what God wanted. However, the purpose of this letter was to create a stronger base of understanding, an understanding of Gods purpose and what he wants from us. Paul wrote the letter of Ephesians to assist the people in the understanding of the dimensions of Gods eternal purpose and grace. He also wrote this letter so that the people would recognize the high goals he had for the church. Leading up to Ephesians 5: 8-16, Paul says to be imitators of God. He teaches how to live a life of love by being moral, pure, and unselfish. Ephesians 5: 8-16 continues to tell how to be an imitator of God and live in the light of the Lord. This passage is greatly important because it is about how we are the children of light and how we need to carry out our lives.1. We were at one time darkness but now we are light in the Lord and we must live like it. (Ephesians 5: 8-9) For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) (Ephesians 5: 8-9). Here Paul enlarges on the contrast between darkness and light (Wood, 69). They were not in the dark and then in the light. They were the dark and then they were the light. Darkness refers to when they were lost and did not know the Lord. They were the light when they were saved and became one in Christ. The whole paragraph plays on the rich symbolism of darkness and light, darkness representing ignorance, error and evil, light representing truth and righteousness (Stott, 199). The word, you, refers to the Christians back then and also the present-day Christians. To live as a child of the light you must have goodness, righteousness, and truth. Goodness is the achievement of moral excellence combined with a generous spirit. Righteousness was understood by the Greeks as giving all their due. Truth was to put all your trust in God (Wood, 70). 2. Discover what satisfies the L...
