Jesus was shining on those who wake up

JESUS WAS SHINING ON THOSE WHO WAKE UP
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Ephesians 5:14 So it is said: "Wakeup, O sleeper, rise
up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Trumpet-call Of The Gospel
Ephesians 5:14
T. Croskery
Since it is light that manifests, there must be a rousing voice to awake the
sleeper, that the light of life may be poured fully upon him.
I. THE PERSONADDRESSED. "Thouthat sleepest."Sleepis an apt figure
to describe the sinner.
1. He lives in an unreal world, full of dreams and fancies, quite unconscious of
the realworld around him. The sinner dreams of safety and peace. He is
carnally secure (Romans 13:10;1 Thessalonians5:6). He may even walk in his
sleep.

2. He is wholly unprotected againstdanger. If he knew of his danger, he would
not be asleep. He needs, therefore, to be roused.
3. His work is wholly suspended. So long as the sinner sleeps in spiritual death
he does no good, he gets no good, he cares for nothing. The figure of the text
is, therefore, very expressive.
II. THE COMMAND ADDRESSED TO THE SLEEPER. "Awake ... and
arise from the dead." The first thing is to open the eyes;but we are not to
suppose that the sinner has any power of himself to open them, any more than
the man with the withered hand had power to stretchit forth before Christ
said, "Stretchforth thine hand." It is the light which Christ is to shed upon
the sleeperthat will awake him. Just as the sun in the natural heavens, shining
upon the eye of a sleeper, awakeshim, so the beams of the Sun of
righteousness endthe sleepof death.
1. The cry, "Awake!" is the voice of love. A mother's love will lull her child to
sleep, but if the house is on fire, it will take another turn, and startle the child
from its slumbers.
2. The cry, "Awake!" is the voice of wisdom. The sinner loses much by
sleeping. The thief pilfers by night. The tare-sowergoesforth in darkness to
sow his seed. If you sleepon till death, you lose everything.
3. The cry is a voice of command. Who commands? It is he who redeemed you
with his precious blood.

4. It is a voice you have often heard - in sermons, in sickness,in sorrows, in
calamities.
III. THE PROMISE TO THE SLEEPER. "And Christ shall give thee light."
The light that comes from Christ canreach even the dead: "The hour is
coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and
they that hear shall live" (John 5:25). The dead are not quickened before they
hear his voice, but his voice causesthem to hear and live. Christ will give you
light to carry you out of the societyofthe dead into the companionship of the
children of light, because it has alreadyintroduced you into the fellowship of
the Fatherand the Son. "Let us therefore castoff the works of darkness, and
put on the amour of light." - T.C.
Biblical Illustrator
Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and
Christ shall give thee light.

Ephesians 5:14
A call to slumbering souls
J. Lathrop, D. D.
I. THE CHARACTER OF THOSE ADDRESSED.
1. If you allow yourself in the practice of knownwickedness,your conscience
is asleep.
2. If you live in the customary neglectof self-examination, you are in a state of
slumber.
3. If you have never been in any degree affectedwith a sense of your guilt, and
of your dependence on the mercy of God in Christ, you are among those who
are asleep.
4. If you have no conflicts with sin and temptation, you are in a state of
slumber.
5. The prevalence of a sensualand carnal dispositionis a sign of spiritual
death.
6. Stupidity under the warnings of God's word and providence, indicates such
a state of soul as the Scripture compares to sleep.
II. APPLY THE CALL.

1. This awakening must suppose and imply a convictionof your sin, and a
sense ofyour danger.
2. This awakening from sleep, and arising" from the dead, implies a
repentance of sin and turning to God.
3. They who have awoke fromtheir sleepand risen from the dead will
experience the properties, and maintain the exercises ofa holy and spiritual
life.
III. THE ENCOURAGEMENT — "Christ shall give thee light," shall shine
upon and enlighten thee.
1. This may be understood as a promise of pardon and eternal life on your
repentance.
2. The words farther import God's gracious attentionto awakenedsouls,
when they frame their doings to turn to Him. The call is, Awake, arise from
the dead, repair to the Saviour. Say not, "We are unable to discernthe way."
Christ will shine upon you and give you light. Say not, "We are unable to rise
and walk." He will meet you with His grace. Arise, He callethyou. He will
guide your steps.
(J. Lathrop, D. D.)
Awake
ClericalWorld.

I. IMAGES OF THE SINNER'S STATE.
1. Sleep. This state, though usually benign and refreshing, is sometimes one of
greatdanger. The traveller who sleeps when exposedto excessive frost, the
sailorwho sleeps upon the mast, are examples.
2. Darkness. This is emblematicalof ignorance, error, and iniquity, and
especiallyof the want of any certain prospectfor the future.
3. Death. The insensibility, powerlessness, andimmovableness of the corpse
are an awful representationof the sinner's state.
II. REPRESENTATIONS OF THE SINNER'S NEED.
1. Awakening.
2. Enlightening.
3. Raising to life.The ministry of our Lord Jesus affords us many and striking
instances of the exercise ofa Divine powerin these ways.
III. A REVELATION OF THE SINNER'S HOPE.
1. A Divine command: Awake!arise!There is something for man to do in
order that he may enjoy the blessings of the gospel.

2. A Divine promise: Christ will enlighten thee.
(ClericalWorld.)
The Church aroused
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. THE STATE OF MIND INTO WHICH A CHRISTIAN MAY
SOMETIMESGET.
1. The insidious characterofit,(1) A Christian may be asleepand not know it.
Indeed, if he did know it, he would not be asleep.(2)A man who is asleepmay
be kept in very good countenance by his neighbours. They may be in the same
state, and sleeping people are not likely to be very active in rebuking one
another.(3)One who is asleepmay have takencare before he went to sleepto
prevent anybody coming in to wake him. There is a way of bolting the door of
your heart againstanybody.(4) A man cando a greatdeal while asleepthat
will make him look as if he were quite awake. Forinstance, some people talk
in their sleep, and many professors willtalk just as if they were the most
active, the most earnest, the most gracious, the most warm-hearted people
anywhere.
2. What is the evil itself? It is an unconsciousnessofone's own state, and a
carelessnessofsuch a kind as not to want to be conscious ofit. The man takes
everything for granted in religion. He seems, too, to be perfectly immovable to
all appeals. The best argument is lost on a sleeping man, and then this
slumbering spirit spreads itself over everything else. There is a heartlessness
in the manner in which everything is gone about.
3. Now, two or three words upon what makes this evil of Christians being
asleepa great dealworse.(1)It is this: they are Christ's servants, and they

ought not to be asleep. If a servant is setto do a certainduty, you do not
continue him in your service if he drops off asleep.(2)It is so bad for us to be
asleep, too, because itis quite certainthat the enemy is awake. Yourecollect
old Hugh Latimer's sermon, in which he says that the devil is the busiest
bishop in the kingdom.(3) And meanwhile souls are being lost.
4. What is it that sends us to sleep?(1)We are inclined to slumber from the
evil of our nature.(2) It is easyto send a man to sleepif you give him the
chloroform of bad doctrine.(3)The sultry sum of prosperity sends many to
sleep. Fulness of bread is a strong temptation.(4) In some people it is the
intoxication of pride.(5) In others it is the want of heart which is at the bottom
of everything they do. They never were intense, they never were earnest, and
consequentlythey have such little zeal that that zeal soongoes to sleep. This is
the age ofthe Enchanted Ground. He that cango through this age and not
sleepmust have something more than mortal about him. God must be with
him, keeping him awake. Youcannot be long in the soporific air of this
particular period of time without feeling that in spiritual things you grow lax,
for it is a lax age — lax in doctrine, lax in principle, lax in morals, lax in
everything — and only God cancome in and help the Pilgrim to keepawake
in this Enchanted Ground.
II. CHRIST'S MESSAGE TO THOSE OF HIS PEOPLE WHO ARE
ASLEEP.
1. Jesus speaksthis in love. He would not say"awake,"were it not the kindest
thing He could say to you. Sometimes a mother's love lulls her child to sleep,
but if there is a house on fire the mother's love would take another expression
and startle it from its slumbers; and Christ's love takes that turn when He
says to you, "Awake!Awake!awake!"

2. It is His wisdom as well as His love that makes Him sayit. He knows that
you are losing much by sleeping.
3. It is a voice, too, which you ought to own, for it is backedup by the
authority of the person from whom it comes.
4. It is a voice which has been very often repeated. Christ has been saying,
"Awake!Awake!" to some of us many hundreds of times. You were sick, were
you, a few months ago? Thatwas Christ, as it were, shaking you in your sleep,
and saying, "Awake, Mybeloved, awake outof thine unhealthy slumbers!"
5. A personalcry — "Thou." Not, "Awake allof you"; but, "Awake thou!"
Shall I pick you out one by one?
6. He puts it very pressingly in the presenttense. "Awake!awake now." Nota
few years hence, but now. This moment.
III. THE PROMISE WITH WHICH CHRIST ENCOURAGES US TO
AWAKE — "Christ shall give thee light." What means this?
1. Instruction.
2. The light of joy.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)

Christ the Spiritual Light
A. Gilmour.
I. THE CHARACTERS HERE ADDRESSED. "Asleep," "dead" —
expressions applicable to the natural state of man.
II. But to such THE GRACIOUS INVITATION is given — "Awake thou that
sleepest, andarise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." This
invitation or command, very naturally divides itself into two branches — the
external call of the gospel, and the internal call of the Holy Spirit.
III. THE PROMISE that is made — "And Christ shall give thee light." We
have already observed, that sin has darkenedthe understanding, depraved the
affections, and rendered us insensible to every form of moral worth. It is
altogetherthe result of Divine power, therefore, to enlighten the
understanding, to purify the heart, and to bring us into subjection to the
obedience of Christ. In closing our discourse, we observe —
1. That none will be able to urge, at the last clay, that they were compelled to
sin, or prevented from forsaking it, by the providential arrangements of God.
2. Norcan you saythat you have not sufficient means and opportunities for
obtaining the blessings ofredemption.
3. None will be able to say that they humbly, earnestly, and perseveringly
sought the assistanceofthe Holy Spirit, without obtaining it.

4. Neithercan you plead your inability to obey God, as an excuse for
continuing in sin.
(A. Gilmour.)
The sinner called
Bishop Home.
1. These words plainly suppose the personto whom they are addressed, to be
in a state of darkness. For"they who sleep," as the apostle elsewhere
observeth, "sleepin the night." "He that followeth not Christ walketh in
darkness," because the light of life shineth no longerupon his tabernacle.
2. The text plainly intimates to us that the sinner, or man of the world, to
whom it addressesitselfas to one sleeping, is in a state of insensibility. For no
soonerhas sleeptaken possessionof anyone, but forthwith all the senses are
lockedup, and he neither seeth, heareth, smelleth, tasteth, or feeleth anything.
Presentthe most finished and beautiful picture before the eyes of a person
asleep;he sees no more of it than if it was not there.
3. It appears from the text before us, that the world is in a state of delusion;
for such is the state of them that sleep. And to what can the life of many a man
be so fitly compared, as to a dream? "Awake, thou that sleepest,and arise
from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." And first, the sincere
penitent, who really and truly turns from sin to righteousness,and from the
world to Christ, passes fromdarkness to light. Secondly, the sinner, by
repentance, is brought out of a state of insensibility into one of sensibility.
Thirdly, the penitent is translated from a state of delusion to a sound
judgment and right apprehension of things, from shadows to realities:even as
one awakethfrom the romantic sceneryof a dream, to behold all things as
they really are, and to do his duty in that station in which God has placed him.

(Bishop Home.)
Of the state of spiritual death and the misery thereof
J. Flavel.
First: The miserable state of the unregenerate, representedunder the notions
of sleepand death; both expressions intending one and the same thing, though
with some variety of notion. The Christless and unregenerate world is in a
deep sleep;a spirit of slumber, senselessness, andsecurity is fallen upon them,
though they lie exposedimmediately to eternal wrath. Just as a man that is
fast asleepin a house on fire, and whilst the consuming flames are round
about him, his fancy is sporting itself in some pleasantdream; this is a very
lively resemblance of the unregenerate soul. But yet he that sleeps hath the
principle of life entire in him, though his senses be bound, and the actions of
life suspendedby sleep. Lest, therefore, we should think it is only so with the
unregenerate, the expressionis designedlyvaried, and those that were said to
be asleep, are positively affirmed to be dead; on purpose to inform us that it is
not a simple suspensionof the acts and exercise, but a total privation of the
principle of spiritual life, which is the misery of the unregenerate. Secondly:
We have here the duty of the unregenerate, whichis to awake outof sleep, and
arise from the dead. And the order of these duties is very natural. First awake,
then arise. Startling and rousing convictions make wayfor spiritual life; till
God awake us by convictions of our misery, we will never be persuaded to
arise, and move towards Christ for remedy and safety. Secondly: But you will
say, if unregenerate men be dead men, to what purpose is it to persuade them
to arise and stand up? And that this is the state of all Christless and
unsanctified persons, will, undeniably, appeartwo ways.
1. The causes ofspiritual life have not wrought upon them.

2. The effects and signs of spiritual life do not appearin them; and therefore
they are in the state and under the power of spiritual death.
1. If all Christless and unregenerate souls be dead souls, then how little
pleasure can Christians take in the societyof the unregenerate!Certainly 'tis
no pleasures for the living to converse among the dead. It was a cruel torment,
invented by Mezentius the tyrant, to tie a dead and living man together. The
pleasure of societyarises from the harmony of spirits, and the hopes of mutual
enjoyment in the world to come;neither of which cansweetenthe societyof
the godly with the wickedin this world.
2. How greatand wholly supernatural, marvellous, and wonderful is that
change which regenerationmakes upon the souls of men! It is a change from
death to life: "This My Son was dead and is alive again." Regenerationis life
from the dead (Luke 15:24).
(J. Flavel.)
Conviction
The WeeklyPulpit.
Conviction is the first step in the new life. It is essentialto conversion, as the
actionof winter is necessaryto the growthof spring.
I. CONVICTION IS PRODUCED BYTHE POWER OF THE TRUTH.
II. CONVICTION AWAKENS THE GUILTY CONSCIENCE.

III. SOMETIMESCONVICTIONIS TRANSIENT. A mere play on the
feelings cannotproduce a permanent change.
IV. THERE ARE INSTANCES OF SPECIALMEANS USED TO PRODUCE
CONVICTION. St. Paul's conversion.
V. CONVICTION IS GENUINE WHEN SALVATION IS SOUGHT. The
gaolerat Philippi.
VI. CONVICTION SOMETIMESCOMES TOO LATE TO SAVE.
Belshazzar. Dives.
(The WeeklyPulpit.)
Men asleepand dead in sins, calledto awake
I. Barrow, D. D.
I. THE STATE WE ARE HERE SUPPOSED TO BE IN BY NATURE.
1. A state of sleep. This implies —
(1)Ignorance.
(2)Insensibility.
(3)Security, carelessness, unconcern.

(4)Indolence and sloth.
II. THE EXHORTATION GIVEN TO SUCH. God calls thee by His Word; by
His ministers, whom He raises up, qualifies, and sends forth, chiefly for this
end; by His providence, affliction, health, adversity, prosperity, the sickness
or death of friends and relations; by His Spirit, which enlightens thy mind,
awakensand informs thy conscience.
III. THE GRACIOUS PROMISE MADE TO THOSE WHO TAKE THE
EXHORTATION. "Christshall give thee" —
1. The light of knowledge as to Divine things.
2. The light of comfort and happiness.
3. The light of life.
(I. Barrow, D. D.)
Our natural state, and its remedy
J. A. Alexander, D. D.
I. WHAT THE TEXT CALLS US TO BELIEVE.
1. That our natural state is a state of darkness. Light in the external world is
the elementor medium by which we see other objects. Darknessprecludes

light, not by extinguishing the sense, but by rendering it useless. Three
gradations may be stated, three degrees ofdarkness, as it affects the souland
its perceptions.(1)That in which the soul has no perception at all of spiritual
objects or "the things of God," which are, to it, as though they were not.(2)
That in which it sees the objects as existing, but is blind to their distinguishing
qualities and relative proportions.(3)That in which the qualities are seen, but
not appreciated;they are seento exist, but not seento be excellentor the
reverse. Notso much a darkness ofthe mind as of the heart — a blindness of
the affections as to spiritual objects.
2. A state of sleep. This is more than darkness. The man who is asleephas his
senses sealed;not his sight merely, but his other senses.Externalobjects are to
him as though they were not. All that lies beyond this life and its interests is
veiled from his view, and might as well not be. But while his senses are
suspended, his imagination is awake andactive. The more insensible he is of
that which really surrounds him, the more prolific is his fancy in ideal objects.
His life is but a dream. His illusions may be of a pleasing and agreeable
nature; that will only make the awakening more dreadful. It is related by one
of those who witnessedand experienceda late explosion, that when it occurred
he was asleep, and that his first sensationwas a pleasantone, as though he had
been flying through the air. He openedhis eyes, and he was in the sea!May
there not be something analogous to this in the sensations ofthe sinner who
dies with his soul asleep, and soars, as he imagines, towards the skies, but
instantaneouslyawakesamidst the roar of tempests and the lash of waves
upon the oceanofGod's wrath?
3. A state of death.
(1)The suspensionof the faculties is permanent.

(2)No power of self-resuscitation.
(3)The whole frame hastening to putrescence.
4. A state of guilt. Alienation from the love of God.
5. A state of danger. Exposed to the wrath of God.
II. WHAT THE TEXT CALLS US TO DO. The realground of men's
indifference to this matter is their unbelief. They do not really believe what
they are told as to their state by nature. Where this faith really exists, it shows
itself in anxious fears, if not in active efforts. The soul's first impulse is to
break the spell which binds it. But this it cannot do; in itself it is helpless.
Hence the exhortation has added to it the necessarypromise — "Christ shall
give thee light." Repentance and faith are conditions of salvation;but the
Author of our salvationis the Giver of repentance, the Author and Finisher of
our faith. God forgives us freely if we repent and believe, but we can just as
well make expiation for our sins, as repent and believe without Divine
assistance. But(it may be asked)will not this doctrine tend to paralyze the
efforts of the sinner for salvation? And what then? The more completely his
self-righteous strength is paralyzed, the better. No man can trust God and
himself at once. Your self-reliance must be destroyed, or it will destroyyou.
But if, by a paralysis of effort, be intended a stagnationof feeling, and
indifference to danger, I reply that this doctrine has no tendency to breed it.
Suppose it should be suddenly announced to this assembly that a deadly
malady had just appeared, and had begun to sweepoffthousands in its
course;and that the only possibility of safetydepended on the use of a specific
remedy, simple and easyin its application, and already within the reachof
every individual, who had nothing to do at any moment but to use it, and
infallibly secure himself againstinfection. And suppose that while your minds

were resting on this lastassurance, it should be authoritatively contradicted,
and the fact announced, with evidence not to be gainsaid, that this specific,
simple and infallibly successful, was beyondthe reachof every personpresent,
and could only be applied by a superior power. I put it to yourselves, whichof
these statements would produce serenity, and which alarm? Which would lead
you to fold your hands in indolent indifference, and which would rouse you to
an agonizing struggle for the means of safety? I speak as unto wise men; judge
ye what I say. Oh, my friends, if there is any cure for spiritual sloth and false
security, it is a heartfelt faith in the necessityofsuperhuman help. The man
who makes his helplessnessa pretext for continuance in sin, whateverhe may
say, does not really believe that he is helpless. No man believes it till he knows
it by experience.
1. Light dispels that blindness of the heart and affections whichdisables us
from seeing the true qualities of spiritual objects. That which before seemed
repulsive becomes lovely; that which was mean is glorious. That which was
pleasing or indifferent is now seento be loathsome. The beauty of holiness and
the ugliness of sin are now revealedin their true colours. Noris this all. The
light which beams upon us not only rectifies our views of what we law before,
but shows us what we never saw.
2. Light, then, is the remedy; but how shall we obtain it? It must be given to
us. If it comes at all, it comes as a free gift.
3. Christ alone can give it. This world, to the believer, is a dark, perplexing
labyrinth, and in its mazes he would lose himself for over were it not that ever
and anon, at certainturnings in the crookedpath, he gets a glimpse of
Calvary. These glimpses may be transitory, but they feed his hopes, and often
unexpectedly return to cheerhis drooping spirits. Sometimes he is ready to
despair of his escape, and to lie down in the darkness of the labyrinth and die.
But as he forms the resolution an unlooked for turn presents a distant

prospect, and beyond all other objects, and above them, he discerns the cross
and Christ upon it. Look to Christ then! look to Him for light to dissipate
your darkness, to arouse you from sleep, and to raise you from the dead.
(J. A. Alexander, D. D.)
Christ the Light Giver
That the greatintent of Christ in the gospelis to callpeople out of their woeful
estate by sin into the marvellous light of His salvation. This is the greattruth
here represented;and to clearit up to you —
I. Observe how woefuland dangerous the present case ofcarnal unregenerate
men is. It is representedto us under the notions of spiritual sleepand spiritual
death; which I shall speak ofboth generally and apart, and then conjointly
and together. First: To speak of them generally, and apart.
1. They are asleepin sin, whereas the regenerate are awakened(1
Thessalonians 5:5, 6). Here, then, is their misery upon the first account, they
sleepin sin; and a greatmisery it is.(1)Because theirinsensibility and security
make their other sins more dangerous.(2)Thoughthey sleep, their damnation
sleepethnot (2 Peter2:3).(3) The sun is up, and shines into their windows
(Romans 13:11).
2. The next notion is spiritual death; for we are bidden to "Arise from the
dead," which showeththis sleepis deadly (Ephesians 2:1). How are we dead?
Two ways —
(1)Deadas we are destitute of spiritual life;

(2)Deadas we are destitute of the favour and peace ofGod.Secondly:Let us
speak of these terms conjunctly; the one helpeth to explain the other. When
we hear that man sleepethin sin, possibly we might be apt to be conceitedthat
man's heart is not so corrupt as it is, and are ready to sayof it, as Christ did of
the damselwhom He raised to life, "She is not dead, but sleepeth" (Matthew
9:24). Therefore we must take in the ether expressionto help it. We do not
only sleepin sin, but are dead in trespasses andsins. So, on the other side,
when we hear that we are in the state of the dead, we may misconceive of
God's work in conversion, and press the rigour of the notion too far, as if He
wrought upon us only as stocks andstones;therefore we must take in the
other expression;we sleepin sins. Life natural is still left us; there is reason
and consciencestillto work upon, though we are wholly disabled from doing
anything pleasing to God; that is to say —
1. We have reason. Thou art a man, and hast reason, and therefore art to be
dealt with by way of exhortations. God influenceth all things according to
their natural inclination, as He enlighteneth the world by the sun, burneth
with fire, so he reasonethwith man.
2. We have conscience(which is reasonapplying things to our case), andcan
judge of our actions morally consideredwith respectto reward and
punishment, and accuseorexcuse as the nature of the action deserveth
(Romans 2:14, 15).
3. That we have a natural self-love and desire of happiness (Psalm 4:6),
"There be many that say, Who will show us any good?" (Matthew 13:45, 46).
So that, though we are dead, so as to do nothing savingly and acceptably, yet
we must remember that we are also asleep, ignorant, slight, careless, do not
improve our natural reason, conscience,and desires of happiness to any
saving purpose, and will not mind things. Both togethergiveth us a right
apprehension of our woefulcondition by nature, that we are corrupt, and so

are saidto be dead; and senseless andsecure, so we are said to be asleep,
mindless of our danger and remedy.
II. The manner of our recovery out of this wretched estate.
1. In the general, it is by calling of us. "Awake, arise" (see 1 Peter2:9; 2
Thessalonians 2:14).
2. More particularly, the order of this calling is set down in the text, in these
two injunctions, "Awake," and"Arise from the dead." We are reduced and
brought home to God two ways — either
(1)Preparativelyand dispositively; or
(2)Formally and constitutively.
III. The next thing is, what a blessedestate Christcalleth them into; He doth
not only rescue them out of the powerof darkness, but "He will give them
light." Many things are intended hereby.
1. By light is meant the lively light of the Spirit, or a clearaffective knowledge
both of our misery and remedy.
2. Light is put for God's favour, and the solid consolationwhich flowethfrom
thence (Psalm4:6, 7).

3. It implies eternalglory and happiness, to which we have a right now, and
for which we are prepared and fitted by grace. A tender waking conscienceis
a greatmercy, whereas a dead and stupid conscience is a heavy judgment; for
then neither reasonnor grace is of any use to us; we can neither do the
functions of a man or a Christian while we are asleep. First: "Awake thou that
sleepest."Considerthese motives —
1. Doth it become any to sleepin your ease, while you know not God to be a
friend or an enemy? yea, when you have so much reasonto think that He is an
enemy to you, for you are enemies to Him by your minds in evil works
(Colossians1:21).
2. You sleepin that ship that is swiftly carried to eternity, and are just upon
the entrance into anotherworld: "Lestcoming suddenly He find you
sleeping" (Mark 13:36).
3. Yon have slept out too much precious time already: "The time past of our
life may suffice us" (1 Peter4:3).
4. Thou hast been long and often calledupon. If God had not sought to
awakenyou, you had the better excuse:"How long wilt thou sleep, O
sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of sleep? yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to sleep." (Proverbs 6:9, 10).
5. Now is your time and season:"He that gatherethin summer is a wise son;
but he that sleepethin harvest is a son that causethshame" (Proverbs 10:5).
To lose time is sad, but to lose the seasonworstof all, and a seasonthat
bringeth profit as well as labour, as harvest doth.

6. Others care for their souls, and are hard at work for God; their diligence
should awakenus (Acts 26:7).
7. The devil is awake,and will you sleep? (1 Peter5:8).
8. If nature were well awake, it would disprove your courses as much as
religion. Secondly:"Arise from the dead"; that is, be convertedto God; for
the voice of Christ doth not only conduce to awakenus, but to raise us from
the dead (John 5:25). Look about you, then; entertain serious thoughts of
getting out of a state of sin into a state of grace.Taketwo motives to quicken
you to this —
1. Betternever be awakenedif still we continue in our sins, for this
aggravateththem (John 3:19).
2. Betternever rise in the last day if we be not raisedfrom the death of sin.(1)
Do not say, It is too soon;for we can never soonenough get out of so greata
danger.(2)Do not say, It is too late; for the work is yet possible, as short as
your time is like to be in the world; and it will be your fault if it be not done.
(T. Manton, D. D.)
Inattention to warning
Caryl.
It is said of birds that build in steeples, being used to the continual ringing of
bells, the sound disquiets them not at all; or as those that dwell near the fall of

the river Nilus (Nile), the noise of the water deafens them so, that they mind it
not. Thus it is that the commonness of the death of others is made but, as it
were, a formal thing: many have been so often at the grave, that now the
grave is worn out of their hearts; they have gone so often to the house of
mourning, that they are grownfamiliar with death; they look upon it as a
matter of custom for men to die and be buried, and when the solemnity is
over, the thoughts of death are over also;as soonas the grave is out of their
sight, preparation for the grave is out of their mind: then they go to their
worldly business, yea, to coveting and sinning, as if the last man that ever
should be were buried.
(Caryl.)
Insensible to Divine influence
Bishop Ryle.
The personhere spokenof is first said to be asleep;and surely this gives the
idea of one who may be surrounded by danger without knowing it; may be
approachedby enemies without perceiving it; may have the assassin's blow
aimed at his heart without attempting to repel it. In like manner, those by
whom he is best loved may watchbeside his pillow, and he is unconscious of
their presence. "Afeastof fat things, a feastof wines on the lees, offat things
full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined," may be spreadbefore him,
yet his appetite is not awakened;riches and honours may be placed within his
reach, yet his hand is not stretchedforth to graspthem. And why? Becausehe
is asleep. His eyes are closed, his ears are dulled, his senses are lockedup by
the powerof slumber; and forgetfulness of his best interest, and inattention to
outward objects, have come upon him. And thus is it with the unconverted
man. He is surrounded by dangers which he heeds not; by enemies whom he
regards not. The murderer of souls has struck at his heart and he has made no
resistance.He may be active in worldly matters, and eagerforworldly
objects;but he has no eagerness,no activity for spiritual concerns. Wrath,
and that eternal, is even now pursuing him; the bottomless abyss has yawned
at his very feet, and is ready to engulph him; the thunders of the law are

pealing forth their denunciations againsthim; and this immortal being
remains heedless and unconcernedwhen there is but one step betweenhim
and the lake of fire. And there is an eye of love watching over him for good;
there is a voice of mercy appealing to his soul; there is the marriage supper of
the Lamb spread, and he is invited thereto; there are the unsearchable riches
of Christ placedwithin his reach, with this encouraging inscription, "Ask, and
ye shall receive";yet he hears not the voice which cries, "Look unto Me, and
be ye saved";he sees notthe bleeding form which stands betweenus and the
stroke of Divine justice; the famished wretchhastens not to taste the feast;the
beggar's hand is not put forth to lay hold on the boundless treasures. He is
asleep;and feels not, sees not, hears not, knows not these things. And yet he is
often not devoid of strong feeling with respectto the things of this world; nor
destitute of regard for the decencies oflife. He may find, or think he finds,
happiness in this very forgetfulness of God; nay, in his own way, he may make
a professionof religion, and have a dreamy prospectof salvation to be
hereafterreceived. He thinks that he may now give his faculties to earthly
objects and to self-indulgence, that he may offer to God the service of the lip
whilst his own passions and inclinations receive the adorationof the heart;
and he flatters himself that he is happy now, and that he shall, unconverted
and separatedfrom the love of God as he is, be happy in His presence
eternally. Alas! how delusive is this dream, springing as it does from the sleep
of carnal security. When for a moment he thinks seriously, he finds himself
not really happy, and when that hour comes in which the unawakenedsinner
shall be called into the presence ofhis Judge, where shall be all the joys either
on earth or in heaven, which he promised to himself? "It shall evenbe as
when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth;but he awaketh, and
his soulis empty; or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he is faint
and his soul hath appetite." His anticipations were but a dream, founded on
self-delusion, and ending in bitter and irretrievable disappointment.
(Bishop Ryle.)
Light

Canon Vernon Hutton.
It is a remarkable illustration of the truth that material phenomena are
designedto convey to us lessons ofspiritual realities, that the language in
common use to describe the latter is that of the former. For example, in this
sentence we have the expressions "sleep," "death," "light." All these are
material conditions or things. Probably none of these symbolical expressions
for spiritual things is so frequently used as that of light. Without entering into
the disputed question as to the source whence this quotation is taken, whether
it be a free adaptation of a passagein the book of the prophet Isaiahor
whether (as some imagine) a fragment from some ancient Christian hymn, we
can refer to not a few passages in the Old Testamentin which a right spiritual
condition is describedas being a condition of light. In the New Testament,
which is a recordof the advent of Him who is the source of spiritual light,
these passages are still more numerous. He is heralded as the Dayspring from
on high who shall give light to them that sit in darkness. He is declared to be a
light to lighten the Gentiles. He claims for Himself that He is the Light of the
world. In Him is light, and they who receive of Him are no longer darkness
but "light in the Lord," for in Him "the darkness is past and the true light
now shineth."
1. Light was the first creationof God. His first recorded word is, "Let there be
light." Proceeding out of this creationof light comes allother creationuntil
the end is reachedand man is made in the image of God. In like manner light
is the first creationof the gospel, which is the re-creationof the world.
2. Light needs no evidence of its presence. It proves itself. To the blind, indeed,
it has no existence, and no explanation of it canmake them understand it. But
to such as have eyes to see, the presence of light makes itselfknown at once.
The gospellight commends itself by its own light to those who are possessedof
a clearspiritual eyesight.

3. Light is given in order that we may see where we are and amidst what
surroundings we are placed. Apart from the gospelof Christ we canpossess
no, true view of life; we are overwhelmedby unsolved mysteries.
4. Light exists not merely that we may rejoice in the revelationof which it is
the author, but that we may walk in it.
5. "Godcalledthe light, day," and the day is given for work. "Mangoeth
forth to his work and to his labour until the evening." "I must work the works
of Him that sent Me while it is day, the night cometh when no man can work."
6. Darknessis always fruitless (ver. 11) while light is fruit-producing. The
fruit of the light (for such is the true reading of ver. 9, which is recognizedin
the RevisedVersion) is in goodness,righteousness, truth. Light is a necessary
element in the formation of the fruit of a tree or a plant. Such if deprived of
light becomes barren. How true a picture of the human soulupon which the
Light of Life is not shining!
(Canon Vernon Hutton.)
The Awakeneris in every sleeper
J. Pulsford.
God would not mock man by bidding him to "awake"outof death, and to
arise to a new life, if the Awakenerwere not in the very midst of his soul to
help him. God calls man from within himself. "The Resurrectionand the
Life" stirs in him, saying, "Arise from the dead!" and the man is already at
the dawn of the heavenly life. As sunrise pricks the sleeper, and says to him,
Arise! even so the hour cometh when the dead soul hears the voice of the Son

of Man, and, hearing, lives. The gentleness ofthe Divine love opens a new day
within the man, and ten thousand noiseless arrows penetrate andstartle his
soul. They are the life glances ofthe Quickener, to which the inner man
responds, trembling in the pangs of the new birth, and, at the same time,
blessing God with unspeakable gladness thathe is alive from the dead and an
heir of heaven. It happens daily that after the light has penetrated the eyelid
of the sleeper, he recognizes it for a moment, turns himself, closes his lid, and
sleeps again. Take heed, lest after the arrows of Christ, which are gentler than
the light, have wakenedyour soul, you do not sleepon in death.
(J. Pulsford.)
Christ our Light
The motto of the Northcotes is, "The Cross ofChrist is my Light."
A light needed
P. Robertson.
A man is out on a night that is as dark as pitch — a lamp is placedin his hand
to guide him on his journey. Instead, however, of taking advantage of the light
the lamp affords, the man says, I do not require this lamp; I know every step
of the way; I will trust to my own judgment. That man, in a certain sense, does
his best; he strives to keepthe beaten track, and for that purpose he moves
carefully and cautiously along. When, however, he makes a false step and
tumbles into a ditch, or falls over a precipice, no one dreams of saying, "Poor
fellow! he could not help himself, he did his best." The man did not do his
best. Had he done his best, and not been rash and foolhardy in refusing to
avail himself of the lamp, he would have escapedthe wounds and bruises that
now burden him.
(P. Robertson.)
Christ our Light

Dr. Talmage.
Christ is our only defence at the last. John Holland, in his concluding moment,
swepthis hand over the Bible, and said: "Come, let us gather a few flowers
from this garden." As it was eventime he said to his wife: "Have you lighted
the candles?""No,"she said, "we have not lighted the candles." "Then," said
he, "it must be the brightness of the face of Jesus that I see."
(Dr. Talmage.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(14) Wherefore he (or, it) saith.—This phrase is used (as also in James 4:6) in
Ephesians 4:8 to introduce a scriptural quotation; and the most natural
completion of the elliptical expressionis by the supply of the nominative,
“God,” or “the scripture,” from the ordinary phrase of quotation or citation.
But no scriptural passagecanbe adduced which, with the fullest allowance for
the apostolic freedomof quotation, comes near enoughto be a satisfactory
original of this passage. The nearestis Isaiah 60:1, “Arise, shine; for thy light
is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee;” and this is certainly
very far off indeed. Nor is the case much helped by blending other passages
(as, for example, Isaiah 26:19)with this. Some additional verbal coincidences
may be gained, but at the expense of still greaterdiversity from the spirit of
the passage as a whole. Hence we are driven to conclude that the quotation is
not from Holy Scripture. Yet the very form shows that it is from something
well known. An apocryphal quotation is imagined by some, but with no
knowledge ofany quotation at all resembling it. Others have supposedit a
traditional saying of our Lord (like Acts 20:35); but the form seems decisive
againstthis. On the whole, it seems most likely that it is from some well-
known Christian hymn. In the original a rhythmical character, rough, but by

no means indistinct, strikes us at once. The growthof defined and formal
expressions—mostly, it is true, of embryo creeds of Christian faith, as in
1Corinthians 15:3-4; Hebrews 6:1-2; 1Timothy 3:16, in the lastof which the
acknowledgeddifficulty of etymologicalconstructionin the true reading may
perhaps be best explained by the supposition of quotation—is notable in the
later Epistles, and especiallyin the “faithful sayings” ofthe PastoralEpistles.
The use of some liturgical forms is tracedwith high probability to a very early
date. The embodiment of popular faith in hymns, always natural, was
peculiarly natural as adapted to the imperfect educationof many early
converts, and to the practice of trusting so much to memory, and so
comparatively little to writing. Some such usage certainlyappears to be
referred to in the celebratedletter of Pliny to Trajan, the first heathen
description of Christian worship.
Awake, thou that sleepest, andarise from the dead.—The word “awake”is
used in our version to render two different words: one which properly means
“to wake,”or“be awake,” or“watch,” as in 1Corinthians 15:34;
1Thessalonians5:6; 1Thessalonians5:8; 2Timothy 4:5; 1Peter1:12; 1Peter
4:7; 1Peter5:8); the other, as here, which properly means “Up!” “Rouse
thyself!” preparatory to “arising” and coming forth. The exhortation in both
forms is common enough(see especiallythe famous passagein Romans 13:11-
14); but the following words, “Arise from the dead,” are a bold and unique
exhortation. Generallywe are said to be raisedup from the death of sin by
God, as in Romans 8:11, “He that raised up Christ from the dead shall
quicken your mortal bodies;” or Romans 6:11, “Reckonyourselves to be dead
unto sin, but alive unto God;” or Colossians 3:1, “If ye are risen in Christ.”
Here the soulis describedas hearing the Saviour’s call, “Come forth,” and as
itself rising at that call from the grave. If distinction betweenthe two clauses is
to be drawn, we may be rightly said to “awake” outof lethargy and
carelessness, and to “arise” outof the deadness ofsin.
Christ shall give thee light.—Properly, Christ shall dawn upon thee. The word
is virtually the same which is used for the literal dawn in Matthew 28:1, Luke
23:54. The same idea is strikingly enunciated in 2Peter1:19, where prophecy,

looking forward to Christ, is compared to “a light shining in a dark place,”
“till the day dawn, and the Day-star arise in your hearts”—He, that is, who is
“the bright and morning star” (Revelation22:16). Christ, as the “Day-star,”
or as the “Sun of Righteousness,” is alreadyrisen. The soul needs only to come
out of the darkness of the grave, and the new rays shine down upon it, till (see
Ephesians 5:7) they pervade it and transfigure it into light.
(3 c.) In Ephesians 5:15-21 the Apostle passes from lust and impurity to the
cognate spirit of reckless levity, and the love of excitement, of which
drunkenness is the commonestexpression. He opposes to this the united forces
of soberness andsacredenthusiasm, eachtempering and yet strengthening the
other.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
5:3-14 Filthy lusts must be rooted out. These sins must be dreaded and
detested. Here are not only cautions againstgross acts ofsin, but againstwhat
some may make light of. But these things are so far from being profitable. that
they pollute and poison the hearers. Our cheerfulness should show itself as
becomes Christians, in what may tend to God's glory. A covetous man makes
a god of his money; places that hope, confidence, and delight, in worldly good,
which should be in God only. Those who allow themselves, eitherin the lusts
of the flesh or the love of the world, belong not to the kingdom of grace, nor
shall they come to the kingdom of glory. When the vilest transgressorsrepent
and believe the gospel, they become children of obedience, from whom God's
wrath is turned away. Dare we make light of that which brings down the
wrath of God? Sinners, like men in the dark, are going they know not whither,
and doing they know not what. But the grace ofGod wrought a mighty change
in the souls of many. Walk as children of light, as having knowledge and
holiness. These works ofdarkness are unfruitful, whateverprofit they may
boast;for they end in the destruction of the impenitent sinner. There are

many ways of abetting, or taking part in the sins of others; by commendation,
counsel, consent, orconcealment. And if we share with others in their sins, we
must expect to share in their plagues. If we do not reprove the sins of others,
we have fellowship with them. A goodman will be ashamedto speak ofwhat
many wickedmen are not ashamedto do. We must have not only a sight and a
knowledge that sin is sin, and in some measure shameful, but see it as a breach
of God's holy law. After the example of prophets and apostles, we should call
on those asleepand dead in sin, to awake and arise, that Christ may give them
light.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Wherefore he saith - Margin, or "it." Διὸ λέγει Dio legei. The meaning may
be, either that the Lord says, or the Scripture. Much difficulty has been
experiencedin endeavoring to ascertain"where" this is said. It is agreedon
all hands that it is not found, in so many words, in the Old Testament. Some
have supposedthat the allusion is to Isaiah 26:19, "Thy dead men shall live -
awake andsing, ye that dwell in the dust, for thy dew is as the dew of herbs,"
etc. But the objections to this are obvious and conclusive.
(1) this is not a quotation of that place, nor has it a "resemblance"to it, except
in the word "awake."
(2) the passagein Isaiah refers to a different matter, and has a different sense
altogether;see the notes on the passage.
To make it refer to those to whom the gospelcomes, is most forced and
unnatural. Others have supposedthat the reference is to Isaiah 60:1-3, "Arise,
shine; for thy light is come," etc. But the objection to this is not less decisive.
(1) it is "not" a quotation of that passage,and the resemblance is very remote,
if it can be seenat all.

(2) "that" is addressedto the church, calling on her to let her light shine;
"this," to awake and arise from the dead, with the assurancethat Christ
would give them light. The exhortation here is to Christians, to "avoidthe
vices of the paganaround them;" the exhortation in Isaiahis to the church, to
"rejoice and exult" in view of the fact that the day of triumph had come, and
that the pagan were to be converted, and to come in multitudes and devote
themselves to God. In the "design" of the two passages there is no
resemblance. Some have supposed that the words are takenfrom some book
among the Hebrews which is now lost. Epiphanius supposed that it was a
quotation from a prophecy of Elijah; Syncellus and Euthalius, from some
writing of Jeremiah; Hippolytus, from the writing of some now unknown
prophet. Jerome supposedit was takenfrom some apocryphal writings.
Grotius supposes that it refers to the word "light" in Ephesians 5:13, and that
the sense is," Thatlight says;that is, that a man who is pervaded by that light,
let him so say to another." Heumann, and after him Storr, Michaelis, and
Jennings (JewishAnt. 2:252), suppose that the reference is to a song or hymn
that was sung by the early Christians, beginning in this manner, arid that the
meaning is, "Wherefore, as it is said in the hymns which we sing,
'Awake, thou that sleepest;
Arise from the dead;
Christ shall give thee light.'
Others have supposedthat there is an allusionto a sentiment which prevailed
among the Jews, respecting the significancyof blowing the trumpet on the
first day of the month, or the feastof the new moon. Maimonides conjectures
that that callof the trumpet, especiallyin the month Tisri, in which the great

day of atonement occurred, was designedto signify a specialcall to
repentance;meaning, "You who sleep, arouse from your slumbers; search
and try yourselves;think on your Creator, repent, and attend to the salvation
of the soul." "Burder," in Ros. Alt. u. neu. Morgenland, in loc. But all this is
evidently conjecture. I see no evidence that Paul meant to make a quotation at
all. Why may we not suppose that he speaks as an inspired man, and that he
means to say, simply, that God now gives this command, or that God now
speaks in this way? The sense then would be, "Be separate from sinners.
Come out from among the pagan. Do not mingle with their abominations; do
not name them. You are the children of light; and God says to you, awake
from false security, rouse from the death of sin, and Christ shall enlighten
you." Whateverbe the origin of the sentiment in this verse, it is worthy of
inspiration, and accords with all that is elsewhere saidin the Scriptures.
(The grand objection to this view of our author is, that the apostle evidently
introduces a citation. In the writings of Paul, the form διὸ λέγει dio legeiis
never used in any other sense. Whence then is the quotation taken? There is
nothing absurd in supposing, with Scott and Guyse, that the apostle gives the
generalsense ofthe Old Testamentprophecies concerning the calling of the
Gentiles. But Isaiah 60:1-3, bears a sufficiently close resemblance to the
passagein Ephesians, to vindicate the very commonly receivedopinion, that
the apostle quotes that prophecy, in which the subject is the increase of the
Church by the accessionofthe pagannations. The church is calledto arise
and shine, and the apostle reminds the converted Ephesians of their lofty
vocation. It forms no very serious objection, that betweenthe place in Isaiah
and that in Ephesians, there are certain verbal discrepancies. No one will
make much of this, who remembers, nat in a multitude of cases similar
variations occur, the apostles contenting themselves with giving the sense of
the places to which they refer. "Accordingly," says Dr. Dodridge, "the sense
of tire passagebefore us is so fairly deducible from the words of Isaiah, that I
do not see any necessityof having recourse to this supposition," namely, that
the quotation was from an apocryphal book ascribedto Jeremiah.)

Awake thou that sleepest - Arouse from a state of slumber and false security.
"Sleepand death" are striking representations ofthe state in which people
are by nature. In "sleep" we are, though living, insensible to any danger that
may be near; we are unconscious of what may he going on around us; we hear
not the voice of our friends; we see not the beauty of the grove or the
landscape;we are forgetful of our real characterand condition. So With the
sinner. It is as if his faculties were lockedin a deep slumber. He hears not
when God calls;he has no sense ofdanger; he is insensible to the beauties and
glories of the heavenly world; he is forgetful of his true characterand
condition. To see allthis, he must be first awakened;and hence this solemn
command is addressedto man. He must rouse from this condition, or he
cannot be saved. But canhe awakenhimself? Is it not the work of Godto
awakena sinner? Can he rouse himself to a sense of his condition and danger?
How do we do in other things? The man that is sleeping on the verge of a
dangerous precipice we would approach, and say, "Awake, youare in
danger." The child that is sleeping quietly in its bed, while the flames are
bursting into the room, we would rouse, and say, "Awake, oryou will perish."
Why not use the same language to the sinner slumbering on the verge of ruin,
in a deep sleep, while the flames of wrath are kindling around him? We have
no difficulty in calling on sleepers elsewhere to awakewhenin danger; how
can we have any difficulty when speaking to the sinner?
And arise from the dead - The state of the sinner, is often comparedto death;
see the notes on Ephesians 2:1. People are by nature dead in sins; yet they
must rouse from this condition, or they will perish. How singular, it may be
said, to callupon the dead to rise! How could they raise themselves up? Yet
God speak thus to people, and commands them to rise from the death of sin.
Therefore, learn:
(1) That people are not dead in sin in any such sense that they are not moral
agents, orresponsible.

continued...
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
14. Wherefore—referring to the whole foregoing argument (Eph 5:8, 11, 13).
Seeing that light (spiritual) dispels the pre-existing darkness, He (God) saith
… (compare the same phrase, Eph 4:8).
Awake—The reading of all the oldestmanuscripts is "Up!" or, "Rouse thee!"
a phrase used in stirring men to activity. The words are a paraphrase of Isa
60:1, 2, not an exactquotation. The word "Christ," shows that in quoting the
prophecy, he views it in the light thrown on it by its Gospelfulfilment. As
Israelis called on to "awake"from its previous state of "darkness" and
"death" (Isa 59:10;60:2), for that her Light is come; so the Church, and each
individual is similarly calledto awake. Believersare calledon to "awake"out
of sleep; unbelievers, to "arise" from the dead (compare Mt 25:5; Ro 13:11;
1Th 5:6, with Eph 2:1).
Christ—"the true light," "the Sun of righteousness."
give thee light—rather, as Greek, "shallshine upon thee" (so enabling thee by
being "made manifest" to become, and be, by the very fact, "light," Eph 5:13;
then being so "enlightened," Eph 1:18, thou shalt be able, by "reproving," to
enlighten others).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
He saith; either God by the prophets, of whose preaching this is the sum; it
may allude in particular to Isaiah 60:1. Or, Christ by his ministers, in the
preaching of the gospel, who daily calls men to arise from the death of sin by
repentance, and encourageththem with the promise of eternal life.

Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead; the same thing in two
different expressions. Sinners in some respects are saidto be asleep, in others,
to be dead. They are as full of dreams and vain imaginations, and as unfit for
any goodaction, as they that are asleepare for natural; and they are as full of
stench and loathsomenessas they that are dead. Here therefore they are bid to
awake from sin as a sleep, and to arise from it as a death. The meaning is, that
they should arise by faith and repentance out of that state of spiritual death in
which they lie while in their sins.
And Christ shall give thee light; the light of peace and joy here, and eternal
glory hereafter. The apostle intimates, that what is the way of Christ in the
gospelshould likewise be the practice of these Ephesians, whom he calls light
in the Lord, viz. to reprove the unfruitful works of darkness, andawaken
sleeping, dead sinners, and bring them to the light of Christ.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Wherefore he saith,.... Either the man that is light in the Lord, who reproves
the unfruitful works of darkness;or else the Holy Ghostby Paul, who here
speaks afterthe manner of the prophets; or God, or the Spirit, or the
Scripture; see James 4:6;but where is it said? some think the apostle refers to
Isaiah9:2; others to Isaiah26:19; others to Isaiah60:1; some are of opinion
the words are cited out of an apocryphal book of Jeremy, or from some
writing now lost; and some have thought them to be a saying of Christ, that
was fresh in memory: it may not be improper to observe what Maimonides
says (m), that
"the blowing of the trumpet in the beginning of the year had an intimation in
it, as if was said, "awake ye that sleep", from your sleep, and ye that slumber
rouse up from your slumber, and searchinto your actions, and return by
repentance, and remember your Creator;''

whether any reference may be had to this, may be considered:the words are
spokennot to unregenerate men, for though they are asleep, and dead in sin,
and need awaking out of sleep, and raising from the dead, yet they are never
calledupon to awake andarise of themselves;such a sense would countenance
the doctrine of man's free will and power, againstthe quickening and
efficacious graceofGod; but to regenerate persons, professorsofreligion, to
whom the epistle in generalwas written; and who are spokento, and exhorted
in the context:
awake thou that sleepest:the children of God are sometimes asleep, andneed
awaking;of the nature, causes, andill consequencesofsuch sleeping, and of
the methods by which they are sometimes awakedout of it; see Gill on
Romans 13:11.
And arise from the dead; living saints are sometimes among dead sinners, and
it becomes them to arise from among them, and quit their company, which is
oftentimes the occasionof their sleepiness:besides, the company of dead
sinners is infectious and dangerous;it is a means of hardening in sin, and of
grieving of the people of God, who observe it; and by abstaining from their
company, a testimony is bore againstsin, and conviction is struck into the
minds of sinners themselves;to which add, that so to do is well pleasing to
God, who promises to receive such who come out from among them, and
separate themselves from them: and it follows here as an encouragement, and
Christ shall give thee light; for such who are made light in the Lord, stand in
need of more light; and by keeping close to the word, ways, ordinances, and
people of Christ, they may expectmore light from Christ: they need fresh
light into pardoning grace and mercy, through the blood of Christ; they want
more to direct them in the waythey should go; and they are often without the
light of God's countenance;and they may hope for light from Christ, since it
is sownin him, and promised through him; and he is given to be a light unto
them, and he is the giver of it himself.

(m) Hilchot Heshuba, c. 3. sect4.
Geneva Study Bible
Wherefore {f} he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, andarise from the {g} dead,
and Christ shall give thee light.
(f) The scripture, or God in the scripture.
(g) He speaks ofthe death of sin.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Ephesians 5:14. This necessityand salutariness ofthe ἔλεγξις, which Paul has
just setforth in Ephesians 5:12-13 (not of the mere subsidiary thought, πᾶν
γὰρ κ.τ.λ.), he now further confirms by a word of Godout of the Scripture.
διό] wherefore,—becausethe ἐγέγχετε is so highly necessaryas I have shown
in Ephesians 5:12, and of such salutary effect as is seenfrom Ephesians
5:13,—whereforehe saith: Up, thou sleeper, and arise from the dead, and
Christ shall shine upon thee. This call of God to the υἱοὶ τῆς ἀπειθείας to
awake outof the sleepand death of sin confirms the necessityof the ἔλεγξις,
and this promise: “Christ shall shine upon thee,” confirms the salutary
influence of the light, under which they are placed by the ἐλέγχειν. Beza refers
back διό to Ephesians 5:8, which is erroneous for this reason, if there were no
other, that the citation addresses the as yet unconverted. According to
Rückert(comp. Erasmus, Paraphr.), the design is to give support to the hope
expressedin Ephesians 5:13, namely, that the sinner, earnestlyreproved and
convicted, may possibly be brought over from darkness into light. But see on
Ephesians 5:13. With the correctinterpretation of πᾶν γὰρ κ.τ.λ., the

expositions are untenable, which are given by Meier: “on that account,
because only what is enlightened by the light of truth can be improved;” and
by Olshausen:“because the action of the light upon the darkness cannotfail of
its effect.” Harless indicates the connectiononly with the words of Plutarch
(tom. xiv. p. 364, ed. Hutt.): χαίρειν χρὴ τοῖς ἐλέγχουσιν· … ἡμᾶς γὰρ
λυποῦντες διεγείρουσιν. Inexact, and—inasmuch as with Plutarch χαίρειν and
λυποῦντες stand in emphatic correlation, and λυποῦντες thus is essential—
inappropriate.
λέγει] introduces, with the supplying of ὁ Θεός (as Ephesians 4:8), a passageof
Scripture, of which the Hebrew words would run: ‫רּו‬ ָ‫ה‬‫י‬ָ‫ןֵׁש‬ ָ‫ו‬‫ש‬ ָ‫רק‬ ָ‫צ‬ָ‫ש‬‫מ‬ ‫ן‬‫ָה‬‫ר‬ ‫ש‬ ָ‫םי‬
ָ‫רה‬ ָ‫ה‬ ָ‫ו‬ ‫ל‬‫ָך‬‫רי‬ ִָׁ‫ש‬‫.מ‬ But what passageis that? Already Jerome says:“Nunquam hoc
scriptum reperi.” Mostexpositors answer:Isaiah 60:1. So Thomas, Cajetanus,
Calvin, Piscator, Estius, Calovius, Surenhusius, Wolf, Wetstein, Bengel,[263]
and others, including Harless and Olshausen;while others at the same time
bring in Isaiah26:19 (Beza, Calixtus, Clericus, Meier, Baumgarten-Crusius,
and others), as also Isaiah 52:1 (Schenkel)and Isaiah 9:1 (Baumgarten,
Holzhausen). But all these passages are so essentiallydifferent from ours, that
we cannot with unbiassed judgment discoverthe latter in any of them, and
should have to hold our citation—ifit is assumedto contain Old Testament
words—as a mingling of Old Testamentreminiscences,nothing similar to
which is met with, even apart from the factthat this citation bears in itself the
living impress of unity and originality; hence the less is there room to getout
of the difficulty by means of Bengel’s expedient: “apostolus expressius
loquitur ex luce N.T.” Doubtless Harless says that the apostle was here
concernednot about the word, but about the matter in general, and that he
cites the word of pre-announcement with the modification which it has itself
undergone through fulfilment, and adduces by way of analogyRomans 10:6
ff. But in oppositionto this may be urged, first generally, that such a
modification of Isaiah60:1 would have been not a mere modification, but
would have quite done awaywith the identity of the passage;secondly, in
particular, that the passageIsaiah60:1, speciallyaccording to the LXX.
(φωτίζου, φωτίζουἸηρουσαλὴμ, ἥκει γάρσου τὸ φῶς, καὶ ἡ δόξα κυρίου ἐπὶ
σὲ ἀνατέταλκεν), neededno change whateverin order to serve for the

intended Scriptural confirmation, for which, moreover, various other
passagesfrom the O. T. would have stoodat the command of the apostle,
without needing any change;and lastly, that Romans 10:6 is not analogous,
because there the identity with Deuteronomy 30:12-14 is unmistakeably
evident in the words themselves, and the additions concerning Christ are not
there given as constituentparts of the Scripture utterance, but expressly
indicated as elucidations of the apostle (by means of τοῦτʼἔστι). Quite
baselessis the view of de Wette, that the author is quoting, as at Ephesians 4:8
(where, indeed, the citation is quite undoubted), an O. T. passagein an
application which, by frequency of use, has become so familiar to him that he
is no longerpreciselyconscious ofthe distinction betweentext and
application. Others, including Morus, have discoveredhere a quotation from
an apocryphal book, under which characterEpiphanius names the prophecy
of Elias, Georgius Syncellus an apocryphal authority of Jeremiah, and Godex
G on the margin, the book (“Secretum”)of Enoch. See, in general, Fabricius,
Cod. Pseudepigr. V. T. pp. 1074, 1105;Apocr. N.T. I. p. 524. That, however,
Paul wittingly cited an apocryphal book,[264]is to be decisivelyrejected,
inasmuch as this is never done by him, but, on the contrary, the formula of
citation always means canonicalpassages. Hence, also, we have not, with
Heumann (Poicile, II. p. 390), Michaelis, Storr, Stolz, Flatt, to guess atan
early hymn of the Church as the source.[265]Others have found therein a
saying of Christ, like Oederin Syntagm. Obss. sacr. p. 697 ff., in oppositionto
which may be urged, not indeed the following ὁ Χριστός, which Jesus might
doubtless have said of Himself, but rather the fact that the subject ΧΡΙΣΤΌς
to ΛΈΓΕΙcould not be at all divined, as indeed Paul has never adduced
sayings of Christ in his Epistles. This also in opposition to the opinion
mentioned in Jerome (comp. also Bugenhagenand Calixtus), that Paul here,
after the manner of the prophets (comp. the prophetic: thus saith the Lord),
“προσωποποιΐανSpiritus sanctifiguraverit.” Grotius (comp. Koppe) regards
even ΤῸ Φῶς as subject: “Lux illa, i.e. homo luce perfusus, dicit alteri.” As if
previously the φῶς were homo luce perfusus! and as if every reader could not
but have recogniseda citation as wellin διὸ λέγει as in the characterof the
saying itself! ErroneouslyBornemann also, Schol. in Luc. p. xlviii. f., holds
that λέγει is to be takenimpersonaliter; in this respectit is said, one may say,
so that no passage ofScripture is cited, but perhaps allusionis made to Mark

5:41. This impersonaluse is found only with φησί. See the instances cited by
Bornemann, and Bernhardy, p. 419. In view of all these opinions, my
conclusion, as at 1 Corinthians 2:9, is to this effect: From ΔΙῸ ΛΈΓΕΙit is
evident that Paul desiredto adduce a passage ofcanonicalScripture, but—as
the passage is not canonical—invirtue of a lapsus memoriae he adduces an
apocryphal saying, which, citing from memory, he held as canonical. From
what Apocryphal writing the passage is drawn, we do not know.
ἔγειρε] up! Comp. ἄγε, ἜΠΕΙΓΕ. See, in oppositionto the form of the Recepta
ἔγειραι (so also Lachmann), Fritzsche, ad Marc. p. 55 f.
ὁ καθεύδων]and then ἘΚ ΝΕΚΡῶΝ form a climactic twofold descriptionof
the state of man under the dominion of sin, in which state the true spiritual
life, the moral vital activity, is suppressedand gone, as is the physical life in
the sleeping (comp. Romans 13:11)and in the dead respectively. Comp. Isaiah
59:10. How often with the classicalwriters, too, the expressiondead is
employed for the expressionofmoral insensibility, see on Matthew 8:22; Luke
15:14;Musgrave, ad Oed. R. 45; Bornemann, in Luc. p. 97. On ὁ καθεύδων,
comp. Sohar. Levit. f. 33, c. 130:“Quotiescunque lex occurrit, toties omnia
hominum genera excitat, verum omnes somno sepulti jacent in peccatis, nihil
intelligunt neque attendunt.”
ἀνάστα]On the form, see Winer, p. 73 [E. T. 94];Matthiae, p. 484.
ἘΠΙΦΑΎΣΕΙ] from ἘΠΙΦΑΎΣΚΩ, see Winer, p. 82 [E. T. 110];Job 25:5;
Job 31:26. The readings ἘΠΙΨΑΎΣΕΙ ΣΟΙ Ὁ ΧΡ. and ἘΠΙΨΑΎΣΕΙς ΤΟῦ
ΧΡ. are ancient (see Chrysostomand Jerome ad loc.), and are not to be
explained merely from an accidentalinterchange in copying, but are
connectedwith the preposterous fiction that the words were addressedto
Adam buried under the cross ofChrist, whom Christ would touch with His

body and blood, thereby causing him to become alive and to rise. See Jerome.
The words themselves:Christ shall shine upon thee, signify not: He will be
gracious to thee (so, at variance with the context, Bretschneider), but: He will
by the gracious operationof His Spirit annul in thee the ethicaldarkness
(λύων τὴν νύκτα τῆς ἁμαρτίας, Gregoryof Nazianzus), and impart to thee the
divine ἈΛΉΘΕΙΑ, of which He is the possessorandbearer (Christ, the light
of the world). Observe, moreover, that the arising is not an act of one’s own,
independent of God and anticipating His gracious operation, but that it takes
place just through God’s effectualawakening call. On this effectualcalling
then ensues the Christian enlightening.
[263]Who, however, at the same time following older expositors in Wolf
(comp. Rosenmüller, Morgenland, VI. p. 142), calledto his aid a reminiscence
of the “formula in festo buccinarum adhiberi solita.” See,in opposition to the
error as to the existence of such a formula, based upon a passageof
Maimonides, Wolf, Curae.
[264]According to Jerome, he is held not to have done it, “quod apocrypha
comprobaret, sed quod et Arati et Epimenidis et Menandri versibus sit abusus
ad ea, quae voluerat, in tempore comprobanda.”
[265]This opinion is already mentioned by Theodoret:τινὲς δὲ τῶν
ἑρμηνευτῶνἔφασαν πνευματικῆς χάριτος ἀξιωθέντας τινὰς ψαλμοὺς
συγγράψαι, in connectionwith which they had appealedto 1 Corinthians
14:26. Bleek, too, adloc. and already in the Stud. u. Krit. 1853, p. 331, finds it
probable that the saying is taken from a writing composedby a Christian poet
of that early age.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Ephesians 5:14. διὸ λέγει, Ἔγειραι ὁ καθεύδωνκαὶ ἀνάστα ἑκ τῶν νεκρῶν,
καὶ ἐπιφαύσει σοι ὁ χριστός:Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest

and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee. So the RV, better
on the whole than the “shallgive thee light” of the AV. The verse contains a
quotation, but the great difficulty is in ascertaining its source and
understanding its precise point. It is introduced by the subordinating, co-
ordinating, and causalparticle διό (on which see under Ephesians 2:11, and
cf. Buttm., Gram. of N. T. Greek, p. 233;Blass, Gram. of N. T. Greek, p. 274)
= διʼ ὅ, “on which account,” i.e., “things being as I have statedthem we have
the Divine word, ‘Arise,’ ” etc. The λέγει is takenby some (Haupt, Abb.) as =
it is said; but in Paul’s generaluse it is personal, ὁ Θεός or similar subject
being understood; while φησὶ is the formula that may be used impersonally.
(See on Ephesians 4:8, and cf. Bernh., Synt., xii., 4, p. 419.)Forἔγειραι of the
TR, which is the reading of the cursives, ἔγειρε, which is supported by [549]
[550][551][552][553][554] [555]and practicallyall uncials, must be
accepted. It requires no σεαυτόν to be supplied; neither is it to be explained as
an Active with a Middle sense;but is best understood as a formula like ἄγε,
with the force of up! The imper. ἀνάστα for ἀνάστηθι occurs againin Acts
12:7, as also in Theocr., 24, 36;Menander(Mein.), p. 48, etc.;cf. ἀνάβα
(Revelation4:1), κατάβα (Mark 15:30;but with a v. l.). The verb ἑπιφαύσει
means properly to dawn, corresponding to the ordinary Greek ἐπιφώσκω,
which is used also in the narratives of the Resurrectionin Matthew 28:1; Luke
23:54. This is the only occurrence in the NT of the form ἐπιφαύσκω, whichis
found occasionally, however, in the LXX (Job 25:5; Job 31:6; Job 41:10, etc.).
The noun ὑπόφαυσις also occurs in Herod., vii., 30. Insteadof ἐπιφαύσει σοι ὁ
Χριστός [556]* and certain manuscripts mentioned by Chrys., Theod., Jer.,
etc., read ἑπιψαύσει σοι ὁ Χριστός or ἐπιψαύσει τοῦ Χριστός. This reading
was connectedwith the legendthat our Lord’s Cross was plantedabove
Adam’s burial-place, and that our first father was to be raisedfrom the dead
by the touch of the Saviour’s body and blood. The clause as we have it means
not merely “Christ will cause His face to shine graciouslyupon thee,” but
“Christ will shine upon thee with the light of His truth and bring thee out of
the pagandarkness of ignorance and immorality”.
[549]Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889
under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.

[550]Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile
type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.
[551]Codex Alexandrinus (sæc. v.), at the British Museum, published in
photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).
[552]Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by
Tischendorfin 1852.
[553]Codex Boernerianus (sæc. ix.), a Græco-LatinMS., at Dresden, edited
by Matthæi in 1791. Writtenby an Irish scribe, it once formed part of the
same volume as Codex Sangallensis(δ) of the Gospels. The Latin text, g, is
basedon the O.L. translation.
[554]Codex Mosquensis (sæc. ix.), edited by Matthæi in 1782.
[555]Codex Angelicus (sæc. ix.), at Rome, collatedby Tischendorfand others.
[556]Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by
Tischendorfin 1852.
So much for the terms. But whence does the passagecome?The answerwhich
first suggestsitself, and which is given by many (Calv., Est., Beng., Harl.,
Olsh., Hofm., Weiss, Alf., Ell., etc.), is that it is a quotation from the OT, as
the formula λέγει indicates, and in fact a very free reproduction and
application of Isaiah 60:1. The difficulty lies in the extreme freedom with

which the original words are handled. There is but a very slenderresemblance
betweenwhat we have here and the LXX version of the prophetic verse, viz.,
φωτίζου, φωτίζου, Ἰερουσαλήμ, ἥκει γάρσου τὸ φῶς καὶ ἡ δόξα Κυρίου ἐπί
σε ἀνατέταλκεν. Norshould we have a different condition, if we supposed Paul
in this case to have followedthe Hebrew text. Hence some (Beza, etc.)imagine
that Paul has combined with Isaiah60:1 other Isaianic passages(e.g.,Isaiah
9:1, Isaiah 26:19, Isaiah52:1). But while it is true that Paul does elsewhereuse
greatliberty in modifying, combining, and applying OT passages,it cannot be
said either that these words of Isaiahhave much relationto the quotation, or
that we have in Paul’s writings (even Romans 10:6, etc., not excepted) any
case quite parallel to this. Others, therefore, conclude that the passage is from
some apocryphal writing, the Apocalypse of Elias (Epiph.), a prophecy under
the name of Jeremiah(Geor. Syncell.), one of the writings attributed to Enoch
(Cod. [557], margin). But though Paul might have quoted from an apocryphal
book, and some think he has done it, e.g., in 1 Corinthians 2:9, it is certain
that his habit is to quote only from the OT, and further this formula of
citation appears always to introduce an OT passage. Meyertries to solve the
difficulty by the somewhatfar-fetched supposition that Paul really quoted
from some apocryphal writing, but by a lapse of memory took it for a part of
canonicalScripture. Others suggestthat he is quoting a saying of our Lord
not recordedin the Gospels (cf. Resch., Agrapha, pp. 222, 289), or a baptismal
formula, or some hymn (Mich., Storr, etc.). The choice must be betweenthe
first-mentioned explanation and the last. Notwithstanding the confessed
difficulties of the case, there is not a little to incline us to the idea that,
although in a very inexact and unusual form, we have a biblical quotation
before us here. On the other hand it is urged (e.g., by Haupt) with some force
that the rhythmical characterof the passage favours the supposition that we
have here a snatch from some very ancienthymn or liturgical composition.
The question must be confessedto be still open. But what in any case is the
point of the quotation here? The passage is introduced in connectionwith the
reference to the effects of a faithful ἔλεγξεις and under the impression of the
figure of the light. It takes the form of an appeal to wake out of the pagan
condition of sin, describedby the two-fold figure of sleepand death, and of a
promise that then Christ will shine upon the sinner with the saving light of His
truth. The quotation comes in relevantly, therefore, as a further enforcement

both of the need for the reproof which is enjoined, and of the goodeffects of
such a reproof faithfully exercised.
[557]Codex Boernerianus (sæc. ix.), a Græco-LatinMS., at Dresden, edited
by Matthæi in 1791. Writtenby an Irish scribe, it once formed part of the
same volume as Codex Sangallensis(δ) of the Gospels. The Latin text, g, is
basedon the O.L. translation.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
14. Wherefore]With regard to the fact that whateveris really brought to
light, in the sense of true spiritual conviction, becomes light.
he saith] Or possibly it (the Scripture) saith. See note on Ephesians 4:8.
Awake, &c.]These words occurnowhere in the O.T. verbatim. St Jerome, on
the verse, makes many suggestions;as that St Paul may have used an
“apocryphal” passage, exactlyas he used words from paganwriters (e.g. Titus
1:12); or that he utters an immediate inspiration granted to himself, in
prophetic form. Thomas Aquinas (quoted by Vallarsius on St Jerome)
suggeststhat we have here the essenceofIsaiah60:1; where the Lat. reads
“Rise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy light is come &c.” Surely this is
the true solution, if we add to it the probability that other prophecies
contributed to the phraseologyhere. Dr Kay (in the Speaker’s Commentary)
on Isaiah 60:1 writes, “In Ephesians 5:14 this verse is combined, in a
paraphrase form, with Isaiah51:17, Isaiah52:1-2. The Ephesians had been
walking in darkness, as dead men … but the Redeemerhad come and the
Spirit been given. Therefore they were to awake (ch. Isaiah51:17, Isaiah52:1)
out of sleep, and arise from the dead, that Christ the Lord might shine upon
them, and they again shed His light on the Gentiles round.”

To the believer in the Divine plan and coherence ofScripture it will be
abundantly credible that “the Lord” (Jehovah) of Isaiahshould be the
“Christ” of St Paul (cp. Isaiah6:5 with John 12:41), and that the “Jerusalem”
of Isaiah should have an inner reference to the True Israel(Galatians 3:29;
Galatians 6:16), in its actualor potential members.
Dr Edersheim (Temple and its Services, p. 262), suggests thatthe Apostle may
have had present to his mind language usedin synagogue worshipat the Feast
of Trumpets. Rabbinic writers explain the trumpet blasts as, inter alia, a call
to repentance;and one of them words the call, “Rouse ye from your slumber,
awake from your sleep, &c.” Some suchformula may have been in public use.
Bengelmakes a similar suggestionhere. But this would not exclude, only
supplement, the reference to Isaiah.
Another suggestionis that the words are a primitive Christian “psalm” (1
Corinthians 14:26); perhaps “the morning hymn used eachday by the
Christians in Rome in St Paul’s lodging,” or “a baptismal hymn.” Here again
we have an interesting possibility, for such a “psalm” may have given or
influenced the phrase here. But the introductory word “He, or it, saith,”
seems to us to weighdecidedly for the view that the words are, in essence, a
Scripture quotation.
sleepest… the dead] The sleepis more than sleep; the sleepof death. But
death itself is but as sleepthat can be broken (Matthew 9:24) to the Lord of
Life. On spiritual death see above, on Ephesians 2:1.
shall give thee light] Better, as R.V., shall shine upon thee.—The idea, by
context, is not so much of the light of conviction, as of that of spiritual
transfiguration (2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6). The thought of
“being light in the Lord” runs through the passage.It is a light consequent

upon awaking and arising.—Another, but certainly mistaken, reading gives,
“thou shalt touch Christ” The “Old Latin” followedit. It is due, in part at
least, to the close similarity in form of two widely different Gr. verbs.
Bengel's Gnomen
Ephesians 5:14. Διὸ λέγει, Wherefore He says)The chief part of this
exhortation is in Isaiah 60:1, φωτίζου φωτίζου, Ἱερουσαλήμ·ἥκει γάρσου τὸ
φῶς, Heb. ‫רומצ‬ ִׁ‫;רימ‬ so ibid. Isaiah52:1-2, ἐξεγείρου· ἀνάστηθι. But the
apostle speaks more expresslyin accordancewith (out of) the light of the New
Testament, and according to the state of him who requires to be awakened. At
the same time he seems to have had in his mind the particular phraseology
which had been ordinarily used at the feastof trumpets: Arise, Arise out of
your sleep;awake from your sleep, ye who deal in vain things, for very heavy
sleepis sent to you; see Hotting. ad Godw., p. 601. And perhaps he wrote this
epistle at that time of the year: comp. 1 Corinthians 5:7, note.—ἔγειραι—
ἀνάστα)Ammonius: ἀναστῆναι, ἐπὶ ἔργον· ἐγερθῆναι, ἐξ ὓπνου, to rise up, viz.
so as to engage in work;to be awakened, viz. out of sleep.—ἐκ τῶννεκρῶν,
from the dead) ch. Ephesians 2:1.—ἐπιφαύσει)will begin to shine on thee, as
the sun, Isaiah60:2. The primitive word, ἐπιφαύσκω, is in the LXX.; so from
γηράσκω, γηράσω, ἀρέσκω, αρέσω.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 14. - Therefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the
dead, and Christ shall give thee light. This is evidently intended to give an
additional impulse to the Ephesians to walk as children of the light; but a
difficulty arises as to the source ofthe quotation. There is no difficulty with
the formula, "he saith," which, like the same expressionin Ephesians 4:8, is
clearly to be referred to God. But no such words occurin the Old Testament.
The passagethat comes nearestto them is Isaiah 60:1," Arise, shine; for thy
light is come, and the glory of the Lord hath risen upon thee." The simplest
and best explanation is, not that the apostle quoted from any lostbook, but
flint he did not mean to give the words, but only the spirit of the passage.This
is evident from his introducing the word "Christ." It must be ownedthat the
apostle makes a very free use of the prophet's words. But the fundamental

idea in the prophecy is, that when the Church gets the light of heaven, she is
not to lie still, as it' she were asleepordead, but is to be active, is to make use
of the light, is to use it for illuminating the world. The apostle maintains that
the EphesianChurch had gotthe light of heaven; she, therefore, was not to
sleepor loiter, but spring forth as if from the grave, and pour light on the
world. The changes which the apostle makes onthe form of the prophecy are
remarkable, and show that it was to its spirit and substance rather than to its
precise form and letter that he attachedthe authority of inspiration.
Vincent's Word Studies
He saith
God. This use of the personalpronoun is frequent in Paul's writings. See
Galatians 3:16; Ephesians 4:8; 1 Corinthians 6:16.
Awake. etc.
The quotation is probably a combination and free rendering of Isaiah 60:1;
Isaiah26:19. For similar combinations see on Romans 3:10; see on Romans
9:33. By some the words are regardedas the fragment of a hymn.
Shall give thee light
Rev., correctly, shall shine upon thee.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES

BRUCE HURT MD
Ephesians 5:14 Forthis reasonit says, "Awake,sleeper, And arise from the
dead, And Christ will shine on you." (NASB: Lockman)
Greek:pan gar to phaneroumenon (PPPNSN)phos estin. (3SPAI) dio legei,
(3SPAI) Egeire, (2SAAM) o katheudon, (PAPMSVocative)kaianasta
(2SAAM) ek ton nekron, kaiepiphausei (3SPAI) soi o Christos.
Amplified: Therefore He says, Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and
Christ shall shine (make day dawn) upon you and give you light. (Amplified
Bible - Lockman)
NLT: And where your light shines, it will expose their evil deeds. This is why
it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you
light." (NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: Thus God speaks through the scriptures: "Awake, you who sleep,
arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light." (Phillips: Touchstone)
Wuest: Wherefore He says, Be waking up, he who is sleeping, and arise from
the dead, and there shall shine upon you the Christ.
Young's Literal: wherefore he saith, `Arouse thyself, thou who art sleeping,
and arise out of the dead, and the Christ shall shine upon thee.'

FOR THIS REASON IT SAYS: dio legei, (3SPAI):
Isaiah51:17; 52:1; 60:1; Romans 13:11,12;1Corinthians 15:34;
1Thessalonians5:6; 2Timothy 2:26
Ephesians 5 Resources -Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Ephesians 5:7-14 Children of Light in a Dark World - StevenCole
Ephesians 5:15-21 Walking Carefully in an Evil Day - Steven Cole
Ephesians 5:15-17 Walking Wisely- Steven Cole
Ephesians 5:15-16 God's Wisdom for Families - Steven Cole
Ephesians 5:8-14:Living in the Light - John MacArthur
Ephesians 5:8-14:Living in the Light - Study Guide (see dropdown menu) -
John MacArthur
Ephesians 5:15 Walking in Wisdom, Part 1 - John MacArthur
NET Bible has this note…
The following passagehas been typesetas poetry because many scholars
regard this passage as poetic orhymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer
to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for
determining if a passageis poetic or hymnic: "(a) stylistic: a certain
rhythmical lilt when the passages are readaloud, the presence of
parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangementinto couplets), the semblance
of some metre, and the presence ofrhetorical devices suchas alliteration,
chiasmus, and antithesis;and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary,
particularly the presence oftheologicalterms, which is different from the
surrounding context" (P. T. O'Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188–89).
Classifying a passageas hymnic or poetic is important because understanding
this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree

that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decisionto typesetit
as poetry should be viewedas a tentative decisionabout its genre.
For this reason(1352)(dio) is a relatively emphatic marker of a result, usually
denoting that the inference is self-evident. Synonyms = So then. Consequently.
For that reason. Onwhich account. This genre of phraseologyshould always
pique our attention, prompting us to pause and ponder, specificallyasking
questions such as "for what “reason”? In contextPaul is alluding to the truth
of the previous verses in which he had just explained that light exposes the
darkness.
It says (3004)(lego)raises the question of to what does "it" refer? Many
commentators interpret this as a quotation from a non-biblical source,
possibly a Christian hymn. Others feel Paul may be alluding to Scripture
although this is not a direct quote of any known Scripture. One verse that has
some considerto be a passagePaulwas alluding to is
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen
upon you. (Isaiah60:1)
AWAKE SLEEPER AND ARISE FROM THE DEAD : Egeire, (2SAAM) o
katheudon, (PAPMSVocative)kaianasta (2SAAM) ek ton nekron:
Eph 2:5; Isaiah26:19; Ezekiel37:4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; John 5:25, 26, 27, 28, 29;
11:43,44;Romans 6:4,5,13;Colossians 3:1
Ephesians 5 Resources -Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Ephesians 5:7-14 Children of Light in a Dark World - StevenCole
Ephesians 5:15-21 Walking Carefully in an Evil Day - Steven Cole

Ephesians 5:15-17 Walking Wisely- Steven Cole
Ephesians 5:15-16 God's Wisdom for Families - Steven Cole
Ephesians 5:8-14:Living in the Light - John MacArthur
Ephesians 5:8-14:Living in the Light - Study Guide (see dropdown menu) -
John MacArthur
Ephesians 5:15 Walking in Wisdom, Part 1 - John MacArthur
WAKE UP AND GET UP!
The question raisedby this passage is to whom is it preached--to unbelievers
or to believers? Here is C H Spurgeon's analysis…
To whom is this text addressed? Nine times out of ten when it is preached
from, it is takenas though it were addressedto the ungodly. It is a very
proper text to address to the ungodly, but I do not see that the connection
permits it. There are some who would think it altogetherunscriptural and
unsound to address these words to those who have no spiritual life. We are not
of their number. If we see a man ever so deadly asleepwe believe we are
commissionedby God to preach the gospelto him, and to say, “Awake, thou
that sleepest;” and though more and more persuaded of the want of moral
sensibility in man and the desperate characterofhis depravity, we are not
amongstthose who fear to preach to dead sinners, but dare to say, even to the
dead, “Thus saith the Lord, Ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus
saith the Lord, Ye dry bones, live!” We can, therefore, very welltake this text,
and address it to the ungodly.
But this is not intended to be a sermon to the unconverted. It appears to me to
have been addressedto the church of God at Ephesus, to have been the
language ofPaul to God’s own people, warning them not to fall into the same

habits as did the children of darkness, but to come out and show themselves to
be God’s people.
I know the objectionwill be raised, that they are told to come forth from the
dead; but I do not see that that is any obstacle atall, for albeit that the people
of God may not be spiritually dead in the sense in which the ungodly are, yet
how often do we speak ofourselves as feeling as if we were dead, and speak of
our gracesand of our piety as though they were come into a cold and dead
state. It is comparative death that the apostle here means, and we may use the
words employed here as we would use them in common conversation, and say
that though there are some quivers of spiritual life in the breastof every
believer, yet there are multitudes who are outwardly dead as to their
usefulness, and there are Christians and churches too of whom we may say,
without at all libeling them. “You are dead; awake thou that sleepest.”
Whateverobjection there may be to addressing the text to the converted,
there will be far more difficulty in addressing it to the unconverted, and I
think there ought to be no hesitationin directing it to either. To raise
difficulties is very easy, but meekly to try to learn what the Savior would say
is far better. (Ephesians 5:14 The Church Aroused/ Awakened)(At the end of
this commentary sectionsee this same messagein outline form click here)
Awake (1453)(egeiro)means to waken, rouse from sleep, from sitting or lying,
from disease, from death; from inactivity, ruins, nonexistence. The present
imperative is a command calling for the sleepers continually awaken. "Don't
hit the snooze alarm!" It is notable that Pauluses egeiro about 30 times to
describe rising again from the dead. He uses the following verb anistemi to
describe the resurrectiontwo times (1Th 4:14, 16).

MacDonaldrightly observes that "The life of the believer should always be
preaching a sermon, should always be exposing the surrounding darkness,
should always be extending this invitation to unbelievers… awake… arise
from the dead. (MacDonald, W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary:
Thomas Nelson)
Egeiro - 144xin 138v- Mt 1:24; 2:13f, 20f; 3:9; 8:15, 25f; 9:5ff, 19, 25;10:8;
11:5, 11;12:11, 42; 14:2; 16:21;17:7, 9, 23; 20:19;24:7, 11, 24; 25:7; 26:32,
46; 27:52, 63f;28:6f; Mark 1:31; 2:9, 11f; 3:3; 4:27, 38; 5:41; 6:14, 16;9:27;
10:49;12:26; 13:8, 22; 14:28, 42; 16:6, 14; Luke 1:69; 3:8; 5:23f; 6:8; 7:14, 16,
22; 8:54; 9:7, 22;11:8, 31; 13:25;20:37; 21:10;24:6, 34;John 2:19f, 22; 5:8,
21; 7:52; 11:29;12:1, 9, 17; 13:4; 14:31; 21:14;Acts 3:6f, 15; 4:10; 5:30; 9:8;
10:26, 40;12:7; 13:22, 30, 37;26:8; Rom 4:24f; 6:4, 9; 7:4; 8:11, 34; 10:9;
13:11;1 Cor 6:14; 15:4, 12ff, 20, 29, 32, 35, 42ff, 52;2 Cor 1:9; 4:14; 5:15; Gal
1:1; Eph 1:20; 5:14; Phil 1:17; Col 2:12; 1Th 1:10; 2 Tim 2:8; Heb 11:19; Jas
5:15; 1 Pet 1:21; Rev 11:1
Awake sleeperand arise from the dead - The meaning of Paul's quote which
may be from Isaiah (some say from Isaiah26:19 and others from Isaiah60:1)
is debated.
John Piper applies Paul's cry to awake to the unconverted asking…
How do you obey a command to wake up from sleep? If your house has
carbon monoxide in it, and someone cries out, “Wake up! Save yourself! Get
out!” you don’t obey by waking yourselfup. The loud, powerful command
itself wakes youup. You obey by doing what wakefulpeople do in the face of
danger. You get up and leave the house. The call creates the waking. You
respond in the powerof what the call created. (A GodwardLife- Savoring the
Supremacy of God in All of Life)

To you—children, teenagers,adults—Iplead, along with the apostle Paul,
“Wake up, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light”
(Ephesians 5:14). Don’t be like the personwho goes to the Grand Canyon with
a little garden shovelin his hand, and on the precipice of that majesty turns
his back to the Canyon, kneels down, and digs a little trough with his shovel
and shouts, “Hey, look at this! Look at my trough! Isn’t that cool!” I know
that the pressing and desirable things of your life seembig. But just a little
clearheadedthought will show you they are not. Get up and turn around and
look at the Canyon. Don’t live your life walking down the E Concourse
thinking that yogurt and sweetrolls and short skirts are really what it’s all
about. (Do NotLet Sin Reignin Your Mortal Body, Part 1)
Some evangelicalwriters believe that Paul is extending an invitation for
salvationto the unsaved, in order that they may be transformed from children
of darkness into children of light. Authors favoring this interpretation include
John MacArthur (ref), William MacDonald(ref), Calvin, Hodge.
It is interesting that there is no clearconsensuson this verse, and one
commentatorsays it applies to both believers and unbelievers.
KJV Bible Commentary - This is a callfrom drowsiness to spiritual life. Stand
up from the dead among you.
Expositor's - The passageis introduced in connectionwith the reference to the
effects of a faithful ‘reproof’ and under the impressionof the figure of the
light. It takes the form of an appeal to wake out of the pagancondition of sin,
describedby the two-fold figure of sleepand death, and of a promise that then
Christ will shine upon the sinner with the saving light of His truth. The
quotation comes in relevantly, therefore, as a further enforcement both of the

need for the reproof which is enjoined, and of the goodeffects of such a
reproof faithfully exercised.
Jamiesonwrites - Believers are calledon to awake out of sleep;unbelievers, to
arise from the dead (compare Mt 25:5; Ro 13:11; 1Th 5:6, with Eph 2:1).
(Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., Fausset,A. R., Brown, D., & Brown, D. A
Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments)
In the context of Ephesians 4 and 5, Paul has been speaking to believing
Gentiles, those who had once walkedin total darkness, and those who were
still surrounded by that darkness. The temptation to drift back into that
darkness would be an ever present danger (cp "drift away" in Heb 2:1-note).
In fact the repetition of negative commands in the present imperative (Stop
doing this or that… ) clearlyindicates that the readers were involved to some
degree in the deeds of darkness. In that context, it would be reasonable for
Paul to issue a call to those believers to wake up, the interpretation that this
writer favors.
It is also notable that Paul uses the metaphor of sleepin other passagesto
address saints…
But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a
thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of
darkness;6 so then let us not sleepas others do, but let us be alert and sober
(Implying even believers canbe lulled into a sense ofcomplacencyand lose the
sense ofurgency stimulated by keeping Imminency of Jesus atthe forefront of
our thinking). 7 For(term of explanation) those who sleepdo their sleeping at
night, and those who getdrunk getdrunk at night. (1Thes 5:4-7-note)

In the "practical" (a misnomer because allScripture is practical) sectionof
Romans 12-16, Pauluses the metaphor of sleep, clearlyreferring to believers,
exhorting them…
And this do, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken
from sleep;for now salvationis nearer to us than when we believed. 12 The
night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the
deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave properly as
in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and
sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. (Ro 13:11-14-notesRo
13:11;13:12; 13:13-14)
Comment: We ought to be like the little boy whose family clock malfunctioned
and struck 15 times so that he rushed wide-eyedto his mother crying,
“Mommy, it’s later than it’s ever been before!” What sanctifying logic!We
should also keepin mind that if Christ does not return in our time, He will
certainly come individually for us in death. Eachache, pain, gray hair, new
wrinkle or funeral is another reminder that it is later than it has ever been
before. It is time to love our neighbors as ourselves. IT'S LATER THAN YOU
THINK. Redeemthe time!
As noted above, while there is not a consensus,the majority of evangelical
writers interpret Paul's call to "Awake sleeper" notas a call to the spiritually
dead to arise but instead as a call to believers who have been lulled asleepand
lapsed into some of the "deeds of darkness".
J C Ryle asks…

Jesus was shining on those who wake up

Jesus was shining on those who wake up

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