Walk as Sons of Light
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
The Hebrew Idiom for Walk Means “To Live.”
In that culture, “to walk” meant “to live” and “to conduct oneself.” It had to do with your behavior.
What a Walk is Not
- A walk is not a run or sprint. A walk is slower and methodical. If you take your time, you can walk for a very long way.
- If you walk slowly, you have time to enjoy the scenery.
- A walk is not a sport requiring a specialized group of muscles that had to be developed.
- Everyone can walk. Babies are so excited to take their first steps.
- A walk is not stopping every few steps for a break; you won’t get very far that way.
- It’s a lifestyle.
If you wanted to study the whole huge subject of walking, you’d need to study the adjectives that are described showing how to walk.
- Walk worthy of the calling.
- Walk circumspectly.
- Walk not disorderly.
- Walk uprightly.
- And many more.
You’d need to study the place where we are to walk “according to” or “by.” We should walk by the Spirit and not by sight.
You’d also need to study walking “in.” For example, “walk in love.” Today, we’ll look at walking “in light.”
Walking in Light
Walking “in” something means that you are dwelling in it. It’s about living; it’s about your behavior.
1 John 1:5–7 APNT
5 And this is the gospel that we heard from him and we preach to you, that God is light and there is no darkness in him at all.
6 And if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we are liars and we do not proceed in the truth.
7 But 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 of our sins.
It’s all about walking in fellowship with God. When you talk about walking in light, you’re talking about walking in fellowship with God and with His Son, Jesus Christ. Remember, Jesus is also light: “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5).
Ephesians Chapter 5 starts out with walking in love.
Ephesians 5:7–8 APNT:
7 Therefore, do not become partners with them,
8 for you were first of all [in] darkness, but now you are light in our Lord. Therefore, so walk as sons of light,
The King James Version says, “you were sometimes darkness,” not “in darkness.” Since God is light and He is in Christ in us, then we are light, too—but before, we were darkness.
This begins a comparison between dark and light, day and night, awake and sleeping. The first thing to know is that we are light. So it’s not a difficult thing to walk in the light.
There’s a contrast between walking in the light and walking in the dark. When you are walking in the dark, you can’t see, you don’t know where you’re going, you’re stumbling around, you make wrong turns and get lost.
Colossians 1:13 APNT:
and has delivered us from the authority of darkness and has transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
Four points about light.
Ephesians 5:9 APNT:
for the effects of the light are in all goodness and justification and truthfulness.
1. Light causes things to grow; it has positive effects (goodness, justification, and truthfulness). It helps us to grow more and more into God’s character.
“Goodness” has to do with a predisposition to do what is helpful or beneficial to others. It could be translated as “kindness.” It’s one of the fruits of the Spirit; it relates to our relationship to other people.
“Justification” has to do with being morally right, up to God’s standards. God had to justify us because we couldn’t get there on our own.
“Truthfulness” is about integrity and honesty.
Those three effects come from walking in the light so that we develop God’s character in our lives—we grow.
Verse 10 sort of summarizes it.
Ephesians 5:9–10 APNT:
9 for the effects of the light are in all goodness and justification and truthfulness.
10 And determine what is pleasing before our Lord
When we walk in the light, we determine or show what is pleasing before God and have the fruit of the light in our lives.
2. Light makes manifest or visible the darkness.
Ephesians 5:11–12 APNT:
11 and do not fellowship with the works of darkness that have no[good] effects, but reprove them,
12 for what they do in secret is abominable even to speak,
The way to know what “works of darkness” are is to shine light on them; it makes them visible. Light makes visible the darkness.
Why is this passage in Ephesians sandwiched in between all the great stuff about walking worthy, walking in unity, walking in love, walking circumspectly, putting on the armor of God, and so on? This part about light is right in the middle of all these other details. Sometimes, we just skip over this part about walking in the light.
Ephesus was a prosperous city on a harbor in Asia Minor. It had the huge temple to Diana (Artemis). Four times the size of the Parthenon. It was over two hundred years in building.
The name “Diana” means daylight.
Acts 19:35 APNT:
And the ruler of the city quieted them, saying, “Men, Ephesians, for who are the men who do not know that the city of the Ephesians is the priestess of the great Artemis and her image that came down from heaven?
That temple also functioned like a central bank. It was the commercial center of the whole area. That’s also where they practiced “curious arts” (magic). The cult of Diana was wrapped up in commercialism and sorcery.
In order to make visible the darkness, it must be exposed for what it truly is. The commercialism of our country is huge (like Ephesus).
Romans 13:11–14 APNT:
11 And also know this, that it is the time and the hour that from now on we should be awakened from our sleep. For now our life has come nearer to us than when we believed.
12 Then the night is passed and the day is near. So we should lay aside from us the works of darkness and we should put on the armor of light.
13 And we should walk in [this] manner, as in the day, not in reveling and not in drunkenness and not in a defiled bed and not in envy and in strife.
14 But put on our Lord Jesus Christ and do not have regard for the desires that are in your flesh.
Light dispels darkness by its very nature. It’s powerful without even trying. You walk in the light, and it will dispel the darkness because that’s the nature of light.
Ephesians 5:13 APNT:
for everything is exposed and is revealed by the light and everything that reveals is light.
3. Light makes visible the path that you should walk on.
Philippians 2:15 APNT:
so that you will be innocent and without blemish, as pure sons of God who are living in a perverted and crooked generation. And be seen among them as lights in the world,
When you can see the path, then you can weave your way through the crooked and perverse generation that we live in. We could live in the most corrupt place and still find the right path because we’re walking in the light.
Psalm 119:130 KJV:
The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
Ephesians 5:14 APNT:
Because of this, it is said, “Awake, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you [cause you to shine].”
4. Light is reflective; it shines on others.
See also Behold the Glory of the Lord.
The purpose of the shining is to glorify God. The light is not of ourselves. If we try to be light, we don’t have it within ourselves. The light is the Christ in you.
Matthew 5:14–16 APNT:
14 You are the light of the world. It is not possible to hide a city that is built on a mountain.
15 And they do not light a lamp and place it under a basket, but on a lampstand and it lights all those who are in the house.
16 Likewise, your light should shine before men, so that they will see your good works and will glorify your Father who is in heaven.
This teaching is also available on the Acts Now Fellowship website.
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