Living as Children of Light: Embracing Transformation

 

Summary

In Ephesians 5:8-13, Paul calls us to live as children of light, contrasting our former state of darkness with our new identity in Christ. This transformation is not merely a change in behavior but a profound shift in our very nature. As Christians, we are not just enlightened; we are light in the Lord. This distinction between light and darkness is fundamental to understanding our identity and calling. The world may misunderstand or criticize this transformation, but it is essential to recognize that our new life is a result of God's grace, not our own efforts.

The manifestations of darkness are evident in three main areas: the mind, the heart, and the will. Darkness in the mind is characterized by ignorance, particularly ignorance of God, the value of the soul, and the true purpose of life. This ignorance leads to a distorted view of existence, where life is reduced to mere pleasure-seeking and material gain. In contrast, the light of Christ brings true knowledge and understanding, revealing the eternal significance of our lives.

The heart, too, is affected by darkness, becoming unresponsive to the truth and resistant to the light. This hardness of heart is a barrier to receiving the gospel and experiencing the transformative power of God's love. The will, influenced by a darkened mind and heart, leads to actions that are unfruitful and shameful. The works of darkness are mechanical and artificial, lacking the genuine life and growth that come from walking in the light.

As Christians, we are called to examine ourselves in light of these truths, ensuring that our lives reflect the light of Christ. This self-examination is not only a test of our faith but also a guide for our daily conduct. We must be vigilant in our pursuit of holiness, recognizing that our actions are a testimony to the world of the transformative power of the gospel.

Key Takeaways:

- Transformation Through Grace: Our identity as Christians is not self-made but a result of God's grace. We are light in the Lord, a transformation that sets us apart from the world. This distinction is not a claim of superiority but a testament to God's work in us. [03:29]

- Ignorance and Enlightenment: Darkness manifests as ignorance, particularly of God and the true purpose of life. In contrast, the light of Christ brings knowledge and understanding, revealing the eternal significance of our existence. [10:19]

- The Heart's Resistance: A darkened heart is unresponsive to the truth, resistant to the light, and finds the gospel boring or irrelevant. This hardness is a barrier to experiencing God's transformative love. [20:15]

- Unfruitful Works of Darkness: The actions stemming from a darkened mind and heart are unfruitful and shameful. They lack genuine life and growth, contrasting with the fruitful life that comes from walking in the light. [27:19]

- Call to Revival: In recognizing the darkness around us, we are called to pray for revival, seeking an outpouring of God's Spirit to bring light and knowledge to a lost and ignorant generation. [45:08]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:12] - Introduction to Ephesians 5:8-13
- [01:17] - Walking as Children of Light
- [02:10] - The Argument of Light vs. Darkness
- [03:02] - Our Identity in Christ
- [04:05] - The Nature of Transformation
- [05:10] - Manifestations of Darkness
- [06:57] - Testing Our Faith
- [07:30] - Darkness in the Mind
- [10:19] - Ignorance of God
- [13:09] - Ignorance of the Soul
- [15:01] - Ignorance of Life's Purpose
- [17:29] - Darkness in the Heart
- [21:46] - Darkness in the Will
- [27:19] - Unfruitful Works of Darkness
- [35:00] - The Consequences of Darkness
- [43:18] - The Call to Revival

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
- Ephesians 5:8-13

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Observation Questions:

1. According to Ephesians 5:8-13, what are the characteristics of living as "children of light"? How does this contrast with living in darkness?

2. In the sermon, what are the three main areas where darkness manifests itself? ([05:28])

3. How does the sermon describe the world's misunderstanding of the transformation that occurs in Christians? ([03:02])

4. What does the sermon say about the nature of the works of darkness compared to the fruit of the light? ([27:19])

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How does the sermon explain the transformation from darkness to light as a result of God's grace rather than personal effort? ([03:29])

2. What does the sermon suggest is the reason for the world's ignorance of God and the true purpose of life? How does this ignorance affect their view of existence? ([10:19])

3. How does the sermon describe the resistance of a darkened heart to the truth and the gospel? What implications does this have for evangelism? ([20:15])

4. In what ways does the sermon suggest that the unfruitful works of darkness are mechanical and artificial? How does this contrast with the life that comes from walking in the light? ([27:19])

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on your own life: Are there areas where you still feel you are living in darkness? What steps can you take to bring those areas into the light of Christ? ([05:10])

2. The sermon emphasizes the importance of self-examination in light of the truth. How can you incorporate regular self-examination into your spiritual routine to ensure your life reflects the light of Christ? ([06:57])

3. How can you actively seek to understand and fulfill the true purpose of life as revealed by the light of Christ, rather than being swayed by the world's distorted views? ([10:19])

4. Consider a time when you felt resistant to the truth or found the gospel uninteresting. What might have been the underlying cause, and how can you address it to be more open to God's transformative love? ([20:15])

5. The sermon calls for a revival and an outpouring of God's Spirit. How can you contribute to this call for revival in your community or church? What specific actions can you take to pray for and promote spiritual awakening? ([45:08])

6. Identify one unfruitful work of darkness in your life that you want to change. What practical steps can you take this week to replace it with a fruitful action that reflects the light of Christ? ([27:19])

7. How can you be a light to those around you who are living in ignorance of God and the gospel? What specific conversations or actions can you initiate to share the knowledge and love of Christ with them? ([43:18])

Devotional

Day 1: Transformation Through Grace
Our identity as Christians is not self-made but a result of God's grace. This transformation is profound, changing our very nature from darkness to light in the Lord. It is not merely a change in behavior but a fundamental shift in who we are. This distinction between light and darkness is crucial for understanding our identity and calling. The world may misunderstand or criticize this transformation, but it is essential to recognize that our new life is a testament to God's work in us, not our own efforts. This transformation sets us apart, not as superior, but as witnesses to the power of God's grace. [03:29]

Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV): "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Reflection: In what ways can you actively acknowledge and celebrate God's transformative grace in your life today, especially in areas where you feel inadequate or unworthy?


Day 2: Ignorance and Enlightenment
Darkness manifests as ignorance, particularly of God and the true purpose of life. This ignorance leads to a distorted view of existence, where life is reduced to mere pleasure-seeking and material gain. In contrast, the light of Christ brings true knowledge and understanding, revealing the eternal significance of our lives. As Christians, we are called to seek this enlightenment, allowing the light of Christ to illuminate our minds and guide our understanding of our purpose and existence. This enlightenment is not just intellectual but deeply spiritual, transforming how we perceive and engage with the world. [10:19]

Colossians 1:9-10 (ESV): "And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

Reflection: Identify one area of your life where you feel spiritually ignorant or confused. How can you seek God's wisdom and understanding in this area today?


Day 3: The Heart's Resistance
A darkened heart is unresponsive to the truth, resistant to the light, and finds the gospel boring or irrelevant. This hardness of heart is a barrier to receiving the gospel and experiencing the transformative power of God's love. As Christians, we must be vigilant in examining our hearts, ensuring they remain open and responsive to God's truth. This involves a willingness to confront areas of resistance and hardness, inviting God's light to soften and transform our hearts. By doing so, we open ourselves to the fullness of God's love and the transformative power of the gospel. [20:15]

Ezekiel 36:26 (ESV): "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."

Reflection: Reflect on a time when you felt resistant to God's truth. What steps can you take today to open your heart more fully to His transformative love?


Day 4: Unfruitful Works of Darkness
The actions stemming from a darkened mind and heart are unfruitful and shameful. They lack genuine life and growth, contrasting with the fruitful life that comes from walking in the light. As Christians, we are called to examine our actions, ensuring they reflect the light of Christ. This involves a commitment to living a life that is fruitful and aligned with God's will, rejecting the unfruitful works of darkness. By doing so, we become a testimony to the world of the transformative power of the gospel, demonstrating the genuine life and growth that come from walking in the light. [27:19]

Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV): "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Reflection: Consider one unfruitful habit or action in your life. How can you replace it with a practice that reflects the fruit of the Spirit today?


Day 5: Call to Revival
In recognizing the darkness around us, we are called to pray for revival, seeking an outpouring of God's Spirit to bring light and knowledge to a lost and ignorant generation. This call to revival is not just for the world but begins within our own hearts and communities. As Christians, we are invited to be agents of change, praying fervently for God's Spirit to move powerfully in our midst. This involves a commitment to personal and communal prayer, seeking God's guidance and empowerment to bring His light to a world in need. [45:08]

Habakkuk 3:2 (ESV): "O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy."

Reflection: How can you actively participate in praying for revival in your community this week? What specific steps can you take to be an agent of God's light and knowledge in the world around you?

Quotes

"Now we are considering this exhortation of the Apostle to these Ephesians to live a life that shall be in conformity with their profession and with their Creed with what they claim to believe he's been doing this as we've seen for some time he's been putting it to to them in terms of their new birth he's been putting it to them in terms of their relationship to God's dear children and has been calling upon them therefore to walk in love but now here in the eth verse he takes up a new argument and he's appealing to them as we began to see last Sunday morning to walk also in light to walk as children of light as those who belong to the light and whose native sphere is light rather than darkness." [00:70:72]

"We have emphasized that there is a complete and an entire difference between those who are in the light and those who are in darkness those who are Christians and those who are not Christians we then went on to consider the nature of this difference and again we emphasized its radical character that we are not merely in the dark before we become Christians but we are actually darkness that is darkness in us and so when we become Christians we are not merely given light but we are made light there is this transformation light enters and radiates the very depths and vitals of our being." [00:238:76]

"Darkness affects the mind the intellect the understanding all the faculties that are concerned with knowledge and the Bible of course above everything else uses this term in this respect and so when the Apostle turns to these Ephesians and says ye were sometimes Darkness means there was a time when your minds were dark you were ignorant and this of course is still true of all who are not Christians that is the trouble with a person who's not a Christian he or she is just ignorant there's no other word for it they are lacking in certain vital knowledge." [00:575:04]

"Well you know it can be put like this the real trouble with them is this they don't know the answer to this kind of question what shall it profit a men though he gain the whole world and lose his own soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul they have no conception of it they don't realize they have a soul they don't realize that there is within them this thing that has been placed there by God which is bigger and greater than the whole world the most precious the most wonderful thing of all they're completely ignorant about it." [00:812:079]

"Now again they display this appalling ignorance about that they're just in the dark completely about it you see their whole notion of life and of living is as is stated so frequently in the scriptures let us eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die what an insult to life and living and to human nature are we but animals is eating drinking gambling indulging the Natural Instincts is that rarely life well that's what it is obviously to those people who are not Christians and therefore I say it's one of the manifestations of this appalling Darkness ignorance with regard to such a vital matter." [00:907:079]

"Well it seems to me that this is the only deduction which we can draw there is something about that evil life of darkness which to use the term in its right meaning is artificial it's a sort of art effect produced by men in other words it isn't men's natural life it isn't the kind of life that men was meant to live now that is true of what we call and bur of as civilization that is men's production we can say with assurance and certainty that God never meant people to live as for instance we live in the city of London God never planned a place like London or Chicago or New York or Paris or or any one of these great cities or indeed by today even any one of our Villages God never planned a thing like that God never meant life to be like that no no this is man's artifact this is what man has produced." [00:1714:799]

"Now you can never tackle the problem of immorality or vice or crime directly conduct is the result of the point of view so you'll never deal with the conduct directly that is the Fatal blunder of every non-Christian system and we are seeing the failure on all hands you see they will not recognize this fundamental principle which is that as a man thinks so he is so it's no use trying to control his behavior and his conduct if his thinking is wrong you see it's like a man who pours chemicals into a stream because it's polluted and does nothing about the Lake out of which the stream comes in which is the source of the pollution." [00:1369:32]

"Well those are the three words about that sort of Life the manifestations of the life of darkness in the realm of the will their Works their unfruitful yes and they're shameful they even feel it themselves so they do it under cover of Darkness they even be ashamed to do it in broad daylight themselves it is a shame it's shameful it's disgusting it's foul it's vile it's a shame he says even to speak of these things which are done of them in secret oh man after all whether he believes it or not you know was made in the image of God and he shows it when he least suspects it though he doesn't believe in God and doesn't believe in his own soul though he has fallen and degraded there's something in him still this sense of Shame thank God for that man's not an animal man's not a machine no no there is this that remains and abides though M and ruined there is something of the image left and man even at his at his lowest and his viest still know something about a sense of Shame." [00:2466:52]

"Well it's your business and mine in terrible Godless days like these to start with people on their own level and say to them well now then tell me why don't you do things like that in broad daylight then start from this sense of Shame and try and bring them to see how their whole view of themselves and God and of life is just based on utter ignorance which if it not if it be not enlightened will lead them to destruction and disaster and a final Doom oh the love of God that looking upon such a world of darkness and of ignorance and of Shame should have sent his only begotten son into it to be a light of the world and by dying a upon the cross to Deliver Us from it and to translate us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear son." [00:2554:72]

"Christian people may I put it to you like this are you concerned about the messes that are in this Darkness I know you feel a sense of disgust with respect to them we all do but you know if you merely feel a sense of disgust and gather up your skirts and walk on the other side of the street you're almost as bad as they are that's what the levite and the priest did you remember with that poor men that was wounded by the roadside that's of no value if we realize that these people are living that kind of life because of this tragic ignorance and darkness well then I say as Christian people it should work in US like this we should say what can be done about these people how can this light and knowledge be brought to them and I say once more that there is nothing that can deal with it but such an outpouring of the spirit of God such a visitation of God spirit in Revival such as we had in 1859 such as we had for so many years in the 18th century under the preaching of Whitfield and the Wesley and Romain and others here in the city of of London such as you head under the Puritans such as you head in the Protestant Reformation and therefore it seems to me that the way to test whether we really do take these things seriously is this are we praying God to send us such a Revival to pour out his Spirit upon us that the church may be so filled with power that this apathetic Godless dark ignorant shameful generation will be compelled to listen and compelled to think and compelled to face God and their own Eternal Destiny." [00:2625:92]

"Darkness shows itself in the mind in the matter of one's intellect and understanding we have a habit of we not of associating ignorance always with Darkness we refer to certain continents as the Dark Continent meaning by that that uh ignorance prevails that they've been lacking in knowledge and instruction and in information we refer to the Dark Ages before the Renaissance in Europe the Dark Ages well that was before there was this rediscovery of Greek philosophy and learning and so on in other words we're all familiar with this uh equating of Darkness with ignorance the things uh synonymous in our ordinary pollin and on the other hand we tend to speak of people who have knowledge as people who are enlightened people like to refer to the whole of the 18th century as the Age of Enlightenment there certainly was in the 18th century again as in the 16th century a kind of Revival recrudescence of knowledge and of learning the enlightenment it's called there was a new birth of an interest in philosophy and things like that well now there is the kind of term the the contition that is given to this expression." [00:478:039]

"Now you can never tackle the problem of immorality or vice or crime directly conduct is the result of the point of view so you'll never deal with the conduct directly that is the Fatal blunder of every non-Christian system and we are seeing the failure on all hands you see they will not recognize this fundamental principle which is that as a man thinks so he is so it's no use trying to control his behavior and his conduct if his thinking is wrong you see it's like a man who pours chemicals into a stream because it's polluted and does nothing about the Lake out of which the stream comes in which is the source of the pollution for so long we were told by these thinkers who were non Christian that the one great cause of crime was poverty but you see at the present time what they're telling us is this the one great cause of crime is prosperity the cause of crime is that these young people are earning too much money and they don't know what to do with it this it's this Prosperity that's brought this crime wave and yet you see until this Century that was the great argument for doing away with poverty and slums now don't misunderstand me we should all be concerned about doing away with poverty and slums nobody can justify that but it does show the tragic pathetic fallacy of this non-Christian thinking they will not face this Central truth that it is a man's total attitude towards life himself God and their relationship that ultimately determines and controls conduct and behavior it's inevitable." [00:1369:32]

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Transcript
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