it is now? When you are perplexed about some practical issue or a relational issue, do you find yourself praying to the Lord? Do you ask in your mind or out loud for God’s guidance and help in resolving the issue? Do you look in Scripture for a verse or verses applicable to the issue/problem you are facing?
Sometimes the Lord feels far away when we are seeking His Presence and input, but we should acknowledge that honestly, and be praying for his nearness and direction. He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us!! There are times when an answer does not seem forthcoming, but that in itself is a type of answer.
We are exhorted to stay away from “unfruitful works of darkness.” Resist them. If you are the victim of some unethical practice in your place of employment, then appeal the decision, discuss it with one’s supervisors, and do not be afraid of a difference of views or a dispute. At the same time, we don’t want to be complainers and fault finders under the guise of “having faith” or being “righteous.”
The verses prior to those at top of this article emphasize staying away from fornication and drunkenness. That is what is being referred to when Paul writes, “12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.” This directive is given in a more serious and inflexible statement and tone than the other directives in the passage. Sexual immorality – and fornication outside the marriage commitment — is I believe a form of escapism from the repetitive, humdrum nature of many of our jobs and activities. Sinful activity may provide momentary thrills, but the momentary escapism is a deception from Satan. We need to cultivate a deep disgust and repudiation of any such thoughts or activities. It is clearly forbidden in Ephesians and in many places in Scripture.
Also in a related way, Verse 18 above tells the believer not to be drunk with wine. Drinking a little wine or alcoholic beverage is not inherently sinful, but drunkenness is. The addictive mindset, irrespective of practical consequences, is antithetical to the Godly mindset. There are seventy-five references to not drinking to excess in the Holy Bible. Prohibition came into existence in the USA out of a deeply Christian mindset. But the love of being drunk was too great in the USA – the sinfulness of the body politic was too great — and prohibition was reversed.
When this writer was only 20, below the drinking age, and a senior in college, long before I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I was out drinking with some friends. As one of my friends was driving back, I sat in the back seat of the car, and as we drove by the trees in a park, I saw the trees spinning. Then I thought to myself, my eyes and brain are spinning, so maybe the eyes and brain of my friend driving this car are spinning too. We might all be dead. And the thought of death being the result of our self-indulgence was indeed terrifying, and was an early wake up call from the Lord.
“Whatever makes manifest is light” is stated in verse 13. Jesus is frequently described as “the Light.” The Quakers went so far as to see that as a central attribute of God in Christ, as they spoke and wrote more about the Light of God than about the Holy Spirit. Although this writer does not subscribe to emphasizing Jesus as the Light instead of the Holy Spirit, references to Jesus as Light can be helpful. A wonderful book was written by Ronald Nash called The Light of the Mind. In it, he emphasizes the understanding of Scripture that was developed by Augustine in the early Fifth Century explaining how the Christian mind is illuminated by the Holy Spirit.
Christ is the Light, and gives Light. An entire period of history has been called “the Enlightenment.” God is not only Light, but He gives Light to our understanding. We who are His followers are privileged to have our understandings enlightened so we are not only enlightened by Him, but also with Him.
Deeds done in darkness are shown to be darkness by the illuminating “Light” into our understanding of God’s will for our purity and spiritual perfection. Spiritual perfection is one of the most important goals for a follower of Christ. Even knowing that we will not be in God’s perfect will until we reside with Him in Heaven, it is our earnest desire to be on this path of perfection by following the lead of His Word and His Holy Spirit. Pilgrim’s Progress, another great Christian book, also reveals the joys and pitfalls on the path of perfection, and how easy it is to be diverted from it.
We are directed to “walk circumspectly.” (v.15) In essence, that means to think before we act. Weigh the pros and cons before any decisions. Even seemingly practical decisions may have an ethical dimension or a spiritual dimension, and to the degree possible, we should try to be sensitive to that dimension. A Christian history teacher in a New York City high school was told that all in his department on a given day would be required to distribute condoms to the students. The teacher was deeply offended and troubled by this directive. He deeply believed that he was hired to teach history, not fornication, as a legitimate pastime. How would he walk circumspectly? After intense prayer, he concluded he would bring a brown paper bag to school, put all the condoms in the bag, and drop the bag in a trash basket. A few days later, he took the bag to school because the day for distribution arrived. Yet, at the beginning of the day, an announcement was made on the public address system that condom distributions would not be in history classes, but would be made in a special Office of Condoms created for that purpose!!
We are told to be “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” In essence, our conversation should resonate clearly with our commitment to the Word of God and should reflect our love of Scripture and of Christ. Even in church, the sociability of the participants before or after a service or other church event should reflect a love of God and a Scriptural and/or spiritual emphasis. Even so-called “small talk” should reflect an aspiration that it be spiritualized and put in a Biblical, God-centered context as much as possible. Too often if there are snacks after a service the conversations revert to small talk and lack piety and reverence for the Lord. Whatever we say as well as whatever we do should be with an ongoing and developing awareness that we are standing in the presence of a loving God, and that the “natural” is eternally in the context of the “supernatural.”
With these points in mind, the Ephesians passage emphasizes thankfulness as the key to a spiritualized conversation, one which the Christian can implement whether speaking with born again believers, with believers who are not born again, or with unbelievers. Today’s passage states, “giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ….” Giving thanks for all things…bringing out our sense of gratitude or delight in whatever experiences we choose to share. This is to be a crucial ingredient in Christian conversation, and is what is to make us “the salt of the Earth.” Salt used to be used as a preservative. Gratitude is the antidote to complaining and hyper-criticism, and our sense of hopefulness in Christ is enhanced as we more and more communicate gratitude in our speech.
Jeffrey Ludwig
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