The passage
      v8. In v7 Paul said, "give everyone what you owe him". Continuing this thought, he now urges that we leave no outstanding debts, no outstanding obligations toward others. Yet, there is one debt which will always be outstanding because it is impossible to clear. The obligation we must try to clear and never will, is the obligation of love. This love toward "one another" is a self-giving compassion toward the brotherhood. To show compassion is to "fulfill the law".
      v9. The thought expressed in v8b is now confirmed. Paul quotes some examples from the second table of the Ten Commandments and then quotes the summary of this table from Leviticus 19:18. Our obligation is to love and this love is properly defined in the Ten Commandments.
      v10. On the negative side, Paul states that the exercise of love does not disadvantage the brother. True love does not hurt a brother.
      v11. In v11-14 Paul places discipleship in the context of Christ's return. Knowing that Christ will one day return serves as an effective motivator for Christian service, cf. 1Thess.5:1-11, etc. In fact, says Paul, the second coming of Christ is "nearer now than when we first believed."
      v12. Continuing with the sense of Christ's close return, Paul encourages his readers to put aside evil behaviour and strive for righteousness. He uses images of light and dark. The darkness is of this age, while the light is of the age to come. This age "conforms" us to its ways, and they are the ways of selfishness. The age to come is of goodness and we must be "transformed" into its ways. We must put on the life-style of the age to come as we put on clothes, or in this case, armor.
      v13. The believer is to live a Christ-like life-style in the present moment as if they were living in the age to come. In fact, we must live this way because we are, in a sense, already in the age to come. We are certainly not to live as if we were in darkness.
      v14. Putting on Jesus Christ explains the meaning of putting "on the armor of light" in v12. Identification with Christ is the underlying idea. Paul is calling on us to "walk by the Spirit", to allow the Spirit of Christ to renew us.

Ethics
      In our passage for study, Paul gives us an insight into God-given ethics. First, he gives us a summary of Biblical morality as it relates to our fellow man, a summary of the "debt", or obligation that we owe others. Second, he gives us some motives for living out these obligations.

The obligation of love, v8-10
      Paul gives us an ethical principle which comes from the Old Testament as well as the New; it is the ethic of love. This ethical principle is the most profound of moral rules: "love your neighbour as yourself."
      There are a number of things we can say about this moral rule:
        1. Love is a "debt" or obligation that we owe one another, v8. No one is an island unto themselves; we all share the human condition and we are responsible for each other.
        2. Love is primarily directed toward our brothers and sisters in Christ - the church, v8, 9. The terms "one another" and "neighbour" refer primarily to our family and the community of faith.
        3. Love is a debt we will never fully pay, v8. It is a "continuing debt" in that it is impossible for a sinful person to "fulfill" the law.
        4. Love shows itself in practical care, v9,10. "Love does no harm to its neighbour." This is an important point because people often say they are doing something out of love, but in the end, what they do is sometimes very harmful.

The motivations of love, v11-14
      Paul gives us a number of motivations for loving others.
        1. The immanence of Christ's return, v11-13. In the New Testament the motivation of Christ's second coming is often used to promote right living. There are two underlying prompts to this motivation. First, our friendship with Christ prompts us to want to honour him in our lives. Second, self preservation reminds us to never forget the day when all things will be called to account.
        2. The impelling love of Christ, v14. When we look to the indwelling Spirit of Christ in faith, we are impelled to be like Christ. To clothe ourselves with Jesus involves allowing the imparting of his righteousness through the renewing work of the Spirit.

v8
      ofeilete (ofeilew) pres. imp. "debt" - owe. "Do not owe anything to anyone."
      peplhrwken (plhrow) perf. "has fulfilled" - complete. "To love your neighbor is to fulfill the whole law", Barclay.

v9
      anakefalaioutai (anakefalaiow) pres. pas. "summed up" - the gathering up of a large number of details under a single statement or heading.
      ton plhsion adv. "neighbor" - the neighbor. It is worth noting that "neighbour" always referred to a fellow-Israelite, and so for us it refers to our fellow-believer. This does not mean we should not care for the rest of humanity. We must "do good to all men", but "love the brotherhood". We need to remember that God's special love is for his children, while simultaneously he sends "rain on the just and the unjust alike."
      wJV seauton "as yourself" - The command that we love our brother as we love ourselves is not promoting self-love as such, rather it recognizes our selfishness and uses this self-interest as a gauge to define, in practical terms, our obligation toward others.

v10
      ouk ergazetai (ergazomai) pres. "does no harm" - not to do, to work. "Love toward a neighbour does not work evil." The commandments give shape to the law of love and therefore, perfect love perfectly fulfills the law (an impossible ideal).

v11
      Kai touto "and [do] this" - "and this" is a particular Greek form used to further develop a previous point. We are to love our neighbor in the knowledge that Christ's return is near.
      eidonteV (oida) perf. part. "understanding" - knowing. Know something to be true. "In doing this you must know that the decisive hour has come", TNT.
      ton kairon (os) "present time" - the time, season, fitting season. Paul is encouraging us to read what is going on around us, the intertwining of circumstance in the passing of time. Christ's death and resurrection would be central to understanding the big picture. Paul, in the early part of his ministry, expected Christ's return during his own lifetime. Later, he accepted that he will not be alive at the time of the second coming. Here he is non committal, but he certainly sees the time getting away. The present moment is not a time for sleep; it is a time to be prepared. Of course, given that life is short, the day of judgement is indeed drawing near.
      wJra "hour" - the construction here is best translated "it is time [for you to wake up......]"
      egguteron (egguV) comp. adv. "nearer" - closer. Paul is most likely speaking of the parousia in time terms. He sees Christ's return as very close.

v12
      proekoyen (prokoptw) aor. "nearly over" - advanced, gone forward.
      enduswmeqa (enduw) aor. subj. "put on" - clothe yourself. Hortatory subjunctive. The Christian life is one of warfare and so we put on this goodness in the midst of a battle which propels us, "conforms" us, toward darkness. We clothe ourselves with goodness by putting on the righteousness of Christ, by grace through faith. We look to him to work his work of renewal in our lives.

v13
      peripathswmen (peripatew) aor. subj. "let us behave" - walk about. Hortatory subjunctive. The word extends to the Christian walk, ie. behavior, conduct. Paul illustrates the darkness with three sets of ideas: drunken revelries, promiscuous debauchery and jealous brawling strife. Of course, drunkenness is the mother of all these.
      euschmonwV adv. "decently" - becomingly. Used originally of graceful dress, but later of decent conduct.

v14
      pronoian (a) "[do not] think about" - [do not make] plan, forethought, provision [to the lusts]. We are to focus on Christ rather than let our mind run loose and plan for sinful gratification. In what way are we to "think about" Christ, or better, identify with Christ? Given the context, it is not in the sense of justification (justification is the imputation of Christ's righteousness in an identification with his death and resurrection, by grace through faith, whereby we die to the condemnation of sin and rise to right standing in the sight of God). The identification in this passage has ethical or moral implications and is something we must constantly do. Paul is concerned here with the impartation of Christ's righteousness, by grace through faith, whereby we die to the power of sin and rise to new life, renewed daily by the indwelling Spirit of Christ. In practical terms it would be foolish for a believer, renewed by the Spirit, to "deliberately make provision for the satisfaction of the flesh's desires", Cranfield.