Scripture Reading: Col. 1:12-13; Gen. 1:3; Psa. 36:9; 119:105; Isa. 2:5; Matt. 4:16; John 1:4; Acts 26:18; 1 John 1:5; Rev. 21:23
In 1:12 Paul says that the Father has qualified us “for a share of the portion of the saints in the light.” Many may read this verse without paying attention to the phrase “in the light.” Christ, our portion, is to be enjoyed by us in the light. In this message we need to consider what it is to partake of Christ, the portion of the saints, in the light.
The Bible reveals that when God restored the universe He had judged because of the rebellion of Satan, the first thing He did was to cause light to appear. Darkness had been on the surface of the deep. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and light came forth (Gen. 1:3). This took place on the first day. On the fourth day we see a more solid form of light: the sun, the moon, and the stars. The light on the first day was rather abstract and unsubstantial, but on the fourth day we have the solid luminaries. By this we see that the re-creation of the universe, or its restoration, was carried out by light.
References to light abound in the Old Testament. Psalm 36:9 says, “In thy light shall we see light.” In Psalm 119:105 the psalmist declares, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Furthermore, Isaiah 2:5 says, “O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.”
Although the Bible has much to say about light, it is difficult to give an adequate definition of light. Light is real and substantial, yet it is mysterious. Nevertheless, the Bible indicates that light was a basic factor in the restoration of the universe and that light is necessary for God’s people to walk in His presence.
Matthew 4:16 says that when Jesus was walking through Galilee, the “people sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those sitting in the region and shadow of death, to them light sprang up.” In John 8:12 the Lord Jesus said that He is the light of the world and that whoever follows Him will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. However, if we do not follow Him as the light, we shall be in darkness. Furthermore, at the time of Paul’s conversion, the Lord Jesus told him to open the eyes of people so that they may turn from darkness to light (Acts 26:18). This indicates that unbelievers, whether Jews or Gentiles, are in darkness. Anyone who does not believe in the Lord Jesus is in darkness and needs to turn from darkness to light. Furthermore, 1 John 1:5 says that God is light and that in Him there is no darkness. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we lie. Since God is light, if we have fellowship with Him, we also shall be in the light.
The Bible reveals that the light is related to God, the Word of God, Christ, the life of Christ, the believers, and the church.
We have pointed out that 1 John 1:5 says that God is light. He alone is the source of light. The Word of God, Christ, the life of Christ, the believers, and the church can all be light because they have God as their source.
Psalm 119:105 says that the Word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, and 119:130 says that the entrance of God’s words gives light. The Word of God is light because it contains God. If the Bible did not contain God, the words of the Bible could not enlighten us. The source of the Bible is God, and God is light. Therefore, the words of the Bible are the shining of light.
In John 9:5 the Lord Jesus said, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” God and Christ are one. Since God is light, Christ also is light. Christ is the light of the world in a very definite way. The world in John 9:5 denotes society, mankind. Thus, Christ is the light not just in a general way, but in a definite way as the light of society, of mankind.
The life of Christ is also light. John 1:4 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” When we receive Christ as life, this life becomes light in us, shining upon us and enlightening us from within.
Those who believe in Christ are also the light. Speaking of the believers, the Lord Jesus said, “You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). In Philippians 2:15 Paul says that the believers “shine as lights in the world.” The Greek for lights is better rendered luminaries. A luminary does not have light in itself; it reflects light that comes from another source. The believers are luminaries. In ourselves we have no light. The light comes from the oil, the Spirit, burning within us. The source of our light is not ourselves, but Christ as the Spirit.
In Revelation 1:20 we see that the church is a lampstand, a stand that holds and supports a burning lamp. The lamp is Christ with God in Him as light (Rev. 21:23). In the universe there is one light, God Himself. The Triune God is the unique light.
Colossians 1:12 indicates that we partake of Christ as the portion of the saints in the light. Since God alone is light, we must turn to God and be in His presence in order to partake of Christ. We have been called into the marvelous light of God (1 Pet. 2:9). Before we were saved, we were altogether in darkness. Everything related to us and our human situation was in darkness. When the gospel came to us, it came with light. This caused us to repent to God. As we repented, we spontaneously opened to Him. At the time we repented and were saved, we experienced something shining within us. We believed in the Lord Jesus and thanked Him for dying on our behalf, and we received Him as our Savior and Lord. In this way, the inner shining was intensified. Therefore, at the time of our conversion, light entered into us. Many of us can testify that in the days following our conversion we experienced such a light. In that light Christ became our portion. Although we did not have this kind of knowledge at the time, we did have this experience.
However, after we were saved, we were distracted from this inner shining. Many of us were encouraged by diligent Christian workers to pay attention to doctrine and Bible teaching. Hence, instead of remaining in the presence of the Lord and treasuring the inner shining, we turned to good things that are not Christ Himself. We exchanged the presence of Christ for doctrine, for some type of observance or practice, and thereby lost the inner shining. The result was that once again we were in darkness. Before we were saved, we were in the horrible darkness of the world. But after we were saved, we were in the darkness of teachings, observances, works, formalities, and religious rituals. Some of these things may be good, but they are not Christ Himself. Having been distracted from God as the light, we lost the enjoyment of Christ as our portion.
In more than fifty years of contacting Christians, it has been hard to find any who speak of the enjoyment of Christ. Do you know of Christians who testify of Christ as their portion and who encourage others to partake of Christ and to enjoy Him? When I was young, I was taught to follow Christ and to walk in His steps. I was also charged to worship Him as the Lord and Master in the heavens. But I was never told that I could enjoy Christ. I was not taught that Christ is my life supply and the portion for my enjoyment.
When we were saved, we had a sense of the sweetness of Christ. Deep within, we realized how enjoyable Christ is. Then through the help of pastors, ministers, and Christian workers, many of us were distracted and led away from the enjoyment of Christ. We turned from the inner sense of the sweetness of Christ to religious duty. This brought us into darkness again, and the inward shining ceased. Many of us spent years in this condition. But one day, out of desperation, we laid aside our religious duty, turned to the Lord, and cried out to Him. We asked Him what had happened to us. By turning to the Lord, we turned once more from darkness to light. Then, in the light, we again began to enjoy Christ as the portion of the saints.
The only way to partake of Christ and to enjoy Him is in the light. God and Christ are light. When we turn to the Lord and come into His presence, we are in the light and spontaneously begin to enjoy Him as our portion.
All Christians should read the Bible. However, it is possible to be in darkness even when we are reading the holy Word. We may read the Scriptures without being in the presence of the Lord. If we do this, the more we study the Bible, the more we shall be in darkness, removed from the Lord’s presence. The proper way to read the Scriptures is not only with the mind, but also with our seeking spirit, looking to the Lord’s countenance as we read. By pray-reading the Word we are brought into the Lord’s presence in this way. When we read the Bible in a pray-reading spirit, opening ourselves to the Lord, we are brought into His presence. Spontaneously we are in the light, and Christ becomes our portion.
No matter what kind of disposition we may have, we have one weakness in common: we all like to argue. But whenever we argue, we are brought into darkness. Because we are not in the light, we cannot enjoy Christ as our portion. After arguing, we need to repent and make a thorough confession to the Lord. Through repentance and confession we are brought back to the light and to Christ as our portion.
If we are in darkness because of arguing with someone, we cannot enjoy Christ. We may come to the meetings, but we have no enjoyment of Christ, because we are not in the light. Christ cannot be our portion in darkness. He can only be our passover. However, even for Christ to be our passover requires that we repent and confess. If we would enjoy Christ as our portion, we cannot stay in Egypt in darkness, but must turn wholly to God.
Because I have found that arguing puts me in darkness, I cannot bear to argue. Time after time, I am forced to stop speaking because of the threat of darkness. I pray to the Lord and ask Him to forgive me for expressing the self. Through such repentance and confession the light returns and I am able to continue to enjoy Christ.
Light is the presence of God. If we would be in light, we must turn to Him from within. Then His presence will become the shining light. In this way Christ becomes the portion of the saints in a practical way.
If we would fellowship with God, we must walk in the light (1 John 1:7). In many things we may be able to pretend, but in this matter of enjoying Christ in the light there is no room for pretense. You may deceive others, but you cannot deceive the Lord. He is too real, genuine, honest, and practical.
In Isaiah 2:5 the prophet sounded forth a call, “O house of Jacob, come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord.” During Isaiah’s time, the children of Israel were occupied with their religion, but they had lost the light of the Lord because their heart had turned from Him. They had the temple, the priesthood, and the sacrifices. But because they had turned their heart away from God, they were in darkness. They were not walking in the light. Therefore, Isaiah called them to come and walk in the light of the Lord. This was a call to repent and to confess in order to be brought into the Lord’s presence.
Psalm 36:8 and 9 describe a person who has returned to the Lord and who is in the Lord’s presence. Such a one is satisfied with the fatness of God’s house and drinks of the river of the Lord’s pleasures. He knows the Lord as the fountain of life, and in the light of the Lord he sees light. In this light the portion of the saints becomes his enjoyment. We need to abide in Christ and walk in the light of life (John 8:12) that we may partake of Christ in the light (Eph. 5:14).
We need to have more and more contact with the Lord. We need to read His Word with an unveiled face and an open heart. As we fellowship with the Lord and follow the inner anointing, we shall experience Him as the life within us in a practical way. This life is the light. If we follow the inner anointing, we shall be in light. We are also brought into the light by fellowshipping with others in a genuine way. In fellowship there is the shining of light. Moreover, we need to be in the church life and attend the meetings, for in the church and in the meetings we are in the light. In the meetings of the church we often have the sense deep within that we are in the light enjoying Christ as our portion. All these are means by which we may be in the light to enjoy Christ as the portion of the saints.
Now we can understand why after Paul speaks of light in Colossians 1:12, he goes on in the next verse to speak of the authority of darkness. It seems as if Paul was telling the Colossians, “You have been delivered out of the authority of darkness. But now you have gone back into darkness. You have lost the very light into which you had been transferred.” We have pointed out that in Colossians the authority of darkness includes observances, ordinances, philosophy, and the various isms. Through the influence of these things, the Colossians were carried off as a prey, just as the children of Israel were carried away from the good land into Babylon. In a sense, many Christians today have been carried away from the kingdom of the Son of God’s love, away from the realm of light, the sphere of light. As a result, they have lost the enjoyment of Christ as the portion of the saints.
Light is a realm, a sphere. The realm of light is a realm of life. This means that the light of life is the sphere, the realm, of life. This realm of life and light is the kingdom of the Son of the Father’s love. Light rules by its enlightening. Hence, when the light of life shines and rules, it is a kingdom. When we are in the light, we are in the realm of life, in the kingdom of the Son of the Father’s love. This kingdom is in contrast to the authority of darkness, which is the kingdom of Satan. The New Jerusalem will be the ultimate consummation of the realm of life. The whole city will be a realm of life, full of light. This realm will be the light of life.
Darkness is dissipated by light (Gen. l:2-3; Rev. 21:24; 22:5). When light comes, darkness is scattered.
If you pray-read the verses we have covered in this message, you will learn how to be in the light enjoying Christ as the portion of the saints in your practical experience. May we all practice to enter into the light where we enjoy Christ as the portion of the saints.
