Our identity, our activity, our outreach

A common theme in scripture is darkness and light:

Jn 1:5 says: God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

The very first description of our world was that darkness was over the face of the deep. And God said, “Let there be light.”

The very last description in Rev 22:5 says: And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Gen 1:3-4 could almost be a summary of the entire Bible. This verse says: And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 2 Cor 4:6 says: For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The metaphor of light is used for the word of God (Ps 119:105), of Jesus (John 1:9), and of the saints (Matt 5:14-15). Light is something we depend on for everything.

Paul uses LIGHT to tell us about

WHO WE ARE (OUR IDENTITY)

[Vs 8 For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.]

This verse is not say you walked in darkness or that you were in darkness, although they are both true. Here He is saying “you WERE darkness.” The core of the discussion is not how you walk but who you are. Who you are dictates how we behave. He is not telling us to become something we are not but to act in accordance with who we are.

Imagine a royal banquet where all the nobles were invited and if you as a lowly servant went and sat at a seat of honour. Imagine what people would be saying. But if the doors opened, and the Prince came in, no one would object, if He sat at the place honour. In fact if he sat at any other place, people would be offended. The King would expect the prince to sit in a place of honour. The gospel is that the servant has become the son. When we do not act like we are, we cause offense.

We can become arrogant thinking that we who were slaves have become sons. Actually we were not a slave in the Kings house, We were a rebel in the dungeon of the enemy. We were saved from the gutter to the table. So we do not respond with arrogance but worship. Paul wants us to know where we have been saved from and where we have been saved to. Who do you think you are, Christian?

Is there a metaphor showing greater difference than between darkness and light. Paul is trying to make the clearest distinction he possibly can, just as scripture has from the beginning. Sometimes after we become Christians, we may feel that not so much has changed. He wants us to understand that the change that has happened is not from our fallible vantage point, but from God’s. Now we have the love of God in us that we did not have before. Now our hearts that were made of stone have been replaced with a heart of flesh. Our throats that were an open grave now sing His praises. Spirits dead and bound for hell have now been resurrected. Once we were darkness but now we are light.

HOW WE WALK (OUR ACTIVITY)

[Vs 8b-10 Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.]

Paul continues to use the metaphor of light, changing it slightly. We walk in the light. Paul uses the word “walk” in this epistle several times. Walking in love, walking in light, walking in wisdom.

There is a word here that is hard for Christians. It is the word TRY. “Try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.” We have to use this word correctly. If we say we are saved BY trying, it is heresy, for we are saved BY GRACE. We are not saved THROUGH trying either. Trying is not a step in the process to justification. We are justified THROUGH FAITH. But you are saved FOR TRYING. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. He has saved us so that we may sweat and try and walk.

We have to try to find what is pleasing to God. And Paul tells us that what is pleasing to God are things that are good and right and true. It used to be that just by living according to the culture you could have a fairly good standard of morality. Not anymore. What is good is declared bad, what is right is wrong, and what is true is taught to be false. We are called to discern what is pleasing to the lord and live accordingly.

HOW WE SHINE (OUR OUTREACH)

[Vs 11-14 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. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, / and arise from the dead, / Christ will shine on you.”]

It would be easy for Christians to withdraw from the world and just live in total separation. But while we are called to be distinct from the world, we are not to separate from the world. The analogy of a boat on water is helpful. The boat must stay on the water, but the water must stay out of the boat. A boat filled with water will sink, but a boat safely tucked away in the garage is no good either.

How are we to expose the works of darkness? Does God want us to go around telling people about their sin. Vs 11 is not an isolated verse. In other words, the light we are to shine on works of darkness is not the light of our righteous condemnation. When you condemn a sin, it does not suddenly become light. He is telling us to expose people to the Light of Christ by the proclamation of the gospel.