Exodus (2)
Message Three
The Word of God Being a Realm of Light in the Experience of God's Loving Seekers
Scripture Reading: 1 John 1:5-7; Isa. 50:10-11; Psa. 36:9; 119:130, 105; 19:8b
I. The function of the Word is the function, or operation, of God Himself—1 Thes. 2:13; Phil. 2:13.
II. The divine light is the nature of God's expression; it is the source of the divine truth—1 John 1:5-6:
A. Light is God's shining, God's expression; when God is expressed, the nature of that expression is light—v. 5:
1. To walk in the divine light is to live, move, act, and have our being in the divine light, which is God Himself—v. 7.
2. The shining of the divine light makes old things new—2:7-8.
3. If we are under God's dispensing, we participate in God's nature as light and are constituted with this element of His nature—1:5; 2 Cor. 4:6.
B. The divine light is the source of the divine truth—John 1:5, 9; 18:37:
1. When the divine light shines upon us, it becomes the truth, which is the divine reality—8:12, 32.
2. When the divine light shines, the divine things become real to us.
3. Because light is the source of truth, and truth is the issue of light, when we walk in the light, we practice the truth—1 John 1:6-7.
III. Whenever we have no light, we should trust in the name of Jehovah and not kindle a fire and walk into the light of this fire—Isa. 50:10-11:
A. Light comes from God alone, not from man—v. 10.
B. Spiritual darkness cannot be removed by human fire, which never brings in genuine spiritual light; our own fire cannot be the source of spiritual light—v. 11:
1. A Christian cannot advance in the spiritual pathway by his own fire; he should trust in the name of Jehovah and rely on his God.
2. Spiritual light does not come from our own feelings or thoughts.
3. The more a person searches inwardly for light, the more he will not find light, because light is not there.
C. We should not replace God's light with our own light; rather, we should always receive light from God—1 John 1:5; John 8:12.
IV. In God's light we see light—Psa. 36:9:
A. Through God's light we see light and the true condition of things:
1. The first light in Psalm 36:9 is the enlightening light, and the second light denotes the true nature of things.
2. We see the true nature of anything only when we are in God's light—1 John 1:5-7:
a. We must live in God's light before we can be one who sees.
b. Only those who live in God's light will see light and the true nature of things.
c. If a man is under God's light, he will discern the intrinsic nature of things.
B. When we are in God's light, we see what God sees; this is seeing light in God's light—Psa. 36:9.
V. God is light (1 John 1:5), and this light is consolidated in the Word; therefore, the Word of God is the embodiment of God as the divine light:
A. The Word is the consolidation of the divine light, so whenever we come to the Word, we should sense that we are in an atmosphere of light—Psa. 36:9.
B. If we come to the Word with a proper attitude, we will be in the light and under the light and not merely receive light—1 John 1:7.
VI. In the experience of God's loving seekers, the Word of God is a realm of light—Psa. 36:9:
A. Because the Word is a realm of light, the opening of God's words gives light—119:130.
B. In the Word as a realm of light, God's word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path—v. 105.
C. In the Word as a realm of light, the Word enlightens our eyes—19:8b.
D. In the Word as a realm of light, the prophetic word is a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts—2 Pet. 1:19.
E. In the Word as a realm of light, we are constituted with the truth as the shining of light—John 8:12, 32.
F. In the Word as a realm of light, we walk in the light as God is in the light, and we have fellowship with one another—1 John 1:7, 5.
G. In the Word as a realm of light, we become light in the Lord—Eph. 5:8a; John 8:12; Matt. 5:14a.
H. In the Word as a realm of light, we walk as children of light and have the fruit of the light in goodness, righteousness, and truth—Eph. 5:8b-9:
1. As God is light, so we, the children of God, are children of light—1 John 1:5; John 1:12-13; 12:36.
2. The fruit of the light is related to the Triune God:
a. Goodness denotes God the Father, for the only One who is good is God—Matt. 19:17.
b. Righteousness denotes God the Son, for Christ came to accomplish God's purpose according to God's righteous procedure—Rom. 5:17-18, 21.
c. Truth denotes God the Spirit, for He is the Spirit of reality—John 14:17; 1 John 5:6c.
I. In the Word as a realm of light, we experience the kingdom as the shining of the reality of the Lord Jesus—Mark 9:1; Matt. 16:28—17:2:
1. The shining forth of the Lord Jesus on the mountaintop was the coming of the kingdom—Mark 9:1; Matt. 17:2.
2. The kingdom is the Lord Jesus shining over us, and the kingdom is the spreading of the Lord Jesus by shining over us.
VII. Whether or not the Word is a realm of light to us in our experience depends on our attitude and condition in coming to the Word:
A. We need to humble ourselves, having no confidence in ourselves but looking to the Lord for mercy—Isa. 57:15; 66:2.
B. All the chambers of our being should be open to receive the Lord's shining—Prov. 20:27.
C. We need to deal with our heart and have a proper heart toward the Lord—Luke 8:15:
1. Whenever we come to the Word, we should exercise our heart, seek the Lord with all our heart, and not have a divided heart—Jer. 29:13; 24:7.
2. If we would receive light through the Word, we need to deal with the hindrances and frustrations in our heart—Luke 8:13-15; Matt. 18:35.
D. Our eye must be single so that our whole body will be full of light—6:22-24:
1. If we store up our treasure both in heaven and on earth, our spiritual vision will be blurred—vv. 23-24.
2. If we focus our eyes on one thing, our vision will be single, and our whole body will be full of light—vv. 33, 22; Luke 11:34-36.
E. We should not manufacture light; instead, we should rely on the Lord to enlighten us—Isa. 50:10-11:
1. If we gird ourselves with self-made light, though we may walk into the light of our own fire for a while, in the end we will lie down in torment—v. 11b.
2. Only God is light, only God is the source of light, and only in the light of God can we see light—Psa. 36:9.
F. We need to be on the third story of the ark, under the skylight, the unique window, receiving light from the Lord through the ministry of the age—Gen. 6:16:
1. In God's economy and in God's church there is only one window, one revelation, and one vision.
2. We need to serve God according to the vision of the age, which comes through the ministry of the age.
G. If we are pure in heart in seeking God, we will see God, who is light—Matt. 5:8; 1 John 1:5.