Awakening

Ephesians 5:8-14

The Apostle Paul was a great missionary, but the churches that he established during his missionary journeys were somewhat problematic. One such problematic church was at Ephesus. Paul spent two or three years in Ephesus (Acts 19:10; 20:31), probably the years AD 52-54, and he was successful in establishing a Christian community there, especially among the Gentiles (Acts 19:17–2-0, 26; 1 Cor 16:9). After he left, he lost contact and communication with the believers there. In fact, he had been gone for more than seven years when he wrote the letter. It was probably written towards the end of his two-year imprisonment in Rome, along with the writing of Colossians and Philemon, in AD 62 (Eph 3:1, 13; 4:1; 6:20), and he may have been awaiting a judicial hearing. He called himself “an ambassador in chains” (6:20).

The epistle reveals some of Paul’s concerns for the Ephesians: (1) that they might have a better understanding of what God has done for them in Christ (1:18-23), (2) that Christ might dwell in their hearts (3:17), and (3) that they might understand the massive size of Christ’s love for them (3:18-19). Paul heard that the Ephesian Christians who knew him were discouraged by his suffering and their lack of contact with him (3:13), so he also wanted to encourage them.

So Paul’s letter can be said to be a letter of encouragements and admonitions. So today, we will look at one of his most important admonitions to the church. Let us read Ephesians 5:8-14,

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

The phrase “you were once darkness” is interesting because it is used as a description of the non-Christian life. It does not say “you were once in darkness.” Being in the dark means that you are surrounded by evil, and because of this, your life is influenced by the darkness that surrounds you. There is a lot of sense in which this is the description of our world today. We are surrounded by dark agenda. Television shows promote promiscuity, and turns evil things into funny comedies. Even movies that are supposedly for general audience and for children contain violence, dishonesty, non-submission to parents, and other rebellious attitudes. Things are so bad that my 5-year old child is learning bad manners by watching children reality shows on YouTube. Being in the darkness means that the world around you influences you.

But the passage does not say “you were once in darkness.” Paul actually said: “you were once darkness.” It was not the world that surrounded them that was dark. It was them. Paul was basically saying that they were the bringer of darkness. Their society was dark because of them. There was evil in society, in their families, in their homes, in their schools, and wherever they went because they were the ones bringing darkness and vile deeds wherever they went. They were the cause of the darkness of the world.

This is a shocking description of their previous lives. And we may be able to resonate with what Paul was saying to them. When we were in sin, we were the cause of many evils. People were hurt—physically, emotionally, psychologically—because of us. Our families suffered because of us. Our parents and teachers cried because of us. Innocent people experienced discomfort because of us. Our communities were not orderly because of us. The darkness of our hearts brought upon evil the world and to those around us. Our choices were the ones that really contributed to the darkness of the world. We were not victims of the darkness; we were the heralds of darkness.

But these are all in the past. Paul says that “they were once darkness.” Paul describes what happened to them in Ephesians 2:1-5,

You were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

And again in Ephesians 4:22-24, Paul speaks about the fact that they are no longer the same: “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

It would seem that all is well. They have been made new already. In the first two chapters of Ephesians, Paul celebrates the spiritual gifts that they have received. But it seems that something is still wrong with the Ephesian believers. Ephesians 5:14 admonishes the Ephesians to wake up!

Here is the common problem of Christians: We have already been saved. We have been set free from darkness and have joined the light. We are a new creation, where the old is gone and the new has come (2 Cor 5:17). We have already put off our old selves and identities, and have put on Christ (Eph 4:22-24). But we are dormant and sleeping. Many Christians are professional nappers. They do not sleep at church, and in fact it is when they are at church that they appear to be most alive. But the moment they are outside the church, they are asleep in their faith.

Growing up in the church, I do not remember any moment in my life when I did not love God. But there were countless moments when my love for God was really hibernating. It was there, but it did not make much difference with how I lived, how I made decisions, how I made plans, how I worked, or how I interacted with other people. I know in my head that I love God, but I was not really bothered by what this meant.

  

As Filipinos, we are familiar with the saying, “it is hard to awaken someone who is already awake: mahirap gisingin ang gising.” This applies to sleeping Christians too. I am sure that we are already half awake. It is not as if we are clueless about our own situations in life. It is not as if we have no idea about the very needs of our souls. But even when we know that we need to rise up, we choose to stay down. Paul was aware of this human tendency, which was why in 5:14, Paul was not pleading with admonishing tears. Paul was commanding the Ephesians to wake up and rise from their dead state. He was calling them, or commanding them to rise from the dead. The picture is that of Jesus commanding Lazarus, “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43) or commanding the little girl, “Talitha koum” (Little girl, I say to you, get up! Mark 5:41). The dead hear the voice of God, and they respond. They truly rise from the dead in obedience to God’s command. The promise is clear for us: “Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live” (John 5:25).

The consequences of our slumber as Christians is quite drastic. Let me present you some statistics. According to a speaker during the Manila Missions Conference in 2015, there are approximately 180,000 people saved in the world per day. There are 7.3 billion people alive in the world. If the global church reaches out to 180,000 people per day, then there are 65,700,000 people saved every year. If this continues, it will take 111.111 years for 7.3 billion people in the world to become a Christian. This will be achieved in 2127.

The problem is that by 2127, world population will not remain as 7.3 billion. By 2127, the projected world population, according to the UN, is about 19 billion. Thus, if we want the people of the whole world to be Christians by 2127, we need to reach out to 171,000,171 people every year during the next 111 years. This means reaching out to 468,493 people per day for the next 111 years. So, if we are reaching out to 180,000 people per day, then there are an estimated 288,493 who are lost per day for the next 111 years.

Of the 7.3 billion people in the world, 2,173,180,000 are Christians. If there are 180,000 people reached out every day, it means that it takes 12,073 Christians to reach out to one non-believer per day or there is only one in every 12,073 Christians around the world who bears witness to Christ to one person.

These numbers present a stark reality. If we, for a moment, think that Christians around the world are not sleeping, we are terribly wrong. This is why Paul’s admonition is very important. In fact, Paul commands us to awaken from our slumber not really for our own sakes. The purpose of awakening is not so that we gain blessings or gifts from God. Awakening is not an end in itself and for our sakes; it is for the sake of others. If we awaken from our moral slumber, the result is that “Christ will shine on us” (Eph 5:14).

If in the past we were once darkness, and we brought darkness into the world, now we should be light who bear the fruits of goodness, righteousness and truth (Eph 5:9). But we can only be the light of the world if we awaken. More than we care to admit, the church can be like the valley of dry bones pictured in Ezekiel 37. We are a group of dead bodies. We are there. We exist, but we exist in the form of scattered bones. We deceive ourselves by thinking that it is alright to be lying down, so long as we are Christians. But the fact is this: the church of Christ must not be composed of dry bones. We need to wake and rise up and become a living army (Ezek 10:10).

The prophet Isaiah paints a wonderful picture that we must all aspire.

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
² See, darkness covers the earth
    and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
    and his glory appears over you.
³ Nations will come to your light,
    and kings to the brightness of your dawn

(Isa 60:1-3; cf 2 Cor 3:18)

“Thick darkness is over the people,” says Isaiah. This is the picture of the world as it is today. But there is hope. If we awaken from our slumber, God’s glory will appear upon us. If we “arise, shine, for your light has come,” “nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” We are the light of the word, Jesus said (Matt 5:14), and if we allow our light to shine, peoples and nations will know God.

Awaken. As in the valley of the dry bones, the only way to become alive is through the enlivening power of the Holy Spirit. Maybe what we need today is a fresh touch of the Spirit.