The Difference Between Darkness and Light

Eph. 5:8

For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

Doctrine and Duty in Ephesians

THE DUTY	THE DOCTRINE
Walk in unity (4:1‑16)	1:22-23; 2:16,21-22; 3:6
Walk in purity (4:17‑32)	1:4
Walk in love (5:1‑7)	3:17-19
Walk in light (5:8‑14)	1:18
Walk in wisdom (5:15‑17)	1:8,17; 3:10
Walk in submission (5:18‑6:9)	3:8
Walk in victory (6:10‑20)	1:19-21

Continuing through the second half of Ephesians, keeping in mind the duty that is based on the doctrine of the first half, and hence our walk in Christ, we come to the third aspect of that walk—to walk in Light (5:8-14).

The emphasis here of walking according to light is dealt with in greater detail than either “walking in love” (vs. 1-7) or “walking in wisdom” (vs. 15-17). In fact, “light” is a symbol used quite often in Scripture. Most every Christian has heard that he is to “walk in light,” but what does that really mean?

As our study progresses, we will see exactly what it means to walk in light, or, more accurately (as we’ll see in our text), to walk as children of light, or, “walk according to light.”

In general, light pictures two basic ideas in Scripture:

· In regard to the Intellect, it pictures TRUTH;

· In regard to Morality, it pictures HOLINESS.

These two concepts are of the utmost importance, and we will refer to them often as our study progresses. In this chapter, and the next two, we need to examine three principles:

· The Difference between darkness and light (v. 8);

· The Details of walking according to light (vs. 9-10);

· The Demands of walking according to light (vs. 11-14).

These three chapters of our study deal with a section of Ephesians that is indescribably vital to living the Christian life.

In this chapter we will examine verse 8, which reveals the difference between darkness and light. This might seem obvious to us, but the truth here is much deeper than we might first think. There is here in our text a threefold progression.

I. What We Were – Darkness (v. 8a)

For ye were sometimes darkness,

The first thing we must observe here is the subtlety of the language. The word for connects Paul’s previous thoughts of verse 7 with those here. That is, the reason we are not partakers with those who live in sin is because we are no longer darkness but light.

Now notice the word were. In the Greek construction this word is in what is called the “emphatic position,” which simply gives the idea of added emphasis—WERE darkness. That thought is reinforced by the word sometimes (“once”). This doesn’t mean “sometimes you were darkness and sometimes you weren’t.” Those who do not accept the doctrine of the security of the believer like to view this phrase as teaching that sometimes we are in light (i.e. in salvation) and sometimes we are in darkness (having lost our salvation). But that, of course, is not what the text says. The literal idea of the Greek (pote) is “at one time” or “formerly.” We were “formerly in darkness” in the past, but no longer is that true of the believer.

The focal point, of course, is the word darkness (skotos), which obviously means the absence of light. We all know what darkness is like. I remember when I was about twelve years old, our family took a vacation out West and took a tour of the Carlsbad Caverns. At one point our tour guide told us to stand absolutely still because he wanted to show us what dark is. He then he turned out the lights in the cavern, and I’ve never forgotten that dark. It was the total, absolute absence of light.

The point of the word skotos, however, goes deeper; it is “chiefly of the effect of darkness upon man,” which is his limited ability to see and his subsequence groping in uncertainty.[1] One commentator puts it brutally, but truthfully, by writing, “Darkness is the emblem and region of ignorance and depravity.”[2] Ironically, Socrates agreed, “There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance,”[3] as did poet Robert Browning, “Ignorance is not innocence but sin.”[4] So, ignorance itself is sin. Why? Because whatever keeps us from God is sin, and ignorance does just that.

Ignorance is, indeed, man’s problem. As Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote in 1850, “Let knowledge grow from more to more.”[5] But even in this age of incredible knowledge and astounding accomplishment, man is hopelessly ignorant. He is “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (II Tim. 3:7).

Most significant of all, as most commentators observe, the verse does not say we were “IN” darkness, rather it says we WERE darkness. To illustrate, it’s not as if we used to live in a dark room and resided there like a piece of furniture, rather we were actually part of the darkness itself. What is the significance? Ponder it historically. Earlier we mentioned that generally speaking light pictures two things:

· In regard to the Intellect, it pictures TRUTH;

· In regard to Morality, it pictures HOLINESS.

In contrast, when speaking of darkness, we see that the exact opposite is true:

· In regard to the Intellect, it pictures IGNORANCE;

· In regard to Morality, it pictures IMPURITY.

As one studies history he finds this is to be true. For example, what is called the “Dark Ages” (about 590-1517) was a time of great ignorance, superstition, and immorality. Likewise, because of the darkness that resides in man, man has been ignorant, superstitious, and immoral down through the ages. We need only to think of the immoral practices of pagan religion, not to mention the immoral practices of modern society, to see that man truly IS darkness.

But why is all this true historically? Because it is true spiritually. Men do not sin because they are IN darkness; men do not sin because of their circumstances. Thinking that man does wrong because of his circumstances or environment is what has given way to the extreme “behaviouristic” psychologies of today. That view says that a person does wrong because of the atmosphere in which he was raised, the way his parents treated him, the way society treated him. Therefore, that person is not really responsible for what he does; he really can’t help being the way he is. This gives man an excuse for his actions. To illustrate, using that reasoning, it’s certainly not your fault if you stub your toe on a piece of furniture while walking in a dark room in the middle of the night.

Such a view of man is a lie. The Word of God declares that men sin because they ARE darkness. In other words, they are not IN darkness, rather darkness is IN THEM. We saw this vividly back in Ephesians 2:1-3, which vividly outlines man’s depravity.

II. What We Are – Light (v. 8b)

but now are ye light in the Lord:

As we did in our first point, may we again look at the subtlety of the language. The Greek for light (phos, English “phosphorus,” etc.) refers to light itself, not merely a lamp, candle, or any other source of light. When we couple this with the words but now ye are, we see that as we were once darkness, we are now . . . light; as darkness was once in us, light is now in us.

What seems obvious about darkness and light is that they cannot coexist. If you turn on a light in a dark room, darkness flees. But it’s not as obvious in practical application. People talk much about “gray areas” of conduct, avoiding the terms “right or wrong” and “truth or error.” But the Scripture contains no such “gray areas.” Conduct is either moral or immoral, good or bad, true or false.

We should also note here that, as always, the duty Paul introduces in the latter half the Epistle is based on some doctrine he presented in first half. In this case, the doctrine is presented in 1:18: “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.” Only because of God’s light are the eyes of our understanding enlightened.

May we again consider this historically. As we said, down through history darkness has been characterized by ignorance and immorality, but a certain amount of enlightenment came when men grew in knowledge. For example, many historians refer to the 18^th Century as “The Age of Enlightenment” because men began to shun ignorance and superstition and seek knowledge and learning.

But once again, may we strongly emphasize that all this is true historically only because it is true spiritually. Without doubt, it was the Reformation that began to bring light into the world. It was Roman Catholicism that dominated men during the Dark Ages. Indeed, everything about Catholicism has its roots in ancient pagan religion and it was this that kept God’s light from shining into the hearts of men. It was the reformers who proclaimed the light of the Gospel, and it was this that changed darkness into light. The Reformation was certainly not perfect, but it did bring back the truth of salvation that had been lost for centuries.

Jesus Christ is, indeed, the only One Who brings light. Of Himself He declared, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12). The imagery here is unmistakable historically but is often missed in our day. When we realize where our Lord was standing when He utter those words, only then can we see the full significance of what our Lord was saying. The setting of this statement was the Illumination of the Temple ceremony that took place during the Feast of the Tabernacles (or Booths). That feast, which began five days after the Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), involved the Israelites presenting offering for seven days while they lived in huts (booths) made of palm fronds and leafy tree branches to remember their journey in Canaan (Lev. 23:43).

It was at the end of the feast that the Illumination ceremony took place, which is described in The Mishna. The Torah, of course, was what the Jews called “The Law,” the first five books of the Old Testament. Questions arose concerning the meanings of these laws, so over the years an oral law called “the tradition of the elders” developed. That law was put into written form around A.D. 200 and was called The Mishna, which means “repetition,” as much of Jewish education was based on repetition, and was actually a principle part of what was called the “Talmud,” the commentaries which were written on the Law. We read there of four tall, massive golden candleholders that stood in the Temple treasury. On top of each was a large torch and bowl containing a hundred and twenty logs (app. 20 gallons) of oil. There was also a ladder for each candleholder, which a priest would climb, pour oil into the bowl, place a wick in it that had been made out of old garments, and then lit it. The Mishna records that “there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem which was not lit up from the light.”[6]

It was on that spot, according to John 8:20, that Jesus stood when he uttered those words, “I am the light of the world.” What a scene! In essence, our Lord was saying, “While these great torches light all of Jerusalem, I light the entire world. Only if you know Me, will you know light.”

Such knowledge, however, is more that simply head knowledge; head knowledge is not enough. For example, there was great intellectual knowledge and philosophy in ancient Greece, but there was still ignorance. Why? Because ignorance comes not from lack of general knowledge, such as math, grammar, or other scholastic knowledge, rather from a lack of personal knowledge of Jesus Christ. If we are ignorant of Christ, we are ignorant of everything, simply because He created everything (Jn. 1:1-3).

Further, it is the personal knowledge of Jesus Christ that really changes the heart and mind of man. This is proven beyond doubt by the fact that civilized cultures have always, at some time in their history, had a strong Christian influence. That is not to say that that culture is deeply devout in spiritual things, but rather that there is a basic concept of God and His Word. This is true in America. Though the founding fathers were not all New Testament Christians, for some of them were Deists, they still founded America on basic Biblical principles. It is only Christ Who brings meaningful knowledge, morality, and ethics to any society. I cringe whenever I see a secular book written on “ethics,” because apart from God’s Truth and standards, ethics are relative at best and impossible at worst. God is the only One Who can give us light, and we must start with Him.

III. What We Do – Walk (v. 8c)

walk as children of light:

This is, of course, the powerful application of what we have seen thus far. As our text says we ARE . . . light, it now says we are to walk AS children of light. As noted back in 5:1, there is nothing more imitative than a child. That is one way in which he or she learns. So, as children of God we are to mimic the Father; we think like God, act like God, feel like God. Likewise here we are to imitate the light that we are.

In other words, it does not say that we are to walk IN light. To say that would be like saying that the sun shines in its own light. We often hear that the Christian is to “walk in light,” but that is inaccurate. Why? Because, if we take the above analogy of the sun a little further, if we walk in light we will cast a shadow. But God does not want us to cast a shadow; He wants us to shine AS light.

To go deeper, please meditate on this: since we ARE . . . light, we are to act like light; we are to have the attributes of light. By our conduct, we show that we hate darkness and love light and desire always to “shine as lights in the world” and to serve as light bearers “in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation” (Phil. 2:15). Again, we don’t shine IN light but AS light. We are actually a light source, just as one candle can be used to light another.

What, then, are the “attributes” of light? As we have already mentioned twice, generally speaking light pictures two basic thoughts.

1. In regard to the intellect, light pictures TRUTH. So, to walk according to light means that we walk according to Truth; we walk AS Truth.. No longer are we ignorant, for the truth of Jesus Christ is in us. Moreover, walking according to light means that we are growing in the knowledge of Christ day-by-day.

2. In regard to morality, light pictures HOLINESS. To walk according to light also means that we live a pure, holy life; we walk AS holy people. As we have already studied in the section about “walking in purity” (Eph. 4:17-32), all that we say and do shines forth the light of Christ which is in us.

We shall quote and briefly study II Corinthians 6:14-7:1 in our study of verses 11-14 (“The Demands of Walking in Light”), but may we consider now it for a moment. Writing to the most carnal group of believers recorded in Scripture, Paul says:

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

That passage is perhaps the most dramatic example of the contrast between darkness and light to be found in Scripture. Indeed, a true believer cannot commune with darkness or with those who live according to darkness.

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