January 19 2026

Monday January 19

“Walk As Children of Light”

Ephesians 5:3-8

3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.

In Ephesians chapter 5, the Apostle Paul is teaching us that, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are different from the world around us. We have a different nature—a new nature. The very nature of God Himself now lives within us, and we are called to reflect that nature. That is why Paul tells us in verse 1, to “be imitators of God as dear children.” We have been talking about what it means to be His children—dear children, beloved children. The first admonition Paul gives us is to walk in love. We walk in love because love is the foundational characteristic of the Christian life. If we walk in love, we will not disobey God or injure others, “for he who loves another has fulfilled the law,” as we read in Romans 13:8.

The Holy Spirit places that love within our hearts. Romans 5:5, tells us that the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. It flows out of us because God is love. We are living with God, walking with God, and therefore we are walking in love. Now Paul goes on to point out something else. Not only do we walk in love, but we also walk in the light. We see this in verse 8, where he says, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” We walk in love, and we walk in light. Why? Because God is light. Remember, we are imitating our Father. When we walk in the light, we have nothing to do with the darkness of sin.

Paul then gives us specific descriptions of sins that we are to avoid. In verse 3, he says, “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints.” Then in verse 4, he adds, “Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.”

First, we see sins of the flesh. Why do we avoid these sins? Because we are saints. Notice that phrase, “as is fitting for saints.” Saints are those who have been set apart—sanctified—for the glory of God. We are different because we are in Christ, not because of anything special in ourselves, but because we belong to Him and have been set apart for His purposes.

My friend, you don’t have to wait for a church or an institution to declare you a saint. The moment you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, you become a saint. Even the believers in the church at Corinth—troubled as that church was—were still called saints. They had been set apart, even though there were things in their lives and in their church that did not belong there. That’s why Paul says these things are not fitting for saints.

What is fitting for saints is that we do not walk in darkness, but in light. We put aside fornication, sexual sin, uncleanness, and covetousness. Covetousness is really a weakness of our fallen nature—an expression of uncontrolled appetites. The fornicator and the covetous person both seek to satisfy desires by taking what does not belong to them. We see this clearly in 1 John 2:16, which speaks of “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes.” Paul tells us that there should not even be a hint of these things among us. We stay away from them because they are not fitting for the saints of God.

Then Paul addresses our speech in verse 4—“neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting.” These are sins of the tongue, and they are not fitting either. Instead, we are called to give thanks. When we truly understand how blessed we are in Christ—when our hearts are filled with gratitude and appreciation for God’s goodness—we will not speak in ways that are displeasing to Him.

Coarse jesting is a form of speech that takes something clean and twists it into something dirty through cleverness or wit. People with filthy hearts and minds do that. They take what is pure and corrupt it with their words. My friend, that should never characterize Christian conversation. By the grace of God, we avoid these things. Why? Because we are children of light, and we are to walk as children of light. We were once darkness, but now we are light in the Lord. May God help us to understand these truths, to avoid the sins of the flesh and the sins of the tongue, and to make sure that what we say and what we do brings glory to God. May we reflect His light to a world that is filled with darkness.

God bless you and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day.