Today, in Ephesians 5, we will again see how Jesus's resurrection impacts how we live as believers. We were once dead, but now we are alive. We were once asleep, but now we are awake. We were once darkness, but now we are light. And now we're learning how to walk as children of the light.
Tony Merida summarizes this passage by saying, "When awakened Christians, who were once darkness but are now light, shine the light of truth and righteousness in a dark world with their words and deeds, they make visible the shameful and secretive deeds of darkness; they may also be used to help those in darkness come to the light themselves."
Let's dive in.
"[7] Therefore do not become partners with them; [8] for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light [9] (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), [10] and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. [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, [14] for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
"Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."
The first thing I want us to notice here is the transformation of nature. If you remember, in last week's passage, Paul reminds the church that the sexually immoral, impure, and covetous people "will not inherit the kingdom of Christ and God." The wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience.
Following this warning, Paul urges the church not to partner with these people. Partner implies being a fellow worker with someone. It's someone carrying out a common task with a common goal. So, the church ought to take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness. We must distance ourselves from the wickedness described here in these verses. We are to be "in the world" but not "of the world."
Why must we avoid partnering with the wicked? Because our identity has changed— "At one time we were darkness, but now we are light in the Lord."
Verses 7-8 highlight a fundamental aspect of the gospel. They teach us that a change of identity leads to a change of living, not the other way around.
The call of Christ is not to "get your life together so that you might be saved;" it's "come to Christ (empty-handed) so that you might be saved." But the one who comes to Christ for salvation encounters transformation. Something fundamentally changes in you. When you trust in Jesus for your salvation, your identity changes. You were once, by nature, children of wrath, but now you are children of God. You were once by nature children of darkness, but now you are a child of light. To confess Jesus as Savior is to confess him as Lord.
So, good works are the fruit of salvation, not the root of our salvation. They are an outflow of a new identity in Christ. Now that you are in Christ, the light of the world, you are no longer darkness but light. Our identity has changed, and now that our identity has changed, our actions should also change. We are to learn the new ways of Christ, and we are to walk as children of light. We ought to "let our light shine before others, so that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven (Mt. 5:16)."
But what does walking in the light look like practically?
Well, I think this passage shows us it's twofold: there are things we do and things we don't do.
As we see in verse 9, the fruit of light is found in all that is "good and right and true." So, walking in the light is demonstrated through good, right, and true actions. Together, these three words communicate the idea of maintaining an uprightness of heart and life. It's the act of consistently living with integrity and generosity. It's the act of doing the right thing because it's the right thing whether people are watching or not. It's a devotion to truth, no matter the cost.
Walking in the light is demonstrated through good, right, and true actions. But, it's also found in taking "no part in the unfruitful works of darkness." Walking in the light resides in an avoidance of darkness. It's avoiding selfish living. It's avoiding corrupt living. It's avoiding falsehood.
Perhaps this seems a little vague, so Paul then says we should "try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord." Discern means to carefully examine, test, or approve. It's putting something under a microscope to determine its worthiness.
This tells us two things regarding the Christian faith.
It tells us that a central element of the Christian life is trying to figure out how to honor God.
It tells us that not everything is black and white in this life.
As believers, we should desire to please God with how we live, and we should strive to please God with how we live. I'm convinced our lives would be fundamentally different if we let God's pleasure drive our decision-making. Our lives would be a bright light in a dark world if we sought to honor him in everything we did. So, we should go to God in prayer and ask him, "God, is this pleasing to you?" "God, are you pleased with the way I'm working?" "God, are you pleased with how I'm living out my faith?" "God, are you pleased with the way I parent?" "God, are you pleased with how I interact with my spouse?" "God, are you pleased with my relationship with my boyfriend/girlfriend?"
Paul then says, "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light."
By this point, we should understand the first part of verse 11. As children of light, we aim to live fruitful lives for the Lord. So, we should take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness. The way we once lived, we should live no more.
But, we should not only abstain from the sinful works of darkness but also expose them. The word expose means to reprove or convict. It's the act of drawing light upon the sinful works of darkness.
I want to take a few minutes to tease this out. How do we practically expose the works of darkness in this life?
On the one hand, I think that (given the context of this passage) we expose the works of darkness by not participating in them—your attempt to walk as the light will expose the darkness. Your attempt to live out the gospel will expose the sin of those around you.
Look at verse 11– "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them."
A tangible way we can expose the works of darkness is by taking no part in the works of darkness. We expose the works of darkness by not participating in them. When you're at work, and your co-workers are objectifying women, and you choose to honor and respect women, you're exposing the works of darkness. When you're at practice, and everyone cuts the run short, and you choose to run the full distance, you're exposing the works of darkness. When all your co-workers lie on their time sheets, and you don't, you expose the works of darkness. When all your friends are sleeping with their girlfriends, and you're not sleeping with your girlfriend, you're exposing works of darkness. When you submit your life to Jesus and seek to walk in obedience to Jesus, your life will undoubtedly stand out in a dark world, which will, in return, expose the works of darkness. One of the most convicting things in life is seeing someone walk in the light while you're walking in darkness.
But, another element of exposing the works of darkness is found in a believer's willingness to call out darkness with their words. We can expose the works of darkness by speaking the truth about them. We can expose the works of darkness by boldly, lovingly, and gently saying, "My dear friend, you are living in sin, and the wages of sin is death. There's a better way. There's hope for you. Wake up and come to the light. Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
Sometimes, silence is the answer. Sometimes it's not. Sometimes, silence could be the most unloving thing you could do for someone. Sometimes, the most loving thing you can do as a child of light is to speak the truth about the darkness in this world. But, as we expose the works of darkness, we don't do so with rude, snarky, and combative language. Your goal in exposing the light isn't to win an argument, nor is it to humiliate your neighbor. Your goal is to win a brother or sister. Notice the progression in verse 13, "When anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light." So, for someone to come to know Jesus, their sin must first be brought to light. Darkness will remain darkness until the light shines.
So, could a lack of revival stem from our unwillingness to expose darkness? Could our fear of rejection be why we don't see men and women come to know Jesus? I think it's fair to say that if we were bolder in living and proclaiming the gospel, we would certainly see more darkness become light.
Paul concludes by saying, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." Some commentators believe this is a reference to different verses found in Isaiah. Others think it references a popular hymn or an early church confession used during baptism. Here, in this confession, we find a beautiful summary of the Christian life. We were all asleep, dead in our trespasses and sins, but God has called us to life. Someone shared the gospel with us somewhere along the line, and we heard the call to wake up! And now we've surrendered our lives to Jesus. His light has shined on our hearts and lives, leading to use being a light in the world of darkness. Like Moses' face and skin shining brightly from his encounter with the glory of God when he came down from Mount Sinai, we shine bright because we've encountered a relationship with the risen Lord, Jesus Christ!