LET GOD’S SON SHINE!
Ephesians 5:8-14 - March 14, 2004 - LENT 3
EPHESIANS 5:8-14
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. 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
"Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you"
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Dearest Fellow-Redeemed and Saints in the Lord:
Today, as we listened to the words of our text, one notices the comparison of light and darkness. Today, as we heard the words of our text, we realize they are not written to all people but to God’s believer. They are written to you and to me specifically. They remind us of the change that is taking place in our life because of God’s gift of faith: a gift which we have not deserved or earned, but which has been freely given and worked in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. This gift of faith comes to us from none other than the God who made the heavens and the earth. The Apostle Paul describes in Corinthians: "For God, who said, ’Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 CORINTHIANS 4:6). Our gift of faith is precious. Our gift of faith is important. Our gift of faith comes from the Creator. What are you and I or any believer to do with that great, precious gift of faith that God has given to us? In our text the Lord encourages us to let God’s Son shine. In other words as we live our lives in a sin-darkened world, the Lord encourages us to let God’s light really shine in order to dispel the darkness.
This is what we will look at this morning. We are reminded to
LET GOD’S SON SHINE:
I. Jesus brings us into his light
II. and keeps us from the dark
I. Jesus brings us into his light.
Ephesus was a major, metropolitan area and trade center. As we have been studying the book of Acts in Bible Study, we learned that Paul spent a long time there. Because of his length of the stay there, many people had changed from their ways of darkness to follow in the way and light of the Lord. Because of the length of time that Paul stayed in Ephesus, we are told that a whole region heard about the message of the Savior. In the first chapters of Ephesians Paul discusses the fact that they were once children of darkness. But not all those dark things have changed.
Today’s text began by saying: 8For you were once darkness. They had lived in a city that was very dark with sin. Ephesus was a big sprawling metropolitan trade center where the people indulged themselves in every kind of sin imaginable. They gave themselves over to fulfill their fleshly desires and sexual immorality, because that was the way person lived. Now because the light of the glory of God had come to these people, their lives were changed. He says: 8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. In other words, they had now seen the light. These believers knew the difference between what was wrong and dark and what was light and good.
Paul says to them, 8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 10and find out what pleases the Lord. Christ had brought them into the light through the Word of Truth. Rather than finding out what pleased them, they were going to find out what pleased the Lord. It would be a challenge, because these new believers, like everyone else around them, had grown up pleasing themselves, not worrying about anyone else or anything else. Now they were to please the Lord.
In case they did not know how to please the Lord, Paul tells them how to do that. He writes: 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth.) Paul uses those terms in a very spiritual sense. Goodness is not just plain being good, but it is the moral excellence that comes from knowing God. That is Christian goodness. He says to find out and discover for themselves righteousness, not their own righteousness, nor the righteousness of some false god; but the righteousness that comes from and through and by God alone. This is the righteousness that saves. Then there is truth, not relative truth, but absolute truth; because God’s Word is true.
Those things please the Lord. Now that they were children of light would pursue those things rather than the deeds of darkness, because Christ has brought them into the light. At the very end of our text it says: And Christ will shine on you. With those words the Apostle Paul reminded these believers of the purpose of Christ’s light.
With those words, the Lord through the Apostle Paul reminds us today of Christ’s light. Jesus came as the way, the truth and the life. He came as a light shining in the darkness of sin. John tells us: "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness" (JOHN 12:46). Today, you and I sit in the light of the knowledge of salvation. It is a gift to us through faith from the Holy Spirit. Christ wants his light of faith to shine on us and in us and around us. God’s word reminds us that the light of faith–of the knowledge of salvation–is precious because it is God’s divine gift to each one of us.
During Lent we see just how much Jesus did so that we are able to bask in this divine light. We observe and hear and study Jesus’ passion, His sufferings and His final death on the cross. Then we rejoice also in the resurrection of Christ the Lord. All these events remind us how helpless and weak we are. It reminds us how much the darkness of sin has control of this world. Colossians says: "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (COLOSSIANS 1:13,14). Christ has brought us into his light, snatching us from the dominion of darkness, snatching us from the grip of Satan, the power of death and even the snare of sin itself.
God has brought us into the light so that we might let his light shine. That is what the Lord encourages us to do. This is not always easy, because the world is not looking for the light of Christ. The world is looking for our light, or the world is looking at its own light–which is really darkness. So we are to reflect the light of the glory of God which is a light in our hearts through faith. In Matthew the Lord says: "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (MATTHEW 5:16). I am sure that each one of us here let God’s light shine. For in this world which is ever darkened by sin, other will see in us a difference. They see in us honesty, kindness, joy, and contentment. That is the light that we can let shine in a world that is dishonest, mean, unhappy, and full of discontent.
Our loving Lord says, "Let the God’s Son shine," because Jesus has brought you into the light. When Jesus brings us into the light, He doesn’t stop there. II. Jesus also keeps us out of the dark
II. Jesus keeps us from the dark.
Life is going to be very difficult for these believers at Ephesus. They were in the minority. The rest of the world was going on around them worshiping the false gods. Ephesus had lots of temples built for many different false gods. These new believers had to compete against that darkness. The fact is we studied in Acts how Apostle Paul got into trouble when he exposed the false gods. The people who made the false gods started a riot, because they were going to lose so much business. Paul pointed out the truth was that their false gods were dark and the God Jehovah, Jesus, was light. This would be very bad for the businesses making and selling idols.
So Paul has to remind these believers to keep going ahead and walk in the path of light and put behind them those deeds of darkness. He describes this for us: 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness. He wanted to remind them that their former life was fruitless. It was empty. There was nothing lasting there. True, for a time it might have satisfied their sinful desires, their flesh and lust, but nothing that lasts forever like eternity. Paul tells them to avoid those fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them, but everything exposed by the light becomes visible. Paul had done that with the false gods until there was even a riot. That was the example for these believers, not to fall back into their old sinful ways, not to give in to their fleshly desires, and not to worship the false gods that they once worshiped. They were to put behind them the deeds of darkness and walk down the path of light and righteousness.
They were to be encouraged that the light would expose the darkness. The light would keep them out of the dark. Paul writes: 14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead. He describes their conversion, their enlightenment that at one time they were going to sleep in their sins and trespasses. They were dead in iniquity. The Lord God, himself aroused them from their sleep by giving them the light and letting his free gift of divine grace is planted and then flourish in their lives.
Paul said to avoid those fruitless deeds of darkness and then he describes such deeds: 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. There were many who did secret sins behind closed doors. In the cover of darkness people do all kinds of things thinking they get away with sin. During this time the Apostle Paul said it is shameful even to mention or to discuss those disgusting things done in secret.
Here, in a sense, we find a bit of difference from the time of Apostle Paul until our time, don’t we? There were some things done in secret which were even too shameful to speak about. In our day and age in our age of information, it seems as if there is no sin that is too shameful to speak about. Instead, those dark, secret, shameful sins are brought out into the open, and our society suffers. It seems that the sins that were once kept in the dark and behind locked doors are now pushed to the forefront, and our society suffers. Just by watching the news we see those disgusting things that were not talked about as headline stories. It is not just some back page in the news but brought to the front page headlines and with pictures. The worst part is the shameful things are now being accepted. These shameful things are thought to be the norms. These shameful sins are thought to be the things that enlighten people to understand. These secret sins are still sins of darkness. They are still sin! Job says: "In the dark, men break into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with the light" (JOB 24:16). In our society rather than letting light expose sin, has made sin seem like it is the light. They want nothing to do with the light that says it is wrong. It has gone so far as even leaders of states or cities have broken laws to push forth sin. Today, it is all the more important that we let God’s Son shine, that every believer boldly walks in God’s divine light.
How are we going to overcome the sin in this world? How is any believer going to overcome the darkness that seems to be enveloping our whole nation? We must stay true to His Word. We remind ourselves that as the Lord has brought us into his light, so the Lord will strengthen and encourage us and keep us out of the dark very simply with His Word. Psalm 119 talks about the power of God’s Word and the blessings of his law: "I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path" (PSALM 119:104,105). God’s Word shows us what is dark. God’s Word reveals to us those things that ought to be done in the light.
You and I then as God’s children and children of light are to live as children of light. We don’t necessarily have to be so negative and against everything, but we can be positive about those things that are good and right. Yes, we have to point out sin when there is sin, but we also get to point out God’s grace and forgiveness. We don’t do it by ourselves, because then we would throw up our hands in despair and say, "What is the use? Who is going to overcome all of this darkness? Who is going to overcome all of this sin?” Today we are reminded, yes, there is going to be darkness in the world especially as the judgment day approaches. Now the Lord also says we can throw aside those deeds of darkness and put on God’s armor of light. He says to take up the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. We are equipped to stay out of the dark, because the Lord has put around us his armor of light. The Lord equips us with His Word, with his armor of light. From Romans we read: "The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light" (ROMANS 13:12). He reminds us, yes, there is going to be darkness in the world especially as the judgment day approaches; but he says we can throw aside those deeds of darkness and put on God’s armor of light. He says to take up the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. We are equipped to stay out of the dark, because the Lord has put around us his armor of light. When the world around us and our society tries to take away the light and push to the front darkness, even if it seems darkness is winning, the Lord is still on our side. The Lord then encourages us all the more to let God’s Son shine. We do it because Jesus has brought us into his light, and we are able to do it because Jesus keeps us out of the dark well-equipped with His Word. The same Lord who created the heavens and the earth, makes this light shine in our hearts. God does so that we would have faith and makes our lives shine with his light that others might see our faith that they might see our God’s glory. Isaiah says: "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you....Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn" (ISAIAH 60:1,3). God’s word will always be victorious. It has already been victorious in our lives. God’s word has changed us from people of darkness into children of light. God’s word and God’s Son keeps us in the light rather than walking in the darkness. God’s Son shines in our hearts so that we might let God’s Son shine in our lives for others so see. Amen.
Pastor Timm O. Meyer
