Eph 5:6-14 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. (7) Therefore do not become partners with them; (8) for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (9) (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), (10) and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. (11) Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. (12) For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. (13) But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, (14) for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
In these verses in Ephesians Paul describes us, those who are believers in Christ, as the children of light. We are the light of the Lord. Jesus tells us to let our light shine before men so they may see our good works and glorify the Father who is in heaven. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says to walk as children of light, that the fruit of light is found in what is good, and it exposes the things of darkness. As we walk in Christ, we are the light of the word exposing the ways of darkness and the sons of disobedience.
We are to expose the unfruitful works of darkness with the light. Rather than returning to our former way of life and partaking in it, we are not only to expose the unfruitful works of darkness, but because of the shamefulness, we are to not even speak of them. When the works of darkness have been exposed by the light, they are now visible for all to see. There have been so many people recently that have had hidden sins exposed to the public eye. They have had the light shed on them and the one who has been exposed can no longer hide in the shadows where they we as a dead man. Paul encourages us to awake and arise from the dead so the light of Christ will shine on us.
Walking in the light is a challenge for many of us as Christians. We are pulled in so many directions through the media, entertainment, and other avenues that bombard us with slogans and images that penetrate the mind. If we aren’t careful, it is only a matter of time before we are walking in the darkness of the world and the light of Christ is just a faint flicker of what it was early on in our faith. Walking as children of light takes effort but is not something we can do on our own.
Walking in the light means that we walk in the truth of the Gospel which is all goodness, righteousness, and truth. In order to do that we need to allow the Spirit of God to direct our steps. We can know that we are walking in the Spirit if our lives reflect those things that come from the spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22,23). Years ago I thought I needed to try to be more loving, joyful, peaceful and so on and eventually I felt like I would never be able to measure up. The effort to bear this kind of fruit was challenging and began to wear me out. Trying in our own strength to be children of light is not only going to wear us out, but is impossible on our own. Walking in the Spirit is something only the Holy Spirit can enable us to do by doing a mighty work of eternal change in our hearts. God said he would do this in Ezek 36:26-27 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. (27) And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
We fulfill this prophecy when we walk in the Spirit. When we are born again we receive the new heart of clay and the new spirit which allows us to walk in His statutes. We are crucified with Christ and no longer live, but the Spirit of God lives in us. Walking as children of light, filled with the new heart and new spirit, enables us to turn from the temptations and the darkness in this world and empowers us to be free to live our life moment by moment for the glory of Christ.