Living Consistent With a New Identity: Walk As Children of Light

Discipleship Training Ministries, Inc.

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting

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Today’s Date: October 1, 2006

Living Consistent With a New Identity: Walk As Children of Light

by Dan Trygg

"...you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them..."

Ephesians 5:8-11

The first message communicated by this section of Ephesians is Paul's repeated emphasis that our identity has changed, and along with our change in identity is a change in our entire purpose in life. This is communicated in numerous ways throughout this letter. In 1:1 Paul addresses believers as "saints", i.e., "holy ones", "ones set apart from a common, everyday existence and dedicated to a special purpose". As ones set apart to God by faith, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (1:3). We are now "adopted children" (1:5), redeemed and freely forgiven from sin (1:7), and dedicated to the praise of His glory (1:6,12,14). Paul prays that we might come to see and understand who we are now, what we have been called to, and that we might come to perceive God's provision for living it out (1:15-19). We had been dead in sin; now we are alive in Christ (2:1-9), having been created by God as fine handiwork to accomplish the good works He brings for us to do (2:10). We have been Gentiles, outsiders and strangers to the OT covenants of promise, and distant from the people of Israel. Now in Jesus we, along with the Jews who have been faithful, have become an entirely new humanity. We are ones brought near by Christ's blood, reconciled to God and having free access to Him (2:11-18). We are no longer strangers; we are fellow citizens with all God's dedicated ones, and members of His house (2:19). In fact, we are like living stones being assembled together into a holy temple, a dwelling place for God's Spirit (2:20-22; cf. I Pet. 2:4-12). God will not only dwell with us, but He lives in us.

Because of this remarkable and very high calling which we as former Gentiles have, …a calling which had not been clearly perceived before…, Paul himself had been raised up by God with a dual purpose: {1.} to plainly declare what had previously been hidden: namely, that God had now made Gentiles to be fellow heirs, fellow members of the Body, and fellow sharers of the promises of God in Christ (3:1-7); and, {2.} to proclaim to these redeemed Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, ... to bring God's plan into visible expression so that His multi-faceted wisdom might be displayed through the church to the spiritual beings observing in heavenly places (3:8-10). For this reason, the apostle prays that we might come to experience the love of God in a deep, transforming way. Thus we might "be filled up to all the fullness of God" (3:14-19), and be able to fulfill this amazing calling and purpose.

There is a significant shift in the apostle's message at this point. Having laid down a solid foundation to help us understand what God has done for us in Christ, who we now are and why we are here, from 4:1, Paul begins to exhort or encourage us to walk out our calling. In fact, the word, "walk", is used five times in chapters four and five (4:1,17; 5:2,8,15). In Greek, the word translated as "walk" means "to walk about", implying "to live one's life", or "to conduct oneself", or "to carry out the day-to-day business of living", etc. The word picture describes a process, a journey, a habitual mode of living. In each instance the word occurs, we are also given a comparative to further describe the manner in which we are to live life:

{1.} In 4:1, it is "walk about in a manner worthy

(lit. "worthily", or "as worthy") of the calling with which you were called". Paul goes on in the next few verses to describe what that means to him.

{2.} In 4:17 it is "walk about no longer just as the Gentiles walk about, in the futility

(uselessness) of their minds (perceptions of reality, world-view)". Again, in the next few verses, the apostle further explains what he means by that statement.

{3.} In 5:2, it is "walk about in love, according as Christ also loved us, and gave Himself up for us."

Again, surrounding verses in the context give more clarity as to what Paul meant, whether by positive example or negative contrast.

{4.} In 5:8,

our verse for today's study, it is "walk about as (or like) children of light". Actually, the Greek word order is significantly different. It is "now you are light in the Lord; as children of light walk about". Again, the context is designed to indicate what Paul had in mind by using that word picture.

{5.} In 5:15,

it is used one final time to encourage life lived in a manner that is accurate, precise, and careful, in contrast to a way of living life that is foolish, unwise, wasteful, "un-thinking", or reckless, "Therefore be careful (lit. "as carefully, precisely, exactly") how you walk about, not as unwise, but as wise...". Again a clearer picture develops as the following verses are carefully examined.

Zeroing in on the passage for today's discussion, what does it mean to "walk about as children of light"?

(1.) The first message which the context clearly emphasizes is that our identity has changed, and so has our purpose or direction in life.

We are children of light, no longer "darkness" (vs. 8), or "children of disobedience" (vs. 6; cf. 2:1,2). Therefore we no longer have a real basis for sharing in the practices or inheritance that comes with that old territory or identity (vss. 7,11). They are no longer consistent with who we are, or why we are here.

(2.) To "walk about as children of light" describes a process that will bear fruit over time.

The use of the phrase "fruit of light" in vs. 9, compels us to see our spirituality, our approach to ministry, and the impact of our lives in terms of the natural process of growth, maturity, and yielding fruit illustrated in the world of nature around us.

Three principles that emerge from the world of nature are that:

(a.) Plants and animals bear fruit "according to their kind", or in accordance with their inner nature. If we abide in the new Christ-nature in us, which is good, righteous and true, then we will naturally bear fruit resembling His heart.

(b.) The farmer's job is generally to supply the proper nutrients, and to remove any competing influences (such as weeds, predators, or unhealthy, unprofitable growth). We need to take care that we feed our spiritual selves what will help us grow, and avoid those things that would tear us down or be negative.

(c.) There is almost always a process of growth and maturation involved before fruit can be produced. In spiritual maturation, this will be a function of time, learning and exercising that new nature.

When nature, nurture and maturation come together effectively, the reproductive impact is usually multiplied, not simply a replacement. Growth comes primarily from the inner nature of the plant or animal. A wise farmer adjusts his or her expectations and methods to the nature and condition of the plant or animal. Not all methods will be equally beneficial to all. We are not like everyone else, though there are basic disciplines which we would all profit from.

(3.) Part of "walking about as children of light" is the discovery process of trial and error.

Discovering God's will for an individual, and for a group, is an ongoing process of "testing out by experimentation" to find "what is well-pleasing, pleasurable, gratifying to/in/with/by the Lord" (cf. Rom. 12:2; Phil. 1:9,10; I Thess. 5:21; I Tim. 3:10). This is usually translated in terms of what pleases God. The Greek, however, could also refer to what brings us pleasure or fulfillment in Him, or with Him. The search should cover both aspects. We should be looking to see what God is blessing, ...discovering what the Father is doing, so that we could be involved in that activity (Jn. 5:19). We also need to come to see how we work most effectively, what is "well pleasing to us in the Lord". For example, a plow horse will never be good at racing, and a race horse will never excel at pulling heavy loads. God's word says that we are His workmanship, His fine craftsmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which He prepares beforehand that we might walk in them (Eph. 2:10). God does not generally use a screwdriver for a chisel, or a knife blade to turn screws. Sometimes we want to get involved in doing things that God has not designed us to do, or intends for us. One of the ways we discover God's will for us, individually or corporately, is to see what seems to work well, what seems to be consistent with who we are becoming. It is important to see also, however, that the uncomfortable feelings, and the "stumbling steps" of learning something new to us, do not necessarily mean that we are pursuing the wrong thing. Ease and effectiveness come from the combination of both natural ability and the mastery of skills. The process of discovering God's well-pleasing design for us is an art. Learning to interpret the signals we receive in our trial-and-error process is part of maturing. The signals may be capable of being understood in different ways. We must keep our minds open, and be willing to entertain various options, until we discover what God is saying to us.

(4.) Walking about as children of light will mean not only avoiding unfruitful deeds of darkness

(lit., "the works, the unfruitful ones of the darkness"), but rather even exposing them (vs. 11). Some of us begin to cringe at the sound of this verse. It is important to see that, primarily, we expose the darkness by being the light. This verse is not saying that we all are supposed to get confrontational with people in sin. No. Some of us might, indeed, be called to that kind of service, but I would say that is not normative (cf. I Thess. 4:9-12). Often verses like this can be an excuse for spiritual abuse, judging attitudes, and obnoxious behavior. It is generally enough to "be the light", i.e., to express our own inner hearts by actions of love and graciousness. If we do that, those who are loving darkness will begin to see themselves, and their actions, against the backdrop of our lives (Mt. 5:14-16; Jn. 3:19-21; I Pet. 2:12).