Living
in Light
Ephesians
5:3-14
Then Jesus again spoke to
them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in
the darkness, but will have the Light of
life."
John 8:12
Theme:
Ephesians 5:3-14 identify the two hallmark
characteristics of people who are walking as children of
light.
Our
lives are like lamps; they either reveal or conceal the light of
Christ.
The two
hallmark characteristics of people who are walking as children of
light:
1. Leaving behind the ways of the
world
(5:3-8a)
Even
though we are a new person in Christ:
·
We
have the potential to act upon depraved, fleshly
desires.
that, in
reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is
being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of
deceit,
Ephesians 4:22
But if I am
doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin
which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the
one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner
man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the
law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my
members.
Romans 7:20-23
·
We
have a propensity to manifest what our hearts have been focusing
on.
"The good man
out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil
man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks
from that which fills his
heart."
Luke 6:45
"For out of
the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false
witness,
slanders."
Matthew
15:19
2.
Living a life that is pleasing to the Lord
(5:8b-14)
Displaying
fruit produced through our relationship with
Christ
(vv.8-9)
Demonstrating
what is pleasing to the
Lord
(vv.10-14)
If we confess our sins, He
is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
1 John
1:9
Then He said to her, "Your
sins have been
forgiven."
Luke 7:48
"For I will be merciful to
their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no
more."
Hebrews 8:12
and since we have a great
priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience
and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our
hope without wavering, for He who promised is
faithful;
Hebrews 10:21-23
She said, "No one, Lord."
And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no
more." John
8:11
And He who sits on the
throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for
these words are faithful and
true."
Revelation 21:5
My
personal application of this passage:
Questions
for individual study and Fellowship Families:
1. How would you explain
Ephesians 5:8 to someone? What does the phrase “you are Light in the Lord”
mean?
2. Why is it so important
that Christians leave behind the ways of the world as described in Ephesians
5:3-4? How can these types of behavior diminish our influence as
Christians?
3. How are people whose
lifestyles are characterized by verses 3 and 4 referred to in verses 5 and
6? What is the eventual outcome for these
people?
4. How does a person change
from being a “son of disobedience” (v.6) to a “child of Light” (v.8)?
Could you point out some verses from the Book of Ephesians that highlight this
transformation?
5. What does this passage
reveal in regards to how “children of light” are to live? How is such a
life even possible?
6. How does the Lord
forgive, renew, and restore us when we, as Christians, sin? On what basis
do we know this to be true?