Ephesians 5:8, 11, 14 NLT‬
[8] “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!..
[11] Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them….
[14] for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

Since the Hebrew people did not understand life in abstract concepts, (expressed in their language), we must understand the meaning of the symbols, ‘darkness’ and ‘light’, from their perspective.

Hebrew people would have asked, not, “What are the properties of light?” but, “What does light do?” Light reveals and exposes. Light shows us what is around us but it also exposes what darkness hides.

God is light, and the source of light. Whatever God is and whatever comes from Him, flows from His character. We know that God is good. Therefore, light must be connected to His goodness. Light for us, then, would refer to the qualities of goodness that, in His children, reflect who He is.

‭Genesis 1:3-5 NLT‬
[3] “Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. [4] And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. [5] God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.”

‭John 1:4-5 NLT‬
[4]” The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

Natural light came from God in the beginning, separating day from night, but natural light also symbolises something more. Let’s look again at Genesis 1:4.

What is this ‘light’ to which Genesis and John refer? Since the sun, moon, and stars were only created on the 4th day, light in Genesis 1:4 must mean more than mere physical light.

In his prologue to his gospel, John picks up the theme, describing the Son, Jesus, as God’s instrument for bringing ‘light’ into the darkness in the world, adding the dimension of enlightenment.

So, how can we understand the meaning of this symbol of ‘light’ that Paul uses in Ephesians 5?

Many verses in the Old Testament give us clarity. Psalm 119, in particular, is full of references to God’s Word as the source of our ‘light’, our understanding.

‭Psalms 119:130 NIV‬
[130] “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”

‘Simple’ here can mean ‘open-minded’.

Psalms 119:105 NLT‬
[105] Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

In God’s Word, we find our source of knowledge and understanding for living lives that reflect the nature and character of God. The Bibles tells us, who God is, who we are, and what we need to live clean lives by obeying His Word.

‭Psalms 119:1-3 NLT‬
[1] Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. [2] Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts. [3] They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths.

‭Psalms 119:9 NLT‬
[9] How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word.

‭Psalms 119:35 NLT‬
[35] Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.

God’s Word is also truth.

‭John 17:17 NLT‬
[17] Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.

‭1 John 1:7 NLT‬
[7] But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

Since Jesus is God’s Word in person, He always, only, ever lived in obedience to God’s Word.

‭John 8:28-29 NIV‬
[28] “So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. [29] The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”

His life on earth shows us how to live in the light, and His Spirit gives us the power to do so.

John 8:12 NLT‬
[12]”Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 1:4-5 NLT‬
[4]”The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

In simple terms, then, with Jesus as our model, and the Holy Spirit as our source of power, we can live by the instructions in God’s Word rather that by our sinful desires.

Once we understand the meaning and source of the light by which we are to live, we can get to grips with the meaning of ‘darkness’.

Physical darkness is not the opposite of light as though darkness has a physical source as does light. Darkness is the absence of light. When we remove the source is light, we have darkness.

So also, when Jesus is absent from people and their behaviour, their lives display darkness, all the wickedness and evil that darkness hides.

Paul urged his readers, then, to live their lives in line with the teachings of God’s Word (with Jesus as their model and mentor). In this way, their lives would expose the wickedness of those who don’t live by the Word.

‭Ephesians 5:1, 2 NLT‬
[1] Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
[2] Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”

‭Ephesians 5:7-11 NLT‬
[7]”Don’t participate in the things these people do. [8] For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! [9] For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. [10] Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. [11] Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.”

Once again, we must remember that Paul was writing to ex-pagans who once lived in the darkness of sin without Jesus. The message Paul brought them enlightened them to the cause and consequences of their wickedness, and gave them the only solution that would free them from sin and death. Their new lives of obedience to Jesus were the evidence that they were new people inside.

So, live in the light!

FLEE DARKNESS – LIVE IN THE LIGHT

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible – and everything illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:

‘Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’

Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is (Eph. 5:11-17).

Bugs and creepy crawlies live the darkness. Kick over a stone and they scatter, scuttling off to find another dark spot where they can take shelter from the light. Bugs don’t hide from the light because they are evil; they hide under stones to stay out of sight because predators are continually hunting for a tasty morsel.

People hide in darkness for a very different reason.

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God (John 3:20-21).

What is darkness in this context? Ignorance or willful disobedience to the standards God has set for us leaves us in darkness. ‘Light’ and ‘darkness’ are common metaphors in Scripture. Light represents the truth about God and us that He has revealed in His Word, and the moral and upright living that flows from obeying God’s instructions. Darkness is the opposite – immoral living in contradiction to God’s Word.

King David understood the part that God’s Word plays in keeping our feet on the right path in life.

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path (Psa. 119:105).  

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you (Psa. 119:11).

Obedience to the prescriptions and instructions in God’s Word enables us to navigate the pitfalls in life without damaging our consciences or our souls. First of all, God teaches us how to have harmonious relationships with one another – within the closest of all bonds in the family, and then with the people who radiate outwards from our inner circle, friends and acquaintances and those with whom we rub shoulders in the world.

God created an interactive universe as an expression of the unity within the Trinity. God is one – according to the daily confession of the Israelites:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one (Deut. 6:4).

The word for one – echad – can mean either a single unit or a compound unity, depending on its context. Jewish scholars argue that God is a single person while Christians believe that God is a compound unity – three persons in one Godhead.

However, both man and the universe bear witness to the amazingly complex unity that exists in every system which is an expression of the echad in God. Everything in the universe is interdependent and interactive.

No Man Is an Island is a famous line from Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, a 1624 work by the English poet John Donne – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Man_Is_an_Island – retrieved January 2016.

The Apostle Paul expressed the same thought:

For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord (Rom. 14:7-8).

The point is that the human race is interconnected and interdependent, just as is the physical universe. Whether we live by the God’s Word or in defiance of God’s standards, what we do affects other people in a ripple effect. My sin and your sin contribute to the chaos around us and we cannot escape the consequences of our disobedience and the disobedience of others.

On this basis, Paul pleads with his readers to live in the light. Wisdom, in the simplest terms, means doing what works. God has told us in His Word what works. Sin in all its ramifications does not work because it creates chaos in relationships.

Our responsibility as believers is to maintain harmony in all our relationships by walking in the light with God and with one another.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3, eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), a companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.