17. Eph 5:7-14 The Seven Walks that Shape Ephesians —Walk in the Light
- Paul uses the command to Walk to organize the structure of the letter in a very helpful way.
- This time we look at the 6th Walk: Walk in the Light
Play Audio:
The Seven Walks that Shape Ephesians —Walk in the Light
— Ephesians 5:7-14 (Part 17 of series) — Andrew Fountain: Oct 1, 2023
Video cover image by Pablo Heimplatz Upsplash
Live out of your New Identity: Walk in Light
- A Closer Look at the Seven Walks that Shape Ephesians
- Walk in the Light—What this means
- The Song in v.14
7 Word Summary
Live Your Identity: Walk in the Light
1. A Closer Look at the Seven Walks that Shape Ephesians
Seven “Walks” in Ephesians
- Walks 1&2 —Foundation of Identity :
- You once walked in sin & death [2:2]
- God’s incredible love [2:4]
- You’re a new creation, new walk [2:10]
- The second half of Ephesians builds on this foundation
- Ephesians is all about our identity
- This foundation is so important that I want us to read some of it again
- See the two contrasting walks, and the key thing that makes the difference
Walk 3 —A new model for the church
- Introduces the incredible goal Christ calls us into:
- [4:1] …walk worthy of the calling you’ve been called into:
- [4:1] until we all attain:
- to the unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God
- to one mature adult
- to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ
Walks 4,5,6,7
Live out of your new identity
- you must No Longer Walk... [4:17]
- take off the old self, belonging to your former behavior [4:22]
- be renewed by the Spirit in your mind [4:23]
- put on the new self created after the likeness of God [4:24]
- Walk in Love [5:2]
- Walk in the Light [5:8]
- Walk with Care and Wisdom [5:15]
- So Paul uses the word walk as a tool to lay out the book
- We start with a Foundation of our new identity 1 & 2
- Then we have a new vision for the church community 3
- Then we have how this plays out in practice
- Today we are going to do Walk 6
- The rest of the book (last 1½ chapters are examples of 5 and 6 in practice
- So that is how Ephesians fits together!
2. Walk in the Light—What this means
Ephesians 5:7-14
- μὴ οὖν γίνεσθε συμμέτοχοι αὐτῶν· Therefore do not become fellow sharers with them;
- ἦτε γάρ ποτε σκότος, νῦν δὲ φῶς ἐν κυρίῳ· For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
ὡς τέκνα φωτὸς περιπατεῖτε Walk as children of light
- – ὁ γὰρ καρπὸς τοῦ φωτὸς ἐν πάσῃ ἀγαθωσύνῃ καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ ἀληθείᾳ for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true,
- δοκιμάζοντες τί ἐστιν εὐάρεστον τῷ κυρίῳ· discerning what is pleasing to the Lord.
- καὶ μὴ συγκοινωνεῖτε τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς ἀκάρποις τοῦ σκότους, Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness,
μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἐλέγχετε, but instead expose them.
- τὰ γὰρ κρυφῇ γινόμενα ὑπ’ αὐτῶν αἰσχρόν ἐστιν καὶ λέγειν· For the things done in secret by them are shameful even to mention.
- τὰ δὲ πάντα ἐλεγχόμενα ὑπὸ τοῦ φωτὸς φανεροῦται, But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes illuminated,
- πᾶν γὰρ τὸ φανερούμενον φῶς ἐστιν. for anything that becomes illuminated is light.
διὸ λέγει, Therefore it says:
‘Έγειρε, ὁ καθεύδων, “Wake up, O sleeper,
καὶ ἀνάστα ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, and rise up from the dead,
καὶ ἐπιφαύσει σοι ὁ Χριστός. and Christ will shine on you.”
Translation and structure by Andrew Fountain
Good and Right and True
- “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever”
- “A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he” (Deut 32:4)
- “Truth” is an additional attribute of God that should characterize the speech and lifestyle of every believer.
Ephesians by Clinton Arnold
Believers must make a concerted effort
-to eliminate every form of sexual immorality from their lives,
-to develop a proper attitude toward money that involves curbing the appetite to acquire more and more,
-and to clean up all forms of crude, sexual humor from their daily talk.
These are the three key areas of moral development that Paul focuses on in this section of the letter.
Arnold cont’d
They are relevant to Gentiles coming to Christ from anywhere in the Roman world. One does not need to read long in the Roman writers of that era (e.g., Suetonius’s biographies of the twelve Caesars from Julius Caesar to Domitian) to see how these were lifestyle problems in every strata of ancient society.
Ephesians by Clinton Arnold
I am writing this in a city that is less than thirty miles away from Hollywood, California. I cannot think of three exhortations that could be given to the contemporary church of southern California (and perhaps the entirety of the USA and beyond) that could possibly be more relevant than these. The influence of the media—from movies to sitcoms to talk shows—has profoundly impacted the practices of believers in each of these areas.
1. New Identity
Believers are no longer to regard themselves as dark and depraved people, but as possessors of an entirely new nature. They are light. This new identity is predicated on their union with the Lord Jesus Christ; that is, “you are light in the Lord” (5:8). Here and throughout the letter, Paul knows the crucial connection between how believers think about themselves and how they behave.
2. Developing New Lifestyles
- Our new identity in Christ demands that we renounce these practices and develop lifestyles that are consistent with who we now are in the Lord.
- Although Christians are not called to isolate themselves from the world, they are called to live differently than their non-Christian friends and acquaintances.
3. Being a light
- Helping Fellow Believers
- We are responsible for helping fellow believers get rid of sinful and inappropriate practices.
- Does “being a light” only refer to other Christians?
Matthew 5
- “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
- Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
- In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
3. The Song in v.14
Isaiah 9
- The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined.
Isaiah 60
- 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 thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
- Nations will come to your light,
and kings to your shining brightness.
- Raise your eyes and look around:
they all gather and come to you;
your sons will come from far away,
and your daughters on the hips of nursing mothers.
- Then you will see and be radiant,
and your heart will tremble and rejoice...
Isaiah 60
- Violence will never again be heard of in your land;
devastation and destruction
will be gone from your borders.
You will call your walls Salvation
and your city gates Praise.
- The sun will no longer be your light by day,
and the brightness of the moon will not shine on you.
But the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
- Your sun will no longer set,
and your moon will not fade;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
the days of your sorrow shall be ended.
- Light is a person—let him shine on you!
John 8
- “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”
2 Corinthians 4
- God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ
7 Word Summary
Live Your Identity: Walk in the Light
Awake O Sleeper - Robert Evans
Awake O sleeper, rise from the dead
and Christ will shine on you x2
In the full light of day,
In the light of the Lord
Christ will shine on you x2
Into this dark world I have come as a light
that whoever believes into me
should never remain in this slumbering darkness
for I am the Light of Life
At the dawn of the day
rising up in your hearts
shines the bright Day Star
Updated on 2023-10-08 by Andrew Fountain
Last updated on 1 Oct 2023
Published on 1 Oct 2023