Life Ministries

“Walk in the Light”
Ephesians Study - 6:10-18

    Well, I'm still in Ephesians, and in Chapter 4 verse 1 Paul calls us to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received”…And, from verse 2 through the end of the letter, chapters 5 and 6 - he tells us what living such a life entails.

    We have talked about living within the unity of the Spirit which consists of the seven “ones” of the doctrine of the true church of Christ; ( One body; one Spirit; one hope; one Lord; one faith; one baptism; one God.) … Paul says that WE are to “make every effort” to keep this unity… Where else have we heard these words? “Make every effort” …. “to add to your faith…”…( 2 Peter 1:5 ) “goodness; knowledge; self-control; perseverance; godliness; brotherly kindness; and love”… “For if you do this in increasing measure, it will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive”. I think Paul and Peter were on the same wavelength as it concerns the way our attitudes and actions affect our witness; which in turn affects the whole church, the body!
    Beginning at verse 17 of chapter 4 - Paul becomes very abrupt; very matter of fact; very blunt… “So I tell you this, and INSIST on it in the Lord”…“You must no longer live as the Gentiles do!”…Today we might say “as the world lives” ( What “world” am I talking about? Both the system and the people of the system who are without the knowledge of God and Christ.)
    Let’s pick it up at Verse 22-  “put off your old self” and “put on the new self”…Who is doing the “putting off and putting on?  We do!
How do we “put off the old self”? How do we “put on the new self?” What does it take?
Verse 25 - “Therefore” ….
1.     Put off falsehood…. Or pretense.
2.     In your anger, do not sin…This is a part of self-control; being able to control anger.
3.     Do not steal…but work that you may have something useful to share. (Unselfish motive)
4.   No unwholesome talk. (Only things that build others up - and those who are listening!)
5.   Do not grieve the Holy Spirit…(all of these things we need to “put off” grieve the Holy Spirit!)
6.   Get rid of; bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, and slander, and every form of malice…(Instead, be kind,   compassionate, and forgiving. )
7.   Be imitators of God, and live a life of love. (Ask the question - Would you say that in the resence of God? Would you do that in the presence of Jesus? Well, guess what, we do!
8.   NOT EVEN A HINT of sexual immorality…How much is O.K.? - Or of impurity, or greed, (they are improper) Nor; obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking…(out of place for a Christian.)

Now, let’s combine verses 8-10 with 15-17  “For you were once in darkness, but now you ARE light in the Lord. Live as children of light… and find out what pleases the Lord.” … “Be very careful then how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity…Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is”.

    Let me repeat that first part again- “For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light.” There is a contrast to who we once were and who we are now. It is not a contrast of where - but who. Some perhaps did not formerly walk in darkness but were in darkness nevertheless. Now, it’s not that we are in the light but we ARE the light. Those are powerful words.
    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, the Church. The church is to shine, but not with its own light. It shines with reflected light…Our light does not originate with us’. Our job, like the moon, is to reflect light. IF we do not then things really can be dark.”
    When is the only reason the moon does not reflect the light of the Sun? Only in an eclipse, when the world gets in the way. We stop reflecting light when the world blocks our way.
Verse (9) – “for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth. The light has fruit within it. That which naturally develops out of its existence. Three are mentioned by Paul and three which are quite opposite of the things mentioned earlier;
1) GOODNESS: This refers to ‘moral excellence’. It is the same word Paul uses to describe a ‘fruit of the Spirit’ in Galations 5:22. It is best described as ‘love in action’.
2) RIGHTEOUSNESS: This is the idea of living in integrity before God and man. Paul told Timothy to ‘Pursue righteousness’(1 Timothy 6:11) and John said “whoever ‘practices righteousness is born of Him’ (1 John 2:29)
3) TRUTH: The absence of deception or falsehood or hypocrisy!
    I once heard about a man who went golfing with a foursome that included Billy Graham. After the last hole he was asked what he thought about Reverend Graham. He angrily responded, ‘I don’t need anybody like Billy Graham ramming religion down my throat’. It was later understood that Billy Graham had not spoken one direct word to this man about anything religious, but his very life reproved and convicted the man.
“Live a life worthy”…“Imitate God”…“with not even a hint of these things” says Paul.