The very first act of God following the brooding of the Spirit of God over the waters, the scene of dreary waste, of chaotic darkness, was the command, " Let there be light: and there was light." What a wonderful change! Who has not felt the terrifying effect of darkness! A step in the wrong direction may mean death. A man can be completely lost, even within a hundred yards of his own home. " Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun " (Ecc. 2:7). Instead of brooding darkness, the light illuminated the scene. This act of God is distinctly typical, as we have already seen in 2 Cor. 4:66For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6).
Just as God commanded the light to dispel the darkness of a chaotic earth, so God by His Spirit hath shined into the hearts of the believers, in order that the light should shine out-the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. What a magnificent statement, profound and wonderful, spiritual light entering the soul of man, altering his whole conception of life, giving him a new and Divine orientation, assuring the believer that the eternal life begun on earth will be carried on in all its full tide of blessing throughout eternal ages.
Perhaps the most satisfactory answer a seeking sinner can make is, " I see." For that presupposes two things -light and eyesight. Light is of no use to a blind man, and eyesight is of no use in total darkness. Divine and spiritual light has come through the Lord Jesus. The new birth carries with it spiritual eyesight. An unconverted man may understand the statements of Scripture after the fashion of believing an item of historical fact, or the working out of a mathematical problem, but he cannot really comprehend anything Divine or spiritual, however keen his intellect, he cannot see its spiritual import and beauty.
Scripture is plain as to this. We read, "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned " Cor. 2: 14). So that when a soul really and truly receives the truth of God, it becomes wonderful light in his soul, and if it shines in, it is intended that it should shine out, and it will do so, for just in the proportion that "The entrance of Thy word giveth light " (Psalm 130), so will the outshining take place.
When we were writing the earlier part of this book, we noticed that God called the light good, but did not say this of the darkness. In nature darkness surely is beneficent. After the toil of the day comes the rest and peace of night. But spiritually darkness is looked upon in Scripture as typical of evil, hence it is not called "good" in Gen. 1:44And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:4), as light is. We read, "Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light " (Eph. 5:88For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (Ephesians 5:8)). "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them " (Eph. 5:1111And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. (Ephesians 5:11)). " Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night nor of darkness " (1 Thess. 5:55Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. (1 Thessalonians 5:5)).
The great lesson that God would teach us is, that He puts a great distinction between light and darkness in their moral meaning. The Christian should be very definite. He should walk in the light. He should shun the unfruitful works of darkness. The danger is that the Christian may seek to do this in the wrong spirit. There is such a thing as religious flesh, that would make itself big over a mere mechanical separation from worldly things in an outward way. Christians acting in this way are only a stumbling block to the world. There is no power in religious flesh. True Christian walk is the expression of the Divine nature.
The Apostle Peter describes those, who make an unreal profession of Christianity, but whose tastes and nature are unchanged. He tells us they will break away from the restraints of religious flesh, and it will happen to them according to the true proverb, "The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire" (2 Peter 2:2222But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. (2 Peter 2:22)).
The sheep on the other hand would be miserable in the mire. It loves the green pastures and the still waters. So with the believer. He possesses a nature to which the ways of sin and worldliness are not attractive. Believers on the Lord Jesus Christ have been made "Partakers of the Divine nature" (2 Peter 1:44Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:4)). Such should have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Such will hail the light. A spiritual nature is the deciding factor.