Avoid the Darkness and Remain in the Light

1-2. (a)  What situation Paul was in when he write the letter to the Ephesians? (b) What questions we will be answering?

WHEN Paul was prisoner in Rome, he write letter to encourage his brothers and sisters. He was not able to visit them, so he write letters to them. He write one of the letters to the Ephesians around 60 or 61 C.E.—Eph. 1:1; 4:1.

² Almost ten years before that time, Paul use to preach and teach the good news in Ephesus. (Acts 19:​1, 8-10; 20:​20, 21) He love his brothers and sisters so much and wanted to help them to remain faithful to Jehovah. But why he write to anointed Christians about darkness and light? And what lessons all Christians can learn from what Paul write? Let talk about the answers to this question them.

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

3. What word Paul use in his letter to the Christians in Ephesus?

³ Paul write to the Christians in Ephesus: “You were once darkness, but you are now light.” (Eph. 5:8) Paul use the words darkness and light to explain how the Christians in Ephesus change their ways. Let learn why Paul say that the Ephesians were “once darkness.”

4. How the people in Ephesus were in darkness because of false religion?

⁴ In darkness because of false religion. Before they became Christians, the people in Ephesus who Paul write this letter to use to be in false religion and they use to believe in magic. That in the city of Ephesus they were having the temple of Artemis. Plenty people look at it that time to be one of the most wonderful thing that human being na build. Plenty people use to go to the temple to worship idols. People use to make and sell statues of their god and their temple. And they use to make plenty money from it. (Acts 19:​23-27) Beside that one, plenty people in Ephesus also use to play magic.—Acts 19:19.

5. How the people in Ephesus were in darkness because of immorality?

⁵ In darkness because of immorality. The people in Ephesus were immoral and they were not shame to do bad things. It was common to hear people talking about sex when they go for program and even in their religious celebration. (Eph. 5:3) Plenty of the people in Ephesus were “past all moral sense.” When you translate this expression word for word it mean, they “stop feeling pain.” (Eph. 4:​17-19) Before they learn about Jehovah law on what right and wrong, their conscience never use to bother them when they do bad things. They not use to get time about how Jehovah feel about the bad things they were doing. For this reason Paul say, they were “in darkness mentally and alienated from the life that belongs to God.”

6. Why Paul tell the people in Ephesus that they were “now light”?

⁶ But some of the people in Ephesus not remain in darkness. Paul write that they were “now light in connection with the Lord.” (Eph. 5:8) They started living according to Jehovah word that was looking like light to guide them. (Ps. 119:105) Some of the people in Ephesus leave their false religious practices and immoral way of life. They “become imitators of God” and were doing their best to worship Jehovah and make him happy.—Eph. 5:1.

7. How our situation looking like the one the Ephesians Christians were in?

⁷ That the same way before we learn the truth, we were in darkness because of false religion and immorality. Some of us use to celebrate false religious holidays, and some of us use to live immoral life. But when we learn about Jehovah laws about what right and what wrong, we made changes. We started living the way Jehovah want us to live. Because of that, we na enjoy plenty blessings. (Isa. 48:17) Now-now, we going through plenty problems. So we need to stay away from the darkness that we leave behind and “go on walking as children of light.” How we can do it?

Image digitally reproduced with the permission of the Papyrology Collection, Graduate Library, University of Michigan, P.Mich.inv. 6238. Licensed under CC by 3.0

AVOID THE DARKNESS

8. According to Ephesians 5:​3-5, what the Ephesians suppose to avoid?

⁸ Read Ephesians 5:​3-5. For the Christians in Ephesus to stay far away from darkness, they needed to continue to say no to anything that will not make Jehovah happy. For example, they suppose to stay away from sexual immorality and talking about rude-rude things. Paul remind the Ephesians that they must avoid all this things if they will get “any inheritance in the Kingdom of the Christ and of God.”

9. Why we must avoid anything that will make us to commit immorality?

⁹ We too must continue to fight hard to not do things that will make us to get in “the unfruitful works that belong to the darkness.” (Eph. 5:11) Plenty experience na show that the more somebody look at, listen to, or talk about immorality, that the more it can be easy for them to do wrong thing. (Gen. 3:6; Jas. 1:​14, 15) In one country, group of Jehovah Witnesses became “friends” on social media and started sending message to each other. From the beginning they use to talk about Jehovah. But small-small, they started talking about things that Jehovah not like. They started talking more about man and woman business. Later on, some of the brothers say talking about sex made them to commit sexual immorality.

10. How Satan can try to fool us? (Ephesians 5:6)

¹⁰ Satan world can try to fool us by making us to believe that nothing wrong with the things that Jehovah hate. (2 Pet. 2:19) This one must not surprise us! One of the tricks the Devil na stay long using that to confuse people so that they will not be able to know right from wrong. (Isa. 5:20; 2 Cor. 4:4) That why plenty movies, TV shows, and websites get ideas that go against Jehovah laws! Satan want make us to think that the things Jehovah hate not wrong, and we can enjoy them and they will not harm us.—Read Ephesians 5:6.

11. How Angela experience show that it important to follow the advice in Ephesians 5:7? (Also see the picture.)

¹¹ Satan want us to be friendly with people who can make it hard for us to obey Jehovah. That the reason why Paul tell the Ephesians: “Do not be sharers with them,” that mean, people who can do things that Jehovah not like. (Eph. 5:7) We must be more careful than the Ephesians way back because today we can’t only be friendly with people in person. But we can also be friendly with people on social media. Angela,a who living in Asia, found out that social media can be really dangerous. She say, “It can change your thinking small-small. After sometime, my conscience was not beating me again to get friends who not get respect for the Bible. So, I started thinking that it was alright to do things that Jehovah not like.” Thank Jehovah that some loving elders help Angela to make changes. She say: “Now-now I can focus on spiritual things more than social media.”

12. Wetin will help us to stick to Jehovah laws about what right and what wrong?

¹² People in the world think that nothing wrong with immorality. But we must fight against that thinking because we know it wrong. (Eph. 4:​19, 20) It will be good to ask ourselves this question them: ‘When it not necessary, I can try my best to not go around my workmates, classmates, or other people who not respect Jehovah laws? I brave to live by Jehovah laws even if people feel that I too strict?’ 2 Timothy 2:​20-22 show that we must also be careful when we making friends in the congregation. It good to remember that some people will not help us to remain faithful to Jehovah.

WALK “AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT”

13. What it mean to “go on walking as children of light”? (Ephesians 5:​7-9)

¹³ Paul encourage the Christians in Ephesus to not only continue staying away from the darkness, but also to “go on walking as children of light.” (Read Ephesians 5:​7-9.) What it mean? It mean we must always behave like true Christians. One thing that can help us that to always read and study the Bible and our publications. The main one that to pay more attention to the example and teaching of Jesus, “the light of the world.”—John 8:12; Prov. 6:23.

14. How holy spirit can help us?

¹⁴ We also need God holy spirit to help us to continue behaving “as children of light.” Why? Because it not easy to remain clean in this immoral world. (1 Thess. 4:​3-5, 7, 8) Holy spirit can help us to avoid the thinking of people in the world because they can’t think like Jehovah. Holy spirit can also help us to produce “every sort of goodness and righteousness.”—Eph. 5:9.

15. How we can get holy spirit? (Ephesians 5:​19, 20)

¹⁵ One way we can get holy spirit that by praying for it. Jesus say that Jehovah will “give holy spirit to those asking him.” (Luke 11:13) And when we praise Jehovah together in meetings, we also get holy spirit. (Read Ephesians 5:​19, 20.) God holy spirit can help us do things that can make Him happy.

16. What will help us to make wise decisions? (Ephesians 5:​10, 17)

¹⁶ When we get important decisions to make, we must try to know “what the will of Jehovah is” and then do our best to follow it. (Read Ephesians 5:​10, 17.) When we find Bible principles that apply to our situation, then it mean we really want know what Jehovah think about that situation. Then when we apply his advice, it will be easy for us to make good decisions.

17. How we can use our time the best way? (Ephesians 5:​15, 16) (Also see the picture.)

¹⁷ Paul also tell the Ephesian Christians to use their time the best way. (Read Ephesians 5:​15, 16.) “The wicked one,” Satan, our enemy will like for us to be so busy running behind the things in the world that we not get any time to serve God. (1 John 5:19) It possible for us to start focusing on money, learning plenty book, or on work instead of the plenty different-different ways we get to serve Jehovah. If it happen like that, then it will show that we na start thinking like people who not serving Jehovah. Even though all this thing them not wrong, but we must not put them first in our life. To walk “as children of light,” we must be “making the best use of [our] time,” by focusing on what really important.

18. Wetin Donald do to use his time the best way?

¹⁸ Look for any opportunities to do more for Jehovah. That just what Donald, who living in South Africa do. He say: “I think about my situation and pray to Jehovah from my heart to help me do more in the preaching work. I pray for work that will allow me to get more time to preach. With Jehovah help, I found the right type of work. So me and my wife started full-time service together.”

19. How we can continue walking “as children of light”?

¹⁹ The letter Paul sent to the Christians in Ephesus really help them to remain faithful to Jehovah. And that direction can help us too. And in line with what we learn before, it can help us to be wise when we choosing our friends and things we can do to enjoy our self. It can move us to continue studying the Bible all the time so that the light of truth can guide us in everything we do. And it also talk about how the holy spirit important and how the holy spirit can help us to get fine-fine qualities. When we apply what Paul say, it can help us to make wise decisions that in line with Jehovah thinking. When we do everything we talk about, we will be able to avoid this world darkness and remain in the light!