Christ is Our Light

Fred R. Coulter—May 27, 2006

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Work while you have the Light! Looking at the days that we're in, and so forth, we can understand that. We're also going to see what happens to people in the world.

As we have studied through the years, in each one of these, when we go over them again, we learn more. There are precepts, 'line upon line, here a little and there a little.' It's amazing how many people just do not grasp what is here in John 1:1.

In going through the history of Judaism and monotheism, that was especially calcified and entrenched during the 1200sA.D. by Maimonides. It was always a reaction against the Christians. As I pointed out recently, when you go to the beginning and it says, 'Let Us make man in Our image after Our likeness and kind' they say that's the 24 elders and that's the heavenly court and so forth.

When you come to John 17 Jesus says, 'That they may be one in Us as We are one. So, John 17 interprets Gen. 1, telling you Who the US are: the Father and the Son! The duality of God is expressed in the word for God 'Elohim' in Hebrew, meaning more than one. Not 'Eloh,' which is singular, or 'El,' which is singular.

So, what happens in the interpretation in Deut. 6:4 is that they misapply the number one to mean singular in person.

Deuteronomy 6:4: "Hear, O Israel. Our one God… [Elohim, because you can have two who are one. Isn't that what Jesus said, 'Be one as We are'?] …is the LORD [Jehovah], the LORD [Jehovah]."

When you really get in an examine it…

Articles at truthofGod.org: by Carl D. Franklin

• Defining the Oneness of God: The Scriptural Truth About the Oneness of God
• The Two Jehovahs of the Psalms
• The Two Jehovahs of the Pentateuch

In Defining the Oneness of God you will see that the technical reason why it cannot be translated in the King James or the way that Judaism does today, because it has to be: "…Our one God… [Elohim (two)] is the LORD [Jehovah], the LORD [Jehovah]."

When it's all said and done, with all the technical arguments about it, and all the theological interpretations, that's how it should come out. So, in The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version it is the way it should be. We see this all the way throughout the Bible concerning God.

John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word… [that can mean before the beginning] …and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him…" (vs 1-3).

Think about this for just a minute. What does that statement mean? Let's look at the situation with the creation of the angels and the one who became Lucifer. When you understand when he fell, he fell before the recreation of the earth in Gen. 1. So, if Jesus is the One Who brought everything into existence that is, at the command of the Father obviously, then He created the one who became Lucifer, He created the angels!

This tells us an awful lot. This does not mean just restricted to what we would see as the physical universe.

"…and not even one thing that was created came into being without Him" (v 3).

Delores made the comment when working in the garden, just looking at all the colors you have in flowers, in trees, in fruit—everything like that—the colors themselves cry out that there has to be a Creator. Just that simple thing!

Verse 4: "In Him was life, and the Life was the Light of men."

As it says in James 2, 'the body without the spirit is dead.' So, you have the spirit of man, which gives light or consciousness and thinking power to human beings.

The evolutionists take it the wrong way. They say, 'When we examine chimpanzees and apes, the higher primates, they have 95% of the same chromosomes as human beings; look how close they are.'

But what it really does, it tells the opposite story! That IF they do have 95% of the same genes that human beings have—notice the word if, because scientists think they know all when it knows a little—that is a testament to God and His special creation of man with the spirit of man! With the spirit of an ape, they:

• can't talk like we talk
• cannot think like we think
• cannot have subjective and creative thinking

We're made in the likeness of God, not in the likeness of apes! So, it proves just the opposite.

Lots of times when we get into these things, and hear them make these statements, just look at it and think the opposite and that's what it really proves.

We're going to concentrate on the Light that comes from God, from His Word, because the time is coming when we have to 'work while we have the Light' because there will come a time when there will be no more Light and we won't be able to work!

Verse 5: "And the Light shines in the darkness…" This means that Jesus came to the darkness of the earth to shine as a witness!

"…but the darkness does not comprehend it" (v 5). It cannot understand the Truth! They can stand right there and look at it —just like we explained with the evolutionists and the primates—and can't understand it. Same way with the Word of God! They can't understand it, because the Word of God is Light!

Verse 6: "There was a man sent by God, whose name was John. He came for a witness, that he might testify concerning the Light, so that through him all might believe. He was not the Light, but came that he might testify concerning the Light. The True Light was that which enlightens everyone who comes into the world" (vs 6-9).

Regardless of what people think or believe, you can't come into this world without Christ having involvement in creating you, and giving you:

• the spirit in man
• your form
• your life
• your ability to think
• everything that you have

Because it falls against another principle that is true: you have nothing that you didn't receive!

• everything that you have
• every breath that you take
• your body'
• your mind
• all your physical goods

Everything had to come from God one way or the other!

Also, for those who are converted, it is the true Light of God. Jesus said that He 'is the Light of the world!' We'll see that also has to do with the Gospel.

It's amazing how much is in the book of John. I don't think that you could study and re-study the Gospel of John and not learn something new every time you go through it. It's amazing how it is written. The Greek itself is not complicated; it's very simple. As a matter of fact, in translating the New Testament the most complicated Greek for me was 2-Corinthians and then Hebrews.
John was not complicated at all! Yet, in the simplest of language, it gives some of the deepest meaning. That's how God pacts it all together with His Spirit.

John 8:12: "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me shall never walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life'"—referring to the Spirit of God in you! It refers to having the Word of God available to you. You're not going to walk in darkness!

John 9:4: "I must work the works of Him Who sent Me while it is still day. When the night comes, no one is able to work."

We even have one part of history called The Dark Ages, because it closed everything down because of sin and the preponderance of the Catholic Church. No one was able to work, and we're going to face that again. I think that's why it's very important that we continue doing what we are doing. Not only in our individual lives, but what we do collectively.

I think about this quite a bit. The older you get the more you think about the end of the line. It doesn't happen when you're young; you don't think about it. When you're a teenager, the last thing on your mind is thinking about when you're going to die. When you get up to our age and we start rusting out, wearing out, getting gray hair and all of these sorts of things and we start counting off the time, the birthdays and everything. We hear of people up into their late 80s and up into their 90s. I don't know how many of you have relatives who live to be old. My aunt lived to be 96, my uncle lived to 94 and my mother lived to be 93. I don't know if I'm going to make that. Who knows?

Some people live longer than others, so the older you get the more you think about the time when it's not going to be for you. You think about what you're going to leave for those who are behind. That's one of the reason that we have done The Holy Bible in Its Original Order and the other books so we can have something for them, which will give them the information and knowledge that they need that they won't be able to get from any college, university or anything.

As far as the college for God is concerned, none really exists anymore. Yet, that information has to be there. As a matter of fact, when analyzing the New Testament, as one who graduated from Ambassador College and all the courses that are there, and then looking at all the material that just in the New Testament alone, there is more knowledge here than taught in all the New Testament classes at Ambassador College.

I know that a lot of people have said, 'If I could have gone to Ambassador College…' Well, the last years would have been disappointing, because there weren't really teaching very much at all, because they were shifting over into Protestantism.

But this will give you so much knowledge and information, and once it's down in print like this, just like it is with the Bible, what happens because of the way that God works? He'll call people by exposing them to the Truth! To the Bible! To what He wants them to know!

So, if we have this, and it gets down to a time when it's going to be dark and no one can work, this will help give them enough strength and there will be as much as possible available to them so that they can do the best they can until it gets total darkness. {Note sermon: I AM That I AM}

It's interesting how many of the exact quotes that John has that Jesus inspired John to write down. Remember, when he wrote these things, I'm sure he had some things written earlier, but he finalized them all just before he died in canonizing the New Testament. So, God had to breathe all of these words into his mind to write down. That's why it's called the God-breathed words of God.

John 11:25: "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he die, shall live again.'"

Once you receive the Spirit of God, then you have passed from death to life. So, if you die in the faith you have a guarantee of eternal life. As Jesus said, 'You will not taste death forever.'

Again a fundamental Scripture, but you tie them all together with everything else and the Light of God. I want emphasize the dogmatism of what Jesus says here, the absoluteness of what Jesus says. It's conveyed in the Greek and in the English, too.

John 14:6: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the Way…" That becomes far more important especially with all the assaults against Jesus Christ. There are these 'gospels'; one on Mary Magdalene again. It seems that these Gnostic gospels say that 'Judas was His truest disciple.' Well, the one who wrote the 'Gospel of Mary Magdalene' says that she was Jesus' truest disciple. None of that is substantiated in the New Testament whatsoever.

However, especially with Judas, are you getting Satan's side of the story? With Mary Magdalene are you getting a passel of lies way back then in the 'Gospel of Mary Magdalene,' which led to the condition that we have today with the DiVinci Code and Jesus Papers and so forth.

When Gerald Falwell was interviewed about the DiVinci Code, he said, 'I'm not worried about it effecting those who believe in Jesus. But it's going to affect a lot of other people in the world who are not necessarily Christians. And it's going to downgrade the view of Christ in their eyes, which it will do!

Bill Donahue—Head of the Anti-Catholic Defamation League—is all up in arms against these, because these are 'body blows' against the Catholic Church. You go through every one of these things and you see these programs and you say: Where is the truth? No one is seeking Truth, everyone is seeking a position. When you seek a position, you're never going to find the Truth.

When I watch that sometimes I get tempted to say, 'Let's think for just a minute. You're very zealous in doing what you're doing. You're defending the Catholic Church and you think you're defending the Truth. However, do you believe that the Word of God—being the Truth—is over everybody? Including the pope? Including you? In seeking the Truth, what would you do if you found that some of the major beliefs that you have in your religion are not found anywhere in the Bible? Would you defend that? or Would you defend the Truth?

In essence that's what it gets down to. So, Jesus said, "…'I am the Way…"—dogma! If you have the way, that means there's no other way. He did not say 'I am a way, ameans, asavior.' He is the Savior of mankind!

"…and the Truth… [you have to know and prove that the Word of God is true and is the Truth] …and the Life…" (v 6). These are things that people want! They want the way to eternal life. But their way! 'Here's what I think.' God says, 'NO! It's got to be through Christ!' Christ says it's got to be through the Father!' It has to be through both.

As most people are, unless they're truly seeking what we're going to cover, they're going to come to some degree of Truth, but they'll never come to the saving knowledge of Truth. They end up believing a man or relative, rather than believing God!

• I am a Catholic, it was good enough for my parents, it's good enough for me.
• My parents were Baptists, it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me.
• My parents were Hindus…
• Besides, God knows everything and He knows my heart.

Well, read Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" It's so deceitful that you think you're good!

John 3:14: "And even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, in the same way it is ordained that the Son of man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life" (vs 14-15).

I think the King James says 'shall have'; the Greek is in the subjunctive meaning may have, showing that there are conditions for it. That's where a lot of false doctrine comes from, because it's conditional. In the subjunctive it is the same as much like an IF clause, but not as strong. If is very strong. "…may have eternal life" shows a choice, involvement, acceptance.

Verse 16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life."

Everyone loves that verse, and they want all the blessings that come from that verse without any obedience to God! They're going to be greatly disillusioned!

Verse 17: "For God sent not His Son into the world that He might judge the world…"—at that time! This is referring to the judgment at the end, referring to God's intervention, the Day of the Lord and all those things when He judges the world.

"…but that the world might be saved through Him. The one who believes in Him is not judged…" (vs 17-18)—unto condemnation! You have where Peter said that judgment is now on the house of God (1-Pet. 4:17). So, we have a judgment that is upon us for eternal life, but that judgment is based upon:

• the grace of God
• having passed from death to life
• having the ability to come to God and repent of sin
• having the ability to grow, change and overcome

All of those things are involved in it! Our judgment is a different judgment. However, if we reject Christ, then we get the more severe judgment.

"…but the one who does not believe has already been judged because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment… [this great event of Christ being on the earth] …that the Light has come into the world…" (vs 18-19).

As I've mentioned concerning the Holy Days, every Holy Day has some great historical significance and act that God does. Even go back to the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a memorial of the re-creation of the earth! As soon has He got done recreating the heaven and the earth, Adam and Eve and everything that there is, the first thing He did is have a memorial of this seventh day. That's a great event! None of us would be here if that wasn't done!

Then you come on down to the time of Abraham and the beginning of the Passover and the time of the children of Israel and the Passover and Unleavened Bread. Wasn't the exodus a great event? Wasn't the judging of Egypt a great event?

Pentecost and receiving the Ten Commandments; wasn't that a fantastic event? And receiving the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, a fantastic event!

The crucifixion of Christ on the Passover Day, and everything that was prophesied in the world for the forgiveness of sin focused in on that day. Everything that the Prophets had said and everything that God would have the apostles subsequently write. So, all of these things are great an important things. When Christ came as a light in the world, that set another standard for men!

"…but men loved darkness rather than the Light because their works were evil. For everyone who practices evil hates the Light…" (vs 19-20). The greater intensity you have in practicing evil, the more that you hate the Light!

"…and does not come to the Light…" (v 20). You've got to come to Christ! You've got to come to the Word of God!

There's another promise that goes along with that: If you seek, you shall find! If you ask, you shall receive! One of the reason that there are so many difficulties and problems in the world and in individual's lives is that is God's message to everyone that you're incomplete; you need God! You get into things that are problems and difficulties and are more than you can handle. If you cry out to God, He will help you!

Those things come so that people may understand that human life is not an end to itself. Human life is incomplete without God! We were all made to receive Christ, to receive His Holy Spirit.

"…so that his works may not be exposed; but the one who practices the Truth comes to the Light…" (vs 20-21)—on a continuous basis! What happens when you do that?

• you are coming to Christ because He is the Light!
• you're coming to the Word of God, because that is a Light

Constantly coming!

"…so that his works may be manifested, that they have been accomplished by the power of God" (v 21).

We also know what happens here. When people get in the Light a little bit, sometimes they think they have the whole thing! When some people start leaving the Light and they turn their back, the Light is still shining, but they look about and everything looks about the same, but they further and further away, and pretty soon there is no Light!

The only thing we can say is that only God knows all the circumstances of any individual involved! But as long as there is life, there is hope! God can lead them back to repentance.

Psalm 56:9: "When I cry out to You, then my enemies will be turned back. This I know because God is for me." A great, important thing to realize! If you have the Spirit of God, God is always for you in whatever trial it is.

When you get to the last trial of your life, before you expire, and endure faithfully to the end, God is with you! He intends that that happens. That's all part of His plan, and He is joyful for everyone who dies in the faith. "…God is for me"

Quite different from Zig Zeigler, who says, 'What I want you to do to have confidence is I want you to go in the bathroom or bedroom in front of the mirror and tell yourself how good you are!' It's much better to be on your knees and know that God is for you, because He loves you!

Verse 10: "In God—I will praise His Word; in the LORD—I will praise His Word. In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Your vows are upon me, O God; I will give thank offerings to You, for You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, so that I may walk before God in the light of the living?" (vs 10-13).

Who is the One Who lives forever? Christ! We're going to see that we have to walk in the Light; to see what it means to walk in the Light!

One thing in the Old Testament, the Psalms and the Prophets are the most spiritual part of what we call the Old Testament. Most nearly all of the rest of it is the Law and history. You can get some inspiring things out of those as well, but notice how this ties in with many of the statements that Jesus said:

Psalm 27:1: "The LORD is my Light… [Jesus said that He was the Light of the world] …and my salvation; whom shall I fear?…."

This is the attitude that we need to have in the days that we're living in. we don't need to be afraid of anyone. We don't have to stand up and be smart-alecky about it, or anything like that. But we don't have to be afraid of anything or anyone. We may have some terrible difficulties and problems come upon us, but what do we do? We put those in God's hands and He will answer, and He will give a way!

If you don't believe that, trust God and say, 'God, You cannot lie; Your Word is true; You said You provide a way and deliver and give an answer. I'm confronted with this thing that I'm overwhelmed with, and I don't know how to handle it, please help me.'

God will! "…The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, my enemies…" (vs 1-2). Think about the times that are coming ahead. Think about the times that were in the past. I can't help but think about Bill Donahue again. He said, 'I am so tired getting on radio programs and callers call in and talk about the Inquisition.' Well, did it happen or not? Yes, it did! We're coming again when that's going to be!

• don't worry about enemies
• don't worry about foes

"…and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not be afraid; though war should rise against me, even then I will be confident. One thing I have desired from the LORD, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life…" (vs 2-4).

Notice what all of this does; you put this all together and what do you see? You see the focus of David on the goal to be in the Kingdom of God, to dwell in the house of God forever!

"…to behold the beauty of the LORD… [in our relationship, to see Him face-to-face] …and to inquire in His temple, for in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion, in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me upon a rock" (vs 4-5). That's quite a thing! The Lord is my Light!

Psalm 119:105: "Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Tie that in with the parable of the Ten Virgins (Matt. 25). They all had lamp! "…and a light to my path"—so that we know where we are going.

Verse 130: "The entrance of Your words gives light…" Think about that! I know that many times I've been studying the Bible and read along and all of a sudden something clicks in your mind just like a light went on! BING! That's God giving you light through His Word.

"…it gives understanding to the simple" (v 130)

Proverbs 6:23: "For the commandment is a lamp… [light or candle] …and the Law is Light…" Here's what it does, when you have the Light you can see what's right and wrong. If you're going to do some repair on something and it's kind of dark, what do you do? You get a light so you can see what's going on! God's Word is exactly the same way, and He does it with His Spirit and Word, with Christ in us.

"…and reproofs of instruction are the way of life to keep you from the evil woman" (vs 23-24)—and so forth. That gets into all kinds of evils and things, to keep you from sinning and going against God.

See how that works? The commandment is a lamp and the Law is Light. What happens to someone who does not believe the Word of God? Darkness comes upon them and they view the Law of God as darkness, because it interferes with what they want to do!

Psalm 97:6: "The heavens declare His righteousness…" Isn't that true? Every time you look at the heavens or you see something about the universe it's just absolutely amazing!

"…and all the people see His glory…. [that's when Christ is on the earth] …All those who serve graven images are ashamed who boast themselves in idols; bow down to Him, all you gods" (vs 6-7).

Verse 10: "You who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous…" (vs 10-11).

• Christ is the Light
• the Light of men
• His Word is Light
• His Law is Light
• His Truth is Light
• Light is sown for the righteous

We understand!

"…and gladness for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous ones, and praise His Holy name" (vs 11-12).

Tremendous what we have here in the Bible, and what God has for us and how He's going to do it.

John 12:23: "But Jesus answered them, saying, 'The time has come for the Son of man to be glorified. Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit'" (vs 23-24).

We're going to see what Jesus is leading up to here, v 25: "The one who loves his life shall lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life." This means through the attitude of repentance, hatred of sin and so forth!
Verse 35: "Then Jesus said to them, 'Yet, a little while the Light is with you. Walk while you have the Light…'" I think that's very important for us to understand today!

• while we have the Light
• while we have the Truth
• while we have the Word of God
• while we have the freedom
• while we have the ability to do these things

"'…Walk while you have the Light, so that the darkness will not overtake you. For the one who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become the children of Light.'…." (vs 35-36).

He's telling us about an ongoing problem. Let's see that there is a force out there—Satan the devil—the light of darkness. Remember that Jesus talked about the dark light. He says, 'If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness?' As we know, Satan likes to come along with his darknessand called it light! And he calls the Light of the Word of God darkness.

'Woe to them who call good evil, and evil good; put darkness for light and light for darkness' (Isa. 5).

2-Corinthians 4:1: "Therefore, having this ministry, according as we have received mercy, we are not fainthearted. For we have personally renounced the hidden things of dishonest gain…" (vs 1-2).

That's what it needs to be with every single one of us, especially true of anyone who is going to be an elder, minister or teacher. You cannot have an agenda separate from preaching the Word of God and eternal life and teaching the brethren how Christ can rule in their lives. Not that a minister rules over you, or has an inside track on the knowledge of God.

"…not walking in cunning craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the Truth…" (v 2).

That's how we're able to grow in knowledge, grace and Truth, as we are seeking the Truth. As we go along:

• we always let the Truth correct us
• we let Christ lead us in the Truth
• we let Christ lead us in the Light
• we let Christ lead us out of darkness

"…we are commending ourselves to every man's conscience before God. But if our Gospel is hidden, it is hidden to those who are perishing; in whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe…" (vs 2-4). That goes right back to John 3!

You have to believe, then you walk in the Light! If you don't believe you're walking in darkness! If you don't believe then read about the Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13; Mark 4) and so forth. Satan comes along.

"…lest the Light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (v 4). That's quite a thing!

Once we have the Light, once we have the Truth, then through the Spirit of God we have a responsibility to always be coming to the Truth, coming to the Light, living God's way!

Verse 6: "Because it is God Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, Who shined into our hearts the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

This is the whole operation of conversion and leading us, growing and overcoming altogether. Let's see what this is to do for us. In the process of conversion, it is the changes:

• change our heart
• change our mind
• change our behavior
• change our outlook
• change our attitude
• change everything about us!

Luke 11:33: "Now, no one who lights a lamp sets it in a secret place or under a bushel basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who are entering may see the light. The light of the body is the eye…." (vs 33-34). That reflects many things:

• attitude
• truthfulness
• what you believe
• resolve
• physical disease
• physical health

"…Therefore, when your eye is without guile… [converted] …your whole body is light; but when your eye is evil, your body also is dark. Therefore, beware that the light that is in you is not darkness" (vs 34-35)—because that comes from Satan!

Just like he told Eve, 'If you eat of that, you're going to be enlightened; you're going to be like God.'

Verse 36: "Now then, if your whole body is light…" Tie that in with Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:30[transcriber's correction]: you're to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and being. What does that do? That makes your whole body light! That's the whole thing that God wants in every one of us.

• complete yieldedness to Him
• trust in Him
• wholeheartedness
• faith
• love

all those things together

"…not having any part dark, it shall be full of light, as when a lamp shining brightly gives you light" (v 36).

What does this lead us to do? Let's also see the results of it that even the world can see, know and understand that we are of God. They won't recognize it right away, but sooner or later they will. We see exactly the same thing here:

Matthew 5:13: "You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has become tasteless, with what shall it be salted? For it no longer has any strength, but is to be thrown out and to be trampled upon by men."

That shows the whole process if you're converted and stay faithful, you'll be the salt of the earth. If you don't, it's just like walking away from the Light. You have the same thing here; you gradually lose your strength and so forth.

Verse 14: "You are the light of the world…." That's amazing statement. Jesus said that He was the Light of the world. So, how do you reconcile these two statements? Christ in you makes you the light of the world!

• with God's Spirit
• with God's Word
• with God's way

you are the light of the world!

"…A city that is set on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do they light a lamp and put it under a bushel basket, but on the lampstand; and it shines for all who are in the house. In the same way also, you are to let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father Who is in heaven" (vs 14-16).

Your works may vary, from works of kindness that you do for people when they don't even know that you do it. But they receive a benefit! Works of things of standing for the Truth, explaining things and helping them understand about life. That's all part of being a light of the world. There is also another aspect of it: the preaching of the Gospel, which is the Light of Christ. Then you also have the light—the power and strength of it—to be able to witness unto death in the case of martyrdom.

So, you have all these things that fit into the two spectrums of being the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

When you understand it, when it becomes tasteless (v 13) you can tie that in with the Laodiceans who become lukewarm (Rev. 3). There are many, many different principles that we can get out of these things and put them together so that we understand what we're doing here.

Now let's see a little more concerning Christ and what He was to do and so forth. Here's an interesting aspect about Christ; the glorified Christ:

Psalm 104:1: "Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with honor and majesty, covering Yourself with light as with a garment…" (vs 1-2).

That's quite something! It's talking about God in His glorified form. Tie this in with Exo. 33—Moses saw the glory of God, the backside. This has a great reference for the New Testament when we understand it. We'll see that you cover yourself with Light. This becomes important as a proof that Jesus Christ was indeed God manifested in the flesh.

In order to show the apostles that this was really God's work, He did things to verify it, which were prophesied in the Old Testament,

• like when He showed Himself to Moses
• like we just read in Psa. 104, that He clothes Himself with honor and majesty and light

Matthew 17:1: "And after six days, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and his brother John, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves." Just those three! After James was martyred, it was only Peter and John. He didn't show this to all the disciples at this time.

Verse 2: "And He was transfigured before them… [this was done in vision] …and His face shined as the sun, and His garments became white as the light."

Just like we read, 'You clothe yourself with light. This helps give a proof that Jesus was indeed God manifested in the flesh!

Verse 3: "Then behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with Him."

This doesn't mean that Moses and Elijah are in heaven, because John makes it clear that 'no one is ascended into heaven except He Who came down from heaven, even the Son of man Who is in heaven.' Peter said that 'David had not ascended into heaven.' Well, Moses and Elijah had not ascended into heaven, but in a vision you can project forward something that's going to take place in the future. That's exactly what this is.
It's interesting because you have Moses and Elijah: one at the right hand? One at the left hand? Don't know! Remember what happened with the mother of James and John? Later she came and said, 'Let one of my sons be on Your right hand, and one on Your left hand.' They couldn't tell the vision to any man until after the resurrection, so they couldn't even tell her at that time, though they knew.

Verse 4: "And Peter answered and said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good for us to be here…. [he really didn't know what to say] …If You desire, let us make three tabernacles here: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.'" What for? I don't know! As a place of worship? I don't know!

Verse 5: "While he was speaking, a bright cloud suddenly overshadowed them; and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, 'This is My Son, the Beloved, in Whom I delight. Listen to Him!' And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces in extreme terror" (vs 5-6).

See if you can visualize this in your mind: on top of a mountain, the wind is blowing very strongly. Here you see a vision of Christ transfigured, and a vision of Elijah and Moses there with Him, then all of a sudden here comes this cloud and then you hear a voice, like the voice of God! So, they were terrified and they fell on their faces. Then all of a sudden it's gone.

Verse 7: "But Jesus came and touched them, and said, 'Arise, and do not be terrified.' And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus alone. Now, as they were descending from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, 'Tell the vision to no one until the Son of man has risen from the dead'" (vs 7-9).

Now let's see some other prophecies concerning Jesus and what He was going do. The thing that's important to understand is that Christ is the Light! Stop and think about how God works out all these little details. Here's one that could have only been give to Luke by Mary herself, because this is telling what happened:

Luke 2:25: "And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and reverent, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. Now, it had been Divinely communicated to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord" (vs 25-26). However that was, in a dream or whatever!

Verse 27: "And he came in the Spirit into the temple…" I don't know how that worked, but God's Spirit moved him to come into the temple at exactly the right time.

"…and when the parents brought in the little Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, He also received Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said" (vs 27-28).

• I wonder how that happened?
• How did Simeon receive Him?
  • it doesn't say that he was priest
  • it doesn't tell us who he was
  • it doesn't tell us what tribe he was from

But here this incident was recorded! Here is a prophecy of what Christ would do:

Verse 29: "Now, You may let your servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Your Word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation" (vs 29-30).

That's quite a statement. How could his eyes see the salvation of God when he's just holding this little baby 40-days-old?

Verse 31: "Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples…. [so, this had to be a really inspired saying] …a light for the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel" (vs 31-32).

Here's Joseph and Mary there, and Simeon had the baby in his hand and, v 33: "And Joseph and His mother wondered at the things that were being spoken concerning Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, His mother… [I would have to assume that he would be a priest in order for this occur this way] …'Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising up of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be spoken against, (And you also, a sword shall go through your own soul) in order that the imaginations of many hearts may be revealed'" (vs 33-35). That's quite a thing! That covers:

• His whole life
• His ministry
• His crucifixion and death
• the sword that was thrust through His side

Amazing!

Now let's see where this is referring to the Gentiles; Isaiah 60:1: Arise, shine, for your Light has come… [talking about Christ] …and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you, for behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the LORD shall arise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you" (vs 1-2)—talking about the return of Christ right at the darkest part of the history of man!

You could also say it's concerning Christ's first coming in a sense, but more directly His second coming.

Verse 3: "And the Gentiles shall come to your Light…" Tie in Acts 10 about Cornelius and the beginning of the Gentiles and then the ministry of Paul and all of that.

"…and kings to the brightness of your rising" (v 3). In Handle's Messiah, this is quite a oratory that the baritone sings here about darkness covering the earth and the Light is going to rise.

Verse 4: "'Lift up your eyes all around, and see. All of them gather themselves together; they come to you. Your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side. Then you shall see and become radiant… [the beginning of the Millennium] …and your heart shall throb and swell for joy; because the abundance of the sea shall turn to you, the wealth of the Gentiles will come to you" (vs 4-5).

Verse 19—this ties in with Rev. 22: "The sun will no more be your light by day; nor the brightness of the moon give light to you; but the LORD will be to you for an everlasting Light, and your God your glory"—projecting forward!

When we read the prophecy there in Luke 2 and then go back and see all of these prophecies and how it's going to be fulfilled, that's really an exciting thing. That's really something to understand.

Let's put this all together and see how we are to walk, to be guided, how the Spirit of God will lead us. This is also important to understand today with all of these Gnostic gospels coming to the surface and saying that these Gnostic gospels ought to be included. You watch some of these things on the National Geographic Channel or History Channel and they just type these things up as the greatest thing that ever happened. I was given some tapes explaining about the 'gospel of Mary Magdalene.' I got through two tapes and that was all I could take! But I tell you what, these people are really into it. They're exposing the lie of the Catholic Church about the canonization of the New Testament being so late. If you're saying that it was this late, then why were these not included in it? Why did you not include these other gospels.

Here John was writing about it, because these things were starting then. He's making it clear:

1-John 1:5: "And this is the message that we have heard from Him and are declaring to you: that God is Light, and there is no darkness at all in Him."

The Gnostics teach that the One Who created the earth—since all the physical things and human beings are inherently evil—therefore, the Creator and the God of the Old Testament is inherently evil and darkness. The way that you overcome that is to have the knowledge—the Gnosis from which the work Gnosticism comes—will set you free so you can return back to heaven to God. That a summation of Gnosticism!

So, that's why John is saying, "…and there is no darkness at all in Him" (v 5). Then John makes it clear:

Verse 6: "If we proclaim that we have fellowship with Him… [a relationship] …but we are walking in the darkness…" What does this tell us?

• you're not walking in the Light of Christ
• you're not walking in the Word of God, which is Light
• you're not walking in the commandments of God, which is Light

All of that is tied in together!

"…we are lying to ourselves, and we are not practicing the Truth…." (v 6). This has a lot to do with any phase of Christianity from the time of Christ clear down to the end. Also today, if people leave the Light and are walking in darkness, and yet, we still have Christ, what happens? They are deceiving themselves! The key is this:

• IF you have Christ, Who is Light
• IF you have the Word of God, which is Light
• IF you have the commandments of God, which is Light
• IF you have salvation, which is Light

• What are you going to be doing? Practicing the Truth!
• What is the first step away from the Light? You don't practice the Truth!

Verse 7: "However, if we walk in the Light… [present tense] …as He is in the Light…"

We're going by what Christ tells us! What His Word tells us, as His Spirit leads us! It can lead us in many ways that we don't even know what's being done until we look back on it.

"…then we have fellowship with one another…" (v 7). It starts out here very importantly having a relationship with God, and maintain that! Then we have fellowship and a relationship with each other! Notice this also adds something else to it, which shows that the blood of Christ doesn't cover what a lot of people thinks it does.

"…and the blood of Jesus Christ, His own Son, cleanses us from all sin" (v 7). That's why—

• if you have the Spirit of God, which is Light in you
• if you have the Word of God, which is Light in you

—and you do sin, what's going to happen? Your conscious is going to prick you. You are going to be led to repent of that sin and have it covered by the blood of Jesus Christ and be cleansed of that sin through the grace of God.

When we read and study the Bible there is just so much in it that is compacted in there, that we only understand it after we go over and over the Word of God to learn more and more of it.

Verse 8 is another key, important thing concerning Gnosticism, which is a satanic way of worship. The next thing closest to it is humanism! Humanism declares, just like Gnostics, that we're basically good and we only need knowledge. So, humanism is Gnosticism:

• let's learn more
• let's study more
• let's have more knowledge

There are a lot of people out there who are not willing to admit the truth about human nature. As a matter of fact, most of the world, that we're sinners by nature. They say that they lead 'good moral lives.' Just like this atheist—Newdow—who brought the suit to get 'God' out of the Pledge of Allegiance and offered money and so forth. He was interviewed one time by Sean Hannity and I was astonished at what he said, because they were talking about morality and so forth. Newdow said, 'I'm a religious man.' So, there is a 'religion' to atheism. He says, 'I'm a moral man. I tell the truth. I believe in morality. I don't believe in killing and murder and things like this.'

The problem is that's not good enough for God! So, what happens? When they say they are 'good people' and 'we can work things out ourselves' and that human beings just need to have more knowledge:

Verse 8: "If we say that we do not have sin, we are deceiving ourselves…"—you're living in deception!

There's one thing about the human heart being 'desperately wicked and deceitful above all thing': it looks at itself as 'good'! The only way a person can come to a convicting knowledge of how evil human nature is, is through he Spirit of God and repentance.

Because you're you are deceiving yourself, "…and the Truth is not in us. If we confess our own sins… [to God] …He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us" (vs 8-10).

This us why we need the Light of God! This is what I means for Christ to be in us, Light, and the Word of God to show the way to go, and all of those things combine together.

Ephesians 5:7: "Therefore, do not be joint partakers with them." That is with the idolaters, sons of disobedience and so forth.

Verse 8: "For you were once darkness; but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of Light." You really can't over emphasize walking in the Light and coming to the Light, over and over again.

That's why it's so essential that we do the Sabbath every week. That keeps us in fellowship with God, knowledge of His way, and willingness to walk in the Light. It always does!

Verse 9: "Because the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and Truth); proving what is well pleasing to the Lord; and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them" (vs 9-11). It shows how they are exposed and revealed!

Verse 12: "for it is shameful even to mention the things being done by them in secret. But all of these things being exposed by the light are openly revealed. Therefore, He says, 'You who are sleeping—wake up, and arise from the dead! And Christ shall shine upon you.'" (vs 12-14). This is also saying that:

• if you haven't been walking in the Light like you need to
• if you haven't been using the Spirit of God like you need to

There is an opportunity to repent! This is repentance!

Verse 15: "So then, take heed that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as those who are wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (vs 15-16).

That's what we are to do at this time: let the Light of Christ be upon you, Who is the Light of all men, and the Light of the world. While it is still light, let us do the work we need to do in our individual lives, and what we do collectively together.

All Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version

Scriptural References:

• Deuteronomy 6:4
• John 1:1-9
• John 8:12
• John 9:4
• John 11:25
• John 14:6
• Jeremiah 17:9
• John 3:14:21
• Psalm 56:9-13
• Psalm 27:1-5
• Psalm 119:105, 130
• Proverbs 6:23-24
• Psalm 97:6-7, 11-12
• John 12:23-25, 35-36
• 2 Corinthians 4:1-4, 6
• Luke 11:33-36
• Matthew 5:13-16
• Psalm 104:1-2
• Matthew 17:1-9
• Luke 2:25-35
• Isaiah 60:1-5, 19
• 1 John 1:1-10
• Ephesians 5:7-16

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• John 17
• Genesis 1
• James 2
• 1 Peter 4:17
• Matthew 25
• Isaiah 5
• Matthew 13
• Mark 4
• Matthew 22:37
• Mark 12:30
• Revelation 3
• Exodus 33
• Acts 10
• Revelation 22

Also referenced:
Articles at truthofGod.org: by Carl D. Franklin

• Defining the Oneness of God: The Scriptural Truth About the Oneness of God
• The Two Jehovahs of the Psalms
• The Two Jehovahs of the Pentateuch

Sermon: I AM That I AM

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 10/31/18