EPHESIANS: Light Bearers

EPHESIANS Number 56

Ephesians 5:8–10 (KJV 1900)
8For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
9(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
10Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

Once upon a time, each of us was a child of disobedience. As our text puts it, we were darkness. As Romans 3:23 says, all of us have sinned. Apart from the Lord Jesus, we would still be bearers of darkness. But now, says the text, we are light in the Lord. The Scriptures have far more to say about light than we have time to cover here, but highlights (see what I did there?) include the Hebrew people being a light to the nations around them, Jesus being the Light, and finally, we learn here that we have been made Light in Him.

We have a light in our bathroom so that we can navigate there safely in the wee hours (oops, I did it again). The light was described as useful nightlight for a child’s bedroom, but in truth, it is far too brilliant for our needs even at its lowest setting. We have resolved this issue by placing it under a dark towel. We leave just a small opening so that the important area is illuminated but we are not awakened by too much light.

The point I’m making is that even a little light dispels darkness. We have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. In Colossians 1:13 we read that He has “delivered us from the power (or domain) of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” (KJV 1900) So, we are being exhorted to live accordingly. The reason we are given is that “the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.”

This reasoning might draw our thoughts to Galatians 5:22-23 where we find aspects of the character of God, the fruit of the Spirit, listed as Love, joy, peace, patience (or longsuffering), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness (or meekness), and self-control (or temperance). These are aspects of the character traits of God. We inherit these traits from our heavenly Father. Having become citizens of the Kingdom of Light and indeed children of Light, we find we are increasingly drawn to following, imitating, or emulating our Father in these aspects. This is what comes naturally to us in Christ.

When these natural traits characterize our lives, we prove that He lives in us. It’s clear to everyone because this manner of living is not the normal conduct of those in the world.