Ephesians 5:10

“proving what is well-pleasing unto the Lord”

“Proving”: “Always trying to find out what is pleasing to the Lord” (TCNT).

While the life in sin is spent trying to find those things that please self, walking in the light means always seeking to please God in all situations (2 Corinthians 5:9). "Proving" what pleases the Lord involves more than "finding out" what pleases God. It also involves accepting and fully supporting what God says pleases Him (1 Samuel 2:23). It is being in complete agreement with His view of everything (Romans 3:4). The Christian who is walking in the light is eager to test everything by the light of God's word (1 Thessalonians 5:21). There are no cultural "sacred cows" for the person bent on pleasing God. “ The one point of all moral investigation is, does it please God?” (Vincent p. 399). “The light metaphor speaks vividly of Christian openness and transparency, of living joyfully in the presence of Christ, with nothing to hide or fear” (Stott p. 200). Because "deceivers" (Ephesians 5:6) exist, the Christian always will need to "examine" everything carefully (1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1). This verse implies that not everything that is, "claimed" to be pleasing to the Lord, actually in fact is. “It is the Christian's duty to expose every action, every decision, every motive to the light of Christ” (Barclay p. 165). The Christian is also the person who has put God's will to the test, that is he has tested it in his own life (Romans 12:2). “He is not deceived by men who would try to convince him otherwise (v. 6) but he has tested the right and found it to be right” (Caldwell p. 240). Of all people, the Christian should be able to say with confidence to the world, “I have tried God's will,. have applied it to my life. and it works!. am sold on this way of living and you cannot convince me otherwise”. In the context we have already been told what pleases the Lord, complete obedience to the will of God, regardless of the personal cost (Ephesians 5:1-2).