WALK IN THE LIGHT

Right near the very end of the New Testament in the Bible, the Apostle John gives us these vital and precious promises from the Lord:

• GOD IS LIGHT AND IN HIM IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL.
• IF WE WALK IN THE LIGHT AS HE IS IN THE LIGHT, WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER, AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST HIS SON CLEANSES US FROM ALL SIN. HALLELUJAH!

The Apostle John said, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and ‘do not practice the truth’. (*Also translated ‘do not the truth’ or ‘the absolute negative’ of the truth). But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1: 5-7). (*See Strong’s Concordance).

To walk in the light means, that we walk in the light of God’s PROMISES and we walk in the light of His TRUTH. we walk in the light of HIS UNDERSTANDING and we walk in the light of His LOVE. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16&17).

THE ACCUSER OF THE BRETHREN HAS BEEN CAST DOWN

During his exile on the Island of Patmos, the Apostle John saw a vision of Satan, the accuser of the brethren (the word ‘brethren’ used here is referring to those who are believers in Christ), being cast down out of heaven, into the earth below. “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time’” (Revelation 12:7-21).

• THE ACCUSER OF THE BRETHREN HAS BEEN CAST DOWN, HALLELUJAH!
• FOR THOSE WHO HAVE RECEIVED CHRIST JESUS AS THEIR LORD AND SAVIOUR AND WHO HAVE BELIEVED IN HIS NAME, THERE IS NO MORE NEED TO FEAR!

WILL YOU ENTER INTO THE TRUTH?

Jesus wants all men to enter into this truth - that Jesus died to sin once, for all mankind. “For the death that He (Christ) died, He died to sin once for all” (Romans 6:10). For this reason, Christ condemned sin in sinful man, so that the righteous requirement of the law would be fully met in us. All this was accomplished through Christ’s shed blood on the cross; His finished work which He undertook willingly, on our behalf. The Apostle Paul said, “He (speaking of Jesus) condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:3 & 4).

Concerning Christ’s resurrection power and the righteous requirements of the law that had already been met on his behalf, the Apostle Paul also said, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).

Again, when speaking about Paul’s thorn in the flesh, which so troubled him, Jesus said, “’My grace is sufficient for you, for My ‘strength’ (translated ‘dunamis’, meaning ‘force’ (literally or figuratively); specially, ‘miraculous power’ (usually by implication, a miracle itself):—‘ability’, ‘abundance’, ‘meaning’, ‘might’(-ily, -y, deed), (worker of) ‘miracle’(-s), ‘power’, ‘strength’, ‘violence’, ‘mighty’ (wonderful) ‘work’) is made perfect in weakness.’ ‘Therefore (this was now the Apostle Paul speaking) most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the ‘power’ (again, translated ‘dunamis’) of Christ may rest upon (‘tent upon’, i.e. (figuratively) ‘abide with’ :—'rest upon’) me’” (2 Corinthians 12:9). (See Strong’s Concordance).

• CHRIST’S POWER WAS SUFFICIENT TO DO THAT WHICH PAUL COULD NOT DO FOR HIMSELF!
• THIS IS THE RESURRECTION POWER AND PROMISE OF CHRIST ON OUR BEHALF!

‘SOME THINGS HARD TO UNDERSTAND’

In what is commonly referred to as Jesus’ sermon on the mount, referring to His resurrection promises, Jesus said to His disciples, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavour, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:3-14).

In the same way that God has called us as believers in Christ to be salt and light to the earth despite what opposition may come, both the Apostle Peter and the writer of Hebrews spoke of the long-suffering nature of Christ being our Salvation.