Unlimited Grace

Bryan Chapell: We are in him and in the radiance of his beauty, his holiness, his goodness. We now are light in him and it's only as the gospel now surrounds us, cleanses us, irradiates us as we are in the light that we walk in the light.

Guest (Male): So glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. In today's episode, Pastor Bryan shares a lesson from Ephesians 5. Dr. Chapell highlights how we as believers are to reflect the character of our Father and be a light to the world.

You can find this lesson and many others when you visit UnlimitedGrace.com. While you're there, look for Pastor Bryan's commentary on the book of Ephesians, which he wrote for the Reformed Expository Commentary series.

Dr. Chapell reveals how when we lift our eyes beyond ourselves to share Paul's expansive vision, then we too will join his doxology for God's amazing grace that transforms the world. Let's hear now from Dr. Bryan Chapell as he shares the lesson, "Reflecting His Light."

Bryan Chapell: A friend of mine named John Dozier wrote some years ago of walking out of a cabin in Colorado. As he went out into the darkness trying to identify the goose that had suddenly honked in the dark over his head, it wasn't hard to see because of the snow and a full moon. As he looked up, he not only saw that goose, he saw dozens of flocks of geese, hundreds of geese flying through the air.

As he looked upward, the snow was so reflecting off their bellies that every goose was like a light forming the silhouettes of Christmas trees flying across the sky. It was just a tremendous sight as there, looking toward the Rocky Mountains in the light of a full moon, he was seeing all those flying Christmas trees of birds going across the sky. He paused just for a moment to say, "Thank you, God, for letting me see such beauty."

But he was, in some months later, reflecting on that moment and recognized there was something even more dramatic that had happened in that moment. After all, the reason that he had seen every goose was because its breast was reflecting light off the snow, which was reflecting light off the full moon, which was reflecting light off the sun, which was reflecting the glory of the Creator who made it, which was now penetrating his heart in such a way that as he wrote about it, he was reflecting that glory to others as well.

It was light unto light, glory unto glory, that God was doing that work from beginning to end. It was just a little reminder that every moment of life is an opportunity to reflect the glory and the goodness of God. What that means, of course, is that every path we walk has the potential for being laid on holy ground. Every occupation is a holy calling. Every circumstance, a holy opportunity to meet challenges for Christ's sake.

Every trial, a temple in which we are actually demonstrating the glory of God to neighbor and friend and family and world. We are reflectors of the glory of God as we walk in his light. It's actually the message of the Apostle Paul. It's plain enough in verse 8 as the Apostle Paul says, "At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light."

It's a rather simple instruction to begin with, which is simply the Apostle saying, "Reflect the light of God with your life." But with that order is a wonderful order in which the words appear that we have to study before we take one step. "Walk as children of light because you are," he says, "light." I want you to remember what that means. It means that we are light before we walk in the light.

God is not saying to his people ever, "You straighten up, you get it all straight, you become pure, you become holy, and then you'll be mine." The expression of verse 8 is just so important to say you were darkness, but now you are light. How? In the Lord. That same God who is immortal, invincible, God only wise, who lives in unapproachable light, we are in him.

In the radiance of his beauty, his holiness, his goodness, we now are light in him. It's only as the gospel now surrounds us, cleanses us, irradiates us as we are in the light that we walk in the light. We are responding always to his grace. We are not earning it. We are not deserving it. We are not qualifying for it. But rather, what happens is God calls us to reflect his goodness because he has shed it upon us by his grace alone.

It's just the little rubric again, right? We have identity before we have activity. Who we are becomes more important than what we do because who establishes what we do. And that means grace saves us, and grace cleanses us. Faith in what Jesus does, not faith in what we do, is our ultimate hope. Didn't you love the way Clint and Jessica were saying things today? As they were acknowledging again, "We thought we had things together. It's only when we recognized that we didn't that we turned to the Lord."

Isn't that wonderful? It's the acknowledgment of the need of him, not that we've got it all straightened out, that actually begins to have us reflecting the glory and the goodness that's in Christ Jesus. Now having reflected that glory and that goodness, there are obligations that happen. Following the order of the words, "You are in the light," is the order, so, "Walk in the light." What does that mean?

Verse 9 says it very clearly: "For the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true." It's just a simple image that if you have a seed or a plant that is exposed to the sunlight, it begins to grow and to bear fruit. And what is bearing fruit in the life of a Christian is the fruit of what is good and right and true. Now you may not recognize it, but what the Apostle is doing is he's actually reflecting earlier sentiments that he's already expressed in this book.

What does it mean to bear fruit that is good? In this particular place, it's what's good-hearted. He's reflecting what he said earlier in chapter 4 in verses 31 and 32, that the believer is not bitter, but kind and forgiving. That is the way we have been dealt with by the Lord Jesus. And so if we are reflecting that aspect of our Savior, then his goodness is reflected in us. And not only what is good, but what is right.

This is the reflection of chapter 5 in verse 3, that which is righteous according to God's standards. In that particular place, saying that we are not depending on other people's bodies or passions or our culture's priorities, but in purity, we are seeking to reflect the holiness, the righteousness of our Father. That we walk in righteousness and we reflect what is true, reflecting chapter 4 and verse 25, that we do not participate in falsehood.

But reflecting the holiness and the righteous character of our God, there is integrity in our speech, in our business deals. That when people think of us, they think of people who are honest, whose word can be trusted. They are reflecting with integrity what is right even to their own hurt. Remember, the man who swears to his own hurt and changes not because he recognizes it's not for his good he is living. He is seeking to reflect the righteousness and the holiness of God even if it hurts him.

His word is good. He lives with integrity because he is reflecting that character of his own Lord. I love verse 10 because of how honest it is. Having simply said that we are to bear the fruit of what is good and right and true, the Apostle says in verse 10, "And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord." It's surely the honest statement that it's not always easy to know. We may have to work at discerning what is pleasing to the Lord.

The word for discernment in some of your Bibles will be test or approve what is pleasing. It's actually the image of a metallurgist, one who is testing the purity of metal, one who has to go through a process of discerning what is actually right and good and true. And the Apostle is saying to you and to me that if we are truly trying to reflect the Lord in our lives, it might take some study, some serious prayer, some work with other Christians to say, "What do I do here? What am I needing to do that will please the Lord?"

And I love simply knowing it's not always just cut and dried, that God is requiring the serious discernment of his people. And I'm not weird or strange or weak if I have to discern for a while what God is calling me to do and to be. But the beauty is verse 10 ends by saying, "Seek to discern what is pleasing to the Lord." That even as we sometimes struggle and work through and try to discern, "What is right here?" what is driving us is the knowledge that to discern what is right before God is actually pleasing to him.

For those of us who recognize that our sin has been washed away not by our work but by the great grace of Jesus Christ, we actually want to do what is pleasing to him. And it's actually our joy to know that when we discern, when we work hard, when we strive to find out what is right and good and true, that that actually pleases God. As meager, as hard as it may be for us, our efforts actually do please him.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. The Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians to declare God's plan that the gospel of Jesus Christ would reach the world through weak and sinful people like you and me. He writes that God has redeemed us to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

When we lift our eyes beyond ourselves to share Paul's expansive vision, then we too will join his doxology for God's amazing grace that saves individuals, empowers the church, and transforms the world. Yes, such grace really is possible, and Pastor Bryan's commentary on the book of Ephesians clearly teaches the details of this amazing truth.

As a thank you for your support of our ministry here at Unlimited Grace, we would like to send you a copy of Dr. Chapell's commentary, which he wrote for the Reformed Expository Commentary series. You can request your copy of the commentary on Ephesians when you donate online at UnlimitedGrace.com or by calling 844-41-GRACE. That's 844-414-7223. And now, more from Bryan Chapell on today's Unlimited Grace.

Bryan Chapell: Kathy and I have friends who have a grandchild that was left with them for a few months as a daughter went through a difficult period in her life. And as the grandparents cared for that grandson, of course, there was a special bond that developed between grandparent and child as they cared so parentally for that child for those months. But ultimately, in God's goodness and grace, the daughter got back on her feet and kind of got her life put back together.

And part of getting back together in life was finding a job, but it was in California, which meant that she had to take that grandchild and go far away from the grandparents. That was a sad thing. They knew it was right. They knew it was the right thing to do, and yet it was hard for them. Sometime after the daughter and the grandchild had been in California, a neighbor of the couple, the grandparents, was actually out in California and met the daughter and the grandson at a Kmart in California.

The neighbors, recognizing the daughter and the child, said to the child, "Would you like to give anything to us that we could take back to your grandma and your grandpa?" The little boy kind of looked troubled for a minute and then began to reach into his jeans and dug deeply into his pocket and finally pulled out a little ball of lint. "Would you give this to Grandma and Grandpa?" Well, when the grandparents heard about that from the neighbor, they kind of held out their hands, "Could we have the lint?" and the neighbor said, "Well, we didn't bring back the lint."

And Grandma and Grandpa said, "We wish you had because he was giving all that he had, and we would have treasured that." Sometimes don't you just think you're giving lint to God? It's not much. I struggle to know, is it the right thing? I'm trying to do my best. I'm not sure. But to know that what we offer to God, seeking to reflect his character and glory in our lives, he is pleased to receive. Isn't that a blessing? In all of our weakness and all of our struggles, he is pleased to receive it from us.

And so he says to us, "Walk in the light as children of light. I am pleased to receive your goodness and your righteousness and your truth offered in my name." Walking in the light is not just about reflecting light. This passage is also reminding us it's actually about exposing the darkness. Verse 11: "Take no part in the unfruitful words of darkness, but instead, expose them." Now this is kind of tough talk.

You need to identify what is contrary to the light, and I want you to take no part in it. In the writings of the Apostle Paul, this notion of partnership does not mean have no contact with other people who are sinful or wrong or represent the darkness. It means don't be controlled by those relationships. After all, if we had no contact with people who did not know the Lord, were unaffected by his light in their life, there would be no mission in the life of the church.

But instead the Apostle talks to us about not being partners with those who are in darkness in such a way that their lives begin to control our lives. Think how Paul says it in 2 Corinthians chapter 6: "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers." To be in a relationship where they're pulling you around. "For what partnership does belief have with unbelief?" It's the calling to Christians to be examining the various relationships of our lives and saying it certainly right to be in contact with those who need to know and hear the word of the Lord, to live in our own lives and our occupations and our paths and our relationships as those who are reflecting the light.

But has the darkness begun to control us? Then to have no part in that which is controlling you but rather to expose the darkness. That means, of course, in our businesses, it's one thing to be light in darkness; it's another thing to start being controlled by the darkness. In school, it's one thing to have friends and peers who need the word of the Lord; it's quite another thing to begin to partner with them in their lifestyle.

In our romantic relationships, it's one thing for sure to be a witness for Christ, in another it's quite different to actually have somebody else's faith or priorities to begin to control you. When we were talking with the Yams the other night, I quoted my wife Kathy who said, "If you're wondering who is God wanting you to unite with in life, run as hard as you can after God, and if that person can keep up, marry them."

But if what's happening is you're running hard after the Lord and somebody's beginning to pull you back or take you a different direction, as much as our hearts may yearn out of loneliness and care for that person, that's not what God is calling us to do. We are not to be partners with the darkness when the darkness is actually what's going to control. And so we are cautioned to expose the darkness rather than partner with it.

How do you expose the darkness? Verse 12: "It is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret." Now do you recognize a problem here? Kind of an apparent contradiction. It is shameful even to speak of the darkness. In order to say that, what did the Apostle just have to do? He just had to speak of the darkness. The Apostle's actually reflecting something he said earlier in the chapter. He said, "There should be no hint of sexual immorality among you."

It should not be in your conversation in the sense it should not be labeling you. It should not be common. What is darkness? That should not be characterizing your conversation. It should not be present among you in such a way that it's just the accepted dialogue in conversation. So if you're just speaking of it in such a way that it is dulling you to the reality of the darkness, that constant conversation, that characterizing speech of what is of darkness, should not be of you.

Well, what should you do instead? Verse 13: "When anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible." Now again, the images are fairly simple but important. How do you expose the darkness? In our culture, in our ways, we say, "Well, I have to go into the darkness. I need to experiment and find out, does that work or does that not work? Is that pleasant? Is that not pleasant?"

And the sophistications of our culture say, "You goody-two-shoe Christians, you people who just kind of don't go to the deep experiences of the world, who aren't sophisticated enough to find out what the world really offers, you're not really experiencing all that life can give you." But what the Apostle is saying is the way that you actually understand what darkness is, is by living as a shining brand, as a torch, a light for God. Let your holiness, if you will, counter or expose what is darkness.

It's hard for us, particularly at different stages of life, when people are saying, "You don't really know. You need to find out." And so all the tests of temptation, whether it's drugs or sexual experience or just even knowing more things, we're tempted to become sophisticated as though delving into the darkness is what God is calling us to do so that we can properly counter it. And yet what the Apostle is saying is what he reflects even more seriously in Romans 16: "I would have you wise concerning what is good, but simple concerning what is evil."

I actually like a great deal another translation that says it this way: "I would have you wise concerning the simple things of evil." That the goal of the Christian is not to simply find out, "I'm going to be so sophisticated that I know the ins and outs of every evil," but to recognize rather my holiness is disclosing the evil for what it truly is. In the Roman world to which Paul is writing, you must understand that Roman sophisticated society had every perversion, had every kind of worldly pleasure that we know about in our culture, even more dominant, even more available, and more regular.

And the Apostle, surely knowing that there are people here who have been exposed to darkness, who are wondering, "Should I participate in that?" that they are feeling what the Roman sophists wrote: "Those hayseed Christians. They are so unsophisticated, they are so innocent, they are so naive. They don't understand what the real world is about." But you know even the secular historians wrote that one of the reasons, perhaps the predominant reason, that Christianity spread across the Roman Empire was not because of the sophistication of our arguments, but because of the purity and the closeness and the love in Christian families.

As Roman sophisticated society pursued its perversions to find satisfaction, contentment, and happiness, they observed in Christian families, in chastity, in purity, in modesty, in husband and wife loving each other deeply, the actual joy for which they were longing. And it was actually the Christian torchbearers, the ones who reflecting the light of God in character and home, who were showing a society what it meant to actually find the sophistication of heaven, rather than the sophistication of earth. As that was done, God powerfully used people who recognized my job is to be a light for the Lord.

Friends, I'm so glad you decided to tune in today and listen, and I would consider it a privilege to pray for you right now. Let's go together before the throne of heaven and pray for the Lord's blessing. Father, thank you for being merciful to us. Help our hearts to grasp the greatness of that mercy that you provide so that we can offer our lives to Jesus as a sacrifice of praise that you have made holy and acceptable, despite our many weaknesses and flaws. We thank you for this great grace and pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Guest (Male): That's Pastor Bryan Chapell, and you've been listening to Unlimited Grace. You can find a collection of more valuable resources at UnlimitedGrace.com. When you visit, you will find today's message and many others from Pastor Bryan. Also, be sure to request a copy of Dr. Chapell's commentary on Ephesians. Please be sure to join us next time as once again we endeavor to put Christ at the center of our efforts so that lives might be transformed by his unlimited grace.

This ministry is brought to you by Unlimited Grace Media and continues to be made possible with your generous financial support.