Summary of passage: The Second Coming will be here soon so walk right with God now, fully awake and cognizant of what you are doing for Him. Set aside sin and put on Jesus!
Questions:
7) The Second Coming is almost here where we will be with Jesus forever. To live in the present moment and not just numbly go through the motions of life because Jesus could come any day! Every day matters and all that you do matters. Don’t dismiss your actions as frivolous.
8 ) Galatians 1:4: “present evil age”. Luke 19:44: “the time of God’s coming to you.” See also Matthew 25:31-46; Mark 13:33-37; Luke 21:36; Philippians 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 5:6,8; Titus 2:11-14; James 5:7-11; 2 Peter 3:11-14; 1 John 2:28; 3:2-3
9) Part personal Question. My answer: People get stuck in the mundaneness of life and just go through the motions. They get complacent with their life and next thing they know 20 years has gone by with nothing to show for it. I get this way at times as well. Luckily, I’m an active person and I’m out in the world, trying to figure out what to do with my life. Still, I get complacent about attending church, reading the Word, praying. All things I need to remember–namely God and Jesus–first. THEN everything else.
Conclusions: Paul has a very good point: stay present and remember life could be over any second. Don’t take one moment for granted. Make it about Him always.
End Notes: In essence, be in the presence moment and don’t just go through the motions of life.
Putting aside darkness (sin) and putting on light is a metaphor with putting on clothes (which we all do). Put on Jesus (the armor of light) every morning!
Spurgeon explains this passage: “The rags of sin must come off if we put on the robe of Christ. There must be a taking away of the love of sin, there must be a renouncing of the practices and habits of sin, or else a man cannot be a Christian. It will be an idle attempt to try and wear religion as a sort of celestial overall over the top of old sins.”
The night is the present evil age. This is a clear teaching of the nearness of the end times (1 Corinthians 7:29; Philippians 4:5; James 5:9, 1 Peter 4:7; 1 John 2:18). Early Christians did not believe Jesus would return within a few years. Instead, they saw the death and resurrection of Jesus as the events that began the last days (Hebrews 1:1-2). “The night is nearly over” is the next great event in God’s plan, which is the Second Coming. The day is when Jesus does come and ushers in the consummation of the kingdom.
One of my favorite songs that speaks to Paul’s theme: