Let’s review: Because we have become the sons and daughters of this great and Holy God, who is infinitely pure – by means of the coming of the Son of God, and the atonement that He made available because of His incarnation, death, burial, resurrection and ascension, and because of our faith, trust, belief and confidence in God the Father and God the Son, and we are indwelt by the precious Holy Spirit, now we are the beloved sons and daughters of God!
Just as human children look to their parents as role models (for both good and bad), and often embrace their values and imitate their behavior, we are to imitate our Heavenly Father and Messiah Yeshua, our Elder Brother. And, we should imitate God. Our Heavenly Father is a good Father. He is perfect in character, perfect in values, perfect in His ways. Therefore with intention we learn what He is like and how He acts, and we pattern ourselves after Him.
There are several special areas that we need to model ourselves after Him: We are to be imitators of God in love; and we are to be imitators of God in holiness. God is love, and sacrificial love that is based on truth and really helps others pleases the Lord. And, the Almighty will bless and reward us when we walk in love. The God of Israel is also a God of holiness. The Separate One is completely free from all sin, evil, or anything that is in the slightest degree wrong. He radiates an amazing moral perfection.
His sons and daughters are to imitate our Father’s morality purity. Rabbi Paul emphasizes two main areas – sex and materialism. We must stay within God-honoring, God-ordained, God-pleasing sexual and materialism-restrained boundaries. Morality and purity in the areas of sex and materialism show who we really are – if we are genuine born again children of God, and if we have the holy Spirit of the Holy God living in us, and if we really are saints – God’s holy ones, or whether we are SINOs – Saints In Name Only.
We must not be deceived. We are to know with certainty that the immoral and impure person, who won’t submit to the God-ordained requirements of holiness in the areas of sex and freedom from materialism isn’t a saint, no matter what he or what someone else may say. He is a worshiper of idols! An idol doesn’t have to be in image of wood or stone or metal that is worshiped. It can be anyone or anything or any activity that is substituted in the affections and devotion of a human being that rightfully should go to the one and only God. Money, the desire for things, success the way this world measures success, sex, entertainments, relationships, the lust for power, the desire to dominate others, can become idols in your life, and make you a worshiper of false gods. And, that is a very serious offence. It is a rejection of the true God and it must be punished.
We must not share the corrupt values and morals of the disobedient human beings who populate the world, or we will share their punishment. We must consciously and purposefully separate ourselves their attitudes, from their sins, and from their punishments, by being sons of obedience, not sons of disobedience; obedient human beings with godly values and a high morality, and submission to the Lord, demonstrating to God and man that we are no longer part of corrupt humanity or share its future.
We may have been like them before, but that was in the past. Now we are different. We have been enlightened. For you were formerly darkness: we were part of humanity that is itself darkness. We were not only in the darkness, but we were part of the darkness. We were under a dark and evil Satanic domination, with an evil spirit working within us. We were without saving truth, without the knowledge of the only true God.
We were enmeshed in false religions and philosophies. We indulged the lusts of the flesh and mind. We were chaotic, confused, in error, deceived and deceiving. We were idol worshipers. We crossed moral and spiritual boundaries that should not be crossed. We were dead in trespasses and sins, immersed in death, not life, without God, having no hope. But now, in stark contrast to the way we were before, you are light: We were darkness, but now we are light – and light is a symbol for truth, salvation, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, revelation, victory, and genuine happiness that lasts, but the only genuine light is light “in the Lord.” It and wisdom and salvation that only comes from Adonai, the One who is who He is, the only real God, the Creator of all things, who is the Source of life and existence; it is happiness that is connected to the God of Israel; it is knowledge and victory that only comes from being joined to and being submitted to the Three-In-One God.
Don’t just talk that way, and claim that you are a Believer, a Christian, a Messianic Jew, but live that way! Walk as children of light. Live in a way that reflects our new reality, our new relationship to God, and the moral and spiritual transformation that is taking place within us, and the new standards that we are committed to. And, we can live as human beings who radiate light with God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit.
The inspired Rabbi from Tarsus gives us three things that our knowledge of God, and truth and salvation should produce in us: for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Goodness: It is what is helpful and beneficial, not harmful or hurtful. Goodness, like love, must be based on truth. Goodness can’t be based on what is false. We don’t want to be doing things that we think are good, but are in reality harmful. We must learn what is good and systematically do what is good for other human beings. Is your life characterized by goodness?
Righteousness: It is being in a right relationship with God, and then consistently doing the right things, not the wrong things, not bad things, not sinful things. It doesn’t mean that you never sin, never make a mistake. When you do sin, your admit it. You confess your sin, you make amends, you get right with God again. Are you right with God? In spite of your ups and down, and your occasional failures, can you say, I am in a relationship with my Creator that is right, and I am more and more doing the right things?
Truth: Truth is what really is, not what we think it is. There is such a thing as absolute truth, not relative truth, not “your truth is your truth, and my truth is my truth;” not truth that is determined by the opinions of fallible and ignorant human beings, but truth established by the Creator. Truth is knowable. We must find out what really is, and then line up our thinking, our values, our words, our actions, with the truth. Are you?
Our lives must be producing good things, right things, truthful things, or we may not be children of the light. Is yours?
Its not that we know all of the truth, and become perfectly good and righteous immediately, or even completely in this life. Growth in holiness and righteousness (sanctification) may take time. Newer believers might not always know what is good and right and true in a given situation, but as you continue reading the Scriptures, talking to other believers, consulting with wiser individuals, an with your rabbis, and gaining more experience, you learn what is genuinely pleasing to the Lord, and then with God’s help you implement that knowledge, and goodness, righteousness and truth shines from you more and more.
In contrast to the fruit of light which must radiate from our lives, are the unfruitful deeds of darkness which we need to eliminate from our lives, and from the lives of others: Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them. If light represents truth, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, revelation, victory, salvation and genuine happiness that lasts, then darkness represents chaos, confusion, error and deception – not truth knowledge and revelation; foolishness – not wisdom and understanding; defeat – not victory; death and loss of life – not salvation; a false happiness that is not genuine because it is not based on truth and will not last.
Light proudly shines because it knows it is good and true and of God. Those who are engaged in the deeds of darkness often are not proud of what they are doing, because deep down they know that many of the things they are doing are wrong, and so they hide their unfruitful deeds in the dark and in secret.
For it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. We are a fallen race, a sinful species, a corrupt people, with values and morals that are in line with the demonic god of this world, and human beings do many things in secret that are repulsive to morality and that are not even proper to mention. When the media publishes accounts of some of the horrible things that people do, prevent yourself from examining the perverse details. When you give your testimony, and share how the Lord changed you, and brought you from darkness to light, don’t go into too many of the disgraceful details.
But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. This is to encourage us to take a stand for God, for truth, for morality, for what is right. Light, by its nature, goes on the offensive. It shines it the darkness. It can’t help itself! When light shines in the darkness, it exposes the things that are in the darkness. If you have a dark room, even a small light may reveal that the bed is unmade, dirty clothes are everywhere, trashed is piling up, there are old whiskey bottles, drugs and drug paraphernalia and pornography lying around, and the litter box overflowing with cat litter.
God has made us the light of the world. We are not to keep the truth hidden. Our light is must shine, in our own lives, and also into our society. We need to tell others the truth about the holy God, and the message of salvation, and His standards of morality. We must tell others that a good life, a meaningful life does not consist in the abundance of things. We must speak to the sons of disobedience about the need to turn to God, and turn from their sins, and embrace what is right. We must declare that blasphemy, sexual immorality, perverted tolerance with no absolutes, abortion, homosexuality, greed, unbelief, divorce with no Biblical basis, having children without being married, living together without being married, is wrong and harmful and displeasing to the Lord, and will result in wrath and punishment. Disobedient humans may not like it, but we must speak out anyway. Our light must shine.
And, some may listen and amend their ways and come out of the darkness and embrace the light. We can make an impact! Things can change. People can change. People can go from darkness to light, from death to life, from sinfulness to righteousness. Even one small candle can shed enough light in a dark place to reveal what is there. The darkness is subject to the influence of the light. But even if they don’t change, our light must still shine, so that they world will have an opportunity to know the truth they have rejected.
For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Messiah will shine on you.” This seems to me to be a song that Messianic Jews and Christians sang in the first century. It expresses the truth that human beings are asleep – not physically, but spiritually. Fallen humanity is sleeping. We are unaware about what is really going on, what is really important, what is really good, what is really worth pursuing. It is more than a little nap kind of sleep. It is like a very deep, a sleep that is so deep and profound that it is more like death.
We are in so much in darkness, we are so sleepy, so unalert, so unaware, so unresponsive that we are dead! But, when the truth of God shines through His sons and daughters into the darkness, so that we are declaring the reality of the living Messiah, those who are in this death-like sleep are able to wake up from their deadly sleep and respond to the light and come into the light and be saved and transformed so that they become children of light!
How does the Messiah shine on those in the darkness of spiritual death? Through us. Through you. Through me. We need to make sure that we are shining; that our light is good and strong and pure; that we are not asleep, not in the dark, not unresponsive to God and truth and morality. Don’t stay in bed sleeping! Wake up! Get out of bed. Get dressed, and go to work. Listen to the truth. Pay attention to morality, to living in the right way, and declare the truth to others.
Don’t be like the Chino – the Christian in name only, who, at 11:00 in the morning, with the sun shining, and with work that needs to be done, is in his dark room, with the shades drawn, sleeping comfortably in bed. Make sure that you are up and out of bed, and outside where the sun is fully shining, and working and leading a productive life! We only have a limited time to work! Allow the light of truth that is shining from the Messiah to reach you in the darkness, and then make sure that you bring that truth, that victory, that happiness to world that is truly in darkness!
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. The days we living in are evil, not good. They are short, not long. The opportunities to do good, and gain a reward are limited, not unlimited. All the days of the World To Come will all be good, and we can enjoy ourselves, and have fun then.
When time is short and days are evil, it is wise not to waste time and opportunities with fun and pleasure and things that won’t last. Our opportunities to stand for God, and for righteousness, and morality, and call the world to repentance, and deny self, and take up our cross, and seek heavenly rewards, are limited.
If we know this, if we are wise we will live differently from the way people do who are still part of this world. We will treat our time differently from the way we would if the days on Earth were good. But, since these days are evil, if we are wise we will understand that our purpose is not to enjoy ourselves or have fun. We will devote ourselves to counteract the evil, to shine the light of truth, to work hard serving the Lord, to work with Him to save dying humanity!
Living for yourself, for money, for success in this world, for things that will pass away with the passing away of this world, for wrong things that displease the Lord, for things that will not earn a reward, but will actually result in divine punishment, is foolish living.
Living that has the goal of shining the light into the darkness is wise living.
Living that has the goal of proclaiming the Gospel through word and deed, proclaiming righteousness, holiness, morality, salvation, is wise living.
Living that is building up the community is wise living.
Are you making the most of your time, your opportunities, by living well, by being alert and zealous for the Lord, working with Him to make the redemption of fallen human beings your priority? Are you building up Messiah’s Community, so it can be a place of restoration for those who are coming out of the confusion and death and into the truth? That is wise living. That is smart living. That is doing the will and the desire of the Lord.
One area that tempts many people, and is part of foolish living, because it leads to wasting time, energy and resources, and destructive behavior, is drunkenness. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation.
Life in this in this demonic dominion is hard. People are generally not happy. They are not happy with themselves, They have problems with their relationships. They are unhappy at work. They struggle to make enough money. Drugs and alcohol can give you a good feeling, but it is an artificial happiness, since it comes from outside of you and really doesn’t solve your problems. A little wine is OK, but too much wine, and drinking so that it becomes habit forming, and you depend on that drink for your sense of well-being, or ability to cope with the difficulties of life, is not OK.
Drugs and alcohol may promise good feelings but if not used properly they don’t deliver. In fact, they do the opposite. The more you drink and drug, the more your ability to do work, and your finances, and your relationships are ruined.
You want to feel good? You want to be happy? The party scene is not the way. Here is the real way, God’s way to be happy: But be filled with the Spirit. Real happiness comes from the One who made us, the God Who Wants To Live In Us, from the One who is the Source of Life, and Meaning and Happiness. Human beings can never be truly happy until they know this God, and until they live in Him and He lives in them. This transcendent God, who is above us and beyond us and greater than the universe, is also able to live within us, in the heart and soul of a man or woman, boy or girl.
Find out about your Creator, who is the God of Israel, is. Believe, because it is true, that He sent Yeshua His Son as the Anointed Prophet, Priest and King, filled with the Spirit of God, and empowered by the Spirit of God. Place your trust, faith, belief and confidence in the Father and the Son. Then you will receive the Spirit of God.
Then, stay close to God by practicing your spiritual disciplines: reading the Scriptures, praying, giving thanks, coming and serving at your congregation, giving, witnessing. If you stray from the Lord, or fall into some sin, confess your sin, and ask the Lord to restore you and fill you with His Spirit again. Be filled with the Spirit.
There is one baptism of the Spirit, but many fillings of the Spirit. There is one sealing of the Spirit, but many fillings of the Spirit. All Believers are sealed with the Spirit. All Believers are baptized with the Spirit, but all Believers are not always filled with the Spirit. They get filled, but then sin, they wander, and they become unfilled. They are not as close to God as they can be, should be, need to be.
When we are filled with the Spirit, it looks like this: speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. You are not off by yourself, isolated from the community of saints. You are in fellowship with other believers. You are close to other Christians and Messianic Jews. You are singing with them, and singing to them, and encouraging them. You are talking to the other believers, encouraging them by reminding them of the truth, using the book of Psalms and other good worship songs that you are learning in your community.
I find it interesting that Paul doesn’t mention speaking in tongues and doing miracles, but simply good relationships within your religious community which is characterized by speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
If we are filled with the Spirit, we are close to one another, and encourage one another, and singing to one another, but also we are close to God, and singing to Him, and thanking Him. singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah to God, even the Father.
We are singing to God throughout the day, not just when the saints assemble for “worship time.” We are singing to Him, and praising Him for who He is, and the great things He has done, is doing, and will do. We are thankful to Him for His many blessings, for sending the Messiah, for salvation, for the gift of His Spirit, for our community, for meeting our needs, for His love, for the sure hope we have or inheriting eternal life.
We are able to be close to the Lord, and filled with His Spirit only because of your connection to and relationship with the one and only Mediator and High Priest between God and man, the One who is our elder brother, our kinsman redeemer, the One who is fully God and fully Man, Messiah Yeshua, our Messiah, Savior, Lord, and King.
And be subject to one another in the fear of Messiah. We are not off by ourselves, isolated from Messiah’s Community, as is the bad habit of many, but we are close to one another, so close that we are subjecting ourselves to the saints within our community.
We are subject to one another in our community, relating to one another, letting the light that is shining from others shine into us. We make ourselves willing to listen to truth, and receive correction from others, humbling ourselves to the truth and to one another, understanding that it is Messiah who is speaking to us through others, and this is the way that He works to perfect us. And therefore out of respect for Him, as other Christians and Messianic Jews see things in our life that isn’t right, areas that we need to grown in, and they speak to us, about them, we humble ourselves and act on the truth.