The Details of Walking According to Light (2)

Considering again Ephesians 5:9-10— For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth; Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord—we that the first primary characteristics of spiritual light is all goodness.

Second, there is all Righteousness, another principle Paul stressed often in his Epistles. In fact, these two are often stressed together, as they are here. The basic idea in righteousness is that of doing right. We can put the contrast this way: Goodness speaks of being right; Righteousness speaks of doing right.

In other words, while goodness speaks of our position before God, righteousness speaks of our practice toward men. We saw this principle back in Ephesians 4:24. In that context (4:19) the “Old Man” is “past feeling;” he does terrible things to his fellowman but feels absolutely nothing. In contrast, the “New Man” treats others rightly because he is light!

But may we also notice that the word all goes with righteousness as well as with goodness. We say this because since all appears at the beginning of the verse, this implies that it encompasses the whole verse. Not only is every aspect and the sum total of the Christian’s life to be moral, but every aspect and the sum total of it is to be righteous. In all areas of life we do right to those around us.

Second, there is all Truth. Here is the fifth of six occurrence of the word truth in Ephesians (1:13; 4:15, 21, 25; 5:9: 6:14). As we’ve noted, aletheia refers to that which is not concealed, the way things really are, that which is absolute, incontrovertible, irrefutable, incontestable, unarguable, and unchanging.

It is here in dramatic contrast to what Paul has said previously about the non-Christian. The non-Christian “deceives with vain words” (v. 6). The non-Christian (as well as the Christian who does not allow the Spirit to rule) “lies” (4:25). Furthermore, right in our present context Paul says, “It is a shame to even speak of those things which are done by them in secret.”

But truth is the exact opposite of all that, for where there is light there is truth. There must be nothing secret, hidden, deceitful, misleading, dishonest, underhanded, shady, or hypocritical in the life of the Christian. The Christian lives by truth. As we saw in our last chapter, we are not in light; we are light. Once again all goes with truth as it does with goodness and righteousness. In short, truth must characterize every aspect and the total sum of the believer’s life.

Finally, we see that verse 10 brings together the thoughts of verse 9 by showing the result that is produced by these three primary characteristics: Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. The Greek behind proving is dokimazō, a word we examined back in our study of discernment in 4:14, and which means “test, pronounce good, establish by trial.” A related word, dokimos, was originally used as a technical term for coins that were genuine. Paul uses dokimazō, for example, in I Thessalonians 5:21-22: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.” He is saying, “Examine everything, put everything to the test, verify each item to see if it is genuine or if it is a fake.” If it’s good, seize it and hold on to it. If it’s not, however, we are to withdraw from it.

In the present context, then, we “test every thought, word, and act” to ensure that it is acceptable unto the Lord. And it’s those three characteristics—goodness, righteousness, and truth—that are the tests.

Even today in the marketplaces of the middle-east, the shops are often just small, open enclosures that while covered with a tarp or other material still have no windows. A customer contemplating buying a piece of silk or an article of beaten brass often will take it into the street and hold it up to the sun, so that the light might reveal any flaws that might exist. Before the advancement of computers for publishing, printers used a similar device to illuminate pages of material that he pasted together. Today a doctor puts an x-ray on a light box that illuminates the film. A draftsman, jeweler, and other such craftsman focus light on their work.

Those, and other examples we could list, demonstrate the necessity of light to see clearly, work carefully, and expose flaw. Likewise, the light of the Word of God does that in the spiritual realm. These three primary characteristics of spiritual light prove what is acceptable to the Lord; they prove what pleases Him. Moreover, these prove that your life is acceptable unto the Lord. So, as there are three primary colors in physical light, there are three primary characteristics of spiritual light. Dear Christian, may we say again, we are not to walk in light, rather we walk as light; we walk according to the attributes of light.