Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light."
Truth to Learn
We need to wake up and shine the light of Christ.
Behind the Words
The words “He says” are from the verb legō, which we learned a couple of verses back means “to relate something verbally,” that is “to put forth in words.” It is expressed here in the third person singular, so it could be translated as “He says” (referring to God) or “it says” (referring to Scripture).
“Arise” is translated from egeirō, meaning “to awaken.” It is used in the Bible to indicate awakening from sleep or from death.
“Sleep” is from kathuedō, made up of kata, meaning “down” and heudō, meaning “to sleep.” Katheudō refers to the act of lying down asleep (also used as a metaphor for death).
The word “dead” is from nekros, which apparently is based on nekus, meaning “a corpse.” Nekros is expressed here in the plural, so it could be translated “the dead ones.”
“Give you light” is translated from the verb epiphauskō, which is made up of epi, meaning “upon” and phauō, meaning “to shine.” Epiphauskō means “to shine on” or “to illuminate.”
Meaning Explained
Today’s verse seems to be a loose quotation from Isaiah:
Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. (Isaiah 60:1-2)
Earlier in this fifth chapter of Ephesians, Paul told us to walk in love and not to be fellow partakers with those who habitually commit unclean actions. His reasoning is that we were once darkness ourselves, but now we are children of light. He also told us that the works of darkness are unfruitful, but we are to show the fruit of our actions as goodness, righteousness, and truth. Instead of hanging around with those who commit the unfruitful works of darkness, we are to expose their deeds by shining God’s light on them. It is to this end that Paul now quotes Isaiah.
The word arise (egeirō), when used in the command form as it is here, is intended as a proclamation to arouse someone from sleep. Paul’s point is that we were once dead in our trespasses and sins, living like the rest of the world. Now, however, we are children of light, so we should wake-up to see all the evil around us and shine the light of God on those around us. He is also reminding us that the light is not our light, it is the light of God’s holiness which Christ has given us. We’ve been awakened by the light of God’s truth and mercy; now we are to shine that same light on the spiritually dead people around us.
Application
When we are joined in close fellowship with children of darkness, God’s light is not shining in us. It doesn’t matter whether we are committing the same sinful acts or simply being quiet while they do them. If we are not letting the light of God’s word expose their deeds for what they really are, then we are not walking in the light. When we are not walking in His light, God says, “Wake up, and let My light shine!”
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved.