Ephesians 5 walking as children of light

Three Walks Many times when the Bible talks about the way we “walk” it is talking about how we live our lives. Ephesians 5 mentions three ways we should be walking as Christians. First we will read Ephesians 5:1-20 Then over the next few lessons we will come back and discuss each of these “walks” in more detail.

Three Walks Eph 5:1 ¶ Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. 3 ¶ But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;

Three Walks 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Three Walks 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

Three Walks 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light."

Three Walks 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

Three Walks 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Paul tells these Ephesian Christians to: Walk in Love Walk as Children of Light Walk Circumspectly

Walk as Children of Light Over and over again in the scriptures light is used to represent good and darkness to represent evil. God Himself is represented as being light. 1John 1:5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

Walk as Children of Light 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. John tells us God is light (good) and there is no darkness (evil) in Him. In other words, God is completely good! If we claim to have fellowship (partnership) with God but we walk in darkness (live an evil life) then we are a liar.

Walk as Children of Light The only way for us to have fellowship with God is for us to walk in the light (live a good life). Paul in Ephesians 5:3-14 makes a comparison between those who “walk as children of light” and the “sons of disobedience” he mentions in verse 6 Let’s look as the things Paul says the sons of disobedience are involved in.

Sons of disobedience Verse 3 Verse 4 Verse 5 Verse 6 Fornication Uncleanness Covetousness Verse 4 Filthiness Foolish Talking Coarse Jesting Verse 5 Those who participate in these sins will not have an inheritance in the Kingdom of God Verse 6 Don’t be deceived, because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Walk as Children of Light Since this is end of these “sons of disobedience” or children of darkness then Paul says…. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them. Instead of living in this darkness (evil) we should live a life of light (good) 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light We learn how to live a life of “light” from Christ!

Walk as Children of Light Joh 8:12 ¶ Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.“ By following the teachings of Christ we can be converted from living a life of sin to living a life of righteousness. Once we have been converted and become a Christian we can no longer live that life of darkness. Instead we must “Walk as Children of Light”

Walk as Children of Light After telling them to walk as children of light Paul then tells them 4 things the children of light will do. First, those who will walk as children of light will bear the fruit of the Spirit. 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), This is in stark contrast to the deeds of the sons of disobedience

Walk as Children of Light Goodness, righteousness and Truth are general terms that should describe all of the actions in our lives. The only way we can know if something truly is good, right or true is if it is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. This is why they are called the fruits of the Spirit The way the Holy Spirit reveals these things to us is thru the scriptures.

Walk as Children of Light Second, Those who walk as children of light will be busy trying to find out what God will is. 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. NKJV 10 and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. RSV 10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. KJV The work of learning God’s will should be a big part of the life of a Christian. There is only one place we can “find out” or “learn” what is acceptable to God. In the Scriptures!

Walk as Children of Light The King James version and a few others use the word “prove” in this verse. To “prove” something brings with it the idea of presenting evidence. Where do we find the evidence for what is pleasing to God? Not from some council, creed, convention, dream or anything else The evidence comes only from God’s Word.

Walk as Children of Light How am I going to ever learn God’s will if I never open my Bible and study for myself? 2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. The word “study” comes from the Greek word “spoudazo” which means to be diligent, labor, put effort into with a sense of urgency. How much diligence am I putting into learning what God wants me to do?

Walk as Children of Light Part of learning what is acceptable to God comes from listening to others. When we do we must make them prove what they are teaching by the Word of God. Never accept some man’s word for what God wants us to do! Thirdly, Paul tells them not to fellowship the works of darkness 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness...

Walk as Children of Light “Fellowship” is translated from the Greek word “sugkoinoneo” According to Strong’s Greek dictionary it means: to share in company with, co-participate in, be partaker of. If we are going to walk as children of light then we can’t be a partaker in these sins, participate in these sins with others or even go with others when they plan to participate in these sins

Walk as Children of Light Walking as children of light means we will separate ourselves from these sins. 2Co 6:17 Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.“ We don’t need to think we can hang around with people who participate in these sins on a regular basis and not be affected ourselves. 1Co 15:33 Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits."

Walk as Children of Light Instead of running with our evil friends we need to spend time with others who are interested in walking as children of light. 2Ti 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. We have a perfect opportunity to do this on the first day of the week and on Wednesday nights at this congregation.

Walk as Children of Light We don’t gather together to have a good time, socialize, be entertained or have someone make us feel good about ourselves. We gather together as children of light in order to worship our God in the way He has prescribed! We need to spend time with Christians whenever it is possible. It is much easier to separate ourselves from these sins when those around us have separated from these sins also!

Walk as Children of Light Fourthly, we are to expose the “works of darkness” 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. We have a responsibility to show others these things are wrong and sinful. We don’t show what is sinful by telling others what I think, what I feel or my opinions. Instead we show what is sinful by shining the light of Truth on it (The Word of God)

Walk as Children of Light 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. I don’t have to guess whether or not lying is a sin. Because God, who is light, says it is! Eph 4:25 Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another.

Walk as Children of Light I don’t have to guess whether or not drinking is a sin. Because God, who is light, says it is! 1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. Sober comes from the Greek word “nepho” which means to abstain from wine. I don’t have to guess whether or not using filthy language is a sin.

Walk as Children of Light God, who is light, says it is! Col 3:8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. We could go on and list all types of sins, but the point is we should let God’s word expose sin for what it truly is. When we start exposing the sin in other peoples lives by the Word of God some will appreciate it but many more will not like it.

Walk as Children of Light This is not my opinion but what the Word of God says. Joh 3:20 "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 "But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.“ Some people want the light so they can obey God. Others hate it because they want to practice evil.

Walk as Children of Light Most people will reject the light of the Gospel and will spend an eternity in Hell. Mt 7:13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Walking as children of light means we must expose sin by the scriptures

Conclusion There are some responsibilities that come with walking as children of light. We must bear the fruit of the Spirit Find out what is acceptable to God Separate ourselves from the fruits of darkness Expose the evil deeds with the light of the scriptures We need to be working on all of these things every day.

Walk as Children of Light

Walk as Children of Light

Walk as Children of Light

Walk as Children of Light