Eph 5:7-14 | TNotes | STEP | 5:7 Don’t participate: Cp. 2 Cor 6:14

5:7 ^a Don’t participate: Cp. 2 Cor 6:14–7:1 ^b.
5:8 ^c Darkness is ignorance of God and his ways and being dominated by sin (see 4:18 ^d).

• Light from the Lord is Christ’s good news (see John 8:12 ^e). As people of light, believers live in fellowship with God, in whom there is no darkness (see 1 Jn 1:5-7 ^f; 5:9 ^g; cp. Matt 5:14-16 ^h; John 8:12 ⁱ; 12:35-36 ^j, 46 ^k; Rom 13:12 ^l; 2 Cor 6:14 ^m; 1 Thes 5:4-8 ⁿ; 1 Pet 2:9 ^o).
5:9 ^p God’s people are to do what is good and right and true, in harmony with God’s light (cp. Rom 12:2 ^q; some early manuscripts read Spirit instead of light; cp. Eph 4:22-24 ^r; Matt 7:16-20 ^s; Gal 5:22-23 ^t).
5:10 ^u Carefully determine what pleases the Lord: The point is to obey God’s will, not simply to understand it (cp. Rom 12:2 ^v; Phil 1:10 ^w).
5:11 ^x expose them: By the light shining from their lives (cp. John 3:20-21 ^y; Rom 13:12 ^z; 1 Pet 2:9 ^aa), not by verbally accusing or condemning people (see 1 Cor 5:9-13 ^ab).
Summary for Eph 5:13-14: 5:13-14 ^ac “Awake, O sleeper”: This might be a fragment from an unknown Christian song, perhaps based on texts in Isaiah (cp. Isa 26:19 ^ad; 52:1 ^ae; 60:1 ^af). It calls on God’s people to turn from their sinful darkness and live in the full light of Christ.