Living Right In A World Gone Wrong…Studies in Ephesians
Ephesians 5:8-14
Will you please close your eyes, bow your heads, and join me in prayer?
[During prayer, all lights OUT.]
Lord Jesus, You are our Beautiful Savior – Wonderful Counselor, clothed in majesty, Lord of History, you’re the way, the truth, the life – Star of the morning, glorious in holiness, you’re the Risen One, heavens champion, and You reign over all. King of kings, reign in our hearts. Forbid it, Lord, that we would sing such moving lyrics, and not live such a vital reality. Keep us from the most common form of hypocrisy – singing rich spiritual truths that have no personal practical application in our lives. Be the Lord of our lives – the king of our hearts – our beautiful Savior. Amen
Imagine opening your eyes one morning after a nights sleep, and seeing no light. You open your eyes expecting to see the subtle, gray tones of your room – that little bit of light that slips in from the night light in the bathroom, or softly glows from around the edges of your drawn window blinds – but instead all you see is utter darkness. Darkness. You close your eyes again and open them, expecting to see some difference, some faint glimmer of light, but there is none! You are in total darkness.
In September, 1939, just before the outbreak of WWII, Britain was blacked out. The Air Ministry was certain that Britain would be exposed to sudden night air attacks that would cause high civilian casualties and mass destruction from enemy bombers. The bombers would come at night so they could not be seen, and shot down. To counter this threat it was widely agreed that if man-made lights on the ground could be put out then the enemy would find it difficult to navigate and pinpoint their targets. It was believed that if Blackout controls were introduced, it would make the enemy bombers’ job more difficult. The Blackout imposed on all civilians in all cities was absolute. No slivers of light, no see through curtains, no car headlights. Even the red glow of a cigarette was banned outdoors
[Light a single match, then a candle]
British studies showed that on a clear, dark night the glow from a single lighted match could be seen for twenty miles from the air. Britain was plunged into complete darkness.
[House lights up gradually – first sconces, then recessed lights, then spots]
Light has amazing qualities. It bends around corners, slips under doors, penetrates any crevice or opening. In a dark room, even the smallest light will reveal an object. A single candle in a large dark room will provide comfort to a child and his parents alike.
Where the light goes, darkness is dispelled, revealing the true nature of life.
Light reveals.
It illuminates.
It celebrates.
It announces. (Just go to Vegas!)
It sells.
It comforts.
It warns.
It directs.
Light even keeps us mentally and emotionally balanced.
When we are in a dark place, we are drawn toward any source of light. It gets our attention, it provides comfort, it chases away fear. Why would anyone choose to live in darkness?
We have been doing s study of a letter that the Holy Spirit inspired a church planter named Paul to write to a church in the city of Ephesus. Today we have the letter preserved for us in the Bible as the book of Ephesians. We’ve entitled our study, “Living Right in a World Gone Wrong,” because that’s what the book is about at its core. In the first three chapters, Paul lays a theological foundation, and in the final three chapters he builds a practical application. He begins that section by stating, in chapter 4, verse 1, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called…” That “worthy walk” is described in the remaining three chapters of the book.
In chapter 5, verse 1, Paul gives us a little more focused idea of what he means by “walk a walk worthy” of the calling you have received. He says, “Therefore be imitators of God, as dear children.” We are to walk a walk that mirrors our Heavenly Father – like a child mimicking their father, we are called to mimic God. Last week we saw that the imitation of God includes walking in love, from verse 2. We saw that the love of God is sacrificial and giving – placing the loved one ahead of ourselves – as opposed to the distorted picture of “love” in the world – an immoral, obscene lust for flesh that is passed off as “love.” That twisted definition of love has no place in the life of a person who is set on imitating God – living a life that is worthy of the calling we have received.
Today we see a second characteristic of a life that imitates God. Paul says in verse 8, “You once were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.”
I want you to notice that first sentence. Paul writes, “You once were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” The first thing that stands out is the contrast – what we were, what we are. Folks, this is what faith in Christ is all about. Please don’t mistake the Bible, the church and this faith as religion. What we are doing here is not religion – it’s transformation! It’s re-creation. This is not about bad people trying their best to better themselves by becoming religious, and following a bunch of rules. There are plenty of “religions” out there in the world – asking their followers to jump through all kinds of hoops, pay all sorts of prices, even mutilating or killing themselves to earn God’s favor – that, folks, is religion – it’s doing things to gain God’s favor.
What Paul is writing about, and what this book is about, is the complete reconstruction of a life – a completely new beginning. That’s why Jesus called it being “born again.” It’s a whole new life – a brand new existence. “We were once darkness, but now we are light.” Can there be a more stark difference than darkness and light? Introduce even a little light in to darkness, and the change is dramatic and unequalled.
The Bible says that when a person trusts in Jesus they are a new creation – that’s not something we do – that is something that is done to us! God does the work – we are the recipients of His grace and love. That’s why Paul is caught up in a great statement of worship at the very end of chapter 3, when he writes,
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen!
Our worship should be a similar overflow of gratitude and awe at such an amazing God. Christianity is the religion of new beginnings - the ultimate do-over – our past is gone! No matter how dark it was, no matter what we did, we are made new.
But notice one thing more – Paul doesn’t say, “You did dark things,” or “You were in darkness,” no, he says, instead, “You were darkness.” In our lives before Christ, we are darkness – the darkness isn’t just around us – it is in us![i] In light of the events this week surrounding the murder of Teresa Halbach, it’s not difficult for us to believe that there are some people who are, indeed, darkness. Not just living in darkness, but darkness in and of themselves. Paul tells us, however, that each of us, before coming to Christ, were just as much lost in and part of the darkness of this world. Each of us is born in sin – we all have sinned – and just because our sins never escalate to the level of Steven Avery and his murderous legacy - we are no less darkness and unholy before God. Our only hope is to be completely re-created – transformed from darkness into light.
And that is exactly what God does for us – look at the rest of the verse – “but now you are light in the world.” Again, we are not “in” the light – we “are” light in the world! This does not mean that we now ARE God – not at all – but it means that in a dark world, we are the source of the light of God. Donald Gray Barnhouse put it this way, “When Christ was in the world, He was like the shining sun. When the sun sets, the moon comes up. The moon is a picture of believers…we shine, but not with our own light. We shine with reflected light…Our light does not originate with us.”
Paul says, “You are light in the world,” then he continues, “Live as children of light.” In your programs you will notice that I changed the title of this message. In the program it reads “Walk in Light.” But I changed it to “Walk as Light.” We are called to live a life that is consistent with our new nature. Unlike “religion,” where the standards and rules are imposed from some external source, Paul calls us to simply live a life that is consistent with our new nature. He is saying, “Be who you are! You have become light. You are children of light, people whose very nature is light.”[ii] Now, live like it!
That complete sentence says, “Live as children of light,” then, after a brief parenthetical statement that we’ll come back to in a moment, it says, “and find out what pleases the Lord.” The fact that the light of God has been given to us, and is reflected by us, does not free us from the responsibility of using our heads, and making right choices. We are charged to discover and then do those things that please God.
If we claim to believe in Jesus Christ, to have accepted Him as our Savior and Lord, then our behavior must match that belief. The motivation here is not to earn God’s favor – but rather out of gratitude for, and as a result of our new life. Our desire is to please Him – our goodness, righteousness and truth – the fruit of light in verse 9 – do not come from rules or regulations – they come from a desire to please our Father. It is a natural outgrowth of our re-creation in Jesus.
Do you remember when I said that we are light in the spiritual world just as the moon is light in the physical world – it reflects the light of the sun? The only time the moon is unable to be that light is when the light of the sun is blocked by the world. When the world comes between the sun and the moon, the reflections stops.
In the same way, when the world comes between us and the source of light, we stop reflecting that light, and we cease being light in the world. Paul ends this passage by calling out to the people of the church, “Rise up, O Sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Wake up, church – rise above the junk of this world, and allow Christ to shine on you so that you can be the light that you are.
The obvious response to this section of Ephesians is a call to examine ourselves under the light of the Holy Spirit, asking Him to reveal the areas of sin in us so that we can be free of them and live as God desires, so that we can live as children of light in a very dark world.
The call to repentance comes alongside a call to obedience – we repent of the sins of the past and at the same time commit to living obediently in the power of God. I’m going to ask us to do this as we prepare for communion. Re-read the passage quietly on your own, asking the Holy Spirit to point out the areas where you are living in disobedience, and then repent of them and commit to live obediently in the light of God.
Prayer: Father, you have made it possible for us to be light in this world – to live as children of light and please you. Lord, I pray that you would allow your light to break forth in the hearts of every person here to reveal the steps that each one needs to take to be that light. For some, it means a first time decision to follow you. For others, it means turning our backs on sin in our lives and living in obedience. By your Holy Spirit, shine your light on us, and help us to reflect your light in a dark world. Amen