Search
Scripture Reading: John 1:1, 4; 8:12; 9:5; 12:46; Psa. 36:9
In the previous chapter we saw that life is in the Word. In this chapter we will see that this life is the light of men. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” God being the Word means that God comes forth so that we can comprehend, contact, and obtain Him. Verse 4 says, “In Him was life.” In this God, who is the Word, is life. Whenever we touch Him and obtain Him, we are enlivened inwardly. We can all testify that when we were saved, we touched life, and God was no longer objective to us; He became subjective to us. He is no longer a mysterious, untouchable, unfathomable God but a God who has entered into us as the Word for us to practically contact and obtain. When God contacts us as the Word, we become living, strong, and spontaneously transformed in life. Hence, we can testify that we have life in us.
After speaking of life being in the Word, John continues, saying, “The life was the light of men” (v. 4). The life in the Word was the light of men. The life was the light is a great word. No comparable word can be found in any book by philosophers or in the various religious writings in the world. The life is the light, and wherever there is life, there is light. Conversely, death is darkness, and wherever there is death, there is darkness. When a person touches death, he is in darkness. Since the life is the light, those who are full of life also have the shining of light. Whoever has life also has light, but whoever loses the sense of life within becomes inwardly dead and dark.
The most wonderful aspect of the Lord Jesus’ salvation is that God is no longer hidden in mystery. He did not remain in eternity; He is the Word who uttered Himself forth, speaking Himself into His believers. The Christian life begins with believing in the gospel. The gospel is the word of God; the gospel is God speaking to us. The content of the gospel is the Lord Jesus Himself. When we heard the gospel and were moved, we contacted the Spirit, we contacted the Lord Jesus, and we contacted God. When we opened to the Lord and believed in Him, receiving the word of the gospel, we received God Himself. Our believing and receiving made us living. We may have been sorrowful, but we became joyful when we received the word of the gospel. We may have been depressed, even to the point of considering suicide, but we were uplifted within when we received the word of the gospel. We felt that we were inwardly full of light, and we were willing to live on the earth for God. Furthermore, we also discovered the strength and limitlessness of this life. When we received the word of the gospel, we received the life in the Word. Now we can endure what others cannot endure and bear what others cannot bear, because God as the Word has entered into us to be our life. This life enables us to live a heavenly life on earth, living a life that others cannot live and taking a way that others cannot take.
We also can testify that whenever we touch this life, light shines brightly within us. Before we believed in the Lord, we were not only dead but fully in darkness. Our way was uncertain, and our life was without meaning. Our whole being was in darkness and filled with sorrow, pain, oppression, dejection, hopelessness, and utter despair. We were dead and in darkness until we heard the gospel, believed in the Lord, and received His word into us. Then we were enlivened and filled with light. We became inwardly clear, and the light within us was shining and illuminating the way of glory before us. Our life became bright and full of hope. The shining of light, which began in this age, will continue to the next age and from today unto eternity. This is indeed marvelous.
Proverbs 4:18 says, “The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, / Which shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” The light of dawn has been rising in us since the day of our salvation. The more we draw near to the Lord Jesus, have fellowship with Him, pray to Him, read His Word, and live in the Spirit, the brighter the shining will be in us. It is like the rising sun at dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The light within us shines not only upon great matters but also upon small matters. From things high to low, the light shines on everything. When the light shines, nothing is in the dark, and nothing is unclear and confused. All things related to our parents, our spouse, our children, our relatives, our colleagues, and even our clothing, food, housing, transportation, and money become transparent and clear. When we are in the light, we know where we are, what we should do, and where we are going. This is the condition of those who have the light that comes from receiving the life that is in the Lord as the Word.
We need revelation, vision, and light so that we may be delivered from our natural religious concept. According to our concept, we were far from God, living without a fear of God, walking in a loose way, and doing many dubious things. After believing in the Lord, we think that we must learn to fear God, reject evil, and do good in order to please God. With such a concept, we focus on outward things. For example, we make a determination to worship every Lord’s Day, to have a family worship time at home, to be meek and humble, to be full of love by helping others, and to be well-behaved by not troubling others. We make a list of regulations for ourselves, and we even kneel down and pray, “Lord, lend me a helping hand. It will not be easy for me to do all these things, so help me. I want to please You.” These natural religious concepts are based on the thought that God is far away in the heavens and that He is dignified, majestic, glorious, and worthy of our worship. Every Lord’s Day, Christians “go to church” to worship Him. Regardless of what is being preached, they care only for one thing — “going to church” to worship God.
This was precisely my condition when I was young and I believed in the Lord. At first, I blindly believed that God was far away and sitting in heaven. As I progressed on my spiritual journey, I sensed more and more that He was also living in me. He lived in me and spoke in me, and His words were light. Slowly, my concepts began to change. Now I realize that the Bible does not speak of God wanting man to worship Him as a lofty God in heaven. Rather, it reveals that as the Word, God was incarnated to enter into man on earth, to mingle with man as one, and to be man’s life. This is the relationship that God desires.
God is not focused on man worshipping or serving Him; He is focused on man receiving Him as life and letting Him live in him and be his life. When I saw this, I felt that the Bible is filled with the matter of life from the first page to the last. In Genesis God placed man in front of the tree of life after He created man. This indicates that He wanted man to receive life. When the Lord came to the earth, the apostle John said, “In Him was life” (John 1:4). The Lord also said, “I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly” (10:10). At the end of the Bible the tree of life is growing on this side and on that side of the river of water of life in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:1-2). The fruit of the tree of life is for man to eat, and the water of life is for man to drink. God wants to fill man and to be enjoyed by man.
This light has become brighter and brighter in me. I am clear that God wants to be our life. God does not want us to do anything but receive Him as our life. I hope that we all can have a change in concept not to limit our believing in the Lord to the matter of outward worship. This is not to say that worshipping God is wrong but that such worship cannot satisfy God fully. Our Lord not only wants us to worship Him but also to receive Him as life. Worshipping Him is secondary; receiving Him as life is primary. Without receiving Him as life, we have no way to be proper worshippers.
We all know that certain things can be done only by a certain life. For example, a bird can fly in the air because it has a bird’s life, and a fish can swim in the water because it has a fish’s life. Worshipping God is an even more specialized matter than flying in the air or swimming in the water. Hence, we must have God’s life in order to worship and serve God. Without God’s life we cannot worship or serve God. Worshipping God is a particular function that comes out of God Himself.
The worship that God wants from us is the worship that is the result of His entering into us. While people in the world do not understand this, those who have obtained God’s life know how to worship, serve, and please God. Although it is good for us to come to the meetings with the thought of worshipping God, this is only a secondary matter. The primary matter is to touch God. He is the Word as well as the Spirit (John 4:24). Therefore, we should focus not on religious, ritualistic worship in our meetings but on contacting the Lord in our spirit. When our spirit contacts and touches God, and He speaks in us, we are made alive, and we are full of light.
We all need the word of God and the life of God. Whether we are deep or shallow in our experience of the Lord, we all need God to speak and to shine in us.
The proof that God has entered into us as the Word and touched us is that we are inwardly full of light. Forgive me for saying this, but when I contact the brothers and sisters, it is not difficult to know whether or not the light of life is shining in them. I grieve for the saints when I do not sense the light from the Word in them.
Some are in darkness because of their corrupt nature. For example, a person’s hateful heart may cause his being to be in darkness. Pride, self-complacence, and self-righteousness also result in darkness. Nevertheless, even a small crack in our inner being will enable God’s word to come in and God’s light to shine. Others are in darkness because of their unwillingness to consecrate themselves; instead, they argue with God. When God requires something in them, they calculate the cost and are unwilling to pay the price. They want to win, and they want God to lose. Their “victory,” however, becomes an inward veil that shuts out God’s light. Others experience darkness because they refuse to obey God. When God wants them to take a step forward, they refuse, and their refusal becomes a veil.
Although improper things certainly cause us to fall into darkness, some brothers and sisters are so proper that they also have no light. In their humility and meekness there is no shining of light. I am concerned for these brothers and sisters. Sometimes I pray to the Lord, asking, “What can be done? These brothers and sisters are so good, but they have no light.” When I contact such ones, they are truly humble, meek, obedient, and considerate; they are good, but there is no inward shining. Although it seems as if they are familiar with every word that is spoken in a message, they do not have an open mind that would allow the words to shine in them. Some may say to themselves, “How can a humble person like me not be inwardly bright? How can a good person like me be without light? How can a considerate person like me be inwardly dark?” In truth, many “humble” persons are exceedingly proud. They do not think that they have any problems, and they never question themselves. Believing themselves to be fine, they are inwardly proud and complacent. Such ones have no light.
When we have no light, we are dejected and dead. But if we live in the light, we are bright and full of inward vitality. The key to our condition is whether or not we have the Lord’s word, the Lord’s speaking. Whenever the Lord speaks to us, He not only makes us living but also causes us to be full of light. When He shines within us, He fills us with a sense of life, that is, feelings related to life.
Before being saved, a person may argue with his wife and even feel justified and gratified when he vents his anger. However, after he is saved and the Lord is living within him, the more he quarrels, the less he is gratified. Instead, he will lose his inward sense of peace from the Lord. If he continues to argue with his wife, he will begin to lose even the sense of not being peaceful, and it will be as if he has reverted back to his condition before his salvation. Losing the sense of life is related to having no light. Since the sense of life produces light, the loss of this sense indicates that we are in darkness.
With the exception of avoiding great immoral and obvious sins, some Christians have no restrictions related to other matters; they can do almost anything. Nevertheless, these Christians do not have the presence of God or enjoy fellowship with the Lord. They are dull, numb, and have no inward sense of life. When such persons are asked about how they feel, they say, “Not bad.” However, this really means that they feel nothing. Their response is an indication that they have no fellowship with the Lord inwardly and, therefore, no light. Such ones may be weighed down with wrongdoings, yet they feel nothing. Feeling nothing is the same as being in darkness. They may even come to a meeting and hear a message, but the message will not enter into them to become the living word.
Normal Christians live before the Lord continuously and fellowship with the Lord daily. They are living, and they are full of light and the sense of life. They have a feeling related to the sense of life when they speak too strongly to others or when they discuss others’ affairs in a critical and judgmental manner. As soon as a thought enters their mind, they have a sense that this thought is offensive to God. This sense comes from the light that is shining in the deepest part of their being.
If we would live in the light, our sense will become more positive and deeper in regard to God’s heart’s desire, to the Body of Christ, to the need of the church, and to God’s present way. Furthermore, the Bible will become living and open to us when we read the Word. When we are living, the Bible will be living to us; when we are full of light, the Bible will be full of light to us.
When the light in a room is intensified, everything in the room can be seen more clearly, even the slightest amount of dust. When there is a dim light, many stains are obscured. When there is insufficient light in a room, many things escape our notice. The more our inner being is full of light, the more our inward feelings will be keen, detailed, thorough, meticulous, and transparent. Thus, our prayer, our reading of the Bible, our meetings, and even our mutual fellowship with the brothers and sisters will be full of the shining of light. If we do not experience the shining of light in our meetings and in our fellowship with the brothers and sisters, we can only be in darkness. In such a condition, we are merely “service-goers” in religion. God does not want “service-goers.”
In order for a person to receive light, he must be willing to consider his condition before the Lord. If he is willing to not trust in himself and does not think too highly of himself, the Spirit will have the ground to care for him, visit him, and speak to him.
God wants man to consider his ways (Hag. 1:7) and even to ask, “What is my condition? Do I know God? Do I know God’s heart? Do I know God’s eternal plan? Do I know the Body of Christ? Do I know the Lord’s way in this age? Do I know where His church is going? Do I give God the ground in my being? Do I let God examine me according to His government? Do I let God touch every point related to me?” We must examine ourselves on every point and not trust in ourselves. If we do this, the God of mercy, the omnipresent God, the gracious God who cares for man, will speak to us. In His word there will be life, and this life will be the light of men. We will immediately sense the shining of light everywhere, and we will be full of feelings related to the sense of life. We will feel that the way we treat our wife and children is wrong. We will feel that we are wrong toward God and men. We will feel that we are wrong in our career and in our finances. Whereas we were previously ignorant of God’s heart, we will have a keen sense of life that brings in God’s shining light, a light that exposes what is not of God and reveals what is of God, and whereas before we had no feelings, now we will be full of feelings.
It is easy to think that our situation is more or less acceptable to God. It is easy to have a frivolous attitude when talking about God and God’s way. Being in such a condition is an indication that we are lacking in discernment and that our sense of life is dull. This dullness is caused by a lack of light that comes from a shortage of life due to a lack of God’s speaking. May the Lord have mercy on us so that we may see that being a Christian is not merely a matter of being pious, being well-behaved, worshipping God, or serving God. Being a Christian is a matter of being full of light and being enlivened with God’s life through His word.
The living God is within us, and He is speaking within us. He is speaking to us concerning small things as well as great things. Sometimes His speaking involves principles, and at other times His speaking concerns specific and detailed matters. He speaks of matters related to His household as well as matters related to our household. He speaks concerning the brothers and sisters as well as ourselves. His speaking within us makes us bright and living. As a result, we are full of feelings inwardly; that is, we have feelings related to everything. This is what it means to be a Christian. God is the Word and in the Word is life and this life is the light of men.
