1. The Epistle to the Ephesians Watch your step—Ephesians 5:11-17 We pick up in the middle of a passage contrasting darkness and light. J. Doan—Holly Hills—June 28, 2009 Pivotal verse 8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light The walk of one who is light will be much different than the walk of one who is darkness. They will differ as much as darkness differs from light. Paul reminds us that our position in Christ has a completely different outcome than our position in Adam. God's desire is that we be aware of what our walk as saints should look like.

2. The Epistle to the Ephesians Watch your step—Ephesians 5:11-17 J. Doan—Holly Hills—June 28, 2009 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; Verse 7 says that believers should not be “partakers” with the sons of disobedience. Paul is not prescribing isolation here. We must note the distinction between “deed” and “doer.” We can (and ought) to interact with non-believers without partaking of their lifestyle. We “partake” with them when we “participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness.” What possible reason could we, who are the light, have for living like those who are darkness?

3. The Epistle to the Ephesians Watch your step—Ephesians 5:11-17 J. Doan—Holly Hills—June 28, 2009 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; This passage is very similar to Galatians 5. Both passages deal with the same issues. In both passages it is the source of the lifestyle that is the priority. In Galatians, Paul speaks of the deeds/works of the flesh. In Ephesians he describes them as deeds/works of darkness. In Galatians, Paul speaks of the fruit of the spirit. In Ephesians he describes them as fruit of the light.

4. The Epistle to the Ephesians Watch your step—Ephesians 5:11-17 J. Doan—Holly Hills—June 28, 2009 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; Paul describes the deeds of darkness as “unfruitful.” Why would a believer seek those things which can result in nothing, when he already has everything? Rather than participle in the deeds, we are to “expose” them. In light of eternity, nothing worthwhile can come from darkness. As saints, we have “every spiritual blessing.” The infinite value of this will never diminish. The word “expose” means to bring to light, to convince someone of something.

5. The Epistle to the Ephesians Watch your step—Ephesians 5:11-17 J. Doan—Holly Hills—June 28, 2009 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; The word “expose” is an imperative. Now Paul is getting crazy. We are to bring deeds to light without even mentioning them. Are we to be constantly pointing out the sin in others? How do we go about “exposing” the darkness? What is it we are supposed to do? 12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

6. The Epistle to the Ephesians Watch your step—Ephesians 5:11-17 J. Doan—Holly Hills—June 28, 2009 13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. As saints, we grow in Christ not as we ponder and bemoan our sin, but as we behold Christ. Not surprisingly, Paul does give us a solution. The key is not to focus on the darkness, but rather to focus on the light. 2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

7. The Epistle to the Ephesians Watch your step—Ephesians 5:11-17 J. Doan—Holly Hills—June 28, 2009 13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. We believers should not be constantly focused on sin. Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. In reality, it does us little good to be thinking about and speaking about sin and sinfulness much of the time. Chester McCalley: It is the function of light to make visible. Purity exposes pornography; purity, however, is not learned by examining pornography. Is there such a thing as an “anti-war” film?

8. The Epistle to the Ephesians Watch your step—Ephesians 5:11-17 J. Doan—Holly Hills—June 28, 2009 14 For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you." To put Paul's words in the vernacular, he is saying: “Get with the program!” What is “it”? This quote most likely comes from an old first century hymn. It is not a quote from scripture. This is not directed to the unbeliever. It is directed to the lethargic believer, like the ones in Sardis (Revelation 3: 1- 6). These are believers who are not walking in light of the Light.

9. The Epistle to the Ephesians Watch your step—Ephesians 5:11-17 J. Doan—Holly Hills—June 28, 2009 15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, The word translated “be” might also be translated “look” or “see to it”. “Therefore” returns us to the thought of verse 8. To “walk in the light” is not automatic for a believer. He must be careful (pay close attention). Hoehner translates the first part of the verse as “Therefore, look how carefully you are walking.” The priority in this verse is that we pay attention to our walk.

10. The Epistle to the Ephesians Watch your step—Ephesians 5:11-17 J. Doan—Holly Hills—June 28, 2009 – Not as unwise men but as wise, If Vern was teaching this... Therefore be careful how you walk, Making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Because the days are evil. – So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is Behold! A chiasm!

11. The Epistle to the Ephesians Watch your step—Ephesians 5:11-17 J. Doan—Holly Hills—June 28, 2009 15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, Wisdom is further explained in verse 17. One who is wise knows what God's will is. What is an “unwise” guy and a “wise” guy? Wisdom means that one has “true insight into known facts.” (Hoehner) One who is unwise does not possess this knowledge or insight. God's desire is that we know who He is, and what He has done for us. That is the basis of a solid walk.

12. The Epistle to the Ephesians Watch your step—Ephesians 5:11-17 J. Doan—Holly Hills—June 28, 2009 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. We ought to be as cautious with our time as we are with our money. Our time is even more valuable. The KJV translates the first part of the verse: “Redeeming the time.” The phrase literally means to buy back, as from a marketplace. “Time” is literally “the time.” It refers to the right opportunity. We carefully purchase each opportunity. How often does God give us opportunities to exercise wise walking each day?

13. The Epistle to the Ephesians Watch your step—Ephesians 5:11-17 J. Doan—Holly Hills—June 28, 2009 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. The end times are getting endier each day. The return of the Lord is not far away. The days that we live in are certainly evil. They are even more evil than Paul's days since mankind is adept at creating new kinds of evil. The phrase “the days are evil” means that they are filled with suffering and calamity. Part of wisdom is making good eternal use of the time we have now. We will soon be in heaven, which is indescribable. Until then, we can live in the Light here on this moldy globe.

14. The Epistle to the Ephesians Watch your step—Ephesians 5:11-17 J. Doan—Holly Hills—June 28, 2009 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. An unwise person doesn't know the thing. A foolish person knows the thing, and ignores it. Paul, being Paul, repeats himself here. This time, though, he uses a stronger word. “Foolish” is much worse than “unwise.” God's will is clearly available to us. He desires that we know and understand it, so that by it we might make good decisions. Effective walking begins by knowing who Christ is, and what He has done for us.