If you’re reading this, congratulations on making it into 2025! Praise God and Happy New Year. As we reflect on the past year, there are undoubtedly many reasons to give thanks and areas where we wish we had done better.
And that is the beauty of a New Year. It offers an opportunity for reflection and introspection and a platform for redemption, especially in areas where we believe we could have done better. And even in areas where we think we have done well, a New Year offers an opportunity to consolidate further and excel.
However, this reflection does not happen in a vacuum; there must be a standard or a benchmark against which we measure our lives to evaluate our success. God has not left us to figure out the benchmark by ourselves; he has given us a perfect standard in the Bible.
It is important to emphasise that even though we enter a new year, the benchmark is timeless. The Bible’s definition and measure of success have not changed since the days of Adam and Eve. Whether you were living in 1 BC or 1 AD or 2025, the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:1-21 captures the threefold timeless standard every follower of Christ is measured against. It is first, a walk in love (1-2), second, a walk in the light (3-14) and third, a walk in wisdom (15-21).
A Walk in Love
“1 Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
In these two verses, Paul calls his readers to imitate God in his essential attribute of love. In 1 John 4:7, the Apostle tells his readers, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”
There is a Ghanaian proverb that literally means, “a crab does not beget a bird.” The surest way to know if someone is a Christian is to look at their love life. According to Paul, a beloved child of God will imitate him in his attribute of love.
Usually, when we talk about love, the world understands it to mean different things. But Paul does not leave the definition of love to us. In verse 2, he writes, “And Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.”
There is a specific way God loved us, which is the standard of love Paul calls the Ephesians and us to imitate. Four elements come to mind when considering the love God displayed toward us in Christ.
- First, the recipients of God’s love are undeserving: The Ephesians were not some holy and lovely people who deserved God’s love, and neither are we. In chapter 2:1, Paul describes them as a people who were dead in their trespasses and sins and destined for destruction.
- Secondly, the love God showed us was costly: God did not give us some leftover love. He could have sent one of the archangels to come and make things right after Adam and Eve messed up. But that wouldn’t have been sufficient, so “he gave his only begotten Son.” Our redemption cost God his only Son; it wasn’t cheap.
- Third, God’s love was selfless: It was not as though there was a hidden profit or benefit to be gained by God when he sent his only Son to die for us. The Bible makes it clear that He needed nothing from us; His gift of salvation was purely for our benefit.
- Finally, God’s love in Christ was a willing Sacrifice: Jesus was not compelled to go to the cross. In verse 2, we read that his sacrifice was a fragrant offering. It was the willing nature of the sacrifice that made it fragrant.
This is the sort of love Paul calls us to imitate, not some warm, fuzzy, emotional feeling. The question is, does this describe your love for other brothers and sisters in Christ?
A Walk in the Light
“3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.” “7 Therefore, do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”
Paul has two aspects of the Christian’s life in mind in these verses—their conduct and speech. According to Paul, a Christian’s actions should be free from sexual immorality, impurities and covetousness, and their speech should be free from filthiness, foolish talk and crude joking.
You cannot claim to be a Christian if you hold on to your sin because a child of God does not make a practice of sin. You cannot claim to be a Christian if you’re sexually involved with someone who is not your spouse. You cannot claim to be a Christian if pornography is your pastime. How would you witness to your colleagues or neighbours if you’re part of the filthiness, swearing, and profane talk around you?
This is not me preaching dos and don’ts. Christianity is indeed a matter of the heart, which is why Jesus says out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). Therefore, an immoral life and filthy speech are only reflections of what is in your heart.
In verse 5, Paul says, “For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” It is a lie from the pit of hell that makes someone think that they can claim to be Christian and continue to live in sin. In verse 6 he says, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” The way you live and speak as a Christian has eternal consequences.
On the positive side, we see what walking in the light means in verses 8-10. “8 For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true) 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.”
You can tell if someone is walking in the light by looking at the fruit their life produces. Jesus said, by their fruit you shall know them; and here Paul says, “the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.”
We also see in the passage that walking in the light is not only about what we do in conduct and speech but also who we are in Christ. He writes, “11 take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Our presence in any place should produce a light so powerful that it becomes uncomfortable for evildoers to continue in their evil ways. If your non-Christian colleagues or friends do not feel any discomfort or inhibition to do evil in your presence, it is possible your light is not shining enough.
A Walk in Wisdom
“15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore, do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
In these verses, Paul warns his readers to be very careful how they live, and he gives them the reason in verse 16b, “because the days are evil.” The days we live in are no different from those in which the Ephesians lived; therefore, his warning applies equally to us. He further tells them in verse 17, “not to be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
The question is, how does one come to know or understand the will of the Lord? We see the answer in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, where Paul says, “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
We come to know the will of the Lord by giving ourselves to study his word and prayer. The reverse is also true; if you are not reading your Bible and praying regularly, you will not know the will of the Lord, and you will live unwise in an evil world.
We also see in verse 18 that a walk in wisdom is a life filled with the Holy Spirit, “and do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”
In verses 19-21, we see three results of the Spirit-filled life,
- It is God-Centered and Others-Oriented: “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, and we singing and make melody to the Lord with our heart. Christians teach, admonish and encourage one another through the word of God in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Our discipleship of each other is not based on our own opinions and worldly wisdom; instead, they are based on Spirit-filled illumination received from the word of God. We also see that our address is not only toward one another but also to the Lord. The Spirit-filled life is a life of praise, both horizontally and vertically
- A Spirit-filled Life is a thankful Life: “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Bible knows nothing of an ungrateful Christian. Everything we have and all that we are is by grace. And it is not only for the good stuff; we give thanks in all situations. We are often tempted to believe we can only praise God in good times. Only a Spirit-filled Christian can always give thanks always and for everything.
- A Spirit-filled Life is a Life lived in Submission: In verse 21, it says, “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” It doesn’t say submitting to others because they are superior or deserving; instead, it says we submit out of reverence for Christ.
J. C. Ryle, the English Evangelical Anglican Bishop, in his book on Holiness, said, “Simply put, the lack of sanctification is a sign of non-regeneration. Where there is no holy life, there has been no holy birth. This is a hard saying, but a Biblical truth; whomever is born of God, it is written, “cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
Our life as followers of Christ in 2025 is not to be business as usual. It should be a new life marked by a walk in love, a walk in the light and wisdom. There has to be a clear distinction between you and the world.
