We're going to be in 1 Thessalonians 5, 5 through the first part of verse 8. We'll take a look at the second part of verse 8, Lord willing, next week. In our previous examination of this passage, we saw how the Apostle Paul took up our Lord Jesus metaphor, in which he described his second coming, which is also the day of the Lord, as being like a thief in the night. And we saw how Paul then began to move into the imagery of darkness and light after bringing up that metaphor. This week, we're going to spend some time contemplating the meaning of this imagery as Paul employs it in order to encourage us to remain faithful as we await Jesus' return. I'm going to begin reading in verse 1 all the way through the end of verse 8 to give us the context, and then we'll pray once more. But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness so that this day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. Let's pray once more. Holy Father, I pray that you will bless us with the filling of your Holy Spirit and with understanding as we look into your word together, help us to take away from it the encouragement that is being offered to us as we await our Lord's return. If we need to be convicted in any way, we pray that you will do that for us as well. We pray that you'll work in whatever way we need most right now in each of our hearts. We trust you to do this always through your word, and we trust you to do that for us this morning. In the name of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. I'm sure most of you are aware that the Bible often uses the imagery of light and darkness, as well as of day and night, as a means to speak of spiritual realities. In fact, this imagery figures prominently in the prophecies of the coming Messiah, in the Old Testament, prophecies which were, of course, fulfilled by our Lord Jesus. And I would just like to offer you one example of that from Isaiah chapter 9, verses 1 and 2. And we're getting into this because this is where Paul is getting the imagery. He's getting it from the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah and from Jesus' own language as the one who fulfills that prophecy, and the way that the apostles wrote of him fulfilling this prophecy. In Isaiah 9, verses 1 and 2, we read, nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first he lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her by way of the sea beyond the Jordan in Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. Now, we know that this is a Messianic prophecy because the Apostle Paul tells us about how our Lord Jesus fulfilled this prophecy when he began to preach his message of repentance and faith to the people of Galilee. We read this in Matthew 4, verses 12 through 17. where our departed brother Matthew writes, now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he departed to Galilee and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali. Now we know why he's pointing this out if we had just read Isaiah 9, 1, and 2. He says, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And upon those who sat in the region in shadow of death, light has dawned. From that time, he says, Jesus began to preach and say, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. So our Lord Jesus was the great light who shined upon those who were in darkness, which is, of course, a way of describing all of those who did not know God. Later in his ministry, our Lord Jesus himself also spoke of those who formerly were in darkness as becoming sons of light through faith in him. In fact, there are a couple of places in which Jesus used this term, this phrase, sons of light. We're going to look at one of them from John 12, verses 35 and 36, where Jesus said to them, A little while longer, the light is with you. He's talking about himself. He's talking about he's not going to be with them much longer. He says, walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. He who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. These things Jesus spoke and departed and was hidden from them. As we have already seen in our reading of the passage here in 1 Thessalonians, our text for this morning, Paul takes up this same phrase, sons of light, to refer to believers, and he uses the same imagery of light and darkness as well as of day and night, which had been used by Isaiah to describe the first advent of Jesus. But Paul uses this language to describe Jesus' second advent, the same kind of imagery. As we examine further his discussion of Jesus' second coming, we're going to see first how he speaks of the status of believers as sons of light. He first wants to drive that point home, and then we'll see how he speaks of the responsibilities of believers as sons of light. First of all, it's important that we recognize our status as sons of light. I think this is the emphasis of verse 5. He's trying to get this into the minds of the Thessalonian believers, that this is who they really are as believers in Jesus. He says in verse 5, you are all sons of light and sons of the day. And then notice he switches and says, we are not of the night nor of darkness. More on that in a moment. As we're reminded in our reading of the passage, Paul is picking up on the reference to the day of the Lord when he speaks here of being sons of light and sons of the day. Remember, he'd spoken of in verses two through four, the day of the Lord coming as a thief in the night. And he's simply expanding on his use of this imagery here in order to get that firmly in our minds. Why don't we just read those verses again, verses two through four? Paul says, for you yourselves know perfectly, excuse me, certainly, accurately, that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this day should overtake you as a thief. Given this context. Jeffrey Waymer correctly observes that, quote, the earlier references in verse 2 to the day of the Lord and the thief's arrival at night lead Paul here, beginning at verse 4 actually, and in the following verses to develop in a metaphorical manner the contrasts not only between day and night, but also their corresponding qualities of light and darkness. I think he's right. We can clearly see how Paul gets this imagery in his mind and then just runs with it. Imagery about the first coming of Jesus, imagery that Jesus began to apply to his second coming, Paul takes up and just sort of elaborates on it a little further here in this passage. I think the commentary on the New Testament use of the Old Testament explains the imagery well. When it says this, the light and day symbolize the Thessalonians' intimate relationship with God and their knowledge about the imminent, I would say sudden or unexpected, arrival of the day of the Lord. Whereas the darkness and night symbolize non-Christians' alienation from God and their ignorance about the impending judgment that they will experience at Christ's return. I think that's a really good summary of the meaning of the metaphorical language as utilized by Paul here, language rooted both in the Old Testament and in the teaching of Jesus. There's not much original being said here by Paul. A lot of what he's saying here is simply repeating the language that he's gotten from the Old Testament and from Jesus. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, however, he's been given a greater understanding that he's sharing with us about what all this means. In fact, as we've already seen, the term sons of light was used by Jesus himself to describe true believers who've been delivered from spiritual darkness through faith in him. They believed in the light and they're delivered from darkness. Paul is using the term the same way, in order to indicate his confidence that the Thessalonian Christians are indeed true believers, who do not then have any reason to fear the coming day of the Lord. Which is why he goes on to refer to them not simply as sons of light, but also sons of the day. He adds that. He takes the phrase sons of the light from Jesus, and he adds sons of the day in this context, because we belong to that day in a sense. We look forward to that day. We don't fear that day. Or at least we shouldn't, if we've trusted in Jesus. Then Paul switches, as I pointed out earlier, from the second person to the first person. when he says in the second part of the verse, we are not of the night nor of darkness. So the Thessalonian believers, like Paul, Silas, and Timothy, that's the we, it's the Thessalonian believers and Paul, Silas, and Timothy who are behind this letter, remember, they're not sons of the night. They're of the day and of the light. So they don't need to fear the day of the Lord. And this statement thus emphatically affirms what he just said in verse 4, when he said, but you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this day should overtake you as a thief. It will be sudden. It will be unexpected. But we'll be ready for it anyway. But how? That's the question. We'll get into that. For now, we just want to point out that it's their status as sons of the light that gives them confidence as they anticipate the day of the Lord. And it gives us confidence as well. Because we too have trusted in the Lord Jesus. Those of us who have become believers in Jesus, we've trusted him. So the day of the Lord, when Jesus returns, will be a day of judgment, to be sure, for those in darkness. But those who are of the light, We look forward to that day. We anticipate that day with confidence and with joy. In fact, we long for that day. We hope that day comes soon, because we've experienced the light already. We want more of it. As Paul said to the Colossian Christians, God the Father has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the son of his love in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. We've been delivered from spiritual darkness into the light through the redemption that we have in Jesus. With his status, however, comes responsibility. to live in a manner that's worthy of all that our Lord has done for us. And this gets into how we are anticipating and looking forward to the day of the Lord. This is where we need to recognize our responsibilities. This is our second main point. We must recognize our responsibilities as sons of the light. Having recognized our status, we must recognize the responsibilities that come with that. Now, there are many that we can discover in the New Testament. We, in our worship time, focused on one of them, the Great Commission. That's one of our responsibilities. One of the ways that we await Jesus' return is to go tell other people about him. But as we'll see in the next few verses, Paul emphasizes here especially the need for believers to be both watchful and sober. Whatever else we're doing for Jesus, it should be characterized by watchfulness and soberness, whatever that means in this passage, right? We begin to see this in verse 6, where Paul says, therefore, let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober. Now, here Paul is obviously not using the metaphor sleep in the same way in which he'd used it earlier in this letter, when he spoke of sleep as a euphemism for death. Instead, here he's using it to speak metaphorically, once again, but in a different way. As a lack of watchfulness, sleep here indicates a lack of watchfulness, a lack of alertness, of failing to remain spiritually alert. As the ESV study Bible notes put it, to sleep is to be morally and spiritually disengaged and or living without a consciousness of the coming day. That pretty much sums up the way he's using the metaphor here pretty well, I think. But despite the way in which he changes his use of the metaphorical language here, Paul does use a particular term in the same way that he'd used it before. When he speaks of the others here, who do sleep and are thus not watchful or sober, Remember this admonition from the preceding discussion in chapter 4 of Jesus' return. In chapter 4, verse 13, Paul said, but I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep. There, again, being a euphemism for those who have died. He's changing the sleep metaphor in chapter 5, as we've seen, to mean people who are not spiritually alert or aware. Then he says, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. He's using the same word here in chapter 5 that he used there, these others who have no hope. The others mentioned in both places refers to those pagans among whom the Thessalonian Christians lived. They had not trusted in Jesus as Lord and Savior, and therefore they have no hope. And as Paul says here in chapter 5, verse 6, they sleep in the sense that they have no spiritual awareness. They will not be ready. The day of the Lord will come on them as a thief in the night and catch them completely unaware, unready. They are still in darkness. They're not sons of the light. But since believers are no longer in darkness, And since they're spiritually awakened, they have to act like they're awake. They shouldn't sleep as those in darkness do. They shouldn't walk around in a sort of spiritual daze, unaware of things. They should instead be awake, which is the literal meaning of the Greek word rigaroo, is the word here for our Greek scholars. It literally means to be awake. I'm not sure how often it's actually used in its literal sense in the New Testament. It's often used figuratively, as it is here. But the literal meaning is to be awake, which is why the English Standard Version renders the admonition, let us keep awake. But in this passage, just as sleep is being used metaphorically, this language of keeping awake is being used metaphorically as well. He's not talking about literally staying awake all the time, right? And so since this term is clearly being used in a figurative sense, the new King James is warranted in rendering it as, let us watch. The new American standard is warranted in rendering it as, let us be alert. Our Lord Jesus used the term in the same metaphorical way when he spoke of his second coming. So we're going to see, once again, Paul is lifting language from the teaching of Jesus to talk about Jesus' return. For example, in Matthew 24, verses 42 through 44, this is what our Lord Jesus says. I'm sorry you don't have these notes today. We had a power problem earlier. I wasn't able to make copies for you. Our Lord Jesus says in Matthew 24, beginning of verse 42, watch therefore. For you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched. Twice he's talking about watching. Watch. He would have known. He would have watched. And he would have not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, you also be ready. So watching is being ready. For the Son of Man, he says, is coming in an hour you do not expect. Jesus also used this term in his application of the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, which is a parable about being ready for his second coming. And he says this in his application of that parable in Matthew 25, verse 13. Watch, therefore. Once again, the same Greek word that Paul uses. For you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. So Paul takes up the same term. He's actually repeating our Lord's command to remain watchful as we await his return, to be ready for his return, just as he had repeated our Lord's reference to those who believe in him as sons of light. In addition, just as Paul had coupled The phrase sons of the day with sons of light, he added his own phrase as a further explanation in this context of what being sons of light means. In the same way, he also couples another term with Jesus' command to watch. When he says, let us watch and be sober. Here the Greek verb nepho is pretty literally rendered here. It means to be sober. It literally means not to be drunk. And that's why most translations translate it as being sober. But of course, the Greek term can have a metaphorical meaning of being sober-minded, just like we can use the word sober in a metaphorical way today, in a sort of parallel fashion. It's clearly being used here in a metaphorical or figurative sense to mean something like being sober-minded, or perhaps also conveying the notion of being self-controlled. clear-headed, in control of your actions. In fact, I think that Jeffrey Wayma, in his commentary, may well be correct when he says this, the first positive command to stay awake enjoins them to be alert and prepared for that day. the day of the Lord in the context. The second positive command, to be sober, warns against any excessive concern or rash conduct in light of that eschatological event. Put colloquially, he says, the first command involves a call to be ready for the day of the Lord, while the second is to be steady in one's attitude and actions associated with the day. part of being ready, he would say he's being steady, clear-headed about it. Of course, it could also be the case that Paul merely intends the command to be sober as roughly synonymous with the command to be watchful. It's hard to be sure in this context, but at any rate, Paul elaborates further concerning the need both to be watchful and to be sober as he continues his discussion in verse 7 and into the first part of verse 8. And there he says, for those who sleep, sleep at night. And those who get drunk are drunk at night. Remember, we're children of the day. Jesus is going to come as a thief in the night. Because we're children of the day, we're not going to be caught off guard in the way that those in darkness are. Now he's describing those in darkness with a couple of things people in darkness do, things people do at night typically, right? Those who sleep, sleep at night. Those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober. So here Paul adds yet another metaphor that he's kind of introduced with this verb be sober, right? And that's the metaphor of drunkenness. But he once again actually draws the concept from the teaching of our Lord Jesus, who brought up this idea when he talked about his second coming. This time, we'll look at Luke 21. Luke 21, verses 34 to 36. Luke 21, beginning verse 34, our Lord says, but take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life. And that day, he's speaking of the day of the Lord or of his second coming, and that day come upon you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the earth. Watch, therefore, and pray always. This is another activity we do as we watch, right? We evangelize, as I said earlier. We pray. We obey. He says, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. So both of the metaphors that Paul uses here in verse 7 and the first part of verse 8, that of sleep and that of drunkenness, were used by Jesus. Now, he may have meant that literally. Paul certainly takes it up and speaks of it figuratively. But both indicate, as Paul uses them, a lack of awareness or an insensitivity to what is really going on, to reality, to spiritual truth about God, about his son Jesus Christ, and about what he's actually doing and what he's going to do. They're like people walking around, sleepwalking, or drunk, who are completely insensitive to these things. But these activities of sleep and drunkenness, well, these things are typically associated with the night and with darkness. That's why they are such suitable metaphors here. Just as in our own day, most people in Paul's day would have worked during the day, and they would have slept at night. Or if they were going to get drunk, they'd have done it at night. So we can see how these metaphors fit nicely with the previous metaphorical reference to the day and the light versus the night and darkness. Those of us who trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are sons of light and sons of the day. And so we should do those things that are appropriate to being of the day. We shouldn't act like we're asleep or drunk. metaphorically speaking, insensitive to spiritual things. We should have our spiritual wits about us. We should be ready and steady, as Jeffrey Wima put it. We should be watchful. We should be sober-minded, clear-headed about what's going to happen, because we know about it. We have the truth. We are aware of these spiritual realities. We won't be taken off guard. if we keep that in mind and watch as we should. So we've seen that we may be confident as we look forward to the day of the Lord. There's no reason for us to fear, because Jesus' second coming is a terrible thing only for those who don't trust in him as Lord and Savior. It is a grand event for those of us who trust in him. It is something to look forward to with joy We need to remain watchful and sober if we're going to look forward to it with joy. Living as true sons of light in a very dark world, because most of the world out there is in darkness. Most of the people we meet on a daily basis are in darkness. As we conclude then, I think it's fitting to encourage us further by citing yet another example of the usage of this metaphorical language of light and darkness. Once again, from the Apostle Paul, and this time from 2 Corinthians 4, verses three through six. Beginning in 2 Corinthians 4.3, we read, but even if our gospel is veiled, he says, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age is blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Paul's saying something miraculous happened when we became believers in Jesus. Just as God spoke and light appeared at creation, right? He spoke light in the darkness. He said we were in spiritual darkness, blinded by the God of this age. And what did God do? He spoke light through the gospel. into the darkness of our hearts. And as Jesus put it, we became sons of light, children of light. We must never forget, then, that we are sons of light by the grace of God and by his power. He has sovereignly chosen to shine the light of the gospel into our hearts and to deliver us from darkness. So I think this should motivate us then to go forth into a dark world and shine the light of the gospel, even as Paul did. And his companions, Silas and Timothy, they shined the light of the gospel. knowing that if that light was going to shine in a transformative way in someone's heart, it would be God doing it, and not them. They were God's instruments of shining the light. The Gospel was His means of shining the light, and our proclamation of that Gospel is His means of shining the light in a dark world. And as we seek to To be more responsible and better at evangelizing this year, we should keep this in mind, that we get to experience the power of God working through us in the lives of other people when he works through his gospel. So we should go forth and shine this light confident that God can do for others what he has so graciously done for us. The God who spoke light into the darkness when he created the world, and he spoke light into our hearts, can do that for anyone else. This should give us great confidence. So we should be confident as we look forward to the coming of the Lord, and we should be confident when we tell other people about him. Trusting in the power of God. Holy Father, I thank you for this passage. I hope I've done a good job of trying to get at how the imagery is being used here, why Paul, under the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, delighted in using this imagery as he did. And I want to thank you, Lord, on behalf of myself and those here today who know you, You graciously shine the light into our hearts. We're no longer in darkness, unaware and numb to what's really going on, walking around in a spiritual darkened, drunken daze. We're no longer like that because you loved us and showed your grace to us. Please do this for others through us, we pray. Please help us to long to be light shining in the darkness for you, reflecting the character and love of Jesus to a lost and dying world. Forgive us, Lord, when we don't share the same love for that that you have, the same delight in shining the light that you have, Help us to remember our status as sons of light and the great privilege that we have to be used by you in a dark, dark world. Help us to be confident in that and joyful. I pray these things in the name of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.