Lessons #193 and 194
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Live as children of light (Ephesians 5:8-14)
… 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
The message we have been expounding is concerned with living as children of light as the Holy Spirit instructs us through the Apostle Paul in verse 8. However, so there can be no confusion in our mind as to what it means to live as children of light, the apostle explains it in verse 9 so that we understand that such a life is one that is characterized by the production of the Holy Spirit that is presented in terms of three virtues of goodness, righteousness, and truthfulness or even faithfulness. So, we indicated that verse 9 is to be taken as a parenthesis as it is reflected in the markings of many of our English versions that the verse is parenthetical. The apostle having digressed in verse 9 to explain what it means to live as children of the light returns in verse 10 to continue the instruction that has to do with this living the life that is expected of the children of God as given in the NIV and find out what pleases the Lord. This clause is an example of where people think ignorance is bliss. It is similar to the situation where many Christians do not know there is more to the Christian life than going to church every Sunday and listening to 15 to 30 minutes sermons and lots of singing.
Verse 10 presents several interpretation difficulties since the translation of the NIV is one possible way of interpreting what the apostle wrote in the Greek. This is because the instruction of the NIV and find out what pleases the Lord is more literally from the Greek proving what is pleasing to the Lord. Virtually, the meaning or interpretation of almost every word in the Greek reflected in the literal translation is contested as to how to fully render it into the English. This implies that there are four major problems that we are to contend with in the exposition of verse 10. A first problem is how to deal with the literal word “proving.” The problem is tantamount to whether the word makes verse 10 a dependent or an independent clause. A second problem is how to understand the Greek word that literally is translated “proving.” A third problem is how to understand the word “what,” that is, if it refers to what is already stated in previous verse or to be taken in a general sense of actions that are intended to please the Lord. A fourth problem is whether the word “Lord” refers to Jesus Christ or to God the Father. So, you see that when we said that virtually the meaning or interpretation of almost every word of the Greek expression is contested, it is no exaggeration. Anyway, we have identified the problems that we will be dealing with in our exposition of the verse.
It is our contention that the first problem is tantamount to whether to consider verse 10 as a dependent or independent clause. What this really means is how to relate the literal reading proving what is pleasing to the Lord in the Greek to the command Live as children of light of verse 8 which is the main command of the passage that is concerned with believers living their lives as children of God. As we have already implied in the identification of the first problem, there are two major ways of handling the issue of the relationship between the command in verse 8 and the Greek expression given in verse 10. A first way is to consider what is given in the Greek of verse 10 to be loosely related to what is given in the instruction of verse 8. In other words, the action required in verse 10 is taken as the action which accompanies the command stated in verse 8 so that the action of verse 10 indicates another command that is added to that given in verse 8 so that we can say that verse 10 is not really dependent on the command of verse 8 since it is a standalone command or that it is a coordinate command to that of verse 8. It is this understanding that is reflected in the NIV with the use of the word “and” in their translation. Majority of our English versions do not even use the word “and” that will indicate a loose connection between verses 10 and 8 instead they rendered verse 10 as a new command that has nothing to do with verse 8 and so we have such translation as Try to learn what pleases the Lord as we find, for example, in TEV. Truly, we can say that all our English versions except for the NASB, the KJV, and possibly the CEV take this view that verse 10 is another command that is different from that issued in verse 8 Live as children of light. A second approach is to take verse 10 to be dependent on verse 8, implying that verse 10 is still concerned with the instruction of verse 8. This approach is faced with its difficulties because such an approach leads to different possible interpretations of verse 10 as will be evident later in our exposition of the verse.
Which of these two approaches was in the mind of the apostle and so best fits the context? Truly, it is difficult to be dogmatic about which approach was in the mind of the apostle. Nonetheless, in spite of the difficulties of the second approach, it seems that that was probably the interpretation that was in the apostle’s mind. This is because it is unlikely that the apostle would have followed the instruction that demands believers to live like children of the light with another instruction that is not directly related to the command given in verse 8, especially, as he explained in verse 9 what the command in verse 8 means. There is also the fact that verse 11 is still concerned with the same instruction of living as children of light although given in a negative fashion. So, it is unlikely that the apostle would have completely left the topic at hand about living as children of light or children of God to something else that while true does not relate directly to the passage at hand. Furthermore, to take verse 10 as a new instruction does not fit the pattern we find in the next clear command of verse 11. When the apostle issued a related command to that of verse 8 in verse 11, he issued another command in the same verse 11 that is also related to it but that is not the case with verses 8 and 10 since the Greek verb used in verse 10 is not a command and so we believe that the apostle did not mean to issue a new instruction in verse 10. Of course, as someone has also indicated, to take the Greek verb translated “proving” in our literal translation as a command is not natural grammatically because the verb translated “proving” stands between two Greek verbs that are clearly imperatives. Therefore, we believe that what the apostle wrote in verse 10 depends on the command to live as children of the light given in verse 8 to complete its sense.
How then is verse 10 dependent on verse 8? Before we get to consider this question, we should remember that verse 9 is parenthetical in that it explains what it means to live as children of the light. So, we should read verse 10 for the moment by ignoring verse 9 so that what we should be concerned is how verse 10 depends on the command to live as children of light. By the way, we should also remember that we indicated that the command to live as children of light is essentially the same as the command to live a life controlled by the Holy Spirit, that is, as the apostle puts it in his epistle to the Galatians live by the Spirit. With this comment, we proceed to consider the question of how verse 10 is dependent on verse 8.
The Greek reveals that there are at least five possible ways to explain the dependence of verse 10 to verse 8, specifically, the command to live as children of light. A first possible interpretation is that the action of “proving” specified in verse 10 is one that takes place at the same time that believers live as children of light. A second interpretation is that the action of verse 10 indicates the manner of living as children of light. A third interpretation is that the action of verse 10 is the reason for living as children of light. A fourth interpretation is that the action of verse 10 gives the purpose for living as children of light. Of course, the third and the fourth interpretation may be difficult to differentiate since it is often difficult to differentiate purpose from reason. A fifth interpretation is that the action of verse 10 results from living as children of light. All these interpretations state truths that can be associated with living as children of light or living a life controlled by the Holy Spirit. For example, when a person is controlled by the Holy Spirit its purpose or result can be an action as we note, for example, in Galatians 5:16:
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
To live by the Spirit is essentially to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. The clause you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature could be understood as what results from being controlled by the Holy Spirit, that is, that a person who is controlled by the Holy Spirit will not give in to sinful desires or the clause could be interpreted as the purpose of being controlled by the Holy Spirit. That is, that the purpose of being controlled by the Holy Spirit is so that one would not give in into the desires of the sinful nature. Take another example, it is possible to consider another action as taking place when one is controlled by the Holy Spirit, as implied in Galatians 5:25:
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
The word “live” is in the present tense in the Greek so also is the expression keep in step. The fact that both expressions are in the present tense in the Greek suggests some kind of habit in both. The implication would be that both habits of living with the Spirit and keeping step with the Spirit are things that should happen at the same time. In which case, we have an example where another action is expected to take place at the same time when the Holy Spirit controls the believer. The point of these two examples is simply to confirm that the five interpretations of the relationship of verse 10 to the command of verse 8 are possible and do not introduce anything that is erroneous. This notwithstanding, we still need to determine which of the five interpretations was in the mind of the apostle when he wrote down verse 10. It seems to me that we have a case where all the interpretations we have given are required to fully explore what the Holy Spirit says through the apostle. In effect, the Holy Spirit directed the apostle to write what we have so we can see that verse 10 is intended to inform us of what happens when a believers lives as a child of light as well as to tell us the manner of living as children of light.
To see that the position we have taken is probably what the Holy Spirit intended for us to understand in what He directed the apostle to write in verse 10, we need to consider the requirement that is advocated by the apostle in verse 10. The translators of the NIV imply that the action expected of believers in verse 10 is to find out something as in the translation find out what pleases the Lord although the literal translation is proving what is pleasing to the Lord. The literal translation reveals that one of the major problems in the literal translation, as we have already stated, is how to understand the Greek word translated literally as “proving” or “find out” of the NIV.
The expression “find out” of the NIV or “proving” of the literal translation is translated from a Greek word (dokimazō) that basically is concerned with determining the genuineness of something so that it means “to test, to try, to prove” but it has several other nuances depending on the context. The word can mean “to interpret” as the Greek word is used in a passage where our Lord denounced His audience for being able to interpret weather conditions but were unable to interpret the spiritual situation of things in their time with respect to His appearance on the earth, as recorded in Luke 12:56:
Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?
The word can mean “to try” in the sense of testing something out or trying to prove the value of something as the word is used in one of the excuses for not honoring a banquet invitation by one of the invitees in the Parable of the Great Banquet of Luke 14:19:
“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’
The word can means “to approve” in the sense of choosing something after a person has put to test the various possibilities, as it is used in Romans 2:18:
if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;
The translator of the TEV instead of the word “approve” used the expression “to choose what is right.” It is in this sense of either “to approve” or “to choose” that the apostle used the word to describe the action of the Corinthians with respect to the handling of the gifts from them to the church in Judea, as we read in 1 Corinthians 16:3:
Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem.
The word can mean “to examine” in the sense of to look carefully into a person’s soul to ensure that everything is right so as to permit a person to partake of the Lord’s Supper as the apostle used it in his instruction in 1 Corinthians 11:28:
A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
The word can mean “to test” the validity of something so that the apostle used it to test the sincerity of the Corinthians, as he stated in 2 Corinthians 8:8:
I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.
The word can refer to the result of a testing process in which case it means “prove” or “verify” as it is used in 2 Corinthians 8:22:
In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you.
The apostle implies that the brother has been tested several times and has shown that he is zealous with respect to spiritual matters. It is in this sense of testing to prove or approve someone that the word is used in the instruction regarding choosing of deacons in 1 Timothy 3:10:
They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.
The word can also mean “to discern” or “to evaluate” as, it is used in Philippians 1:10:
so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,
It is true that the translators of the NIV used the meaning “to discern” here but that is not to say that this is the only possible meaning of the Greek word in Philippians 1: 10 as reflected in our English versions. For example, the TEV used the expression “to choose” to translate our word while the REB used the verbal phrase “to learn by experience.” This notwithstanding, the use of our Greek word in Philippians has the meaning of either to distinguish between things that differ and thus discern what are the best things or to approve or value the things that are excellent or proper. The word can mean “refined” as it used for metals but used figuratively in 1 Peter 1:7:
These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Here the Apostle Peter used our Greek word translated “refined” in a figurative sense since faith is not something we can hold so as to put it in fire for refining. This means the apostle compared the testing of a person’s faith to that of refining of gold with fire.
We have considered the various meanings of the Greek word translated “find out” in the NIV or “proving” in the literal translation so the question is to determine in what sense it is used in our passage. The meaning “proving” in the sense of demonstrating by evidence is possible or that of to “discern” is also possible. The standard Greek-English lexicon of BADG suggests that the meaning in Ephesians 5:10 is “to try to learn” which is essentially the same meaning used in the NIV in the expression find out. Furthermore, the meaning of testing to show that something is genuine is possible since such meaning is associated with believers who have undergone spiritual transformation, as indicated in Romans 12:2:
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
There is no consensus as to how to translate our Greek word in this passage. The translators of the NIV and NET used the verbal phrase to test and approve to translate it. The translators of the GW use the expression to be able to determine and the REB used the verbal phrase to be able to discern so you get the idea there is no consensus as to how our Greek word can be translated. The point is that it is difficult to be dogmatic about the meaning of our Greek word as used in Ephesians 5:10 so that the meaning “to prove” or “to discern” or “to try to learn” is possible.
The implication of asserting that the Greek word the NIV translated “find out” has several possible meanings in our context prove the point that our interpretation of the relationship of the Greek verb that the NIV translates find out to that of the command to live as children of light in verse 8 is one that is intended to convey several truths in relationship with living as children of God or of being controlled by the Holy Spirit. This means that there are several things the Holy Spirit intends for us to learn from the literal translation proving what is pleasing to the Lord. First, living as children of light goes hand in hand with discovering or discerning what pleases the Lord. In other words, when a believer is filled with the Spirit that person is then capable of knowing what pleases the Lord in a given circumstance. Second, learning what pleases God is how a believer lives as a child of light. This says that you cannot live as a child of light unless you are continually learning from the Scripture what pleases God. Third, living as child of light, that is, being controlled by the Spirit leads to proving the things that please God or has as its purpose that of proving what pleases God. This means that if you must prove that what you do is pleasing to God then you should be controlled by the Holy Spirit since it is impossible to do that which does not please God if one is controlled by the Holy Spirit. For when the Holy Spirit controls a person, He controls both the thoughts and actions of the person.
Our next problem is how to interpret the clause what pleases the Lord or literally what is pleasing to the Lord. This clause is concerned with that which the Lord demands of believers that cause Him to be well pleased. Who is the Lord? As we indicated, some interpreters, based on the word “pleasing” that is used in reference to OT sacrifices, take the Lord here as a reference to God specifically God the Father. While this interpretation makes sense, and is indeed true that Lord refers to God but the context requires that the word “Lord” be interpreted as a reference to Jesus Christ as that is demanded by the immediate context where the clause you are light in the Lord of Ephesians 5:8 indicates that the Lord is Jesus Christ. Thus, when the apostle used the word Lord in verse 10 he was still thinking of Jesus Christ. We indicated that the word Lord as a reference to God is indeed true but that in the context that it refers to Jesus Christ. This being the case, there is a reason the apostle used the word Lord instead of God. It is to indicate that the apostle in this clause implies that Jesus Christ is God since Lord in our passage refers to Jesus Christ. How is that so, you may ask? To comprehend how we came up with this point we should first understand that the word Lord used in our passage refers to the Lord Jesus Christ as we have argued that such interpretation is demanded by the context.
There is no doubt that the word Lord as used in the NT can refer to God but when that is the case, the context helps us to understand that it refers to God. For example, the word is used during the dedication ceremony of the baby Jesus in Luke 2:22:
When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
The context suggests that the word Lord here be understood as a reference to God. Take another example, the Apostle Paul used the word “Lord” to refer to God in 1 Timothy 6:15:
which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
The context makes clear that the phrase Lord of lords refers to God although the phrase is one that also describes Jesus Christ in Revelation 17:14:
They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”
This notwithstanding, when the apostle used the word “Lord” in his epistles, it is usually as a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. The clear exceptions are in which the context clearly indicates that he means God as we cited in 1 Timothy 6:15. The other exception where the apostle used the word Lord not directly as a reference to Jesus Christ is when the he quotes from the OT Scripture. A good example of this is given in Romans 10:13:
for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
The apostle used the word Lord because he quoted from Joel 2:32:
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the survivors whom the Lord calls.
The point we want to stress is that when the apostle used the word Lord in his epistles, it is usually a reference to Jesus Christ. He used the word Lord to refer to Jesus Christ in Romans 14:8:
If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
When the apostle taught of the union of believers with Jesus Christ, he used the word Lord in such a way that it is clear he means Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 6:17:
But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
Admittedly, in some passages where the apostle used the word Lord to refer to Jesus Christ such a usage could be subject to another interpretation. A good example is 1 Corinthians 7:17:
Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.
The apostle’s use of the word Lord here can refer to Jesus Christ or it can refer to God or it is his way of conveying the deity of Jesus Christ so that he used the word in such a way as to make no distinction between Lord and God in the passage, bearing in mind that he usually uses the word Lord for Jesus Christ. It should not really be surprising to us that the apostle usually used the word Lord to refer to Jesus Christ. This is because from his first encounter with Jesus Christ he recognized him as Lord. The apostle used the word Lord to address Jesus, as we can gather from the record in Acts 9:5:
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.
From the time Jesus identified Himself as the Lord the apostle called Him, it became clear to the apostle that Jesus is Lord and so when he spoke of the Lord in his epistles he meant Jesus Christ who appeared to him. So, even in the passages, where it may not be clear whether he meant God or Jesus in the use of the word Lord, it is probably, as we have stated, his way of stating that Jesus Christ is God. This was the case in our passage of Ephesians 5:10 and find out what pleases the Lord.
In any case, the word Lord used in Ephesians 5:10 is the apostle’s way of recognizing the deity of Jesus Christ. We have argued this point based on the apostle’s use of the word Lord in his epistles but there is another way to see that the apostle intended to convey that Jesus is God in Ephesians 5:10. It is from the Greek adjective the apostle used in our passage of study that is clearer from the literal translation of Ephesians 5:10 proving what is pleasing to the Lord. The adjective “pleasing” (Greek euarestos) is used eight of the nine occurrences of the word in the NT by the Apostle Paul. Once, the apostle used it in connection with slave masters in Titus 2:9:
Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them,
The verbal phrase to try to please them of the NIV is more literally to be well-pleasing. Except for this one usage, in the seven other usages, the adjective “pleasing” is used either with the word God or with the word Lord. Actually, the predominant usage of the adjective is with the word God since it is clear that the apostle used the adjective four times in connection with God. Let me take you through these passages, some of which we will consider later, to prove the point that the dominant usage of the adjective is in connection with the word “God.” The first passage the apostle used the adjective is in his instruction to believers in Rome to present their bodies as living sacrifices to God in Romans 12:1:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Here the word “pleasing” is directed to God. We will return to this passage later. The second usage of the word is with the instruction for the believers to become transformed in such a way they will know the will of God, as he used our adjective “pleasing” in Romans 12:2:
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
The adjective pleasing is used here in connection with God’s will. A third usage of the adjective “pleasing” is in connection of how to serve Christ to please God in Romans 14:18:
because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
God is the one to be pleased in this passage. A fourth usage of the adjective “pleasing” is in connection with acceptable sacrifice in Philippians 4:18:
I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
Again, the adjective “pleasing” is associated with God. The other three usages of the adjective are connected with Jesus Christ. The first usage of the word in connection with Jesus Christ is in the apostle’s statement about what should be true of believers whether in this life or when believers are in the presence of the Lord which is to please Him, as we read in 2 Corinthians 5:9:
So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
Our Greek adjective was translated as a verb in this passage since the verbal phrase to please him of the NIV is more literally to be pleasing to him. Here the pronoun him refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. This we know because the pronoun him refers to the Lord mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5:6:
Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.
The second usage where the adjective “pleasing” refers to Jesus Christ is in the passage we are considering, that is, Ephesians 5:10. The third usage of the adjective “pleasing” in connection with Jesus Christ is in a passage we will return to later, that is, Colossians 3:20:
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
As in Ephesians 5:10, the translators of the NIV rendered the Greek adjective as a verb since the clause for this pleases the Lord of the NIV is literally for this is pleasing in the Lord. By considering the concerns of these passages where our adjective is used in connection with the Lord and the concerns of those where the adjective “pleasing” is used in connection with God, there can be no doubt that the apostle sees Jesus Christ as God. For unless this was the case, it is hard to understand the apostle’s use of the adjective sometimes for God and other times for Jesus when he was not dealing with ordinary humans. Anyhow, the point is that the clause and find out what pleases the Lord is one that is intended to convey that Jesus Christ is God because it is God who is to be pleased in the absolute sense of things. For even when the apostle encouraged the slaves to please their masters, he did so because submission to authority is what God requires so that ultimately it is God that is pleased when slaves pleased their masters.
In any event, the apostle writes and find out what pleases the Lord. A problem arises as to how we should understand the word what. Some interpreters take it as a reference to the virtues of goodness, righteousness, and truth mentioned in the previous verse, that is, verse 9. This is unlikely if we accept that verse 9 is parenthetical. In effect, the apostle would not be referring to something that he used to explain the instruction of verse 8 in connection with verse 10 that is related to verse 8. Furthermore, such interpretation limits what pleases God to the virtues of verse 9. Therefore, it is better to take the word what as a general reference to whatever that pleases God that needs to be expanded beyond the immediate context.
The apostle, therefore, makes a general statement that believers are to learn or find out what pleases the Lord but he did not go into details regarding what these are that believers should learn or find out. However, from what he has written in his epistles, we can mention some of the things believers are to learn. Believers are to learn of the kind of sacrifices that please God. A first kind of sacrifice that pleases God is a continuous offering of oneself so that one is at God’s disposal to carry out His will. It is this kind of sacrifice that the apostle mentioned in the passage we cited previously, that is, Romans 12:1:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
There is a sense that we have an oxymoron in this passage because of the phrase living sacrifices since a sacrifice is something which is put to death. It is because of this that offering of the bodies as living sacrifices have been interpreted in many ways by commentators. One of the best ways to understand the requirement is to take it as continual dedication of oneself to God so that the believer continues to be a living agent of God’s will at every moment of the individual’s existence on this planet. In effect, you are to make yourself always available to God to use you to carry out His will. This means that you should continually take decisions that will ensure that you are under the control of the Holy Spirit so that you are always available and ready to be used by the Lord in His service. A second kind of sacrifice is concerned with giving or being generous to others. This kind of sacrifice is mentioned in the passage we cited previously, that is, Philippians 4:18:
I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
The acceptable sacrifice the apostle had in mind refers to the gifts from the Philippians through Epaphroditus. The Philippians gave gifts to the apostle in his official capacity. By this we mean the Philippians could not have sent their gifts to Paul except that he was an apostle in a ministry role. Thus, being supportive of the ministry is certainly a kind of sacrifice that pleases God so if you as a member of this congregation does not support this ministry, you are not pleasing the Lord because you are not offering an acceptable sacrifice to Him. Of course, we should not think that it is only the support of the ministry that pleases God so is any kind of giving to others, especially believers, as implied by the author of Hebrews in Hebrews 13:16:
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
By the way, it should be clear that God has to provide believers the resources they need to support the ministry and to be generous to others so that it is clear that at no point can any believer please God without God working or aiding the person, as implied in Hebrews 13:21:
equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
In effect, God provides the resources for generosity as it was the case with the Corinthians, as stated in 2 Corinthians 9:10–11:
10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
It is not only that God provides the resources but He also works in the believer to do what He wants, as stated in Philippians 2:13:
for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
The point is that believers should learn that the types of sacrifices we have mentioned are pleasing to God.
Another thing that believers should learn to please the Lord is to be more concerned with caring about each other and with righteousness than they should be with material things or things that do not advance the spiritual life. This truth the apostle conveyed in terms of avoiding passing judgment on each other over such matters of food and drinks but to be concerned with righteousness and the things that advance the kingdom of God, as he implied in his summing statement of the passage we cited previously, that is, Romans 14:18:
because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
The summary of what is pleasing to the Lord in this passage is conveyed in the phrase in this way that refers to everything the apostle discussed beginning in Romans 14:13 that include not passaging judgment on each other with respect to inconsequential matters but focusing on love and righteousness. So, believers should learn about love and righteousness and apply what they learn in order to please God.
Still another thing a believer should learn to please the Lord is to submit to authority. This truth is conveyed with the concept of obedience to parents in the passage we cited previously, that is, Colossians 3:20:
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
We should not doubt that it is submission to authority that is the concern of this instruction because the apostle had implied that he was concerned with submission to authority, as we read in the instruction to wives in Colossians 3:18:
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
The point is that if a believer is going to please the Lord then that individual should learn to submit to authority. In any event, if you are going to live as a child of light or one controlled by the Holy Spirit, you should endeavor to continuously learn of the will of God as revealed in the Scripture. I am saying to you that you cannot be serious with pleasing the Lord unless you are seriously learning what pleases Him as given in the Scripture. When you do and apply what you learn so that you are controlled by the Holy Spirit then the Spirit will also help you to know what to do in every circumstance of your life in order to be pleasing to the Lord. So, apply yourself to the study of God’s word.