In this message we shall present a summary of Paul’s exhortation in Eph. 5, concentrating on love and light. We have seen that firstly we receive God in Christ as grace and realize God in Christ as truth. Then we come to enjoy God as love and light. Love and light are inward elements, whereas grace and truth are outward elements. For this reason, the exhortation in Eph. 5:1-33 is deeper than that in Eph. 4:17-32. Love is the inner substance of God that can be sensed, and light is the expressed element of God that can be seen. According to the revelation of Ephesians 5, both love and light are to be the inner source of our walk.
Paul’s writing in Ephesians is both profound and deep. As he was writing this Epistle, he drew upon the deep concepts that were within him. These deeper concepts are the basic elements and basic factors in each chapter. In our reading of Ephesians, we must endeavor to determine what these basic elements and basic factors are, for they are the very components of the book. We have pointed out that the basic elements in chapter four are grace and truth and that the basic elements in chapter five are love and light. Along with these basic elements, there are the basic factors. In chapters four and five Paul’s intention is not simply to give a number of exhortations regarding stealing, putting off falsehood, submission, and love. Nevertheless, many pay attention to such details, but not to the basic elements and basic factors.
We have seen that in chapter four the basic factors, on the positive side, are the life of God and the Spirit of God and, on the negative side, the Devil. Now we must go on to see that the most important basic factor in this chapter is the church as the new man. This means that the exhortation here is related to this aspect of the church. The main factor in chapter five is the church as the Bride. Therefore, just as Paul’s exhortation in chapter four is related to the new man, so his exhortation in chapter five is related to the Bride.
Remember, the subject of the book of Ephesians is not behavior or virtue; it is the church. In giving us the long exhortation recorded in chapter four, Paul never loses sight of his main point — the church. As he presents the principle and the details, he is fully conscious of the church as the new man. Hence, the living described in chapter four must be for the church as the new man; that is, the church as the new man must be according to truth and by grace. As the new man, the church should live a life according to God’s standard, according to the truth as it is in Jesus. The only way the church as the new man can have such a life is by God’s all-sufficient grace. This grace supplies us so that we may live according to the mold, the model, the pattern, of the life of Jesus. This is the key to chapter four.
If we apply this key in our reading of this chapter, the entire chapter will be open to us. Keep in mind that Ephesians 4 deals with the church as the new man. If we would be the church in this aspect, we must live a life according to the standard of the truth as it is in Jesus and by God’s all-sufficient grace.
In the same principle, the main point in chapter five is the church as the Bride. The main point is not Paul’s exhortation regarding wives submitting to their own husbands or husbands loving their own wives. As the Bride, the church needs something finer and deeper than truth and grace. There is the need for love and light. Truth is not as fine as light, and grace is not as deep or intimate as love. With respect to the church as the Bride, in chapter five Paul speaks of love and light.
The fact that the church as the Bride requires a living in love and in light can be proved by our own experience in married life. If a husband and wife live together merely by grace and according to truth, their married life will be very poor. If my wife were to deal with me according to grace but offer me no love, I would be extremely dissatisfied. She would feel the same if I dealt with her according to grace without love. Married life is based not upon grace, but upon love. In like manner, married life is based not upon truth, but upon light. How pitiful it would be if a husband and wife were always considering the right way to behave toward each other. For the intimate relationship between husband and wife, mere truth is not adequate. There must be light. Therefore, a proper marriage is not merely according to truth and by grace, but is in love and in light.
Is your married life according to truth and by grace, or is it in love and in light? Suppose a wife says to her husband, “Everything I do for you is according to truth and by grace. Nothing I do is wrong or false. Furthermore, everything is by the Lord’s sufficient grace.” This does not sound like the intimacy of a marriage, but sounds like the coldness of a law court. In married life the relationship between wife and husband should be fine, bright, and intimate.
Although it is rather easy to understand the difference between love and grace, it is more difficult to understand the distinction between light and truth. Perhaps it will help if I illustrate from my own experience in married life. My wife and I have been married for a good many years. During this time, I cannot recall ever dealing with her according to what I thought was right. On the contrary, by the Lord’s enabling, I have behaved toward her always in light. When we are in the light, we are outside the realm of right and wrong. There is no need to discern what is right and what is wrong, what we should do and what we should not do. If we are in the light, we simply act and behave spontaneously in a certain way. However, when we are in darkness, we need to discern, to guess, and to grope for a way to do things. But when we are in the light, there is no need for groping, guessing, or discerning.
Suppose I am about to lose my temper with my wife. There is no need for me at such a time to ask if this is according to truth. I do not need to wonder what my children or the elders of the church will think about it. To ask such questions with respect to husband or wife is to descend from the realm of light to the realm of truth. It is to consider what is according to the standard of the pattern of the life of Jesus. If we remain on the mountaintop in the realm of light, there will be no need for such considerations. As those in the light, we shall not try to discern whether or not it is right to lose our temper at that particular time.
In a foregoing message I referred to the cases of the immoral women in John 4 and 8. In both cases the word truth is used. In John 4:24 the Lord Jesus speaks of worshipping God in spirit and in truth. In John 8:32 He says that we shall know the truth and that the truth will set us free. The women in these two chapters were not yet saved. When the Lord was dealing with them, they were candidates for salvation. As such, they were in darkness and in falsehood. However, they were about to be delivered out of darkness and falsehood into the realm of truth and righteousness. I believe that both these women were saved and brought into the realm of truth. However, having entered into this realm, they were to go on to contact the Father and enter into the presence of God where all is light. Here in the realm of light we no longer consider what is right and what is wrong, what is false and what is real. Instead of such considerations, there is simply the shining of light.
If our married life is proper, we shall not consider whether our behavior with our spouse is according to truth or up to the standard. If we think in this way in relation to our husband or wife, we are quite far from the realm of light. In fact we are not even fully according to truth. If our married life is in the sphere of light, we shall not consider how to behave. Rather, we shall simply and spontaneously live in light. We shall do certain things and behave in certain ways simply because we are in the light, not because we regard such things or such behavior as according to the truth as it is in Jesus.
In the early years of my Christian life, I lived in the sphere of truth. I tried to be right in everything I did. I was afraid to do certain things because of what others might say. Therefore, I behaved in a way that others would regard as praiseworthy. This means that my behavior was according to truth. Later, by the Lord’s mercy, I was brought more into His presence. I learned how to abide in His presence and to live in intimacy with Him in a relationship full of love and light. As a result, I was kept from doing things not because I had reasoned they were wrong, but simply because I was in the light. As one in the light, I acted, behaved, and spoke in certain ways without considering what was according to truth or what was right. No longer was I concerned about what others might say. I no longer thought about what kind of behavior would be appreciated or what would be criticized. I was in the light, and I no longer reasoned about what actions were according to truth.
To be the church as the new man it is necessary and appropriate to live according to truth and by grace. But this is not adequate for the aspect of the church as the Bride. As the Bride, the church must have an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus in love and in light. In everything and in every way the church as the Bride must be bright. Therefore, in chapter five love and light are the basic elements.
In every chapter of Ephesians different aspects of the church are revealed. Each of these aspects is related to various basic elements. For example, in chapter six we see the church as the warrior. What a warrior requires is neither grace and truth nor love and light, but strength and armor for fighting. As the warrior, the church must be strong to stand and must have the armor with which to fight.
Let us now trace the basic factors and the basic elements in chapters one, two, and three. The major factor in chapter one is the church as the Body of Christ, the fullness of the One who fills all in all. The infinite, unlimited, eternal power that raised Christ from among the dead, uplifted Him to the third heaven, and made Him the Head over all things, is to the church which is His Body. In order for the church to be the Body, the church must have the well-speaking of the Triune God. Hence, the major factor in chapter one is the church as the Body of Christ, and the basic element is the well-speaking of the Father, Son, and Spirit.
In chapter two we see various aspects of the church: the masterpiece, the new man created by Christ on the cross, the commonwealth of God, the kingdom where the citizens have civil rights and responsibilities, the household of God, and finally the dwelling place of God, God’s habitation. Although all these aspects are covered, the major factor in chapter two is the church as the dwelling place of God. To be God’s habitation, the church must have both resurrection and the Spirit. These are the basic elements in this chapter. In the first part of the chapter the main concept is that of resurrection life, and in the second part the main thought is the Spirit. Both are necessary for the church to be the habitation of God.
In chapter three, the deepest chapter in Ephesians, the major factor is the church as the fullness of God. For the church to be the fullness of God, we need the unsearchable riches of Christ. Thus, the unsearchable riches of Christ are the basic element in this chapter.
Let us review the major factors and the basic elements in the six chapters of Ephesians. In chapter one the major factor is the church as the Body of Christ, and the basic element is the well-speaking of the Triune God. In chapter two the major factor is the church as the habitation of God, and the basic elements are resurrection and the Spirit. In chapter three the major factor is the church as the fullness of God, and the basic element is the unsearchable riches of Christ. In chapter four the major factor is the church as the new man, and the basic elements are grace and truth. In chapter five the major factor is the church as the Bride, and the basic elements are love and light. Finally, in chapter six the major factor is the church as the warrior, and the basic elements are might and the armor.
Because the church life as the Bride in love and light requires something fine and intimate, Paul uses married life as an illustration. In married life there is no place for might or for armor. Neither are such things characteristic of the church as the Bride. With the church as the Bride there is no emphasis on grace, truth, nor even the riches of Christ. Furthermore, there is no mention of resurrection, the Spirit, nor the well-speaking of the Triune God. Specifically what is required here is God Himself as love and light. As we have pointed out, love is the inner essence of God, and light is the element of God expressed visibly. When we get into God to touch His inner substance, we experience Him as love and light. The proper church life should be in this realm.
Why then does Paul include chapter six? This chapter is necessary because God’s enemy remains to be dealt with. If there were no enemy, we could stop with the church as the Bride in chapter five.
According to Revelation 19, the warrior who fights with Christ in the battle against the enemy is firstly the Bride of Christ. This means that firstly we must be the Bride in love and in light, and then we can go forth as the warrior with Christ to war against the enemy. Thus, a couple, Christ and His Bride, will defeat the enemy.
May we all be impressed that the church life according to God’s desire must be in love and in light, both of which are the very elements of God Himself. In the inner substance of God we have love and light. Here we have the top church life, the church as the Bride. The goal of the book of Ephesians is to bring us into God’s inner substance to know Him as love and light. Here we are to live in intimate fellowship as we enjoy the shining light and love in its sweetness.
