The Summation of All Things in Christ

Studies in Ephesians with a Local Church Emphasis

Lesson 107 : From Darkness to Light – The Fourth Command (5:8-10)

THE FOURTH COMMAND – THEY ARE TO LIVE AS IN THEIR NEW IDENTITY IN CHRIST – LIGHT AND DARKNESS – POSITIVE MOTIVATION – ‘ONCE – NOW’ SCHEMA – NOT ‘IN THE DARK / IN THE LIGHT’ BUT ‘YOU WERE DARK / YOU ARE LIGHT’ – TRANSFORMED DUE TO THE WORK OF CHRIST – THERE IS NO IN-BETWEEN – THE ‘LIGHT – DARKNESS’ CONTRAST IS COMMON IN THE NEW TESTAMENT AND OTHER ANCIENT RELIGIONS – PARENTHETICAL STATEMENT – MANUSCRIPT DIFFERENCES – ‘FRUIT’ IS A COMMON METAPHOR FOR THE OUTWORKING OF ONE’S LIFE – “GOD DOES NOT ACCEPT US BECAUSE WE ARE GOOD, BUT GOD MAKES US GOOD BECAUSE HE HAS ACCEPTED US” – PAUL LISTS THREE VIRTUES AS BEING THE FRUIT OF THE LIGHT – NO VERB IN THIS PARENTHESIS – UPRIGHTNESS, DOING RIGHT IN RELATION TO BOTH GOD AND HUMANITY – NOTHING FALSE NOR HYPOCRITICAL IN OUR SPEECH AND LIFESTYLE – DISCERNING, DISCOVERING, FINDING OUT – THE STANDARD FOR THIS TESTING: WHAT PLEASES CHRIST