This Sunday school lesson is from Eph 5:8-14 which deals with Christians as children of light.  In Eph 5:8, Paul wrote, “For ye were sometimes darkness.”  “Sometimes” here is defined as “at one time,” as in Eph 2:13.  Before we were saved we were darkness.  Now that we are saved we are light.  God called us out of darkness into his marvelous light, 1 Pet 2:9.  Jesus sent Paul “to turn them from darkness to light,” Acts 26:18.  

Now that we are light in the Lord, we should therefore:

Walk as children of light – Eph 5:8-9 – we walk as children of light by following Jesus. Jn 8:12 says, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness.”  In his light we have fellowship with him and with other children of light, 1 Jn 1:7.  When a Christian begins to backslide, his fellowship with Jesus will slack and his fellowship with other children of light will wane.  You’ll see him head back into darkness.  We can walk as children of light through the fruit of the Spirit.  Through him we walk in goodness, Eph 2:10, which is connected with light, Matt 5:16.  We walk in righteousness, Rom 8:4, which is connected with light, Ps 37:6.  We walk in truth, 3 Jn 4, which is also connected with light, Jn 3:21.

Prove what is acceptable to the Lord – Eph 5:10 – See Rom 12:1-2.  To prove what is acceptable to the Lord you cannot be conformed to the world.  The world is darkness, Eph 6:12.  The Lord doesn’t want us to abide in darkness, Jn 12:46.  So, we walk away from the world and start walking in the light proving that what is acceptable to the Lord is far better than what we experienced in the world.

Have no fellowship with darkness – Eph 5:11 – the works of darkness are unfruitful, Rom 6:21.  You cannot walk in the light and have fellowship with darkness, 2 Cor 6:14.  You must come out from darkness and be separate, 2 Cor 6:17.

Reprove the unfruitful works of darkness – Eph 5:11-13 – the purpose of reproving the unfruitful works of darkness is to help people see that they’re wrong and that they can be made right by the Lord Jesus Christ.  Of course, if they don’t want to hear this, no amount of reproving is going to make them change.  That’s why Solomon warned against reproving a scorner in Prov 9:7-8, and speaking to a fool, Prov 23:9.  They can’t stand you.  “He that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked,” Prov 29:27.

According to Eph 5:12, to protect your testimony among those in darkness, don’t speak of these things they do in secret.  That’s a shame.  If you talk like them, you’ll find it very difficult to then start preaching the gospel to them.  They won’t listen.

Manifest the unfruitful works of darkness by light, Eph 5:13.  See Jn 3:18-21.  As we follow Jesus Christ in the light, we manifest their deeds in the same way that Jesus did when he was here.

Wake up and walk in the daylight – Eph 5:14 – to the Christians who are asleep, Paul said, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead.”  Churches filled with sleepy Christians are often called “dead” churches.  There’s no light in them.  The church age is likened to nighttime, therefore we must walk as in the day, Rom 13:11-13.  We are children of the day, not of the night, 1 Thes 5:5-7.  

Conclusion: As children of the light, we are to prove what is acceptable to the Lord and reprove the works of darkness.  If we are going to be effective in preaching the gospel, we must walk as children of light, 2 Cor 4:5-7.