God Shines in Christ the Lamp
Revelation 21:23 tells us, “the city [New Jerusalem] has no need of the sun or of the moon that they should shine in it, for the glory of God illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.”
First John 1:7 speaks in this way, “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.”
God is our light both now and in New Jerusalem.
We need to ask why God, being the light, needs a lamp. Every electrical light needs a holder or a bulb. Without the bulb, our touching of the electricity may electrify and kill us. In like manner, without the Lamb being the lamp, God’s shining over us would “kill” all of us. However, the divine light shines through our Redeemer. This light has become so lovable and touchable, and we even walk in this light (1 John 1:7)….The Lamb as the lamp expresses the light in a very approachable and lovable way.*
Ephesians 5:8 encourages us to “walk as children of light.” This is to walk by God’s life because we are God’s children. If we walk by our natural life we are in darkness. Second and third John have verses about walking in the truth and walking according to His commandments.
The light, the truth, and the commandments are not three separate things. All are aspects of God in Christ who has come to us as the shining one, the reality, and the living word. This walk is the present inward realization of what will be so much stronger in New Jerusalem.
* From chapter 37, Witness Lee, God’s New Testament Economy, published by Living Stream Ministry, © Witness Lee, 1986.
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Posted by Don on May 15, 2023
