What does "once you were darkness" teach about our past without Christ? Darkness Defined—What Were We? • “For you were once darkness” (Ephesians 5:8). Notice Paul does not say we were merely “in” darkness; we “were” darkness itself, describing our essential nature before knowing Christ. • Darkness in Scripture often pictures: – Moral confusion (Isaiah 5:20) – Spiritual blindness (2 Corinthians 4:4) – Alienation from God’s life (Ephesians 4:18) Total Separation, Not Partial Impairment • Before conversion we lacked even a spark of divine light. Romans 3:10–12 emphasizes, “There is no one who does good, not even one.” • Jesus states, “The eye is the lamp of the body…if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness” (Matthew 6:22–23). Humanity’s “bad eye” left it entirely dark. Bondage Under the Dominion of Darkness • Colossians 1:13: God “rescued us from the dominion of darkness.” The phrase Dominion points to a realm where darkness reigns, illustrating slavery under sin and Satan (Acts 26:18). • This bondage explains why self-reform fails; the issue is not behavior alone but lordship. Deadness, Not Merely Sickness • Ephesians 2:1: “You were dead in your trespasses and sins.” Darkness equals spiritual death, a total incapacity to perceive or pursue God (1 Corinthians 2:14). Darkness Produces Dark Deeds • Ephesians 5:11 calls works of darkness “fruitless.” Before Christ, even acts that seemed noble were tainted by self and unbelief (Isaiah 64:6). • Galatians 5:19–21 lists obvious “works of the flesh,” natural outgrowths of life in darkness. Hopelessness Apart from Intervention • Proverbs 4:19: “The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.” Ignorance compounds guilt, leaving us helpless until light invades (John 1:5). • “Living without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12) captures our pre-conversion despair. Contrast: Identity Shift in Christ • Ephesians 5:8 continues, “but now you are light in the Lord.” Conversion transforms essence, not merely environment. • 1 Peter 2:9: God calls us “out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Past darkness magnifies present privilege. Practical Takeaways • Humility—remembering our former darkness guards against pride (Titus 3:2–3). • Gratitude—seeing the depth of rescue fuels worship (Psalm 103:4). • Compassion—understanding darkness equips us to shine patiently toward those still in it (Matthew 5:14–16). |
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