“Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
For the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.”
Psalm 112.4
In the Biblical testimony, light and darkness are engaged in an intriguing rapport. We find it literally from Genesis to Revelation.
1. The original and thorough-going darkness the poet of Genesis calls “the deep” “the tehom” in Hebrew is the seat of chaos and represents the heart of all which is untamed by God. It will be represented in subsequent texts as the abode of evil from which come the serpent who converses with Eve who is of the untamed animals of the field, and it will eventually represent the process and the one who will be named Anti-god or Antichrist.
But the poet of Genesis tells us that the Spirit lingers over the chaos and brings order from the anarchy---- thus creating- what else? - Light.
And so, for darkness and light, the dance begins which will not end until it reaches the New Jerusalem, capital of the New Heavens and the New Earth,
Home of the people of God--- embraced throughout eternity in the arms of the Lord God Almighty, worshiping the Lamb Slain by the power of the Spirit.
2. The message of Christian belief is that darkness and light are opposites -----but they are never equal.
Darkness does not have the power to extinguish the light.
They are ever in conflict-----
but the victory is never in question.
Darkness hurts people; yet light heals people.
Darkness hides the goodness of God;
But light reveals the wonder of the grace and goodness and love of God.
Darkness closes doors; but light opens possibilities.
Do you or do you not submit to the Lordship of Christ in your life? Submission is light; not submitting is dark.
We must always choose whether we will combine forces with darkness or work in partnership with light.
3. The light of God imparts knowledge to us and guides us into all truth. God is the source of all truth and may be known in creation- general revelation.
4. However, the revealed will of God in knowledge and Truth is supremely granted and communicated personally ----for we are reminded in Numbers that the “light of God’s face” shines upon his people.
The greatest blessing of the OT is the priestly blessing. (Numb. 6. 24)
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face shine upon you
And be gracious to you.
The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
The presence of God is personally appropriated to us by the light of his face – his shining upon us in grace.
In others words, our Father hugs us and holds us and pulls us close in his arms and blesses our hurts and imparts to us all safety and security.
5. The expression of light in the Bible by the prophets is personalized in Yahweh, the God of Israel’s covenant, and it gives rise to the hope that the rhythm of darkness and light will some time give way to the dawning of that eternal day where God will be the light for his people.
The great prophet Isaiah records the promise of God (Is. 60.19f)
“The sun will no more be your light by day,
Nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you.
For the Lord will be your everlasting light,
Note now the effect of the Light of God:
And your days of sorrow will end.
“Then will all your people be righteous
And they will possess the land forever…
I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.”
6. The ultimate expression of the personalization of light we owe to the Apostle John.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….through him all things were made…in him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness but the darkness has not understood it….The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. (The world did not have light to recognize Him) He came to his own but his own did not receive him.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…born of God.”
a. When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (Jn. 8.12)
b. The effect of our belief in the One who is life and light brings us to the truth and provides us reconciliation and peace with God and fellowship with each other because of our redemption by Him who is the Light of the World.
Now what do we look like as children of light?
What should a church of children of light look like?
I’ll let Wally Barker tell you. He sent me this long ago.
The Foundation of The Church is Jesus Christ.
The Church in Darkness
1. Insensitivity to one another.
2. Vulnerable to wrong doctrine.
3. Tampering with the foundation—The Written Word.
4. Continuing Controversy which creates disorder and disrupts harmony.
5. Using worldly wisdom to evaluate our leaders and teachers.
6. Pride
7. Becoming too attached to a spiritual leader.
8. Talking about faith rather than living it.
9. Failure to pray for and build up one another.
The Church in Light
1. Pray for other Christians
2. Avoid Gossip
3. Build others up.
4. Work together in humility
5. Give our time and money
6. Refuse to let divisive matters distract us
Light and darkness are spiritual realities for us which ultimately express our unity in Christ or our unity with evil and all that is gathered against the goodness of God.
By our words, thoughts and decisions every day we are aligning ourselves either with Light in Christ or the darkness of evil. Each decision made, each word spoken, each thought entertained, each action taken moves us either closer to the light or farther into darkness.
Jesus said to his disciples, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. The purpose of light is to allow others to see. That is why we turn on lamps at night. Let my light shine brightly in your lives that others may see the way to come to me through you.”
(Mt. 5.14f paraphrase)
Is your life a beacon which lights the way to Christ for others? Your coworkers, your school friends, your family, your brothers and sisters here ---- do they see in your life the light of Christ or the night of darkness?