Revival Baptist Church
Sunday Morning Service Ephesians

      • 1 John 3.16KJV1900

      • 1 John 3.17KJV1900

      • 1 John 3.16KJV1900

      • 1 John 3.17KJV1900

      • Matthew 23.23KJV1900

  • Ephesians 5:3–4 KJV 1900
    But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
    Ephesians 5:5–6 KJV 1900
    For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
    Ephesians 5:7–8 KJV 1900
    Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
    Ephesians 5:9–10 KJV 1900
    (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
    Ephesians 5:11–12 KJV 1900
    And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
    Ephesians 5:13–14 KJV 1900
    But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

    Introduction

    Chapter 4 gave us a description of the inner conflict of the Christian. We saw the two natures walking through life with us. One is the old man and the other the new man. As we begin chapter 5, we will see another way to show the conflict inside, two environments. This morning we will see that there is darkness and there is light.
    The letter of Paul to the Ephesians, an important epistle in the Bible, has much to say on the subject of what our church should be. Paul has shown us the importance of unity, faithful leadership and biblical order in the church. We will see the vital part that their family plays in the life of every Christian. We have seen the blessings of God through His salvation. We will also see the reality of the spiritual warfare around us.
    Written by Paul the Apostle, Ephesians is a letter that begins high on a mountain top in chapter one. We see the amazing blessings of the Trinity toward saved man. In chapter two, we see two paragraphs that give us the truth of grace for mankind. We are saved by grace. We are united by our sin and His salvation. Chapter three gave us insight into the task of Paul as an apostle and his prayer for the church at Ephesus. Salvation is a major focus of those doctrinal chapters in Ephesians. In chapter four, we see the way that we can live out these beneficent truths through a faithful walk in His unity. God has given us gifts, people, to help us in this walk through the local church. Walking requires two companions in the life of the Christian and each of us must chose which to listen to.
    Remember, the central theme of Ephesians is the unity of believers, in Christ, as part of the local church.
    What is the best thing about night? Have you ever thought about that? Some might say sleep. I certainly would. Some would say time with family or to relax. Some would say that night is a good time to work on things if they are night owls.
    What if you were to ask a criminal? What would they think is the best part about the night? Likely, they would tell you that it is the opportunity to accomplish their nefarious task without being seen.
    Night is the time that there is no sunlight. Without the moon and stars, only our man-made light removes the darkness.
    In 55 verses in the Bible, the two terms “darkness” and “light” are found. God created the light in the midst of the darkness before time began. God placed the sun and moon and stars in the sky to rule the day and night. God sent His Son as a light into the world and He offers light and life to all that will believe on Him.
    Perhaps one of the most famous verses in the Bible is the verse that reminds the hearer of his job as holder of a candle. Light is synonymous with Christmas. Yet, what is the true meaning of this contrast between darkness and light? We see this in our passage today.

    Declaration

    Darkness is evidenced in the immorality of those without Christ. Light is seen in the lives lived in the power of the Risen Saviour. Today, walk in the Light and reprove the darkness in the world. This is the command of God for the people in Ephesus and for us today. We see the two groups of people, this morning.

    1. Some are Hiding in the Darkness

    Ephesians 5:3–7 KJV 1900
    But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
    What is the darkness? Darkness is the absence of any presence of light. We know in our own experience that there are different depths to darkness. The darkness of a cave is different than the darkness of a closet in our house. Spiritual darkness is absolute for those who hide in it because they have not accepted Christ as Saviour. Do not expect the works of light in the children of darkness!
    John 3:19 KJV 1900
    And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
    Light and darkness are not simply opposites; darkness is nothing other than the absence of light.
    D. A. Carson
    Paul gives us contrasts in these verses between the hiding and the walking.

    A. Not Immorality but Holiness v. 3

    The first contrast is between desires and definition.
    Fornication - This is the immorality of the world on sale for all to see. The meaning of this world is connected to prostitution in the ancient world. People live immorally when they satisfy their desires outside of God’s design in marriage. God instituted marriage in the Garden of Eden. Marriage is defined as one man and one woman for all time. The darkness has corrupted this definition. Paul calls us to bring death to the darkness.
    Colossians 3:5 KJV 1900
    Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
    Uncleanness - There are those who hide in the darkness because of their dirtiness or soiled clothing. When sin is allowed in a life, it brings with it dirt and grime. Cleaning through the Word of God and repentance is the only way to remove this dirt. Our own righteousness is only as good as the dirt of sin.
    Isaiah 64:6 KJV 1900
    But we are all as an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; And we all do fade as a leaf; And our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
    Covetousness - The desire for something that is not yours is prohibited by the Tenth Commandment. Our lives are gifted to us by God. Too often man chooses to desire and often reaches to take something that has been given by God to someone else. Prayer is the opposite of covetousness. When we pray, we rely on God to decide on whether we need what we want.
    We are saints or holy ones. We have already seen in Ephesians that we are bought and paid for by Christ. Because of who we are in Christ, the sin listed here and the sins elsewhere in the Bible should not be seen in the life of a Christian even one time! Reject the desires in favour of the definition of the Christian.
    Ephesians 1:1 KJV 1900
    Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

    B. Not Useless Speech but Thanksgiving v. 4

    The second contrast is between man-centered speech and God-centered speech.
    Not Filthiness - There are those who do not care what society thinks about what they do. Since the soldiers have returned from World War II, we have seen a visible and growing movement in America away from the social standards of former days. Today, there is no longer any concern or embarrassment in discussing the immorality of the world.
    Not Foolish Talking - Have you ever talked to someone who just spent his whole day talking about pointless subjects? Foolish talking is the pointless and heretical teachings and musings of a foolish person. Throughout the books of Psalms and Proverbs, we see the pointless occupations of the fool. He begins with his rejection of God.
    Psalm 14:1 KJV 1900
    The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, There is none that doeth good.
    Not Jesting - This is evil jokes that bring up the unmentionable. Some people will say or do anything to make people laugh. Paul commands us to avoid evil joking.
    What is the alternative to evil speaking? This evil speaking is “not convenient” or else it does not match who the Christian is in Christ. Paul commands us instead to give thanks. We give thanks to God. We praise Him for the light that we have been given in Christ. Absence of thanksgiving is the mark of those without the light of Christ. In Romans, Paul tells us about these who hide in darkness,
    Romans 1:21 KJV 1900
    Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
    Ephesians Ephesians 5:4

    Why is thanksgiving the proper substitute for impurity? Because it is the replacement of idol worship with worship of God.

    C. Not Evil Desire but Proper Worship v. 5

    The third contrast is between temporal worship and eternal worship.
    No Whoremonger - These are those who spend their time and treasure in the continual fulfillment of the flesh. We have already seen their deeds listed in verse 3.
    No Unclean person - These are those who are not able to come into the temple to worship because of their evil deeds. Touching a dead body would cause someone to be unclean. Walking as a dead person without Christ cuts one off from the worship of the King.
    No Covetous man who is an idolater - These are those who want more than is their just desert. God has given all of us exactly what we need for our daily lives. We are commanded to pray that God continues to provide. However, we live in a society of consumerism. We always want more and thus make possessions the god of our hearts.
    Matthew 6:24 KJV 1900
    No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
    Instead of these evil desires, we have the promise of inheritance in the kingdom of God and Christ. No one defined by the constant indulgence of these works of darkness is truly saved or will truly receive the promise of heaven. Our job is to be fruit inspectors of those who profess to believe in Christ. Salvation is inheritance. The future is salvation for all time.
    Mark 12:1 KJV 1900
    And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.

    D. Not Vanity but Separation v. 6-7

    The correct response to the visible immorality of the world is to choose to have no part or enablement in it. Do not partake in the sin. Paul tells us that these who practice the evil works will receive the wrath and punishment of God because they are the children of disobedience. Remember, that we were once these children just as the lost people of the world are today. Check yourself this morning! Are you engaged in these works of darkness? Get rid of them and get it right today!
    The Epistles to the Ephesians and the Colossians Ephesians 5:9–10

    Darkness, like a minus quantity, symbolizes a yawning deficiency, a destitution of the most essential element of life, the light of day.

    2. Some are Walking in the Light

    Ephesians 5:8–14 KJV 1900
    For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
    There was a precedent of darkness but now there is a new choice made - light. Light is an inner change in the soul of man. Where before was ignorance, now there is revelation. Where there was fear, now there is hope. Where there was deceit, now there is truth. Conversion is the light in the soul of man! Through the Light, our candles are lit to shine the Gospel to the world. What was in the darkness will be clearly seen in the Light of Christ!
    1 John 1:5–7 KJV 1900
    This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
    Paul gives several commands to those who are walking in the light.

    A. Walk in Light v. 8

    Though we were once darkness, now we are light. The fact that we are “in the Lord” changes the reality that our eyes see. Paul tells Agrippa that his job as an apostle was to pass on this light just as we must today.
    Acts 26:18 KJV 1900
    To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
    The change that has taken place in our hearts was the result of the coming of Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection. Isaiah prophesied this truth before the event.
    Isaiah 9:2 KJV 1900
    The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
    Because of the light, walking is something that must be done in a different way for the Christian. Before, our desires were the guide on the paths of life. Now our Guide is the one who created life itself. How much greater it is to walk in the light and to see the path ahead to His glory.
    1 Peter 2:9 KJV 1900
    But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

    B. Bear Fruit v. 9-10

    The second command is to show forth the fruit of the Spirit. Three aspects are listed here.
    Goodness - what is moral. Morality is profitability of those who live and walk around you. Even those who follow the theory of evolution see the benefits of moral precepts in the flourishing of society. We are to use the goodness of God’s Word to bear forth the fruit of the Spirit.
    2 Thessalonians 1:11 KJV 1900
    Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:
    Righteousness - what is obedient. Righteous is a gift of God from His own store at salvation. We are righteous only as He has made us so. One dictionary defines this use as “the act of doing what God requires.” (Louw-Nida) Because of our righteousness in Christ, our fruit will be light to the world.
    Matthew 5:10 KJV 1900
    Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
    Truth - what is reliable. Truth is the correspondence of reality. Whereas the world walks in darkness and stumbles along, we walk in light and see the path clearly in front of us to the final destination of our eternal home paid for by the blood of the Lamb.
    John 1:17 KJV 1900
    For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
    The fruit of the Spirit grows in the Light of the Son. When a Christian allows the darkness in his life, the Light is not able to bring about the fruit that God desires. No one can grow in the darkness just as no plant can live without some source of light.
    Galatians 5:22–23 KJV 1900
    But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
    Through bearing the fruit, we can become more and more like the people God has called us to be. We know the truth because we have seen the Light. As trials come, we move closer and closer to the final revelation of the Eternal Light of heaven.
    Philippians 1:10 KJV 1900
    That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;

    C. Avoid Darkness v. 11-12

    The third command is to avoid the darkness. Do not be linked to these works that are without fruit. The sin of the world is unmentionable. If you were to try to describe the sin that those without Light commit, you would not be able to keep your mind right or mine. Too often we make a mock at sin. We joke about what people do in the darkness. As we have already seen, foolishness is found in those who act without regard to God.
    Proverbs 14:9 KJV 1900
    Fools make a mock at sin: But among the righteous there is favour.
    Paul commands us to stop and avoid the sin because our speech should reflect the works of the Light. In Revelation, we see an angel speaking to those on the earth who have come to believe in Christ.
    Revelation 18:4 KJV 1900
    And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, That ye be not partakers of her sins, And that ye receive not of her plagues.
    Avoid the Darkness! Don’t skirt the edge of the rim. Don’t play with sin. Run the other way because you are walking in Light!

    D. Reprove Sin v. 11-14

    The final command is that we are to reprove the sins of the world. We are commanded to show the light into the dark world. When the light shines on the darkness, it makes the darkness go away. Reproving is bringing the lost to repentance. Too often we as Independent Baptists have spent our time with our heads down and our noses up. We have the avoidance of sin down but Paul calls us to be faithful to reprove the sin of the dark world around us. How are you doing?
    John 3:20 KJV 1900
    For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
    The world is sleeping. They are dead without a hope of any life without Christ. Verse 14 gives us the command of Paul to those in the world around him. Come to the light. Come to the truth. Come to the Christ who will take your sin and give you righteousness. Come to the One who is the giver of life to the dying world.
    Isaiah 60:1 KJV 1900
    Arise, shine; for thy light is come, And the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
    We are commanded by Paul to “give light” to those who are hiding in the darkness. This is the Light of Christ inside that is shining out into the world through us. Jesus told us,
    John 9:5 KJV 1900
    As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
    Jesus commanded us now,
    Matthew 5:14 KJV 1900
    Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
    Get up! Go to the world that is dying! Give them the Light of Christ! Reprove the darkness! God is with you! Our task is to be the one who will bring the light to others.
    Let us step into the darkness and reach out for the hand of God. The path of faith and darkness is so much safer than the one we would choose by sight.
    George Macdonald (Scottish Novelist and Poet)

    Conclusion

    Darkness is evidenced in the immorality of those without Christ. Light is seen in the lives lived in the power of the Risen Saviour. Walk in the Light and reprove the darkness in the world today!
    Avoidance of sin is not enough. Paul calls the Ephesians to reproving the sin by name in the society they live in. Faithful avoidance of sin allows for honest reproving of sin.
    Are you avoiding the works of darkness in your life? What does the Light of Christ show in the shadows of your heart? Only you and Him know the answer. Clean up the dirt and grime. Reprove the sin that is besetting your life. Refuse to walk along on the edge of the darkness. All of us fall and all of us fail. Get up and get clean today! David prayed,
    Psalm 51:2 KJV 1900
    Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.
    Sinner, there is hope in the Light of the Christ. Have you stepped out of the darkness into the Light? Christ is there inviting you today. You can be His child today. All that you must do is to believe on Him. He has already taken your sin away and paid the penalty for it on the cross. Believe that He is your satisfactory payment today. Walk in the Light; don’t hide in the darkness!
    John 12:46 KJV 1900
    I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
    ​

      • Ephesians 5:3–4KJV1900

      • Ephesians 5:5–6KJV1900

      • Ephesians 5:7–8KJV1900

      • Ephesians 5:9–10KJV1900

      • Ephesians 5:11–12KJV1900

      • Ephesians 5:13–14KJV1900

      • Ephesians 5:3–7KJV1900

      • Ephesians 5:8–14KJV1900

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