When God's Light Shines

“and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel” (2Tim 1:10).

There have always been heated rivalries. The Hatfields and McCoys. Duke and Carolina. Red Sox and Yankees. Team Edward and Team Bella. But there’s one pair of rivals that goes way back. I mean WAY back. Back to Creation. Who are they? Darkness and light. You may have heard about them. There’s only one problem with their feud. It’s really not much of a rivalry at all. Light is undefeated. It wins. Every. Single. Time. Like I said, not much of a rivalry when you get down to it. Kinda like the Cubs and Cardinals. On the other hand, I guess anybody can have a bad century. But I digress.

Light has been kicking darkness’ backside since God first flipped on the switch in the beginning (Gen 1:3). Here in his second letter to Timothy, Paul tells his young protege how our Heavenly Father kicked on the most powerful light in the universe when His Son took human form. From the darkness of a Roman dungeon, the apostle writes of how our salvation “has now been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel” (v10). 

When God’s light shines, God’s light wins. Every. Single. Time.

Think we’re overstating the dazzling brilliance of what Paul says? Believe it or not, a closer look at the original language reveals that the apostle mentions light not once, not twice, but THREE times! Think of it as God flipping on three supernatural light switches. The Greek words the ESV translates as “manifested,” “appearing,” and “brought to…light” all carry the idea of shining brightly. That makes sense when you remember that Jesus Himself announced, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn 8:12). The apostle’s point to Tim is that when Christ stepped into the spotlight of history, He made everything clear. It’s almost like we stumbled around in the dark and were feeling our way around. Suddenly, Jesus appears and God’s plan shines like the lights of Time Square. In the bright light of the Lord, the darkness of death dies. 

When God’s light shines, God’s light wins. Every. Single. Time.

Exactly what is Paul describing when he writes that “which now has been manifested” (v10)? The key is in the previous verse. So before moving forward, take a quick look in the rearview mirror. He’s talking about the overflowing grace which “He gave us in Christ Jesus before time began” (2Tim 2:9). Did you realize that God’s grace is prehistoric? That wasn’t fully clear until the radical Rabbi/Carpenter made the scene in first century Palestine.

God’s amazing grace was “manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus” (v10). Here’s the first light switch in verse 10. “Manifested” is the Greek verb phanero’o, which means to make known, reveal, make evident, cause to be seen or appear, or become visible. It comes from the root word phos, which describes something that shines or glows. Look familiar? It should. That’s where we get our words like photo, photosynthesis, and phosphorus. 

Allow God’s Word to shine a little light on this word. Paul tells his Ephesian friends, “When anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible (Gr. phanero’o)” (Eph 5:13). Late one night, Jesus tells one of the religious hot shots of the time named Nicodemus, “Whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen (Gr. phanero’o) that his works have been carried out in God” (Jn 3:21). Before our Savior gave sight to a man blind from birth, He says to His crew that God hadn’t punished the dude for any sin, but so that “the works of God might be displayed (Gr. phanero’o) in him” (Jn 9:3). In other words, just wait and see what happens when the Lord flips the light switch in this guy’s life for the very first time.

When God’s Light shines, God’s light wins. Every. Single. Time.

Paul goes on to say that God fires up His floodlight “through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus” (v10). We come to the second divine light switch. “Appearing” (Gr. epiphaneia) is from the same root word as “manifested.” This particular term describes an outward show or something becoming conspicuous. Once again, it means to shine a bright light. When the human authors of the Bible use it when talking about a visible manifestation of the divine. More specifically, they only use in the NT to describe Jesus’ physical Incarnation as the God-Man (2Tim 4:8) or His spectacular encore we call the Second Coming (2Th 2:8; 1Tim 6:14; 2Tim 4:1, 8, Titus 2:13). If you think things shined on His first appearance, it’s really gonna dazzle when our Hero returns. Our future’s so bright, we’re gonna need shades.

When God’s light shines, God’s light wins. Every. Single. Time.

The apostle wants his readers to know God has revealed Jesus to be so much more than simply an awesome self-help teacher, new age philosopher, or miraculous healer. He’s “our Savior Christ Jesus” (v10). As Savior, the Son of God has come to our rescue. After saving a local mafia boss in Jericho, the Lord announces at a dinner party in His honor how He “came to seek and to save the lost” (Lk 19:10). 

Jesus saved us because we couldn’t save ourselves. He fulfills every one of His Father’s commands we could never dream of obeying (Mt 5:17). Jesus saves us by living the perfect life we failed to live, dying the death for our sin we should have died, and rising to the new life we don’t deserve. He trades His perfection for our rebellion (2Cor 5:21). God shines His light on Jesus as the Savior who makes the greatest search and rescue mission the universe has ever seen. Think of the Second Person of the Godhead like a lighthouse in the darkness of the raging storm.

When God’s light shines, God’s light wins. Every. Single. Time.

The radical Rabbi/Carpenter is also the “Christ” (v10). You do realize that Christ isn’t Jesus’ last name. He’s NOT the son of Joseph and Mary Christ. Christ is His title. It means the Anointed One. He’s anointed BY His Father. He’s anointed WITH the Holy Spirit (Lk 3:21-22). As the Anointed One, Jesus operates with all the power and authority of the Trinity. The title Christ is the NT equivalent of the OT Messiah. This is the long promised Hero to come out of the Jewish people and come to the world’s rescue. God first introduced the idea of Messiah just after the Fall (Gen 3:15). He builds on the covenant promise to people like Abraham (Gen 12:1-3; 17:1-8) and David (2Sam 7:9-17). 

As the Messiah/Christ, Jesus is the point of the entire Bible. In other words, Scripture tells just one grand story that some folks call the Metanarrative. Christ is THE Big Hero of the THE Big Story. Not Noah. Not Joseph. Not Moses. Not David. Not Solomon. They are each broken and flawed people in desperate need of a Savior just like you and me. 

Did you know that Jesus Himself said He was the Hero of God’s Story? He tells the religious elite how the Scriptures “bear witness about Me” (Jn 5:39). He goes on to say that when Moses wrote the first five books of the OT, “He wrote of Me” (Jn 5:46). If that’s not enough, the resurrected Jesus leads two dudes from Emmaus on what may be the greatest Bible study of all time. “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Lk 24:67). God’s Word shines the spotlight on Christ and Christ alone. 

When God’s light shines, God’s light wins. Every. Single. Time.

Jesus doesn’t just bask in the limelight. He also “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel” (v10). Paul drops a word (Gr. katargeo) the ESV translates as “abolished.” It describes not just destruction but also a replacement by something better. One expert in the original language says it’s a nonphysical destruction by means of a superior force coming in to replace the force previously in effect, such as light destroying darkness. Did you catch that? “Such as light destroying darkness.” I see what he did there.

Just as light destroys the dark, Jesus brings “life” (v10) to destroy death. We’re talking about an exchange that’s a serious upgrade! As the folks on the Ginsu Knife commercials like to say, “And that’s not all!” This is no garden variety, run-of-the-mill, let’s-get-this-over, boring life. Christ made it totally clear that He came not only give us life but life that is lavish overflowing (Jn 10:10).

This incredible new life that Jesus brings isn’t some short-term deal either. He delivers “immortality” (v10). Once again, it’s a flashback to Christ’s midnight convo with Nicodemus. Whoever trusts in God’s Son will “not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). And Jesus brings His followers immortality, there’s no waiting. This is an eternal life that starts right here, right now!

When God’s light shines, God’s light wins. Every. Single. Time.

We flip on the third switch of verse 10 here when Jesus “brought…to light” these blessings life and immortality. Paul uses another light word: photizo. It means to shine, enlighten, light up, or cause to fully understand by illumination. Jesus’ best buddy John says Christ is “the true light, which gives light (Gr. photizo) to everyone” (Jn 1:9). John also describes how when God eventually brings heaven to earth, “the glory of God gives it light (Gr. photizo)” (Rev 21:23). Once Jesus returns, we obviously won’t have to worry about which light bulbs to buy. 

When God’s light shines, God’s light wins. Every. Single. Time.

With all of the lights on, we can now see everything clearly and plainly. It all makes sense. Through Jesus, light wins and darkness loses. Through Jesus, life wins and death loses. In case you had any doubt, Paul lets us know it all went down “through the Gospel” (v10). “Gospel” is a word (Gr. euaggelion) that literally describes good news or a great message. It’s like finding out the best possible info via a push alert on your phone or a bulletin on TV. This just in! Jesus punches the lights out of sin and death for you and me and so we can spend eternity with Him. This is REALLY Good News! 

When God’s light shines, God’s light wins. Every. Single. Time.

Three supernatural light switches. As Paul flicks each one here in verse 10, the light of God defeats death and darkness each and every time. Click. Click. Click. That certainly makes sense. Sin loves the shadows. It hides in the darkness like the monster under your bed. It suddenly loses it’s power when the room fills with light. That’s VERY Good News! Check out the paraphrase in The Message. “But we know it now. Since the appearance of our Savior, nothing could be plainer: death defeated, life vindicated in a steady blaze of light, all through the work of Jesus” (v10 The Message). 

Let God's light shine in you. Let God's light shine through you. Let Jesus' work on your behalf be obvious to those around you. There's a great song you may have sung as a kid that goes like this. "This little Light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine." Great idea but there's just one little problem. It's not a little light. It's God's great big light. The Apostle Peter tells us that God made us His own so that we "may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1Pet 2:19). Don't hide your light or turn down the dimmer (Mt 5:15). Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine.

When God’s light shines, God’s light wins. Every. Single. Time.

Leaving the Whine Country

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:14-15).

Wine is booming right now. Folks hang out at wine bars, attend wine tastings, and go on wine tours of the wine country. I love a glass of Merlot as much as the next guy. My Savior has been known to keep the party going when the Cabernet runs low. However whine is also everywhere these days. At home. At work. At church. It seems like we’ve taken complaining and snark to an art form. There’s just one little problem. Believers shouldn’t bellyache. About anything. It’s one clear way we stand out in a world full of moaners. Paul lets us know once Jesus comes to our rescue we leave the whine country. 

Hey, if anybody had a reason to grumble it would be the man with the pen in his hand. The apostle writes to his friends back in Philippi from behind bars in Rome. He’s in Caesar’s Supermax after being wrongly accused of stirring up trouble among the Jewish people back in Jerusalem (Acts 21:27-36). He’s spent the past several years in the joint just waiting for his case to be heard and eventually appealed his case to Caesar (Acts 25:11). Along the way, he’s survived a hurricane at sea, been shipwrecked, bitten by a venomous snake before being thrown back in the slammer once again. What he’s been through makes “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” look like a walk in the park. But take a listen outside Paul’s cell for just a moment. What do you hear? Not one bit of grumbling. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Now he writes to the followers of Jesus in Philippi. The best way to stand out from the rest of the whining world is to quit complaining.

I’m pretty sure the apostle left us a little wiggle room when it comes to grumbling. There must be a handful of things we can still gripe about. Let’s take a closer look, shall we? “Do all things without grumbling or disputing” (v14). Did he really write “all things?” Really? I can’t even complain about going to the DMV office? Surely he doesn’t mean calls from telemarketers. He must leave a loophole for those times I’m stuck in traffic and the interstate transforms into a parking lot. Nope. Sorry. “All things” (v14). A closer look at the Greek tells us Paul is talking about “all things.” As the old saying goes, “‘All’ means ‘all’ and that’s all ‘all’ means.” Trust me, I wish there a way around this too. We may have every reason to kvetch and moan. But we’re to follow the example of the One who came to pull us out of the mess we made. If the sinless of Son of God didn’t mutter under His breath as He was betrayed and murdered, what right do we have?

Just in case we’re unsure what “all things” we’re not to do, the man from Tarsus spells it out. “Grumbling or disputing” (v14). The first word is goggusmos, which means murmuring, muttering, or a complaint not openly shared complaining. This when we crank up a whisper campaign for those around us. We’re not grabbing a bullhorn and announcing to the world how jacked up the situation is. No, this is much more subtle and subversive. To paraphrase Governor Pappy O’Daniel from “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”, we’re not mass communicatin’. We’re one-and-a-timin’. We grumble to the person in the next cube about what’s going on. We whine to the folks in line at Starbucks. We rant on Facebook or Twitter. I’m looking for sympathy and support because I’m a victim. Look at poor, poor pitiful me. But maybe I’m the only one who does this. There’s no way you would stoop to anything like this, is there?

Paul tells us to steer clear of “disputing” (Gr. dialogismos). Notice how similar it is to the word “dialogue.” He’s talking about two people in an open argument. No whisper campaign here. This is blatant arguing. That’s EXACTLY the kind of garbage we shouldn’t find among God’s people. The apostle writes to his buddy Tim, “I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling (Gr. dialogismos)” (1Tim 2:8). He tells the church in Rome not to get into silly fights with folks who are immature (Rom 14:1). When it comes to arguing, remember that it takes two to tango. There are times to take a stand but does this dispute bring glory to God? Does it bring people closer to Jesus? Or is it simply throwing mud on the wedding dress of the Bride of Christ? More often than not, I need to let it drop. Or in the words of that great theologian Elsa, “Let it go!”

One huge reason for the followers of Jesus to drop the grumbling and disputing is to stand out from the rest of society. We avoid muttering and arguing “that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God, without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you will shine as lights in the world” (v15). Once we’re kids of the King, we have NOTHING to whine or complain about! When we stop griping, we’ll stick out from everybody else. Why doesn’t she bellyache about her boss? Why won’t he beef about his situation? Suddenly, we shine brightly in a very dark world. Jesus called us to be light shiners and salt spreaders (Mt 5:13-16). One key way we do that is stuffing a sock in mouths instead of calling the wambulance. Let’s be “the light of the world” and “a city set on a hill” (Mt 5:14) instead of Debbie Downer or the sultan of snark. Remember, once Jesus comes to our rescue we leave the whine country. 

Jesus Pleasers

Try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord (Eph 5:10).

Our world is full of fakes, knockoffs and cheap imitations.  When you want the real deal, you have to work hard to figure out if something is legit.  Paul tells the Ephesians that they must “try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (v10).  We need to come up with a way to put stuff to the test and determine if its the real deal in order to please Jesus.  Is it legit?  How can we be Jesus pleasers?

In the ESV, translators use the phrase “try to discern” (v10).  This is the Greek verb dokimazo, which means to test, examine, prove, scrutinize or deem worthy.  This was from a word that described the acceptance of money as legit.  First century culture didn’t use paper money.  Only coins.  Some folks would shave the soft edges and reduce their true value.  The only way you could really determine whether a coin was the real deal was to weigh it.  Only then was it approved.  All others were counterfeit.  It was the idea of checking something out to see if it was the real deal.  In one of Jesus’ parables, He told of a dude who bought some livestock and was on his way “to examine (Gr. dokimazo) them” (Lk 14:19).  Paul told the Corinthians to basically run a background check the people “whom you accredit (Gr. dokimazo) by letter” to carry their financial aid to the starving church in Jerusalem (1Cor 16:3).  According to the apostle, we’re to check out every part of our lives to see if they are legit and pleasing to Jesus.  We’re to “test everything (Gr. dokimazo)” (1Th 5:21), not just religious things.  Is something real or is someone legit?  That’s the point.

You see, Jesus accepts no counterfeits.  He knows which of us have truly placed our faith in Him.  We can’t please Him without trusting in Him (Heb 11:6).  We trust in the fact of His perfect life instead of our complete failure.  We trust in His death on the cross for our sin that we should have died.  We trust in His glorious new life that we certainly don’t deserve.  It’s what He’s done.  Not what we do.  And once we trust Him, we can’t help but please Him.  We’re Jesus pleasers.  Are there times when we break His heart by what we do or say or think?  Absolutely.  But that’s only because He loves us, accepts us and wants His best for us.  He knows our hearts.  He knows who are His.  He knows who trusts.  He knows who’s legit.  He knows who are the real Jesus pleasers.

If something or someone is legit, Paul tells us that it “is pleasing to the Lord” (v10).  He uses the Greek word euarestos.  It means acceptability or well pleasing.  It puts a smile on Jesus’ face.  We learn to do that as God makes us more and more like our Savior (Rom 8:29).  He does this through His Holy Spirit, slowly but steadily changing us from the inside out.  Folks who tuck in their shirts call this sanctification.  God accomplishes a big part of this is by what Paul calls “the renewal of the mind” (Rom 12:2).  As that happens, “you may discern (Gr. dokimazo) what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable (Gr. euarestos) and perfect” (Rom 12:2).  If you were paying attention, you’ll notice Paul used both of those words again!  God gives us a new mind (think of it as a mind transplant) so we will be able to figure out what He wants us to do.  What is good for us.  What is acceptable to Him.  What is perfect.  That’s the same as walking as “children of light” (Eph 5:8) and letting His light discern out “all that is good and right and true” (Eph 5:9).  Think of it as His UV light that exposes a hand stamp.

Let His light shine in your life.  Let Him help you determine if things are legit.  Be a Jesus pleaser.

I would love to know what you think.  Drop a comment below and let's chat.  I would find that most pleasing.

Supernatural Photosynthesis

For the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true (Eph 5:9).

Plants love light.  They don’t just like it.  They LOVE it!  And that’s because of that very cool process God came up with that we call photosynthesis.  This is when a plant converts nutrients and light into energy.  Ultimately photosynthesis produces a fruit.  Here in his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul describes the supernatural photosynthesis that God uses to produce fruit in the followers of Jesus.  “For the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true” (v9).  When the light of Christ shines in and on His followers, it produces fruit.  This process results in goodness, righteousness and truth.

Let’s back up one verse to get a better look at what’s going on here.  The apostle talks about the “before and after” of the believer.  “At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (Eph 5:8).  I used to be in the dark.  No light.  And no light means no growth.  No growth means no fruit.  But my situation has changed.  Radically.  Now I’m in the bright light of God.  It’s not something I’ve done.  It’s something Jesus has done in me.  And it’s a fact.  It’s a truth.  It’s a reality.  We simply need to remember that truth and then “walk as children of light” (Eph 5:8).  Walking as God’s kids in His light produces certain results.  Goodness.  Righteousness.  Truth.  That’s the amazing effect of divine photosynthesis.

Paul’s describing what it looks like to walk in the light as God’s children.  Your Bible probably has this verse wrapped by parentheses.  It’s almost like he’s stopped writing and is looking at you in the eye to tell you exactly what he means.  He uses the Greek word for  “fruit,” which is karpos.  It means an outcome, result, effect, consequence, reaped harvest or the produce of agriculture.  Think apple.  Orange.  Grapes.  Banana.  Tomato.  Potato.  Corn.  Wheat.  Healthy plants produce healthy fruit.  It’s the natural result of photosynthesis.

So what’s the consequence of God’s light on our lives?  The apostle lists three different kinds of fruit hanging on the vine.  “All that is good and right and true” (v9).  Let’s reach up and pluck the first one.  It’s agathosune.  We’re talking about goodness, excellence and kindness.  But we’re not simply talking about doing something that’s decent and average quality.  This good is the good that only God accomplishes.  A young successful power broker once asked Jesus, “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?” (Mt 19:16).  The radical Rabbi/Carpenter stopped this dude in his tracks by letting him know, “There is only One who is good” (Mt 19:17).  Only God is good.  True good can only come from the one true God.  The only way we can truly do godly good is when God is doing good in us and through us.  That requires His light.  And that’s supernatural photosynthesis.

The second piece of produce on the plant is what Paul calls “right” (Gr. dikaiosune).  This is integrity, righteousness and purity of life.  Correctness of thinking, feeling and acting.  In a very broad sense, this is the state of humanity as we ought to be.  Think of it as the condition that God requires from us.  And that standard is complete, total and perpetual perfection.  Think of a pitcher who pitches perfect games his entire career!  Only when we keep and maintain that impossible caliber can we be sure of salvation (Mt 5:20).  But here’s the amazing thing.  God not only sets this impossible standard but He keeps it for us.  Jesus lived that impossibly perfect life that I miserably failed to live.  He died the brutal death on a cross for my sin that I should have died.  He rose to a spectacular new life that I don’t deserve.  In a letter to his buddies in Corinth, Paul wrote, “For our sake He (God) made Him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2Cor 5:21).  We trust in who Jesus is and what He’s done and as a result we receive His righteousness and perfection.  His right becomes our right.  This is God’s dynamic power to put us in a right relationship with Himself.  And that’s supernatural photosynthesis.

Take a look back at the branch and you’ll see a third fruit hanging there.  It’s what is “true” (Gr. aletheia).  This word describes what is objectively true in any situation.  Truth.  The way things actually are.  What is real.  What is legit.  God’s message can be trusted as the absolute truth (2Th 2:12).  Take it to the bank.  Lead pipe lock.  Jesus didn’t just say that He spoke the truth but that He is the personification of it.  “I am the Way, the Truth (Gr. aletheia) and the Life” (Jn 14:6).  The result of the Light of the World shining on and through my life is produces His truth.  Isn’t this supernatural photosynthesis a pretty cool deal?    

The “fruit of light” (v9) is a lot like another variety of divine produce, the “fruit of the Spirit.”  “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23).  I would say that this fruit produced by God’s Spirit is “good and right and true” (v9), wouldn’t you?  It comes as a result of hanging out with Jesus, or as He says, “Abide in Me” (Jn 15:1-11).  He’s the vine.  We’re the branches.  He’s the One responsible for producing fruit.  All we need to do is stay attached.  Stay close.  Abide.  Let His light shine on you.  Let His light shine in you.  Let His light shine through you.  When we do, then supernatural photosynthesis occurs.  

So what do you think?  Do you agree with me or am I way off base?  Drop a comment below and let's chat.

See the Light. Be the Light.

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Walk as children of light (Eph 5:8).

Throughout the history of mankind, we’ve seen light as good and darkness as bad.  Not surprisingly, God has used light as a description for His grace, His goodness and the truth of who He is.  So it’s no shock when our buddy Paul flips on the light in his letter to Ephesus.  “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Walk as children of light” (v8).  Before we knew Jesus, we stumbled around in the dark.  After He “made us alive together  with Christ” (Eph 2:5), He brought us into His light.  As a result, we actually become His light.  So it’s time to get moving and get shining.

See the Light.  Be the Light.

The apostle loves to show us “before and after” pictures.  What we looked like before Jesus ambushed us.  What we look like after He saves us.  Here he reminds us that “at one time we were darkness” (v8).  We weren’t just IN darkness.  We WERE darkness!  We weren’t just in the dark.  We were the dark.  Before Christ revealed the truth of who He is to us, we were the problem.  Paul uses the Greek noun skotos, which means gloom or darkened sight due to the lack of light.  It often describes a lack of understanding or ignorance.  In a spiritual sense, that’s sin and evil.  Christ knew that His arrest under the cloak of night in Gethsemane was all heavily influenced by “the power of darkness” (Gr. skotos)” (Lk 22:53).  Later in this letter, the apostle writes about the spiritual battle that every one of Jesus’ followers needs to realize.  We’re in hand-to-hand combat “against the cosmic powers of this present darkness (Gr. skotos)” (Eph 6:12).  Satan works to keep folks in the dark.  Jesus and His followers are looking to shine the Light.

See the Light.  Be the Light.

Now Paul points to the “after” picture.  Look how bright things are!  “Now you are light in the Lord” (v8).  In the original language, we see the word phos or photos.  It’s where we get our words like photograph and phosphorus.  It’s brightness that shines.  Illumination.  Over and over again, we should shine the light on God and His goodness by using light.  His very first act of creation was to command light to bring order to chaos and darkness (Gen 1:3).  And that was good.  The opening lyrics of one of King David’s greatest hits declare that Yahweh is the very personification of brightness.  “The LORD is my light and my salvation” (Ps 27:1).  Isaiah predicted a day when folks who used to stumble around in the dark would see “a great light” (Is 9:2).  He went on to say that God would send His long-awaited Messiah to fulfill every promise and be “a light for the nations, to open eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Is 42:6-7).  Jesus didn’t mess around when showed up.  One of the very first things He said was that God sent Him on a divine mission to accomplish that very promise to be that light (Lk 4:18).  He even said that He was the very brilliance of God.  “I am the Light of the World” (Jn 9:5).  

Light allows us to see clearly.  God’s light allows us to see Him clearly.  That’s why Paul prayed that God would allow us to see His Son and have “the eyes of your hearts enlightened” (Eph 1:18).  When we place our trust in who Jesus is and what He’s done, we don’t just see His light.  “Now we are light in the Lord” (v8)!  That allows a dark world to see Him clearly.  Get walking in the light!

See the Light.  Be the Light.

And we see here yet one more example of Paul’s emphasis of believers being “in Christ.”  Over and over and over he hammers this nail in his letter to Ephesus.  Just check the various ways he mentions this idea in Eph 1.  “In Christ” (Eph 1:3, 9, 12).  “In Him” (Eph 1:4, 7, 10, 11, 13).  “In the Beloved” (Eph 1:6).  “In the Lord Jesus (Eph 1:16).  Here’s the big idea.  We don’t save ourselves.  We place our faith IN what Jesus has done for us that we could never, ever do.  He lived the perfect life that we completely failed to live.  He died the bloody death for our sin that we certainly should have died.  He rose to a spectacular new life that we absolutely don’t deserve.  When we trust IN what He’s done, we are “in the Lord” (v8).  When His heavenly Dad looks at me, He doesn’t see sinful me but His sinless Son because I am “in Christ.”  This is a mega-theme in Paul’s letter to Ephesus.  He knows that if we realize this reality, we’ll live a life in the light of God’s gracious Gospel.

Paul tells the Ephesians that now that they are the Lord’s light, to “walk as children of light” (v8).  Don’t just sit there.  Get moving!  As the old campfire song says, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!”  Jesus told His followers that we don’t fire up our lantern and then hide it under our box springs (Lk 8:16).  Once He shines His light on us, we’re “the light of the world,” shining brightly as the Vegas strip in the dark of desert night (Mt 5:14).  We do that by helping and loving others.  We let our light shine through our good works.  Not earning our salvation but showing it and shining it.  This gives our Father in heaven all the credit (Mt 5:16).

See the Light.  Be the Light.

This idea of “light walking” has an impact on us and those believers around us.  Jesus’ best buddy John said that walking the light of Christ is the best way to experience living in relationship with other believers.  “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1Jn 5:7).  So get out from underneath your bed and get walking.  Start walking in the light.  Shine!

See the Light!  Be the Light!

So, what do you think?  I would love to hear from you.  Drop a comment below and let's talk it over.

Light It Up

to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things (Eph 3:9).

Things look so different when the lights are on.  Many times when you flip the light switch in a room, you see something that's been there the whole time.  You just never realized it.  That's an important part of Paul's job.  Flip on the lights.  Let everyone see what's been there the entire time.  He tells the folks in Ephesus that he's "to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things" (v9).  This Good News isn't Paul's.  He didn't make it up.  He's as blown away by this as you and I are.  Jesus just told him to hit the lights.  Christ will take it from here.

Light it up.

From the darkness of a dungeon in Rome, Paul flips on the lights.  Not the literal lights.  But much better than some buzzing, harsh fluorescents, he fires up the Light of the World.  Jesus.  The former Pharisee knows just how bright this Light shines.  Christ blinded him at high noon and knocked him off his high horse outside the city of Damascus.  He shined so brightly that it revealed Saul/Paul's sin.  And the Lord blasted him with a light so life-changing that this one-time leader of the movement to wipe out Jesus' followers into His number one spokesman.  Now THAT'S a bright light!

From the blackness of his cell, Paul writes of his assignment "to bring to light" (v9) the Gospel.  This is actually the Greek verb photizo, which means to give light, shine, enlighten and illuminate.  We get our "photo" words from this term.  Photographer.  Photograph.  Photocopy.  Photovoltaic.  All of those things need light.  And the apostle is flipping the switch.  He's turning on the lights in order to make Jesus clear to the world.  Paul knows that when we see Jesus for who He really is and what He's really done, it changes everything.  Once we're blown away by Him, there's no going back.  When life gets hard, the writer of Hebrews pleads with us to get our eyes back on "Jesus, the found and perfecter of our faith" (Heb 12:2). 

Paul is shining his light on what has been there all along.  Or should I say WHO has been there all along.  Jesus.  Jesus is God.  And Jesus is God's plan.  It's been the plan of our eternal and triune God to save the world through Christ since before time began.  Flip back over to the first part of this letter to Ephesus and see for yourself.  God handpicked each of His followers in Jesus "before the foundation of the world" (Eph 1:4).  I'm not smart enough to know old the world is, but that's a LONG time ago!  By the way, you might want to keep this first part of Ephesians handy.  I think we're coming back in just a minute.

God has a plan.  And He gave Adam and Eve a little peak at that plan just after they jacked everything up by breaking the only rule in God's garden.  In the middle of His curse on the satanic serpent, Yahweh warned, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel" (Gen 3:15).  This is the first glimmer of light on the Good News.  One day, Someone will squish our enemy's head and fix what we've tossed in the trash.

But God's plan is much richer than that.  Much bigger than that.  Much wilder than that.  So much so that Paul calls it a "mystery" (v9).  But this isn't a mystery in the Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie or James Patterson sense.  Paul's talking about a mystery in the past tense.  We know how it ends.  We know the big twist that changes everything.  Over in his note to the folks down the road in Colossae, the apostle flips on the lights so that we know that "God's mystery, which is Christ" (Col 2:2-3).  And if that's not wild enough, try wrapping your brain around the fact that once Jesus saves you, He comes to live IN you!  "This mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27).  Wherever he is and wherever he goes, Paul is flipping on the lights so the world can see Jesus.

Light it up!

Jesus has two very specific jobs for His man Paul.  First and foremost, he is His "chosen instrument to the Gentiles" (Acts 9:19).  Christ handpicked this former terrorist of His followers to be His evangelist to non-Jews around the world.  He had the incredible news that Jesus has invited them to the party as "fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel" (Eph 3:6).  Two thousand years later, it's really hard for us to realize just how radical this news really is.  But this is mind-bending stuff.  The Jewish Messiah dying for the sins of Gentiles?  This part of Jesus' mission for Paul continually land him in the joint.  

Here we read the second part of that assignment.  To tell everyone about the Tsunami of Blessings that we'll all experience in Christ.  Remember how I mentioned that opening chapter of Ephesians?  Flip back there and let Paul flip on the lights of God's eternal plan through Jesus.  

God puts us under the waterfall of His gracious blessing.  In Christ.  

He chose us to be holy and blameless.  In Christ.  

He handpicked us to be part of His family.  In Christ.

He redeems us at the cross.  In Christ.

He forgives our sins.  In Christ.

He showers us with His grace.  In Christ.

He renews His broken creation.  In Christ.

He gives us a divine inheritance.  In Christ.

He seals us with His Spirit as a guarantee.  In Christ.

That's the plan.  That's what God does for us in and through the radical Rabbi/Carpenter from Nazareth.  That's what Paul wants us to see when he turns on the light.

Light it up!