hile the first part of Ephesians is an exposition of Scripture, where

Paul reminds us of the wonderful advantages that are ours in

Christ, the last section moves to exhortation, where we are
instructed in Christian conduct and charged to live as sons of God
and joint heirs with Christ. 
We are to be imitators of God and live our life through the power
of the indwelling Spirit. We are to be filled with the Spirit; to walk
in spirit and truth; to live in unity with all the saints of God and
provide mutual encouragement to one another. We are to walk in
the love of the Lord and live in the light of His lovely presence -
for with the privileges of sonship there come immense
responsibilities.
Though we were born dead in sin and blinded to the truth of the
gospel...  we have been born from above, and made alive in Christ.
Although we were formerly sons of disobedience and enslaved in
the kingdom of darkness, we have been set free; made a new
creation and brought into the Light.
Because we have been declared righteous by God and imputed
with the righteousness of Christ we are to live in the Light of His
love. As part of God's new creation, we are commanded to live as
children of the Light and produce spiritual fruit - which consists
of all goodness; righteousness and truth. It is for this
reason that we are commanded, to WAKE UP from our spiritual
slumber.
Because we are born anew, regenerated by the Spirit, made
children of the Light and energised by the Spirit of God, we are to
be spiritually awake and spiritually aroused from any spiritual
slumber. We are to be excited into newness of life. "Awake,
sleeper," we are exhorted, "AWAKE.. and arise from the dead -
and Christ will shine upon you."
We are to "WAKE-UP!"  We are to "ARISE!" We are to WALK as
directed by the Lord. We are to be spiritually alert and grow in
grace. We are to mature in the faith and walk in the unity of the
Spirit. We are to be holy and righteous and good in all our
conduct, for the Lord our God is holy and righteous and good..
and we are to walk in love and keep on walking in the light -
endeavouring to please the Lord, as He works in our lives to
conform us into the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ -
the Light of the world, that lights every man that comes into the
world. 
Once saved, we are not to fall into some soporific state, but to
progress.. steadily and practically, in our Christian life. We are not
to remain in spiritual infancy but are to be progressively
sanctified, as we change from one stage of glory to the next - for
this is God's will for all His children.
It has been said that we either progress towards maturity in our
Christian life or regress back into spiritual infancy - there is no
standing still. While the first is living in accordance with God's
will for our lives and walking in the light... the second is outside
His will and causes our heart to become lukewarm and our faith
to falter.
Walking in unity of the faith and in the light of His truth
is pleasing to God... for we are abiding in Christ and He in us.
When we fall into spiritual slumber, our fellowship with the
Father falls into neglect; Christian witness is seriously tarnished,
and we are in danger of being enticed back into the unfruitful
works of darkness instead of living in the light.
It is for this reason that we are called to wake up from any
compromise in our Christianity or coldness of heart. For this
reason we are to, "Awake, from our sleep, and arise from the dead,
and Christ - the Light, will shine on you."
My Prayer
Heavenly Father, I realise there are times in my Christian life
when I have allowed a spirit of slumber to overtake me and I have
faltered in my Christian journey, but I pray that I would awaken
from any soporific state and walk in newness of life and live in the
light of Christ's lovely presence. I pray that I would press on for
the high call I have in Christ Jesus and produce the fruit of
goodness; righteousness and truth. Help me to honour Your holy
name by the life I live and the attitude of my heart. Thank You for
the many privileges I enjoy as Your child and I pray that I would
fulfil the responsibilities I have to live according to Your word and
to walk in the light as He is in the light. This I ask in Jesus' name,
AMEN.
CHURCH AWAKE! IT IS LATER THAN WE THINK!

Mat 25:5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

(Eph 5:14 KJV) Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall
give thee light.

(Eph 6:10 KJV) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

(Rom 13:11 KJV) And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is
our salvation nearer than when we believed. (Rom 13:12 KJV) The night is far spent, the day is at hand:
let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

The things of this world will pass away, but God’s love for you in Christ will not. Are you asleep? Look to
Jesus and wake up.

I. We must be awake to know what we are doing.

A. When we are awake we know what we are doing, 1 Thes. 5:1 But of the times and the seasons,
brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
B. We must know the time we are living in.

1. The church is sleeping.

2. We need to be awake know we are living in a world that is becoming more and more like Sodom and
Gomorrah and like the days of Lot

3. We are living in the days of (Isa 56:10 KJV) His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all
dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.

III. We should be awake and see that these are the days that will precede the COMING OF JESUS.

1 Thes. 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 1
Thes. 5:3 for when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as
travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

1 Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 1 Thes. 5:5
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 1
Thes. 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 1 Thes. 5:7 For they
that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 1 Thes. 5:8 But let us,
who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope
of salvation.

A. Faith, Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that thou mayest
believe, but believe that thou mayest understand. Augustine

B. Love

C. Hope, Hope means hoping when things are hopeless; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope
begins to be a strength. There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown
hopeless about them.
III. God tells us to be ready 24/7 for His return,

1 Thes. 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 1
Thes. 5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. 1 Thes.
5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

A. We need each other in the Body of Christ.

(Acts 2:42 KJV) And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of
bread, and in prayers.

IV. We need to know those who labor among us. 1 Thes. 5:12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know
them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; Our labor for the Lord
is: 1) a labor of love (I Thes 1:3).

A. I do not believe that God leads the people to give millions to ministries when they were in living sin.

B. You must be involved with people and ministries to really know them.

C. You must be awake to know them and then you can 1 Thes. 5:13 And to esteem them very highly in
love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.

V. When you are awake you can also recognize the works of the devil. You can rejoice and be glad and
have the joy of the Lord.

A. The devil hates joy.

1. Joy gives the devil ‘flees’.

2. Joy gives strength. Neh 8:10.

. THE CHARACTER OF THOSE ADDRESSED.

1. If you allow yourself in the practice of known wickedness, your conscience is asleep.

2. If you live in the customary neglect of self-examination, you are in a state of slumber.

3. If you have never been in any degree affected with a sense of your guilt, and of your dependence on
the mercy of God in Christ, you are among those who are asleep.

4. If you have no conflicts with sin and temptation, you are in a state of slumber.

5. The prevalence of a sensual and carnal disposition is a sign of spiritual death.

6. Stupidity under the warnings of God's word and providence, indicates such a state of soul as the
Scripture compares to sleep.

II. APPLY THE CALL.

1. This awakening must suppose and imply a conviction of your sin, and a sense of your danger.

2. This awakening from sleep, and arising" from the dead, implies a repentance of sin and turning to
God.

3. They who have awoke from their sleep and risen from the dead will experience the properties, and
maintain the exercises of a holy and spiritual life.

III. THE ENCOURAGEMENT — "Christ shall give thee light," shall shine upon and enlighten thee.

1. This may be understood as a promise of pardon and eternal life on your repentance.
2. The words farther import God's gracious attention to awakened souls, when they frame their doings
to turn to Him. The call is, Awake, arise from the dead, repair to the Saviour. Say not, "We are unable to
discern the way." Christ will shine upon you and give you light. Say not, "We are unable to rise and
walk." He will meet you with His grace. Arise, He calleth you. He will guide your steps.

I. IMAGES OF THE SINNER'S STATE.

1. Sleep. This state, though usually benign and refreshing, is sometimes one of great danger. The
traveller who sleeps when exposed to excessive frost, the sailor who sleeps upon the mast, are
examples.

2. Darkness. This is emblematical of ignorance, error, and iniquity, and especially of the want of any
certain prospect for the future.

3. Death. The insensibility, powerlessness, and immovableness of the corpse are an awful representation
of the sinner's state.

II. REPRESENTATIONS OF THE SINNER'S NEED.

1. Awakening.

2. Enlightening.

3. Raising to life.The ministry of our Lord Jesus affords us many and striking instances of the exercise of a
Divine power in these ways.

III. A REVELATION OF THE SINNER'S HOPE.

1. A Divine command: Awake! arise! There is something for man to do in order that he may enjoy the
blessings of the gospel.
2. A Divine promise: Christ will enlighten thee.

(Clerical World.)

Parallel Verses

KJV: Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee
light.

WEB: Therefore he says, "Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."

I. A DESCRIPTION. A particular kind of man is here addressed - "thou that sleepest;" "the dead."

1. The man is asleep. His sleep is spiritual indifference. Whether or no he has an abstract belief in
religion is not of the slightest moment. He may be an atheist or he may be orthodox of the orthodox. So
long as he is sleeping it matters little what he might have been doing had he been awake. The sleeper
may have his eyes open to secular interests; he may have a quick intellect in speculation or a vigorous
energy in business. Yet angels who see that he is unconscious of the greatest realities must regard him
as a dreamer or at best as a restless sleep-walker.

2. This sleep is a sign of death. It is more than sleep. It is unnatural and impossible to a soul in full
energy. Spiritual perceptions must have been dulled and spiritual powers paralyzed to admit of this
blindness and stupor in regard to Divine things.

II. A CALL. Awake! Up! Arise! A loud voice disturbs the sleeper.

1. God calls, sometimes

(1) in providence, rousing the careless soul by the shock of some sudden change; and often

(2) in the gospel, for it is the duty of the preacher to speak in trumpet-notes, not merely to teach the
attentive but also to rouse the listless.

2. It is important to respond to this call; for sleep is

(1) a sinful neglect of duty;

(2) a foolish loss of blessings - he who sleeps till the full day never sees the glory of the sunrise; and

(3) a dangerous condition - the longer a man sleeps the more difficult will it be to awake, and meanwhile
death and judgment may be upon him.

3. It is possible to awake. The spiritual sleep is partly voluntary and semi-conscious. As a man sometimes
knows that he is dreaming so he may be made aware that he is spiritually asleep and may rouse himself
if he will. There is rousing power, too, in the Divine voice. It vexes a man to have his rest disturbed, but
as one who wakes the sleeper when his house is on fire it comes for his deliverance and he will do well
to bestir himself.

III. A PROMISE. "Christ shall shine upon thee." There is something to wake up for. Christ is the Light of
the world. His people are now "light in the Lord." He brings to the waking soul truth, purity, and joy.
When the storm rages and the dark night lingers, and to wake is only to take up again the burden of
sorrow and grope in the hopeless gloom, a man has some excuse for sleeping. Despair may sleep. But
the Christian finds a bright morning responding to his opening eyes. We are not to wake only to kindle a
poor light for ourselves. We are rewarded for waking by the cheering brightness of Christ. We must
rouse ourselves, however, to enjoy it. The people that sit in darkness see the great light only when they
awake and arise from the dead.

t me give you a friendly warning, because it's really time to wake up the sleeping church: Do whatever it
takes to change your lifestyle, so that you are spending more time with God, than on other things. If it
means you have to throw your TV out, then do it. If it means you have to throw the playstation out, then
do it. If it means you have to put those novels away, then do it. Then you can get your Bible out and
study the Word of God. You can get on your knees and pray. You can sit down at the table and have nice
family meals, talking with each other. You can go out for nice walks and enjoy God's creation. You can be
a witness for Jesus to others. Do these things, seek the Lord with all your heart and soul, and your life
will take on a whole new meaning. Stop trying to please the world and yourself, and focus on pleasing
God.

"Start living life, rather than watching it!"

1 John 5:19 ...'And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.' ... Are you still
trying to be a friend of the world? If you are, then you are trying to be a friend of satan, because he is
the god of this world ... James 4:4 ...'Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of
the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.' ...
A true Christian cannot be a friend of this world. A true Christian MUST be seeking to separate
themselves from this world, and the things of the world. The Bible is very clear on this. Wake up sleeping
church! Wake up!