Come and See – Chapter 8, Part ii – The Light of the World

Come and See

Chapter 8 of the Gospel of John

Part ii

The Light of the World

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12)

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Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men. (Psalm 66:5)

For I [know] their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. (Isaiah 66:18)

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He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about tenth hour. (John 1:39)

And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. (John 1:46)

And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. (John 11:34)

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Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; (Philippians 1:27)

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And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. (Revelation 6:1)

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. (Revelation 6:3)

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. (Revelation 6:5)

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.(Revelation 6:7)

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The Message in the Solar System

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   Light and darkness — we see this every day; yet, we do not comprehend this great event that has been a witness of God for thousands of years. The good man avails himself of the day and the light, but the thief comes by night; he inhabits the night, and this action is repeated over and over again. In God’s marvelous creation He has compiled all to effect both heaven and earth. In our immediate realm, we have a great predominant light in the sun in its light to the earth as we also have a lesser light in the moon. Both sun and moon affect all that is upon the earth. The earth is the beneficiary of the sun, moon, and the stars.

   The great expanse of creation directly affects and influences all life on earth, even the far distant Pleiades influences our environment. God created a unique environment for mankind. Although we do not see the movements of these great globes of light, in God’s mechanism they ALL affect life here on earth.

   In the morning sky there is one great light, it rises in dominance and blasts its light over the face of the earth. It takes on the image of a great conqueror where all falls before him. Darkness runs from the presence of this great light, and this great light pursues the darkness until ALL is light. The moon is a reflective globe, it reflects the light of the sun in the night so that the children of man will not be in total darkness, and yet, at times, even the moon hides itself, and mankind is locked in total darkness. On a clear night, the masterpiece in the stars can be seen. A simple painting of black appears as a deeper richer black background enriched by small illuminating lights. It’s amazing although we cannot see all the marvelous colors with our naked eyes, yet, through the mighty power of the telescope all the colors and the marvelous work that God has done by His immense design testify of God’s power, and His great majesty.

   As we consider the temporal, think what it is like in the spiritual realm. The unseen masterpiece that only faith can behold is a larger creation then the one that we behold with our eyes. These visible spheres: the earth, the sun, and the moon give us life, and yet, they are dwarfed by the unseen. The unseen (which is the infallible eternity of God) has no boundaries, no measurement, and its time or existence has no meaning for it is eternal. All was created by Him and for Him, both heaven and earth, angels and principalities, and all dominions (both physical and spiritual realms of the earth and of the heavenly) were made and established by Him. He is the Possessor of the galactic throne of all power in heaven and in earth. He is the unbounded Spirits of God. And this is just a touch from the brush of the palette of creation. For since the beginning of the world [men] have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, [what] he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. (Isaiah 6:4)

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The Eyes of Eternity

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   You may never think of your Bible in this manner, but your Bible becomes the eyes of eternity. Your Bible opens the vast expanse of God’s creation. Your Bible takes you into an unseen world of faith, and delivers you out of the Devil’s realm of darkness. Your Bible is the Creator’s revelation of Himself to you, and all His marvelous works. Your Bible can take you into worlds that the man in Adam cannot comprehend: into worlds unseen. And this is not a fantasy, but faith gives you a tangible reality of the power, and majesty of the God in whom you trust. Your Bible is the prism of light in which the Light of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ, is revealed. And we could go on and on of this wonder of God’s revelation to us: this book of eternity, this book of God’s language and breath given to us to carry us through life and through eternity. 

   It is God who gives us the outline of Himself and of His creation so that mankind might know his Creator, and his Redeemer. The revelation of God spans from Genesis to the end of the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. This revelation of God Himself is spread over thousands and thousands of years. If man was the custodian of the Word of God, we would not be able to follow God’s path in time; the dots would not connect. The great truths found would not be revealed, the great Light for the soul would not be found, and mankind would flounder in darkness, sin, and death. In this great revelation of God Himself, He gives us the revelation of the fullness of His own Godhead, and this fullness is in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ who is the very living Word of God. Christ is the center of ALL God’s thoughts, and actions, and power.

   In John Chapter 8, verse 12, the Lord Jesus declared Himself as the Light of the world. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. This statement spans from the beginning to the end, the Alpha and the Omega of light and glory. This is far more than the mind in Adam can consume or hold, for after all we are all but dust. To understand the marvelous works of God one must be able to communicate with God, and only through the new birth by Jesus Christ in the Spirit of Christ can we be brought to an understanding of this true God and the majesty of His power, and the infallibility of His will and purpose. In our new creation in Jesus Christ, we have a sense through faith of His glory, we have a sense that Christ possesses us, and that we possess Him. He has become all light, and perfections to the heart of each and every one of His children. No one else could make this declaration that I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. For the Lord Jesus is the very Center and the very catalyst of all light. He is the Perfect Light that shines forth more and more to that perfect day, the day of His fulfillment which will be the day of Christ when all His redeemed and all His creation will fill the eternal joy of the eternal state in Christ Jesus. When the Lord Jesus made the statement, I am the light of the world, it was much more than temporal light. For as we read in John Chapter 1:4, In him was life; and the life was the light of men. When the Lord Jesus made this statement that HE, in His Person, was the Light of the world, He was standing in the Temple in Jerusalem.

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The Light in the Temple

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   Here in the Temple was the manifestation of God. In the Gospel of John Chapter 2, He had taken possession of the Temple, it was no longer the Temple of Herod, but His Father’s house only because of the reality of the true Temple of God standing in the midst with the glory of God upon His face. Herod’s temple took forty and six years to build (46), but the Temple of the Lord is a continual Temple beginning with His body, and then added to by all those who are redeemed by His precious blood. The Lord conquered the structure of man with the presence of Himself, He possesses what is of mankind to replace it with what is of God. When He described His Body as the Temple of God, He was replacing ALL of man’s structures. Neither Solomon’s Temple, nor the Tabernacle, and truly not Herod’s temple, but HIS Body is the Temple of the Living God in which the Shechinah (Shekinah) glory shines forth as the Light of the world, the light of heaven and the light of eternity. He was sent here to glorify the Father, therefore, He took possession of the temporal temple with the words, my Father’s house. (John 2:16) And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. This is a very personal statement of ownership, a declaration of possession, I am that I am. It is by His personal manifestation, and in this, for an instant in time by faith, we see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ in the Temple. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2nd Corinthians 4:6) In John Chapter 2, verse 18, Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? This verse tells us a lot about the heart of mankind. The Holy Spirit gathers all the people together, and He titles these people, the Jews. They were responding to both the declaration and the action of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was driving the contamination (the darkness) out of the Temple. He was cleansing the Temple for His own use, for in Chapter 2, we see the beginning of His ministry IN the Temple which spreads through the gospel of John. When we see Him in John Chapter 8, in the Temple, He is cleansing again. How? The scribes and the Pharisees, the possessors of darkness, went OUT, one by one convicted of their own sin. When the Jews (in Chapter 2) required a sign, they were only showing their unbelief; nevertheless, the Lord gave them a sign that they could not comprehend. He declared to them that His Body is the true Temple of God; thus, ALL the power of the Godhead abides IN this body prepared before the foundation of the world. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:18)

Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: (Hebrews 10:5)

By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:10)

   It is here in the Temple that the true Temple of God walked among men. He is the manifest image of the invisible God. Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: (Colossians 1:15) And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1st Timothy 3:16)

   He revealed Himself to the Jews as the true Temple and the true manifested Body of the Godhead. In Hebrews 10:5. His body was prepared in heaven. In John 2, He reveals this Body as the true Temple of God. In Colossians, this same Body becomes the Body of the church of the Living God. We are bone of His bone, and flesh of His flesh. Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. (Luke 24:39) Scripture proves that we are both (as Christians) partakers of the Body of Christ, and that we are also of the Temple of God (which is His Body). His glory becomes our glory. We have become His beloved bride, and as the very moment of His resurrection, WE are unseen of man in His glory. Our glory will be made manifest at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for the Church. This glory will only be seen in the heavenly sphere. Later, when the Lord returns to take possession of His earth, when the earth becomes the possession of God and of His Christ, then we, as His Bride, will come engulfed in His glory, and as the world beholds His glory, then we, as the glory of God, will also be revealed to the earth.

   In the Lord’s resurrection, He revealed Himself as the glorified Man. As the glorified Man that has replace Adam, He ascended to the right hand of the majesty on high. He rules now with all power in both heaven and earth. He has been given a throne where He reigns over the malignant nations of the world. His throne also establishes Him as the Head of His own Body, the Church. From heaven He ministers to the Church (through His Spirit) the gifts of this Spirit, and His ministering Spirits surrounds His throne. This is my beloved, and I am waiting to hear His voice, I am waiting for Him. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice. (Song of Songs 2:9) As every child of God is waiting for that call to come up hither, we desire in our souls, hearts, and spirit, to hear His voice.

My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. (Song of Songs 2:10)

For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; (Song of Songs 2:11)

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; (Song of Songs 2:12)

The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. (Song of Songs 2:13)

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. (1st Thessalonians 4:14)

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. (1st Thessalonians 4:15)

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (1st Thessalonians 4:16)

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1st Thessalonians 4:17)

Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1st Thessalonians 4:18)

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The Supernatural Light

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   In John 8:12, we also see that those who believe in the Lord Jesus cannot walk in darkness. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12) They cannot walk in darkness because they have been created by the Supernatural Light, they are no more of Adam in darkness, they are now life and light in Jesus Christ. And being IN Christ, we cannot walk in darkness for we have been separated from Adam. In the manifestation and the glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ there IS NO DARKNESS at all. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1st John 1:5) If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: (1st John 1:6) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1st John 1:7)

   Notice that the apostle tells us that this is the message that they heard from the fullness of the Godhead bodily, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Light that we walk in is NOT determined by us. God has removed us from the darkness and separated us unto Himself; therefore, we are now possessors of His Light, and we will always be separated from the darkness in Adam, sin, death, and the devil. God is Light, and in Him, and in all of His children, there is no darkness at all because they have been cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ God’s only begotten Son.

   Let us return to the beginning of light. This light reveals itself in Genesis Chapter 1, verses 3 and 4. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (Genesis 1:3) And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:4) The light becomes a division, this division is the division between light and darkness. It is God who presents this light, and divides this from the darkness, and yet, this Light was Supernatural, for the sun and the moon came later and also all the stars. The last mention of ‘light’ in the Bible is also a Supernatural Light. For the Lamb that was slain before the foundations of the world is the Light thereof. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:5)

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. (Revelation 21:22)

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. (Revelation 21:23) And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. (Revelation 21:24) And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. (Revelation 21:25)

   We see two Supernatural revelations in these verses: first, the Body of God IS the Temple; secondly, the Body is the Lamb which is the Supernatural Light. He is the true Urim and the Thummim, (Lights and Perfection – Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8; Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8; 1 Samuel 28:6; Ezra 2:63; Nehemiah 7:65).

   This is the glorified Man. He is God’s most marvelous Light. This Light is the very light that lights our world today, and separates His children from the darkness. He is the same Light that will be in the world to come. This is very important . . . we today need to take our place in the Body of Christ. We need to bow reverently in the very Light that God has given us.

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (1st Corinthians 6:19) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. (1st Corinthians 6:20)

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (1st Corinthians 3:16)

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (2nd Corinthians 6:16)

   The combination of these Scriptures should humble us to the very core of our being, soul, and spirit for God has created us as new born in Christ. We have been created to grow UP in the Word of God. This is our food. It is through the Word of God that we get an understanding of the great truths found in these verses. The body that we now have, in our new birth is the temple of the living God, and God resides in this temple through His Holy Spirit. Each one of these Scriptures leaves no doubt that we are the temple of the living God. The word ‘temple’ is mentioned four times in these Scriptures, and each time it is referring to the temple of God in relationship to the believer in Jesus Christ. In 2nd Corinthians 6:16 God leaves no doubt in the mind, the heart, and the spirit. He gives us a revelation by confirming that we are the temple of God, for ye are the temple of the living God. This is directly from the Spirit of God; consequently, we MUST respond to the responsibility of our position as the temple of the living God. Each one of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ (including me) it is time to cleanse the temple, and to throw out the unclean thing, to throw out the fire of Nadab, and Abihu. To throw out the money changers, and the lust of the flesh, and we must throw out the idols of this world that Christ may dwell in us with the hope of glory.

In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (John 1:4) And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1:5)

   In John 1:4, it is the life of the Lord Jesus that brings to us light, the Light of God. All light comes from the Lord. His life has the fullness of revelation in the Light of God, and His Light is Supernatural as we have seen in Genesis and in Revelation. His Light is the illuminating factor in the Temple of God. When we compare this with who we are, as the children of God, and as the temple of God, it is a mystery within us. For only by revelation from God, and the eternal sense within us, do we know of such a temple. As the Word of God confirms that we are the temple of God, so too, the Holy Spirit reveals and confirms to our sense this wonderful truth.

   In John Chapter 8 the Lord Jesus Christ has already divided the darkness in His battle with the unjust men, the scribes and the Pharisees. They went OUT from the Light carrying their own darkness with them, bearing their sins. After this, the Lord proclaimed that He is the Light of the world. When darkness is gone, what is left, but the Light of the world. He gives a verse of infusion for they that walk with the Lord will walk in His light, and this light is the Light of the world. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12) This is a wonderful thing for us, for there are no if’s nor buts, only they who walk with Him, in His light will NOT walk in darkness.

   This is the Light within the temple of God. The temple of God IS the Body of Christ, and He is calling out a people to be part of His temple, and they are called, the people of God, and they shall be my people. (And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 2nd Corinthians 6:16)

Within The Temple of His Body we are part of His eternal life, we are part of His glorious light, and we are partakers of His redemptive power for us.

 Within The Temple of His Body we are part of His eternal life, we are part of His glorious light, and we are partakers of His redemptive power for us. He has redeemed us unto Himself, thus, He cannot part with us, for we are part of His body.

 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. John 8:12 also introduces us to His house: His house of Light. He shares this Light with His Father’s house. (John 14) This is compared with His house in Hebrews Chapter 3.

Side Note: The House in Hebrews Chapter 3. The word ‘house’ is mentioned in five verses for a total of seven times. (Five is grace, and seven is perfection.) The last mention found in Hebrews 3:6 is the connection of our connection to His house.

Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses [was faithful] in all his house. (Hebrews 3:2)

For this [man] was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. (Hebrews 3:3)

For every house is builded by some [man]; but he that built all things [is] God. (Hebrews 3:4)

And Moses verily [was] faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; (Hebrews 3:5)

But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. (Hebrews 3:6)

   The Light within this house is the Light of both the Son, and of the Father. We compare His Light with the Father’s Light in James 1:17, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. The Spirit of God unfolds a wonderful truth for us here in this verse. For it is every good gift and every perfect gift that comes from the Father speaking specifically of the one GREAT gift that we have in Jesus Christ confirmed in John 4:10, Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. It is within mankind to know this good and perfect gift in God’s dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. However, the moving and bestowing of this gift MUST come from God Himself. He is the One who initiates the moving of the Spirit over the waters of the deep, and over the darkness of the depraved heart of man. God must infuse light so that man may understand (through faith) that the living God is the ONLY REDEEMER of man, and this God is the perfect and good gift of God in Jesus Christ. There is only one Being who has been born upon this earth who encompasses ALL perfection, and this is the Lord Jesus Christ who was sent to earth by God the Father to be the Light of the world, and the perfect and good gift of God. I believe in a Supernatural God. I believe that He is my Savior, and He has imparted His Light and His life into my being.

   Christ has become all my hope and my anticipation of glory in Him, and I wait, patiently, in this hope, so much is unseen, and yet, within His Light the unseen is revealed. In my life (my body) I have a mind that I cannot see; I have a conscience that I cannot see; I cannot see my heart; I cannot see my soul and spirit; I cannot see all of these wonderful facets of my being; yet, I am aware of their presence. I have a Savior I cannot see; I have forgiveness of sin that I cannot see; I have eternal life and a home in heaven that I cannot see; I have an innumerable host of angels to look over me that I cannot see; I have a Father in heaven that I cannot see; I have the presence of the Holy Spirit that I cannot see; yet, I know their presence, and their works within me.

   In a dark room that is filled with blackness, vision is useless. Darkness fills and consumes the entire room, and when light is ushered in then all that is within the room can be seen, the chairs, the tables and the light. So too in the darkness of Adam, all that Adam has, has been changed to darkness. He has the darkness of enmity against God. Adam’s mind lives in darkness. His sin has bound him to this darkness. In John 1:4 the Lord Jesus brings life and light to Adam, In him was life; and the life was the light of men. This is the only way Adam can be changed, however, Adam has to take on a new man, and this new man is Jesus Christ. The old man in Adam must die to have life in the new Man Jesus Christ. In John 1:5, we see the path of darkness and the path of death. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. This darkness of the soul and spirit cannot comprehend the Light that God offers. Adam turns his back on divine light to embellish and remain in the darkness that he loves.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19) For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. (John 3:20)

   Adam has no way to return to God, and to the tree of life.

Within Adam there is no light, he is in spiritual chaos, in fact, Adam is cursed by sin.

He has been made subject to the darkness of this world by his own sin, and sin cannot comprehend the Light of God. So what did God do? He so loved the world that He sent a man to bear witness of this wonderful Light, although the witness what not the true Light, but a man sent by God whose name was John.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. (John 1:6)

The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. (John 1:7)

He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. (John 1:8)

   John was here to prepare the way of the Lord of glory. The Lord of glory was the True Light which gives light to everyone that comes into the world, yet, man lives in darkness and not the truth. This tremendous battle field between light and darkness has been going on for thousands of years. Within Adam there is no light, he is in spiritual chaos, in fact, Adam is cursed by sin. Adam’s being is in darkness and the light tries to illuminate Adam through a witness in John the Baptist. John the Baptist was witnessing of the True Light which gives light to every person that comes into the world. Although all of mankind do no acquire (or receive) the eternal Light of Jesus Christ; nevertheless, through the ministry of grace, God witnesses to everyone that light and grace is in Jesus Christ. Christ has been revealed as God’s dear Son, as the final witness to Adam of God’s saving grace. For grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

For the law was given by Moses, [but] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (John 1:17)

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The Supernatural Prepared Body

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   After the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus Christ into glory, He sent down (as a gift) His Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God to reveal to us all these divine truths that are contained in the treasury of the Word of God. Both the Living and the written Word of God have a testimony to the hearts of men. The Word of God testifies that the very entrance of His divine Word gives light. The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. (Psalm 119:130) In John 8:12, we have the word and the authority of the Son of God that it is He who is designated the Light of the world. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. He has been so designated as the Light of the world by the Godhead. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9) This is divine fullness.

   We must return again to John Chapter 2, where we see the six (six, the number of man) waterpots of stones which were for the purification of the Jews. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. (John 2:6) Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. (John 2:7) They were empty, showing the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel. However, when the Lord ordered them to be filled with water, they were filled to the brim. Therefore, the manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ in the body that was prepared for Him was full to the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. (Hebrews 10:4) Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: (Hebrews 10:5)

   If you cannot believe this then ye are of little faith, and you should consider Hebrews 10 once more. Nothing on earth could remove the sin of Adam. Nothing could take away the power of death. Nothing on earth, nor being could destroy the works of the devil, therefore, God prepared a body. This body was/is the Lord Jesus Christ. This body was PREPARED to conquer and to eradicate sin, and death, and the works of the devil. In this body was the perfect and good gift of God. This body did not contain any seed or element of sin, and this body was not of Adam. This body was deliberately sent from heaven above by God the Father to be the Redeemer of mankind.

   We have the privilege of being part of that body by our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. After verse 12 in the Gospel of John, remember that the Lord Jesus was still in the Temple (surrounded by many of the Jews standing around Him) when He proclaimed that He was/is the Light of the world; consequently for the remainder of this Chapter, He is in constant conflict with darkness, with the Pharisees, with the flesh, with the Jews, with the children of sin, and with the children of the devil. But this divine Light conquers all in verse 32, of Chapter 8 of the Gospel of John, And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

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Made Free by the Light

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   In this verse (And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free) we often mistakenly state that the Lord Jesus said, ‘set us free,’ but the Holy Spirit used the word ‘make.’ This word denotes a work of the Holy Spirit to change us, to make us something that we were not. For our freedom cannot come in Adam. We have to be separated from Adam in the new birth by the Holy Spirit of God, and then, we are made free. All the power of darkness and evil, and sin cannot chain us again because we are not of those who can be bound by the chains of sin and death. We are MADE free in Jesus Christ. And this is the light of the truth. This is why the inner being in Jesus Christ can behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2nd Corinthians 4:6)

   Now we see how much we are illuminated by the Person and power of Christ Jesus. He, being the Light of the world, has infused His light and His truth within our beings. Our hearts have been made anew by the Spirit of Christ who is the Holy Spirit of God, and we have this treasure in an earthen vessel FULL to the brim. We have the excellency of the power of God within; thus, the power of God may come forth through us who believe. Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is a weapon of divine light against the darkness of this world. When our Lord walked on the earth He proclaimed Himself the Light of the world, this has not changed although the MAN in heaven is at the right hand of God, and has been exalted higher than the heavens. (Hebrews 7:26) He reigns on His throne as both Priest and King, and in this position, He reigns with the power of an endless life. (Hebrews 7:16) He is waiting for ALL His enemies to be made His footstool. (Hebrews 1:13)

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Kept Free by the Light

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   In John 8:31 we read, Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; When the Lord Jesus sheds His Light upon us, we are then brought into His divine realm as new born babes in Christ. We have been separated from the darkness and the divine desire that God puts in our hearts is to know His Word, and to continue IN His Word. This is the proof of our new birth, and also the proof of our discipleship, and commitment to spreading the glorious gospel throughout this world. This verse (31) is broken into three groups of individuals: the Jews, and the Jews who believed, and the true disciples born of the Spirit of God. Let us combine these three groups into a proper perspective by the Spirit of God. First, the Jew (as a collective whole) did not believe the divine seed in the Word of God; consequently, they had no reaction within their hearts to His words of truth and light. Divine thought was foreign to them for they did not comprehend the Light and preferred the darkness rather then the Light of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19) Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12) These unbelieving Jews listened to the Lord Jesus without any spiritual penetration into their hearts of His Word.

   Secondly, we have the Jews who heard the Word and believed. This takes us to the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 13.

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. (Matthew 13:19)

But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; (Matthew 13:20)

Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. (Matthew 13:21) He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. (Matthew 13:22)

   As we see in the gospel of Matthew, with the eyes of the Spirit of God, that only few seeds fell into good ground. It is the entrance of the Word that gives light, and in John 8:31, it is only these few who continue in this Word who are true disciples indeed.

   Where does this leave us today? We have the ‘J e S U S . . . J e S U S’ people. These are the ones who smilingly wave the Bible shouting, J e S U S . . . J e S U S, followed by meaningless clichés and empty words. These are the religious people in all forms of professing Christianity who have deliberately divided the Body of Christ. This is all they know, and a great number of these professors have NEVER heard the truth as it is written. They cannot continue in God’s Word for they have never been partakers of His Word in their hearts. The Word of God is not in them, and if they happen to stumble on a real Bible they use it as a door stopper, or as a table ornament rather than to open the Word of God and to believe it. Since the Lord inspired Moses to pen the first five books of our Bible, Moses penned the very words that God said, and the world and the religious person cannot handle this. They cannot believe that God spoke to Moses face to face. They cannot believe that the words spoken to Moses then is for our learning now.

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4)

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; (2nd Timothy 3:16) That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (2nd Timothy 3:17)

   These messages that you read on our web sites are not there to woo you to man’s religion. I am here to give you the truth, that the truth should MAKE you free. You see, my God (Jesus Christ) has all power in heaven and in earth so I have no problem with you rejecting the gospel, for now your blood has not stained my hands. However, with a passion in my heart, I desire that you would be saved, and that you would lay hold of this amazing life in Jesus Christ our Lord. The enemies of God are many. They do not believe the truth, and therefore, they are not free. They are shackled by the chains of sin and death, and they work within the realm of the devil at his bidding.

   I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. (John 8:24) The Lord Jesus proclaimed that ye shall die in your sins. This is so important in the divine record that the Lord Jesus uses the same words twice in one verse. In the book of Matthew Chapter 13, from the four groups of individuals, only one group had good ground. When we consider sowing on good ground, we would not sow on unprepared ground. We would sow on ground that had been prepared for the seed. This is the ground of Romans 9:23. And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (Matthew 25:34)

   The key word in both of these verses is the word ‘prepared.’ This shows the foreknowledge and the forethought of God preparing the ground before He sows the seed. This is the seed of the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20) This designation of the faith of the Son of God shows the divine origin of ALL faith. Faith is not in mankind. Adam gave that up when he brought sin into the world. Only God can distribute or sow the seed of faith, and this faith must be in the Lord Jesus Christ. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

   Faith in Christ separated light and darkness. It separates sin and death, and the works of the devil, it places the believing soul on good ground prepared by the Almighty God; thus, the believer is germinated by the seed of faith. Now, as in verse 12 of John, Chapter 8, light cannot abide in darkness. Just as darkness cannot abide in light. This is one of the divine principles that begins in Genesis.

   The first division God gives us is between light and darkness, and this division is seen throughout the entire Bible. In the nature of light, and in the nature of darkness, God will not let light play with darkness, nor darkness play with light. Is this cruel on God’s part? No, it is not. For if light played with darkness and darkness played with light, we would have neither light nor darkness, for both would be destroyed and we would have neither light nor darkness.

   In this first principle, we see another principle of the believer not mingling with the world to preserve the light, and to keep the Temple of God. Man’s religion thinks that it is possible to mingle light with darkness; therefore, man’s religion loses all divine Light. True Christianity belongs to the Light which is in Jesus Christ. He that walks in the light of Jesus Christ cannot walk in darkness as light cannot exist in darkness. Light and life can only come with Jesus Christ. And this Light and life will never go out, nor cease.

  In the ministry of the Holy Spirit, He is divinely given to us to enlighten us in the things of Jesus Christ. He has been sent by the Lord Jesus to magnify the Son of God. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: (John 15:26) And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. (John 15:27)

   In the divine Godhead we have God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As we consider the fullness of the Godhead, we find that ALL are completely united in will and in purpose. All their actions are determined by the determinate counsels of the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: (Acts 2:23) The mystery of the Godhead is entirely above our comprehension level. These words (if I can use the words) ‘three members’ are not adequate enough to describe this inseparable Godhead. They are completely united in will and in purpose, and all are contained in the Godhead continually. The Godhead bodily can never be separated. The Godhead bodily cannot be dissected. This is the mystery of divine wonder.

   When the Lord Jesus was speaking to His disciples in John Chapter 14, He declared to Phillip that by seeing Him He had also seen the Father. In John Chapter 6, the Lord Jesus is seen walking upon the waters, and His disciples saw Him as a spirit (and so He was). And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. (Matthew 14:26) The Holy Spirit of God also referred to the Spirit of Christ in Romans 8:9, But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. There is a necessity of every believer to have the Spirit of Christ. We cannot walk in the Spirit unless we have the Spirit of Christ, and in this verse, it is a permanent action and neither a temporary nor a vacillating action. Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit because the Spirit of God dwelleth in you and this is the Spirit of Christ which cannot be removed by man, by the devil, or any other. The residence of the Spirit of Christ has determined forever our eternal life in Jesus Christ.

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Infused WITH and Connected TO the Light

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    Mankind’s greatest fear is death. He cannot run away from death. Therefore, it is hard for mankind to accept His death in Jesus Christ; however, Galatians 2:20, identifies our life, and our death in the Son of God. I am crucified (identifies with my death on the cross of Calvary in the death of the Lord). Then the word ‘nevertheless, I live,’ relates to a new glorious life in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we have this life because the Light and the Spirit of Christ dwells in us. The Word of God in Romans 8:9, divides the light from the darkness in these words: Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

   This is revealed to us in John Chapter 6, with the very words that Jesus spoke, that the words that He spoke were of the Spirit of Christ, and these words gave life. It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life. (John 6:63) This Spirit of Christ is the very same Spirit that illuminates us in our new birth. This is the same Spirit that hovered over the deep in Genesis 1:2, And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Since the Lord’s Word was given to the Old Testament prophets by His Spirit, then the Spirit of Christ dwelt in them. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (2nd Peter 1:21)

Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: (1st Peter 1:10)

Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. (1st Peter 1:11)

Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. (1st Peter 1:12)

   It is not difficult for us to see the Spirit of Christ moving over the waters of the deep in Genesis 1:2. Don’t tell me . . . ‘but . . . but,’ for ALL things were made by Him, and for Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3) Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (Hebrews 11:3) In Hebrews Chapter 11, He spoke with the Word of His power, and created all the things of John Chapter 1. In John Chapter 1, He is from the beginning and He is the Word of God. In John Chapter 6, the words that He spoke, the very words, were Spirit and life so that we can see the inseparable union of the Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Ghost. In the closing book of the Bible the Lord Jesus is called the Word of God. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. (Revelation 19:13)

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (1st John 1:1)

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1st John 1:7)

But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. (1st John 2:5)

   In John Chapter 8, verse 12, we have the declaration of the Lord Jesus Christ that He IS the Light of the world. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. This declaration allows us to see our position in the life and light of the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1st John 1:1, ( That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;) the Spirit of God relates to us a divine connection of the manifestation of the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ as the VERY Word of life. In verse 7, our connection with the Word of life, is that we walk in that light, and that light is the very life of the Lord Jesus Christ. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1st John 1:7)

   In 1st John 2, verse 5, we are perfected by the Word of God, and the love of God is perfected in us by God Himself. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. Hereby we know that we are in Him. The connection of all these verses is the One who is the Light of the world is the Lord Jesus Christ, and we belong to His Light; therefore, we cannot walk in darkness. As in Genesis 1:3, we have been separated from the darkness unto the Light which is IN Jesus Christ, and the life that we now live, we live in the Light of Christ. We are inseparable from the Son of God because we are inseparable from His Light.

   Through John 8:12 I hope that I have expanded your thoughts on the One and only One who IS the Light and the unity with His Light in the new birth. Faith has become an inseparable substance, a tangible reality of things hoped for, and faith has become the profound evidence of things not seen. Faith is an eternal substance. This faith is in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. He proclaimed of Himself that He was/is both Light and Life of the world, as He is both Light and Life of heaven, and that He is the Life and Light of eternity. Come to His Life and Light where there is no darkness at all.

Amen.

I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.  (Psalm 138:2)


© Copyright 2020, Michael Haigh

This article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.

All Scripture references are from the Authorized King James Bible. (KJV)\



 

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