Ephesians 5:8-14: Children of Light

We are in the middle of a section that is all about motivation. Why should you live the Christian life? Paul is in the middle of exploring several reasons for why we should be holy. Here they are, V1-2, walk in love because God has loved you; v3-7, walk in purity sexually and verbally because there is a judgement; v8-14, walk in light because of your identity as children of the light; v15-17, walk in wisdom because of the times we are living in; and finally walk in the Spirit. Paul has just spoken about striving after personal purity in the area of lust and greed because of the certainty of the judgement. Today we look at Paul’s next motivation as he calls upon the Ephesians to see themselves as children of light and to have a walk that demonstrates that reality, Ephesians 5:8-14. This is the motivation of identity, to be what you are. We have said it many times but it is worth pointing out again that Paul calls upon us to do what God requires of us, because of what God has done for and to us. Paul roots the imperative of the Christian life in the indicatives of God’s accomplishments.

As we move through this section we will look at it under three headings. V8 gives us the motivation to walk as children of light, the why. V9-11, gives instruction on the how of walking the light. And, v12-14 speaks of our impact if we do walk in the light, the results.