WALKING IN THE LIGHT AS HE IS IN THE LIGHT
He is the Advocate. But what should we do on our part? Let us now go to 1 John 1:7. "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin." What does it mean to be in the light? Man thinks that to be sinless and to be holy is to be in the light. But that is not the sense here. John does not say that we should walk in the light as God walks in the light. It is not said of God here that He walks. If that had been said, the meaning would be entirely different. It says here that we should walk in the light as He is in the light.
What is the meaning of this difference? For example, in this meeting hall there are many light bulbs, but we call them the light. We are now sitting in the light. On the other hand, while we are meeting, many people often sit on the stairs next door. They are in darkness. They may not have sinned out there. They may not have stolen from others out there. Perhaps they are even better and holier than we. But those who sit in the light can see, while those who sit in darkness cannot see. For God to be in the light means that God can now be seen.
In the Old Testament, God was shrouded in darkness. He was in the Holy of Holies, and man could not see Him. In the Holy Place there was a lamp, and in the outer court there was the sun, but in the Holy of Holies, there was no light at all. God was an unknown God there. Man could only make conjectures about Him. But thank the Lord that today God has been manifested in Jesus of Nazareth. God is now in the light; He is no longer in darkness. Today God is a known God, a revealed God. When you see God today, you know that He is God. The gospel concerning Jesus of Nazareth is the revelation of God. The shining out of the light of the gospel is the shining out of God. When the light of the gospel shines out, we see God. I am not saying that we should not be holy or that we should not reject sin. I am saying that this verse tells us that as God is in the light, we should therefore walk in the light. As God has manifested Himself in the light of the gospel, even so we should see God in the light of the gospel. We no longer look for God in the Old Testament. Today God has manifested Himself. If He had not manifested Himself, we would be hopeless. If He had not manifested Himself, we would still be bewildered, not knowing what kind of God He is. We would still have to make conjectures about Him. Thank God that He has been manifested. Today our God is no longer a "backstage" God. He is now the "onstage" God, the revealed God. The word revelation is apocalypsis in Greek. Apo means away, and calypsis means veil. Hence, apocalypsis means the taking away of a veil. I used to watch theater performances. Onstage there is always a thick curtain. You do not know what is behind the curtain. An apocalypsis is the opening up of the curtain.
(Gospel of God, The (2 volume set), Chapter 25, by Watchman Nee)
