Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 663
Delivered on Sunday Morning, December 3, 1865
“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, cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7.
THERE are two great powers in conflict in this world. One is the power of good, of which God is the King and the other is the power of evil, which is represented by the Prince of the power of the air, Satan. The first principle is set forth by John under the figure of light. God himself is essential Light and everything which is good in the world is an emanation from Himself. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of Lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
The light is the evident emblem of the Truth of God. Darkness is the symbol of error. Light represents holiness. Darkness is the appropriate figure for sin. Light represents knowledge, especially of spiritual things, since light reveals. Darkness is the fit token of the ignorance under which the natural mind labors perpetually. By nature we are all born under the dominion of darkness—we grope our way like blind men and when we knew God by the light of His works, we glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in our imaginations and our foolish heart was darkened.
Naturally, spiritual things are not discernible by man—they are spiritual and spiritually discerned and the carnal mind cannot perceive them—for it walks in darkness. The guilt of sin is a thing too high for the carnal mind to understand. The glory of the eternal sacrifice it cannot perceive. The excellence of God, the faithfulness of His promise and the validity of His Covenant—all such things as these are swathed in mist—the carnal mind sees them not. As soon as ever the Grace of God comes into the heart, it makes as great a difference as did the eternal fiat of Jehovah, when He said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
As soon as God the Holy Spirit begins to work upon the soul of man to illuminate him, he perceives at once his own sinfulness. He abhors that sinfulness, he labors to escape from it, he cries out for a remedy—he finds it in Christ— therefore he no longer loves sin, he is not guided any longer by the darkness of policy and selfishness and error, but he walks after the light of the Truth of God, of righteousness, of holiness, of true knowledge. God has brought him into light—he sees now what he never saw before! He knows, feels, believes, recognizes what he never had known anything of before—he is in the light.
Therefore you constantly find the Christian called a child of light and he is warned that he is of the light and of the day. He is told, “You are not of the night nor of darkness.” “You were sometime darkness, but now are you light in the Lord: walk as children of light.” You perceive in the text, then, that the Christian is spoken of as a man who is in the light. But there is something more said of him than this. He is practically in the light, “if we walk in the light.” It is of no use to pretend to have light in the brain—so as to comprehend all knowledge, so as to be sound and orthodox in one’s doctrinal opinions—this will be of no vital service so far as the great point of salvation is concerned.
A man may think he has much light, but if it is only notional and doctrinal and is not the light which enlightens his nature and develops itself in his practical walk, he lies when he talks of being in the light, for he is in darkness altogether. Nor is it truthful to pretend or profess that we have light within in the form of experience if we do not walk in it, for where the light is true, it is quite certain to show itself abroad.
If there is a candle within the lantern, its light will stream forth into the surrounding darkness and those who have eyes will be able to see it. I have no right to say I have light unless I walk in it. The Apostle is very peremptory with those who so speak. He says, “He that says I know Him and keeps not His Commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him.” The Christian, then, is in the light and he is practically in it—his walk and conversation are regulated by the Truth of
God, by holiness—and by that Divine knowledge which God has been pleased to bestow upon him. He walks in the light of faith, in another path than that which is trod by men who have nothing but the light of sense. He sees Him who is invisible and the sight of the invisible God operates upon his soul.
He looks into eternity, he marks the dread reward of sin and the blessed gift of God to those who trust in Jesus and eternal realities have an effect upon his whole manner and conversation—from now on he is a man in the light, walking in that light. There is a very strong description given here—“If we walk in the light as He is in the light.” Beloved, the thought of that dazzles me! I have tried to look it in the face, but I cannot endure it. If we walk in the light as God is in the light! Can we ever attain to this? Shall poor flesh and blood ever be able to walk as clearly in the light as He is whom we call “Our Father,” of whom it is written, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all”?