CHILDREN OF LIGHT

It is nothing short of amazing when we consider the manifold wisdom of our God. He is so beyond the comprehension of the natural mind. His power exceeds that of anything devised in the imagination. He is indeed an awesome God. He has created or rather begotten children whom he commanded to dwell in the midst of a hostile environment wherein they can arm themselves only with weapons of the Spirit. However, these weapons of our warfare are not designed to hurt or destroy those who offend us, but quite the contrary; they are meant to influence and/or save those who abuse us. But what is even more amazing is that He not only expects us to live holy and glorify him in the midst of hard trials and temptation; he demands it.

Philippians 2:15

That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Blameless and harmless is to be without sin and the absence of malice; needing no reproof or scolding. We are to live in this world among those who are corrupt and viciously wicked, without becoming as they are. But instead we are to show forth the presence and light of another kingdom that shines in the midst of the darkness.

Psalms 36:6

6. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast.

And this is the persuasion: God preserves man and beast: Salvation was given to preserve the children of men. It is the door of escape from the corruption of this world. It is an entrance to the kingdom of light. Nevertheless, the saved are as sheep living among a pack of wolves. The world is hostile and mean. It is cunning with its temptations and enchantments. But there must be a resolve in us that says we can trust God to make good of His promises. He has given us a time to inherit all things. If we are willing to wait with patience on that day, we shall rule the earth with our Lord and Savior. But even now, as we wait for that day, the Lord has given us a Comforter, who is able to preserve us in righteousness. The Holy Ghost is His name and the preservation of the Church is His mission. In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul writes;

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

13. But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

14. Whereunto He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And now back to our original scripture:

Psalm 36:9

9. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.

Let us not forget that the Psalms were primarily written as a prophecy concerning Christ and those who are His. Jesus said,

John 9:5

“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

but John also said.

John 1:4

In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Here Jesus is defined as the true light, but the light itself is defined as life. We really need to look into the inference here. The light or life that He brought into the world was for men. We know that it was the breath of life, (wind or air) God breathed into Adam’s nostrils that brought him alive and provided him with a soul. But it is the Holy Ghost, a quickening spirit that is given to the sons of God. It is the life of this Spirit of God that is eternal. To abide in it is to never die. This is the light Jesus brought into the world. This is the light that was given to us. In Adam all died, but in Christ all who were dead come alive unto God.

Psalm 36:10-12

10. O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.

11. Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.

12. There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.

Here we are able to see the power of the kingdom of light. When those who are full of pride and wickedness dare to raise their foot or hand against one who walks in the light, they shall surely fall and not rise again. Does this mean they who have sinned cannot repent and be reconciled to God? No. But it does mean that they who fall will never rise up from the fall as long as they continue in iniquity. The difference with God and man is that man equates financial or other worldly success with reconciliation. But unless the workers of iniquity truly repent, they will walk the earth in condemnation.

John 3:19

19. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

There are no excuses to be made for sin. We sin against God because we choose darkness and rather do that which is evil. It is as ugly as it sounds. Perhaps now we will begin to face the truth about our failures and purpose in our hearts to walk after the Spirit. There were so many things we were not prepared to accept about ourselves. For instance, the next verses makes a declaration most Christians would argue to be totally untrue of themselves.

John 3:20

20. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

No matter how we try to explain our disposition, God has already placed us in a position. We are either of the light or the darkness. He says there is no way for those who do evil to love the light; which is the same as saying there is no way we could truly love him or others who walk in the light.

John 3:21

21. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Those who choose to fulfill righteousness, cometh to or rather continue in the light so that it is made known that they are the children of God. This glorifies God and testifies of the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

John 1:5

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Comprehend: attain, overtake, obtain, apprehend and perceive

Those who prefer any darkness of this world will never perceive or apprehend the light. If you are born of God, but allow yourself to become double-minded, dipping and dabbing in and out of sin; and regard iniquity in your heart; you will never understand or experience the power of walking in the Spirit.

John 1:9

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

Jesus brought the true Light into the world. It enlightens or causes everyone to see the will of the Father. Iniquity Rejects Truth If we look at the response of the clergy to the works of Christ we will see the power of the darkness in the hearts of men. Remember all things that were written before now were written for our learning.

John 12:37-39

37. But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him:

38. That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?

39. Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,

I want to make sure you understand what John is saying here. At first glance it may seem he is implying they could not believe because of the prophecy. But that is not the case. In fact the exact opposite is true. The prophecy is spoken because of their unbelief. You must remember that a prophetic word is uttered based on the foresight and foreknowledge of God. Therefore, having seen beforehand that they would not believe, even though many miracles were done in their presence, the word was put in the mouth of the prophet. As you continue to read this passage you will see that the 41st verse bears witness of this truth.

John 12:40-41

40. He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

41. These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.

God gave the prophet a vision of the coming Christ and the response of the scribes and Pharisees. As for the nation, because of their rejection of the Lord, they were made even more blind and hard-hearted so that they could perform all the evil that was in their heart. They killed their Messiah. That is the danger of rejecting the truth God sends to us. God will allow such a one to live out the evil in the mind and heart. He will give you over to the darkness of your own thoughts. You will have eyes that cannot see spiritual things; ears that cannot hear and a heart that cannot receive truth.

John 12:42-43

42. Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:

43. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

Now we come to a demonstration of the power of the darkness of this world. The chief rulers of the Sanhedrin were a group of biblical learned scholars. Their profession was to study the scriptures. They knew Christ was the Messiah, not just by the miracles alone, but by the fact that scripture confirmed Him even as he confirmed scripture. But they loved their positions and were not willing to put them at risk. To openly confess the truth was dangerous to their prosperity and preeminence among men. Therefore they remained silent; which is equal to being a participant in the persecution and murder of their Lord, Jesus Christ. Once the Holy Ghost has enlightened you, it is spiritual rebellion to reject the righteousness that came with him. We have been given a great gift. We have received the mind of Christ and are able to see the heart of the Father. We are the Children of Light.