Jesus is the light of the world, according to John. He says as much in both his Gospel and his epistles. Living in the light is living in the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The light is living in the knowledge of our eternal destiny. God created us in His own image, and we have meaning, purpose, and an eternal destiny. Living in the darkness is to live in the moment for the here and the now. Like Satan, those living in the dark only take their nourishment from the earth. Their appetites are only fleshly and earth-bound. When God cursed the serpent, he would crawl along with his belly on the ground. His diet would be the dust of the ground. Those that are deceived by Satan draw their nourishment only for their flesh. But in Christ, our appetites are spiritual and eternal. It is only in the light that we can have fellowship with Christ. Living in the dark recesses of our flesh destroys our walk with Christ. John says in 1 John 1:6, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” In John’s gospel, Jesus claimed to be the “light of the world.” In the opening Chapter of that gospel, John informs us that the light of the world came into the world, and the world would not accept it. It could not, however, extinguish it either. John then adds, “But to those who receive Him, to them, God gives the power to become children of God.”
Receiving Jesus is a step into the light. It is also a step into the truth. Jesus also told us that he was the way, the truth, and the life. Many, if not most, commentators consider this passage to be about how allowing sin in our lives is what John means by walking in darkness. Obviously, a person living and preaching license to live any way the flesh might draw us is promoting the feeding of our earthly appetites. That’s walking in darkness, not walking in the light. Those who proclaim to be Christians and support and have “pride” in an immoral lifestyle are surely walking in darkness and are not practicing the truth. To reject the moral standards taught in the Bible and then claim to be a follower of God is inconsistent with the truth. “God accomplishes His will on earth through truth, and Satan accomplishes his purposes on earth through lies.” As the father of lies, Satan wreaks havoc on families. Every time there is destruction among God’s people, it’s because the deceiver has been allowed to have just a little bit of a foothold in someone’s life. Today, the spirit of deception is rampant. But let’s not forget that in the midst of this problem, there is Jesus. In the midst of the deception, there is the Truth. In the midst of all of the seduction of our society, there is the absolute, rock-solid person of the Lord Jesus Christ—the Way, the Truth, and the Life. When we put our trust in Him, we can live above deception and on the level of truth.”[1]
I don’t want to miss the fact that many who profess to be Christians have not truly believed in the Son of God as we find Him in the Bible. “Historically, Christians have believed that Jesus is nothing less than the incarnate Son of God in whom the fullness of the Deity dwells in human form; fully divine and fully human– the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Recent evidence suggests that what Christians have historically affirmed is now up for grabs. A surprising number of Christians, including evangelicals, are not convinced of Jesus’ unique nature.” The current religious diversity practices have diluted Jesus’s person and work. He is the truth! Paul warned the Galatians about believing in or embracing “another gospel.” Even if an angel would tell you, or if someone proclaiming to be Paul would proclaim a gospel different from the one proclaimed at the beginning, you should not accept it. It is the church’s calling to continue to bear witness to Jesus and demonstrate the significance of his person for the whole fabric of the Christian faith. If we fail to stand fast here, everything else will be in vain, and the Christian church will lose its bearings.”[2]
[1] Jeremiah, David. 2002. Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God. Nashville, TN: Integrity Publishers.
[2] Sailer, William, J. Creighton Christman, David C. Greulich, Harold P. Scanlin, Stephen J. Lennox, and Phillip Guistwite. 2012. Religious and Theological Abstracts. Myerstown, PA: Religious and Theological Abstracts.