Is the Light Within You Darkness or Light?
It’s important to remember darkness is not only in the world but also in the heart of man. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 6:23b, “If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” In our own nature, the light that we all think we have is darkness. In Ephesians 5:8, Paul describes our condition before salvation with these words, “ye were sometimes darkness.” Not that we were in darkness but that we were darkness! Apart from Jesus Christ, all is darkness. The Lord Jesus’ entrance into the world as the God-man is described in John 1 as “the light of men” (v. 4) and “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (v. 9). Here is God’s prevenient grace that goes before us and is the only basis for anyone to be saved and to come to true spiritual enlightenment. If we turn from such illumination, we cut ourselves off from the only source of light.
There is a wonderful passage in Proverbs 4:18-19 that provides a contrast between the just who are walking in God’s light vs. the wicked who are walking in darkness. “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.” We can observe the advance of wickedness and the descent of the lost into greater darkness, but why do we often not seem to see the increasing illumination of God’s light in the lives of His children?
We are just as much in need of God’s light of truth after salvation as we were before. The light we must follow is never from ourselves. To the degree we are in fellowship and communion with the Lord, we will be walking in the light as He is in the light (I John 1:7). Indeed, He is the light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5b). The key in this context is we must first have fellowship with God in the light of truth, then we can have agreement and fellowship with others that are also in fellowship with God. Walking in the light of God’s truth will prevent fellowship with “the unfruitful works of darkness.” Be wary of an emphasis on fellowship or agreement with others at the expense of truth, so that fellowship with God is no longer the driving force within our lives.
As seen in the earlier passage from Proverbs 4, the normal course of the Christian life is more light flooding in to provide greater discernment and power for daily living. However, the pressure of the age can distract us and deflect that light. Are we succumbing to that pressure in the raising of our children, in the pursuit of a successful vocation, in the cultivation of our personal relationships, in the habits and interests that dominate our lives? Are we seeking to walk in the blindness of our culture in harmony with man rather than walking in truth in harmony with the Lord?
The only way for true light to illuminate our hearts is to continually recognize that the light within us must be from a source outside ourselves. We need “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Yes, the very presence of the Lord Himself in our hearts is that light. If we are in the Lord, then we become light ourselves, which manifests itself in all goodness, righteousness, and truth (Ephesians 5:9).
The entire chapter of Ephesians 5 declares what the manifestation of God’s light within us looks like. We will be compelled by the love of Christ to walk in His love (v.2) as children of light (v.8). Our lives will be clearly distinct from the behavior of the children of disobedience (v.6). Rather than being partakers (v.7) or in fellowship with their evil works, our lives and words will reveal (v.13) and reprove (v.11) the unfruitfulness of their condemned ways (v.6). Our interest is choosing to do what is well pleasing to the Lord (v.10) and not seeking to please ourselves. This desire to please the Lord keeps our heart open to the light of God’s Word so that we can have wisdom to understand what God’s will is (v. 17). If we do not desire to please the Lord, then we will not be able to understand His will for our lives.
As Paul reminds us in verse 16, “the days are evil.” Therefore, we must be careful about our walk, how we live our lives (v. 15). It seems the easiest thing in the world is to make unwise choices. As we are reminded in verse 14, it is only the light given by Christ that can awaken us out of our natural state of sleep and raise us to spiritual life out of spiritual death to keep us from being unwise. By God’s grace, may we have this testimony: “His candle shined upon my head, . . . by His light I walked through darkness” (Job 29:3).