Ephesians 5:8-14 * February 27, 2005 * Lent 3 * Pastor Pagels

In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:

Before the beginning there was nothing. No planets. No stars. No plants or animals. No fish or birds. No people on the earth. No earth. Just God. And when God decided to change all that, when God made up his mind to become the Creator God, he had to start somewhere.

Moses details the beginning of God’s creating activity in the opening verses of Genesis. And on the first day of creation he records for us the first spoken words in the history of the world. With a divine command, with a voice that shattered the silence, God said: “‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).

Was this newly created light visible everywhere at once? Did it start as a small spark and eventually spread? Did it have the intensity of a floodlight or was it more like a soft glow? We don’t know. God doesn’t tell us. But he does tell us that the light was good.

Light is good. We know that. Headlights allow us to drive our cars at night. Sunlight is important because without it plants wouldn’t be able to survive. We need light to read and write, to cook, to work, to do just about everything we do in the course of a day. And without it, without light in our lives, we would die.

Light is good. Paul knew that in a very special way. When Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, Paul was blinded by a flash of light from heaven (Acts 9). For three days he lost his sight, but for the first time in his life he was able to see. He was able to see that Jesus was his Savior.

That light never faded from Paul’s memory. He carried it with him wherever he went. It was somewhere in the back of his mind whenever he preached. And Paul stood in humble awe every time the Lord spoke through him, every time the Holy Spirit worked through the water he poured and the words he proclaimed, every time Jesus would shine his gospel on a sinner’s heart and declare…

LET THERE BE LIGHT

In his letter to the Christians at Ephesus Paul picks up on this concept of light. And as we study these inspired words Paul will help us understand and appreciate…

I. What light is

II. What light does

III. Where light originates

Ephesus was an important city. It was the home of the temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. But as impressive as that sounds, there was a downside. Artemis was an idol. And everyone who participated in the worship of Artemis was guilty of the idolatry and immorality and depravity that went along with it.

The sad reality was that many of the Christians in Ephesus were on that list. Paul didn’t excuse their sin. Paul didn’t ignore their sin. He didn’t say: “When in Ephesus, do as the Ephesians do.” Paul declared: “You were once darkness” (8).

The Ephesians were part of the problem. They were dead in their sins. They were born in sin. They were darkness personified. But the key word in this phrase isn’t “darkness.” It’s “were.” This becomes clear as we read on: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (8).

Sinners though they were, Paul loved these people. Paul cared about these people. He wanted them to know: “What you were doesn’t matter. What is more important is what you are. You are no longer darkness. Now you are lights. You are nothing but pure light in the eyes of the Lord.”

In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus used the same picture when he said to his followers: “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). I don’t think any of us would disagree with Jesus or Paul. Christians are lights. We are lights. The metaphor is powerful, but what does it really mean? What does it mean to be light in the Lord?

It has been fifteen years since I sat in a physics classroom. I vaguely remember some of the things we were taught about the properties of light. Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Light can exhibit both particle-like and wavelike behaviors (whatever that means).

Spiritually speaking, light possesses the following characteristics: “The fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth” (9). Goodness and righteousness and truth are somewhat abstract, and abstract concepts are not always easy to understand. For example, we might be able to point to all kinds of examples of goodness, but it is much more difficult to come up with a concise definition.

In that sense the “fruits of the light” are a lot like Paul’s metaphor of light and darkness. We know what light is. We know that Paul was equating light with faith. But how can we let our lights shine? How can Christians put their faith into practice? Paul gives us the answer. In addition to explaining what light is, he gives us some concrete examples of what light does.

All of Paul’s godly counsel falls under the general command in verse 8: “Live as children of light.” Don’t flip the switch on for an hour or two on Sunday. Don’t turn it off when you go to work on Monday. Live your whole life as a child of the light. Let your light shine every minute of every hour of every day.

“Live as children of light…and find out what pleases the Lord” (10). Another way to translate this phrase is “put your stamp of approval” on what pleases the Lord. How does a child of light do that? How do we find out what is God-pleasing? By reading His Word. By studying His Word. By learning His Word. And how do we give God’s Word our personal stamp of approval? By doing what it says.

“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness” (11). Once you know what God’s Word says, once you know what God’s will is, once you understand what Jesus did to rescue you from the darkness, you will want to stay away from it.

That doesn’t mean that you have to sell all your possessions and enter a monastery. That doesn’t mean that you have to lock yourself in your house and pull down the shades. That doesn’t mean that you can only have Christian friends.

But you will avoid compromising situations. You will carefully monitor what goes into your head and what comes out of your mouth. You will ask yourself: “Does this action (whatever it is) identify me as a Christian, or does it open a door for Satan?”

“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them” (11). This little phrase takes Paul’s line of thought to a whole new level. It is no small challenge to avoid what is wrong. It is perhaps a greater challenge to stand up for what is right.

The world talks about sowing your wild oats. God calls it immorality. The world defends a woman’s right to choose. God calls it murder. The word, “sin,” can still be found in the dictionary (I checked), but it is no longer a part of many people’s vocabularies.

If you still believe that there is objective truth in the world, if you still believe that there are moral absolutes, if you believe that there is right and wrong, if you believe that sin is dangerous and hell is real, you may be called intolerant or ignorant. But do you know what God calls you? A child of light.

A few years ago I was a counselor at a summer camp in California. The theme of the devotion one evening had to do with how God calls Christians to be lights in the world. I can’t remember the Bible passage that was used (it could have been from Ephesians 5), but I do remember the introduction.

The leader held a flashlight, and he strategically positioned about a half dozen campers with mirrors. The goal of the exercise was to shine the flashlight so that the light was reflected from mirror to mirror. It would have been an excellent illustration except for one thing. It didn’t work. No matter how hard the leader tried, no matter how many times he played with the angles, it didn’t work. And he eventually gave up.

I can remember that the devotion leader was visibly upset afterwards because he didn’t get his point across. He wanted the campers to understand that Christians are lights, that we reflect our Savior’s love in the world.

I didn’t think of it at the time. I didn’t really think of it until this week. But I believe that this illustration gone awry wasn’t a complete failure because it demonstrates another spiritual truth.

Sometimes our wills are perfectly aligned with God’s Word. Sometimes we shine like bright lights in a dark world. But there are other times when we do not. Sometimes it’s easier to say nothing. Sometimes it’s easier to do nothing. If we are honest with ourselves, sometimes the darkness looks pretty good. And when it does, the light of faith in our hearts grows dim.

Paul was right. We were darkness. And the scary truth is that there is nothing that prevents us from being swallowed up by the darkness of sin again. Nothing except Jesus. He took on the forces of darkness. He defeated the prince of darkness. And he is the source from which all light originates.

There has been some debate about the origin of verse 14. Some see similarities with a couple of verses in Isaiah (26:19, 60:1). Others believe that Paul was quoting an ancient Christian hymn. It doesn’t really matter as long as we remember that these words ultimately come from God: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (14).

Jesus came to earth to rouse people from their spiritual slumber. He proclaimed: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17). He demanded: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). He declared: “Whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).

Many people listened to him. Most rejected him. And a few went after him. They arrested Jesus. They attacked Jesus. They crucified Jesus. And as the body of Jesus was lifted up on the cross on Good Friday, it became very dark.

But in the middle of the darkness there was light. There was light on Mt. Calvary where the Light of the World gave up his life for the world. There was light because Jesus supplied the perfection that God the Father demands. There is light because the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purifies us from every sin. There is light because the love of Christ shines in our hearts.

If you have ever visited Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, there is a good chance that you passed by the grave of President John F. Kennedy, and near his grave, an eternal flame. Tour guides will tell you that this torch burns twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year. What they probably won’t tell you is that the “eternal” flame is occasionally turned off for maintenance.

What a comfort it is for Christians to know that the source of our light will never go out. God’s Word stands forever. God’s love is eternal. God’s Son is a never-ending source of light and life and hope.

With his powerful Word, God brought light into the world. And if you listen closely, you can still hear his voice, every time the gospel is proclaimed, every time a baby is baptized into the name of the triune God, every time Jesus comes to a sin darkened heart and declares: “Let there be light.” Amen.