There are many who maintain that it’s possible to live certain portions of your life in secret. They have fallen under the delusion that they can maintain a secret life and sin without ever being exposed. Of course, these same individuals tend to be wildly shocked when they’re found out and suddenly have to pay the piper for their actions. While we see this with politicians, athletes and actors, sadly, we all know of Christians who believed they could participate in an adventurous affair or a cunning scheme only for the veil to be taken away and they are exposed. This not only brings ruin to them, their families, and their church, but also a reproach upon the One they represent.
We spent time in our last segment on the way Christians should think about sexual ethics. This included the contrast we need to exemplify by embracing God’s standard of sexual righteousness and rejecting the worlds. Now, Paul is going to address the believers in Ephesus, (and to us), to not only stay in the light and out of the darkness, but to even expose the secrets of those who are in darkness.
The Text
for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:8-14)
Shades of Kingdoms
We now enter into a familiar theme in scripture. The bible has much to say about the contrast between light and darkness. This idea of that age old battle between that which is called “light” and on the other side, that which is called “darkness”. Darkness generally being associated with realm of Satan and light being associated with the kingdom of God (Acts 26:18). Christians are said to have switched sides when their converted from a kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the Son (Colossians 1:13). Christians are sons of the light and of the day, not of night and darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:5). When Christ entered into this world, He was the personification of that light to the nations (Matthew 4:16) and in return, He spoke of those who are a part of this light would shine upon this world (Matthew 5:14) but those in darkness didn’t understand it (John 1:5). It would expose men’s hearts (1 Corinthians 4:5) and they would be judged because of this (John 3:19). But those who do believe are sons of the Light and they don’t remain in darkness (John 12:36; 46). The apostle John even speaks that if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7).
A Light Pleasing to the Lord
As Paul expresses in this verse: you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord. What we have here is the practical outpouring of that transfer. If we are the light of the Lord, as this text in Ephesians tells us, then we are commanded to walk as children of light. We are to proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (1 Peter 2:9). We are to lay aside the darkness and put on the armour of light as soldiers of that light (Romans 13:12). So what does a child of light do to walk in the light? Well, he produces fruit. Not unfruitful works of darkness as he’ll reiterate in v.11. V.9 tells us the result or definition of walking in the light which is that it produces fruits of light. These are further defined in the same verse as goodness, righteousness, and truth. Producing fruits is an outcome of planting these types of seeds and it generates these internal ethical desires. The planter is God and in return those seeds reflect His divine character (Ephesians 4:24). These characteristics need to be exhibited openly to others.
Verse 10 has its challenges in translation. The first expression “trying to learn” can either mean to test or prove something to be successful or it can mean to learn if something is successful after testing it. But to prove here is probably more closely to discerning something. It is a sort of proving the truth about something or learning/discovering it to be true. Those who had learned Christ also needed to learn what was pleasing to Him if they were to be said to be walking in the light as children of light.
Rotten Deeds
In contrast to producing the fruit of goodness, righteousness and truth, Children of light are to be omitted from participating in unfruitful deeds of darkness. These “works” of darkness were reiterated earlier in sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness, filthiness, silly talk and coarse jesting. Paul takes it further in Galatians 5 with the works of the flesh:
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:19-24)
This is what we define as “not” pleasing to the Lord. In contrast to not participating in these works of darkness, Christians are to expose them. They are to expose them with the light (v.13). But note that Paul is not necessarily pointing to an exposing the people participating in these deeds, but the deeds themselves.
Shame
Paul now describes why these works should be exposed, mainly that they are so disgraceful that they shouldn’t even be spoken of. The level of shame that these sins are by nature is described as those that are done in secret. People who participate in these deeds are not doing so out in the open. If they are by nature those types of sins that are so detestable that they require darkness to contribute, then their mention should be abstained from among the people of light. This is very much a repetition of what the apostle wrote earlier in 5:3.
The Christian Flashlight
Exposing them will happen by not participating in these deeds and by walking in the light. But many commentators have taken this further by arguing that the text is also telling us how to transform darkness into light. The idea here of all things becoming visible is that the light brings clarity upon the sins of darkness. Those things hidden are suddenly exposed by the light. But, once again, Paul takes it further by arguing that everything that becomes visible is light. When God’s light shone in our hearts, it revealed the deeds of darkness within it (2 Corinthians 4:6) but now, the believer’s life testimony of light reveals the deeds of darkness to others. This is why it is so important that Christians keep themselves from participating in the same deeds as unbelievers. This is why Christians flirting with one another or a Christians laughing at a dirty joke, brings darkness to the light. But if a Christian brings light to the darkness, that darkness can turn into light. It transforms the darkness in a man’s walk.
The Christ Who Shines
Now we get to a very challenging verse which seems by its introductory words is a quotation. Some have attributed the citation to an early Christian hymn with reference to baptism while others point to two verses in Isaiah mainly of Isaiah 26:19 & 60:1-2.
Your dead will live;
Their corpses will rise.
You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy,
For your dew is as the dew of the dawn,
And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits. ( Isaiah 26:19)
“Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
“For behold, darkness will cover the earth
And deep darkness the peoples;
But the LORD will rise upon you
And His glory will appear upon you. (Isaiah 60:1-2)
While there is certainly evidence that this could be a baptismal hymn, there is better evidence that Paul is using the content of these two passages to make his point. There is enough connectivity between the Isaiah passages and Ephesians to recognize a thematic parallel. Of course, it could very well be that this is a hymn based upon those two Isaiah passages.
The point here is that of those who are sleeping, dead in their dark deeds, to awake and arise from the dead. These are being called to turn from these deeds and come to the light. But in this instance, while the stronger interpretation would be that he’s calling those to testify of the light so that the light might convert those in darkness, it could also be a means to call the church who is struggling with internal sins to awake and repent from them.
The Moncton Herald 