The same principle applies as we continue to let Jesus shine. Notice how, in the more literal wording of Ephesians 5, the Spirit places the responsibility on us to take action:
- Be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1).
- Walk in love (“live a life of love,” Ephesians 5:2).27
- Walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8).
- Discern what is pleasing to God (Ephesians 5:10).28
- Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness (Ephesians 5:11).
- Expose those evils (Ephesians 5:11).29
- Look carefully how you walk (Ephesians 5:15).
- Making the best use of the time (Ephesians 5:15).30
In all this activity, “do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17). For example, don’t become proud with success, thinking that human effort achieved it. Don’t be so foolish as to try to earn God’s favor. Rather, keep on submitting in humble faith and so obey the command, “Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). To fail to depend on God or to resist His word is to “grieve the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 4:30).
The Spirit empowers you as you actively submit to His will. That is how Jesus has chosen to release His mighty strength in you. He wants you to agree to change. He wants you to agree so much that you dedicate yourself to the hard work of changing. That is why, like the evangelist Timothy, you take action. You discipline yourself to be godly (1 Timothy 4:8). You “flee from all this (temptation and greed), and pursue righteousness” (1 Timothy 6:11).
You, like the early Christians, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13). Such constant spiritual effort may seem difficult. But you do all this cheerfully,31 “without grumbling or disputing” (Philippians 2:14), for you know that God shines through your hard work.
27. Lit. Ephesians 5:2 and 8 command us to “walk….” This verb pictures the Christian life as active, purposeful and forward moving.
28. “Proving” here, as in Romans 12:2, means testing or trying something so as to prove it acceptable. It is not enough just to talk about pleasing God. He wants us to try it, to experiment, to prove (find out) by actual experience what pleases Him.
29. The Greek word translated “expose” here also has the meanings, “condemn” bad deeds and “prove them wrong.” Shine God’s light so that people can see evil for what it really is. John 3:20 uses the same word.
30. As in Colossians 4:5, “buying up the time” is an expression meaning, “make the most of your time.” Christians try to use time well in serving Jesus and in helping others learn about Him. They try not to waste time through laziness, neglect or poor habits.
31. Research Subject – Glad obedience: 1 John 5:3; 2 Corinthians 8:2; 9:7; 12:10,15; John 15:10-11; Acts 2:46; 13:48; Matthew 11:28-30; 13:20,44; Galatians 2:10; Philippians 2:17; Romans 14:17; Psalm 110:3; 112:1; 119:35