A baptismal song – Ephesians 5:14

Songs in the New Testament, part 6

It’s a short one this month, not even a whole verse in the Bible, but it comes at a unique location in Paul’s writing.

for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper,
    and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

Ephesians 5:14

Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus is more about the big C Church, the body of all believers in Christ, than it is about how to live as individuals. Its teaching also centres more around the resurrection of Jesus than Paul’s other writings which are about the cross. Like most of Paul’s writing the instructions about what Jesus Christ has done come first in the letter and instructions on how to live as a Christian come last. Ephesians is no different, the break coming at verse 4:17 or 4:25, depending on which theologian you follow. (I’m using books by Marcus Maxwell and NT Wright.) The first half, talking about being justified by faith, is about how you become a Christian, Christ has done it all, The second half is about how to grow as a Christian.

What has this to do with a poem?

The short piece of poetry in 5:14 is unique in that it comes in the practical part of the letter near the end rather than the theoretical part, where all the rest of the poetry in his letters to churches finds its poetry. I’m dealing with the pastoral letters next.

Looking at Ephesians as a whole we see that Paul says that the Church exists to bring God glory. That’s why we see the songs of praise in this section in the other letters. The ethical part, especially 4:17-5:21, moving from anger to forgiveness, from darkness to light. He talks of what is appropriate for God’s holy people and what is not, and he talks about sex. The important thing here is truth and sexual immorality tells lies about love.

The poem comes in at this point, and it is a baptismal song. In Ephesians 4:17-5: Paul is talking about how the Church is being transformed into God’s new creation. It is written in the plural from the instructions on sexual activity and other things before the poem to the instructions on submitting to each other afterwards.

In contrast the poem is in the singular, it is the instructions to someone being baptised. Baptism is not a naming ceremony, it stands for the end of the old life and rebirth in the new. It is singular because we join the church as individuals. It is interesting that the very next phrase, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,” 5:15, is back to a plural you. It is the church in this context that has to be careful.

Unfortunately there are times when the church has not been careful.

The Roman Catholic Church had a well documented policy of moving preists accused of child sexual abuse on to other parishes instead of removing them from ministry. It seems that they were more interested in protecting themselves from scandal than they were in protecting children.

Then there’s the sadistic abuse of John Smyth at Iowerne camps. The Church of England concealed the findings of a 1982 report into Smyth, allowing him to emigrate to Zimbabwe and continue to abuse boys there.

Both of these things hampered the ministry of the churches when they came to light. “But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible,” said Paul in verse 13.

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