NOTES for Eph 5:8-10

How to know what pleases to God? How should one behave in order not to be guilty in front of Him? These questions are not simple and more again, they are far from being futile, because in our life several things depend on the practical answer to these questions.

The apostle Paul in the epistle to Ephesians uses a famous verb translated into English as "proving". It means indeed "to examine, to verify, to authenticate ". Thus, the apostle calls us to walk, as the children of light, by examining our works, verifying if they will be acceptable in front of the Face of the Almighty.

All these words form a single sentence in the Greek text, and it is important. The verification must be based on criteria, that is why the apostle calls the essential criterion: fruits of the Holy Spirit. Thus all which can be called fruits of the action of the Holy Spirit in our life is pleasant unto God. It is particularly every goodness, righteousness and truth.

Maybe the apostle tries to pass on with these words something, that can’t be express by words. The modern language indicates that by a rather vague term "good". It is in particular what we call "good", its increase (and, thus, the decrease of evil) which becomes for the apostle Paul the criterion on which our works and our life are acceptable unto God.