“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:6-10 ESV)
What does it mean to be darkness? Yes, you read that right. I’m not asking what it means to be IN darkness. Most of us know what that’s like. I’m asking what it means to BE darkness. Jesus touches on this in His Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:22-23 He said: “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!”
While He uses the literal eye as an analogy, what He’s addressing is far more tragic than literal blindness, as horrifying as that is. I think of my friends trapped in the bondage of Mormonism who wrongly believe the god and jesus they love and serve is the same as the God and Jesus of the Bible. Yet, when you show them Scriptures like John 1:1 that clearly says: “In the beginning the Word (Jesus) already existed,” it’s as if the meaning escapes them. This verse verifies that God the Father and God the Son are two separate entities, yet, are co-equal and exist in unity with the Holy Spirit – the holy Trinity.
But the verse continues: The Word was with God, and the Word WAS GOD!” (emphasis mine). There are literally dozens of verses that verify the deity of Christ in unmistakable ways, yet, those who walk in darkness cannot see the truth. Why not? It has nothing to do with intellect, it has everything to do with spiritual darkness.
If Satan, the father of darkness, owns a person’s heart and mind, they literally CANNOT see the Truth. The only power great enough to illuminate a darkened mind and heart is the power of the Holy Spirit released through believing prayer. That’s why we cannot become partners with those who walk in darkness.
The word used in verse 6 above literally means: “of ignorance respecting divine things and human duties, and the accompanying ungodliness and immorality, together with their consequent misery in hell.” What does that mean? It means people are so blinded by the lie they cannot see the truth, but while they may believe with all their heart that their lie is true, because of the darkness it brings to their soul, though they may not be “immoral” in the popular sense of the word, their “immorality” is born and grows out of their evangelization of their lie, thus damning immortal souls to hell for their “unbelief” in the God of the Bible.
Why is this darkness so blinding? And why does it bear such a vile punishment? Paul challenged the Corinthians, as he challenges us, when he wrote in 2 Corinthians 13:5: “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.” If the Spirit of God doesn’t illuminate the life of Jesus in and through the way we speak, live, and behave, we’re blind to the Truth and living in spiritual darkness.
If the light of Christ’s life isn’t being evidenced through the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit (that cannot be faked), then the Spirit of Christ is not alive in us and we’re walking in spiritual darkness. However, the greatest evidence is the test of Romans 8:16: “For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.”
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 