Group Guide: Ephesians 5:8-14

In this passage of scripture, Paul continues to hammer out the major theme of this book. The major theme of this book is, “Christ has reconciled a unique group of people to himself and to one another and these people should live radically different in the light of this reality.” Or, as he states it at the beginning of chapter four, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (4:1).

Now, in verse 8 of chapter 5, Paul says that our calling has resulted in us being transformed from darkness into light. Notice that here, Paul doesn’t say that we once walked in darkness and now we walk in light. As true as that might be, here Paul says that we were darkness and now we are light. Biblically, darkness represents depravity, destruction, and even death. Darkness is the problem, and here, Paul reminds his readers that they once were part of the problem. Their separation from God and rebellion against God contributed to the chaos of the world. But now, because they are “in the Lord”, they are part of the solution. Light gives life! Paul is saying here what Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world” and in verse 16 of that same chapter he says, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

We grow in this work of being light as we seek to fulfill Paul’s admonition in verse 10, “Try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.” This is the biggest question that a believer can concern himself with. The question isn’t “what does the Lord allow” but “what pleases him?” In literally every situation and season of life, the follower of Christ should be asking this question. And for the most part, we can discover the answer to this question in the bible. The Bible reveals to us the will of God. In his word, God tells us what is pleasing to him and what displeases him. God’s word tells us how to treat people, even difficult people. It tells us what we are to pursue and what we are to steer clear of. The Bible gives us a picture of how Jesus lived, what he valued, and how he dealt with all kinds of issues. In the bible, we see how Jesus lived and thought, and as we come to understand his life, we come to understand what is pleasing to Him. No other question is any more important for the follower of Christ to consider than this one: “What is pleasing to the Lord?”

Finally, Paul teaches that Light can actually change darkness. It is worth saying that darkness never impacts darkness, but light does, and because we are in Christ, we are Light. As light, we are not to participate in the deeds of darkness but rather expose them (verse 11). We do this by not compromising truth and by being willing to call sin, sin. But we also do this by living the truth. Instead of seeing ourselves as the “morality police force,” we should see ourselves as a moral presence in a dark world. This is what it means to “be light.” We speak the truth, but we speak it in love. And we live the truth. As our light shines in the darkness, some of that darkness will see the truth of God and be changed by it. After all, this is what happened to us. God took His word and His Spirit, and through the lives of His people, we saw our own spiritual reality. We saw not only the darkness of our lives but also the glory of Christ. We were drawn to Christ and were changed from darkness to light. May we be such light that others are drawn to the beauty of our Savior.