Title: Responsibility of Christians (Ephesians 5:8-14)
Contents
The book of Ephesians can be divided into two main parts. Chapters 1-3 are about the church, and Chapters 4-6 are about the ethical responsibility of Christians based on ecclesiology. Our greatest challenge is to “shine out of the darkness” because Christians are transformed beings and still have to live with the world. As Christians shine in the world, the church can grow and mature. However, the fact that there are many non-Christians around who still live in a way that is different from the Christian is a great temptation and crisis for Christians.
During Lent, we need to think about the responsibilities of Christians in the church as well as in the world, and this text gives important lessons about Christian social responsibility.
First of all, if we look at the structure of the text, verse 8 plays an intermediate role in synthesizing the preceding verses 3-7 and at the same time moving to verse 9 or less. The life of the Gentiles mentioned in verses 3-7 is expressed as ‘darkness’, and the contrasting ‘light’ is mentioned. The life of the children of light is introduced as three virtues (goodness, righteousness, truthfulness) in verse 9, and verse 11 emphasizes the lesson of verse 7 as a new command, urging more active actions beyond the passive dimension of not socializing with the world. do. And in verses 12-14, we give reasons and reasons for living that way.
Unity and Growth of the Church
Ecclesiastes, an important theme in Ephesians, emphasizes the unity and growth of the church. ‘The church’s unity in the Lord’ and ‘desirable church growth’ are the most important missions given to Christians. To the question “How does the church become one and grow?”, the Bible answers, 'Inside the church, Christians must stand firm on the truth and live a life of love for one another' (4:1-5:2). ).
These teachings about church growth are not just about inner maturity. The church must achieve external growth by spreading the gospel throughout the world as well as internal maturity. When we generally talk about mission, we think of it only as a linguistic work of spreading the gospel. It is true that the Korean church and its members have been diligent in linguistic evangelism to spread the gospel, and as a result, the church has grown significantly externally. However, there is an ethical dimension to missions besides the linguistic element. The problem is that, due to the development of various Christian-related media media today, biblical words are abundant, but corresponding actions are not seen. Missions through words alone can no longer impress. Now, we need a more active mission through thoughts and actions that are worthy of our existence as light, which is clearly different from the world that is now dark. This is because the truth of the gospel must be proven through ethical and socially responsible actions.
Christian identity
The starting point of ethical and socially responsible missions is for each Christian to clearly realize his or her identity and to act accordingly. The Christian identity is ‘light’. Where previously darkness was the determining force of their existence and deeds, it is now light. Existence and action must coincide. Rather than acting as a Christian, the change of existence through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ takes precedence. A change in existence takes precedence, and action must occur in accordance with that change. In the text, not commanding “become light” or saying “become light” by doing good deeds, but definitively saying “it is light” already emphasizes the change of being that has already taken place in Christ, and reflects the change in being. This is to emphasize the need to act appropriately.
Light cannot coexist with darkness. For Christians who have become light, darkness must not remain. A Christian cannot by nature engage in the works of darkness. The moment you engage in the work of darkness, the light loses its light. This is just as the impossible happens when Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that “salt cannot lose its saltiness.” If there is a Christian who is both light and partakers of darkness, he is not a true Christian.
This does not mean, however, that the saints teach that they should not live in harmony with the world at all. In the past, a certain area that was stipulated by law for Jews to live separately was called a 'ghetto'. Within the ghetto, Jews were allowed self-government, including running their own religious, judicial, charitable and recreational institutions. Outside the ghetto, Jews were required to wear a sign of their Jewish identity (usually yellow), so there was always the possibility of physical harm or affliction. Later, the Nazis created a modified ghetto, the so-called infamous Jewish concentration camp.
Christianity never teaches a ghetto-like belief or life. Rather, as a light, Christians are commanded to take on the active responsibility of illuminating the darkness. Christians have a mission to rebuke and not engage in dark works, and to lead those living in darkness into the light. This is the social responsibility of Christianity and ethical mission. If you can hear the lament that today's society is getting dark, it will be a lament that the church and Christians are failing to fulfill their mission of light. This is because when the church and Christians properly play the role of light, the church will grow and society will become brighter.
Christian fruit
“The fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth” (verse 9). Instead of saying ‘fruits of light’ here, the expression ‘fruit of light’ is meant to refer to the entire existence of light that cannot be seen by dividing it into specific actions. The Christian life means that no one moment, no one space can be darkness or shadow, the whole life must be light. Here, ‘goodness’ refers to ‘human morality who lives worthy of God’s request’. In addition, ‘righteousness’ refers to ‘ethically correct and just behavior of human beings’. And ‘truth’ refers to ‘human reliability’.
However, in order to bear the fruit of the light, we must first discern what the will of the Lord is (verse 10) before concrete action. Knowing the will of God is the role of the Holy Spirit. This is the meaning of the saying, “Be filled with the Holy Spirit, that you may discern what the will of the Lord is” (verses 17-18). Knowing the will of God or the Lord is the most important prerequisite for living a life of faith. In particular, Christians in our time, where various religions coexist, constantly learn what the Lord's will is in order to maintain their religious values and life amid the pagan values and lifestyles that flood like the saints of the early church and tempt them. Remember to ask and reflect.
Also, in order to know the Lord's will and to bear fruit according to it, we must be critical of the immoral Gentile world. The word 'reprove' in verse 11 is not about correcting the brothers who are going astray in the church, that is, it is not about church discipline, but accusing people of the sinful acts of those outside the world of faith and leading them to repent. means to do The important fact is that Christians can only fulfill the mission of such reproof if they do not engage in such dark practices. For it is quite natural for a Christian to lose neither the strength nor the qualifications to make such reproofs when he or she is swept along or uncritically following the tides of the world.
Next, the sin and the sinner, revealed and rebuked by the Christian, are finally fully revealed in their essence by Christ, who is the light itself. It is Jesus Christ who makes sin a sin, just as the judicial authorities reveal the sin and impose punishment accordingly when there is a transgression. The Christian, therefore, has to deal only with revealing sin and sinners and simply leading them to Christ.
Even if a Christian reveals the true identity of darkness, no one should be condemned because it is Jesus Christ who is the one who ultimately reveals and becomes the light. A Christian is a finite person, and a person's sense of justice or judgment is relative. The ultimate decision should be left to the Lord alone. Christians fulfill their responsibility only by uncovering the true nature of darkness and leading those buried in it to the Lord who is the light. Only Christ can turn those who belong to darkness into light. Only Christ can ultimately judge light and darkness, and can transform darkness into light. In that regard, the importance of mission as a human effort and its limitations should be clearly recognized.
In John 9:1-41, there is an incident in which Jesus healed a man who had been blind from birth so that he could see the light. The central message of this event is Jesus' self-declaration, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). Since Jesus is the light itself, those who are illuminated by Jesus are also light. This man, who had his dark eyes opened and saw himself, the world, and Jesus Christ, told the Jewish religious leaders who were still in darkness that Jesus was not only the true light, but also the true God (John 9:33). Today, I said that Christians should preach Jesus Christ through changed actions, not just evangelism with words. In fact, the blind man testified to Jesus with the courage to risk his life after being healed by the power of Jesus. With this attitude, I hope that you will be able to bear your social responsibility as a Christian.