Children of the Light: Ephesians 5
Good morning! Please turn to Ephesians chapter 5.
Does anyone know who came up with the idea of street lights? In America, at least, it was Benjamin Franklin.
Franklin’s autobiography tells of the time he wanted to convince the citizens of Philadelphia to light the streets at night as a protection against crime and as a convenience for evening activities. He wanted to show his neighbors the difference a single light could make. He took a lantern and hung it from a long bracket on the front of his house. Each evening he lit the lantern. His neighbors soon noticed the warm glow in front of his house. Passersby found that the light helped them to avoid tripping over protruding stones in the roadway. Soon others placed lanterns in front of their homes, and eventually the city recognized the need for having well-lighted streets.
Part of our passage this morning is Ephesians 5:8–9
“8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
I want you to think about Ben Franklin and his little streetlight. People were attracted to its warm glow. The could walk without stumbling. And they followed his example.
Wouldn’t you love for these things to be said about you? What does it mean to be children of light? That’s what we are going to be talking about this morning. Join me in prayer.
Walk in Love
Ephesians 5 Ephesians 5 is all about teaching the children of light how to walk. First, says Paul, we are to walk in love. Verse 2:
2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Imitate God and walk in love. That pretty much sums up the chapter.
There is probably no other topic that dominates songs, movies, or the Hallmark Chanel more than love.
But for all the talk about love, what we often see in in pop culture is a perversion of true love. It’s a “love” that has been reduced down to lust.
Tina Turner had the most honest song ever written about how we confuse love and lust in our culture. “What’s love got to do with it? What’s love but a second hand emotion? Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?
The devil has made “love” a secondhand emotion. Satan cannot create anything. He can only twist and pervert what God has already created. So we grow up believing that love is conditional. I love you if. I love you because.
But then you meet Jesus, and you discover that loves you unconditionally. He values you. He adopts you. He forgives you. You don't deserve it, but he lavishes love upon you.
Now, Acts 20:31 tells us that Paul spent about three years in Ephesus. After he left, Timothy took over as pastor. Following Timothy was the Apostle John. He most likely wrote his gospel, 1, 2 and 3 John, and the book of Revelation from Ephesus. And in these writings, the word love is used 74 times. Specifically the phrase “love one another” is used sixteen times.
On a side note, no church in history has been set up for success by its first three pastors than Ephesus. Paul. Timothy. John.
But if you go to Ephesus today, it's in ruins. There is no church of Ephesus. Islam, not Christianity, is by far the dominant religion.
In Revelation 2:4-5, John wrote
you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
You have abandoned your first love. You don't love me as much as you did at the first. You don’t love each other like you did before. And maybe Ephesians 5 shows us what went awry.
Let’s look at Ephesians 5:3-7 for Paul’s second lesson about learning to walk: Walk in the light
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them;
While we can’t say for sure, based on what John said in Revelation 2, the Ephesians seem to have become partners with those who practiced these things mentioned in verses 3-7.
• Sexual immorality: The Greek word is porneia, which of course is where we get our word pornography. while watching porn is part of it, porneia has a wider meaning. It’s sex before marriage, sex outside of marriage, all uncleanness, perverse sensuality.
• Covetousness: wanting what you don't have. Did you notice Paul puts covetousness in the same category as idolatry. Why? Because you are elevating materialism over God.
• Filthiness and foolish talking, crude joking. The word foolish is the Greek word moros. Guess what word we get from the word moros. Right: Moron. Filthy talk and crude jokes make you sound like a moron.
Instead, Paul says, let there be thanksgiving. If you have something to say, Let it be thankful. Let it be edifying. Not coarse, not blasphemous, not idolatrous, not covetous, but the giving of thanks.
Because here’s the thing, according to verse 5: no one who is sexually immoral, or impure, or idolatrous has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ.
Those are some tough words. But zoom in on verse 8. Paul says,
8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
At one time you were darkness, but now you are children of light.
It isn’t that when you become a Christian you never let a cuss word slip out of your mouth. It’s not like you’ll You never struggle with lust again.
An 80 year old seminary professor was once asked by his students, “Professor, at what age does someone stop struggling with lust?”
“Not before 80,” the professor replied.
So struggles and temptations are going to be with you always. But it wont be something you continually practice. And when you do, you repent. What Paul is describing is an unrepentant, continual behavior. A lifestyle of disobedience.
In verse 6, Paul calls those who practice these things “sons of disobedience.”
Compare this to 5:1 when Paul calls those who walk in dearly loved children?” Sons of disobedience, children of light. The wrath of God is coming.
But if you have surrendered your life to Jesus, you are safe from the wrath of God. The moment you took that step
of faith, you walked out of the realm of darkness and stepped into the light, and so the idea of walking in the light, incorruptibility.
What does it mean to walk in the light? What is light in the Bible?
Light represents the presence of God. In the Old Testament, when God showed up, there was always a light show. Always some pyrotechnics. When the people of Israel were leaving Egypt, God's presence was visible in a pillar of fire by night and a bright cloud by day.
Light also represents the holiness of God. God is flawless. He is perfect. He is unique. In 1 Timothy 6:16, Paul described God as “dwelling in unapproachable light.
Third, light represents the justice of God. God will expose every secret sin. Follow along in verses 11-13:
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,
Bill Hybels, former pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, described walking through their brand new sanctuary with the contractor before it opened. He said that he had instructed one of his staff to bring a portable spotlight into the sanctuary, and as Hybels and the contractor were going through their punch list, Hybels wanted to shine the spotlight on every part of the building so they could check for any cracks or flaws. The contractor protested, “hey you can’t do that. You can’t use a spotlight. The contract states that the final inspection must be performed under normal lighting conditions.”
Why is that? asked Hybels.
“Because no construction project could stand up against that kind of spotlight,” said the builder. You have to conduct the inspection under regular lighting conditions. Turn off the spotlight.
And sometimes, we want to say to God, turn off the spotlight.
But God doesn’t turn off the spotlight. The spotlight is God’s Word. Hebrews 4:12-13
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
So when God is doing His walk-through of our lives, He is inspecting us with the spotlight of his word. Does this person exhibit goodness, righteousness, truth? Are they imitating Me? Are they walking in love like the dearly loved child of God that they are? Or are they persistently and consistently walking like the children of disobedience? Let’s shine the spotlight on his life.
It sounds terrifying, doesn’t it? But there’s good news. The writer of Hebrews doesn’t stop with verse 13. Look at Hebrews 4:14-16
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Because we have Jesus as our great high priest, we can with confidence draw near to the throne of grace! We will receive mercy. Because of the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, our sin is covered. That’s what atonement means. It literally means to cover.
But we have to expose our secret sins to God. Necause whatever we try to cover from God, God will expose. But whatever we expose before God, God will cover.
Third, We are to walk carefully. Paul says,
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
To walk carefully has the idea of walking with precision, placing your step precisely on the right place in the path.
You remember that scene in “Indiana Jones and the last Crusade” where Indy was in the booby trapped cave trying to get to the Holy Grail? The instruction was to walk in the name of God. Only in the footsteps of God . So he looks down at the floor and he sees all the letters of the Latin alphabet on different tiles. And he had to jump from tile to tile spelling out “Jehovah.” And if he stepped on the wrong tile, the ground would crumble underneath him and he would plunge to the center of the earth.
That’s a great illustration of what Paul is saying. Pay careful attention to how you walk. Walk carefully. Precisely put your foot. Take time before you just run into something and do something impulsively. Give pause. Walk carefully, making the most of the time, because the days are evil.
There was a British missionary and evangelist named CT Studd (don’t you love that name?) who died in 1930. Early in life, he was a renowned professional cricket player. But when he surrendered his life to Christ, he gave up all his wealth and fame and dedicated his life to spreading the gospel all over the world. He was a missionary to India, China, and Africa.
He wrote a famous poem. You’ve may have heard at least half of it, but the full poem goes,
Only one life, 'twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last.
And when I am dying, how happy I'll be,
If the lamp of my life has burned out for Thee.
Man, I want to surrender like a “Studd!” At the end of my life, I want it to be said that the light of Christ always shined in me!
That’s what Paul means by making the best use of time because the days are evil. Can we all agree, are the days in which we live evil?
Verse 17: Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
The Greek word for “understand” is the word suneimi (Sue-KNEE-a-mi)
It means to understand, but not complete understanding. It means having enough understanding. Knowing enough to move forward without needing absolute certainty, knowing there are risks involved.
So be careful, but don’t be paralyzed. “Understand what the Lord’s will is,” he doesn’t doesn’t mean to know the Lord’s will with absolute certainty about every detail. It means to understand God’s will enough to move forward.
Psalm 37:23–24 promises that
23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;
24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the LORD upholds his hand.
The Holy Spirit directs you. But you have to be filled with the Spirit. Look at verse 18:
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
When the Holy Spirit fills your life and controls your life, God can do his work through you, in you and through you. But when something else is filling your life, the Holy Spirit isn’t. That’s why Paul contrasts being filled with the Holy Spirit with being drunk on wine.
Remember Satan can’t create, he can only pervert what is already created. So when you are drunk on wine, you get counterfeit peace, counterfeit relief, counterfeit joy.
But when you're filled with the Spirit, you get real peace, real relief, real joy.
By the way, “be filled with the spirit” is a continual, ongoing thing. it's in the present tense. Being filled with the Spirit, continually, constantly being filled with the Holy Spirit.
You say, hang on, though. Don’t we receive the Holy Spirit when we become believers? Yes we do. Protestants have the understanding that there isn’t a second blessing of receiving the Holy Spirit at some point after conversion.
So if that’s true, why is this in the present active tense? Why do we have to continually be filled?
Think about it this way. Let’s say I go to Pigg Enterprises and Josh sells me a new car. And when I sign the contract, I get all the car I’m gonna get. I get all four wheels. I have all six cylinders, or whatever it has. Everything the car is supposed to have is mine from the moment I receive it.
But let’s say I drive it until it runs out of gas. Do I tow it back to Pigg and say, Josh, man, I bought this car a week ago, and now it's out of gas. It doesn’t work.
You have to keep filling up the tank. That’s what it means to be being filled with the Spirit. How do we do that? Paul says in 19-21 that it is by
19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
And this is the answer to the question, “Why do I have to go to church? I can worship God anywhere. I can get on YouTube and find a preacher that’s way better than James is. I can listen to a worship leader that’s way better than Josh, or is more to my style preference than Josh is. And you are right. You can.
But if you do that, you are missing something vital. Paul refers to it twice in these three verses. Do you see it? It’s the phrase “one another.”
• Singing to one another.
• Submitting to one another.
• James 5 says “confess your sins one to another.
You can't do that on YouTube. You can’t do that from your deer stand. You can’t do that by listening to KLove. You can sing those psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. You can make melody out loud and in your heart, but nobody is with you to be encouraged by it.
There is a value that you get in coming together for corporate worship.
In fact, almost anything you do in life, any endeavor or goal you set for yourself, together is better.
The first time I ran a marathon, I found a training schedule online, and I faithfully followed the plan. And I hated it. Absolutely hated it. The longest run in training was 18 miles. Do you know how bored you get running 18 miles by yourself? It was miserable.
But the next marathon I ran, I found a running group. Every Saturday we would meet for our long run of the week.
And I still hated it. Turns out I’m a slow learner! But it was better together. They encouraged me. I learned from other more experienced runners. I was accountable to them, because I knew if I missed a Saturday they would ask me about it.
That’s the church. This body of believers will teach you, encourage you, keep you motivated, hold you accountable, and help you keep that spiritual gas tank filled.
We need one another. We need to encourage one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
Let’s wrap up by looking at our 4th instruction on how to walk: Walk in mutual submission. Verse 21. is a transitional verse: submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” In the Greek, there’s no period at the end.
Everything that follows is a continuation of that phrase.
The point of verses 22-33 is what Christianity looks like at home. It talks about the relationship between husbands and wives at home. Wives, submit to your husbands. Husbands love your wives. Children obey your parents, et cetera. And there could be another entire sermon, or even a series, on this section.
But I want you to notice that that section begins and ends not talking about marriage, but about the church. “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” is referring to believers’ behavior toward one another.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t submission between a husband and wife. There absolutely is. And it doesn’t mean the man is not the spiritual head of the household. He is. But what begins this thought is “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Everything in verses 22-33 about the relationship between husband and wife points back to the relationship between Christ and the church.
Paul refers to that relationship five times in this passage. And just in case they miss the point, Paul says in verse 32: “this is a profound mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the church.”
It’s almost like Paul is looking into the future, and he sees some abusive, domineering, misogynistic knucklehead of a husband pointing to verse 24 saying, “See? The Bible says you’re supposed to submit to me!” And Paul says, “No dummy, I’m talking about Christ and the church. And if you are not going to love her the way Jesus loved his church, by giving herself up for her, by nurturing her and cherishing her, then you forfeit your right to point to verse 22 and say, “See? The Bible says you’re supposed to submit to me!”
The church is the bride of Christ, and Jesus has never treated His bride the way some men treat their bride.
Jesus loves his bride, the church. He gave himself for her. He sanctifies her, cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word. And Paul says he does this in order that he might present the church to Himself as holy and blameless without spot or wrinkle or blemish.
Jesus cherishes His bride, the church. He nourishes His bride, the church. Why? Verse 30 says its because we are members of His own body.
See the gospel here. For us to become one flesh with Christ, Jesus had to leave His heavenly Father to claim His bride. And we who were sons of disobedience have to leave our father to be united with Christ.
The reason I am opposed to same sex marriage isn’t because it is immoral, even though I do believe homosexual activity is a sin. I’m opposed to calling it “marriage” because it distorts the profound metaphor of marriage representing the relationship between Christ and ourselves. Two who are different from each other coming together as one flesh. The Greek word hetero means “other than” A same sex-relationship is two people who are the same as one another coming together. The Greek word homo means “same as.”
So I’ll let the lawmakers we’ve elected decide whether same-sex couples can be in a legally recognized relationship. But I cannot call it a marriage. If that makes me a bigoted hater, so be it. I love you, but I love God’s Word more.
And I love that Jesus is so different from me. He had to be different from me in order to save me.
[Gospel]
[Response]
