“Jesus (Yahshua) IS the [only] LIGHT of the World “…John 8:12;15-18

John continues to give eyewitness testimony of what Jesus declares; “I am the light of the WORLD; he that FOLLOWETH me shall not walk in darkness…..” Here it appears there is a tacit reference to Moses and the Israelites’ wilderness experience in the cloud by day and the light by night that led them.

Here He proclaims to them that He is the greater light, and includes not only them, as Israelites, but the Gentiles of the World. The illuminated cloud that led them… was darkness set between them and the Egyptians, the darkness of death, as they would die in their sins. Now as the sun shines for the entire world, so Jesus shines light upon all who WILL FOLLOW HIM. Israel here rejects the Light, and remains in darkness.

And what is this Darkness? It is in REASON, DESIRES, and therefore CONSCIENCE.

No one sees the TRUTH that walks in Darkness. Here the Jews grope in darkness, ignorant of their own prophets, and the design of the Scriptures. As so are the Gentile philosophers whose reasonings and heart were the same.

The Light shines past the darkness of earthly reason and desires and strikes the conscience in blinding brilliance, and when yielded to, brings Life. No man has light of himself. He must see and follow Jesus. Only Jesus the Light reveals God the Father in Truth. Without His Word there is no leading into the spirit of wisdom and knowledge of God and what pleases Him.

From baptism, the signaling of a new walk onward throughout our journey to the promised Kingdom, we must continue in following the Light, receiving the words of the Epistles against antinomianism. That is the unbelief that “knowledge” of God can be separated from practical living. This, to a Christian, is equivalent to the unbelieving of the Israelite who, failing to follow the Light, died in the wilderness.

These then are those modern day great darknesses….religious doctrine in the way of practical living. John says [1 John 1:6,7] it is impossible to follow the LIGHT while also following a religious lie. Light communicates Life as darkness does death. In this we speak of a closeness reward or “separation”, the great loss of 1 Corinthians 3:13-15.

The Pharisees here argue against that Light, using an inferior light, [OC Scripture] from their darkened religious understanding, with biased heart, deceived and deceiving, wishing to keep what they thought was their light, Moses. John 8:15 “Ye judge according to the flesh….” (reason and motive without S[s]pirit).

How sound our mind seems when we follow our religious reasonings, quoting true Scriptural facts without the LIGHT of Jesus. Jesus responds in the greater Wisdom…. this is not the testimony of 2 MEN under the law of Moses to establish validity, but of 2 of THE GODHEAD to establish Truth. HOW OFTEN WE DOGMATICALLY QUOTE SOME OC TRUE FACT WITHOUT JESUS’ LIGHT!

Jesus’ judgment is with fullness of the knowledge of God, and this is the NC LIGHT. And how shall we be able to walk in it, unto its greater destination… that of the worthiness of the Bride of Christ if we choose the dimmer light of the OC, or its mixture? That is to say, if we even have the knowledge of NC Light of the glorious destination of the Kingdom in view, for when we reject the Witnesses of Christ, who are the stewards of the mysteries of God, we reject Jesus. [Matthew 13:11 with 1Corinthians 4:1].

“I judge none……” We are in the age of Mercy and Grace. When that is finished, He shall Judge all who have rejected His Testimony of God, and God’s testimony of Him. First His own, the unfaithful Christian and the blinded Jew, and then the World.

“…in your law…” He says [John 8, verse 17] The Law of Moses is not the Law of Christians. The Law and Moses as well as the Jews are refused in the Greater Light of the NC, their house is left desolate, Moses himself having pronounced the curse coming.

The Jews trust in OC Scripture, however, they reject Him of whom it was designed throughout to bare witness.  Law demands of man obedience as the way to life.  And herein were they deceived, that they thought they could stand before God in His Justice by their vain works. [John 5:39,40] The Law’s purpose of pointing to the exceedingly sinfulness of sin and therefore this need of manifest Savior, was ignored or overlooked. [Romans 7:13] And here many halted, and vainly supposed that they could stand before the God of justice, and be saved by works.  Its witnessing to man’s sinfulness, and to the necessity of a deliverer was overlooked.

They trusted in the letter of the Law which only kills and refused Christ, the spirit, and deeper filling with meaning of the Law, which gives life. [John 1:17] They rested in their own reason and performances, and so refused the Lord as their justifying Righteousness even after the OC Law assigned all under its condemnation. [Deuteronomy 27:26]

John reveals The written Word of God is of the same spirit and principle as the Son of God, the personal Word made flesh. Some Revelation of the OC written word rightly prepares one for the acceptance of Him as the NC Personal Word, as it relates to justification from Sin. But their ongoing refusal of Christ, on the other hand, is seen in those who, after having begun in the S[s]pirit, contend to hold onto the Law in sanctification, and is proof that they really do not accept the Personal Word made flesh, in NC Light and leading to Life more abundant. They contend there is Life in the Law of Moses, where none can be found. (Again, we speak of Kingdom Inheritance not of redemption, as in type Israel, by the blood of the lamb received the free gift of deliverance, but refused the grace of obedience and failed to inherit the Promised Land.)

How can any receive the fullness of Salvation? (The Gift and the Reward.) Only by being brought from under the Law, to stand in NC grace (continuing in Divine influence upon the heart).  Only Jesus, by His obedience and His sacrifice unto death, could meet all the Law’s demands, and thereby set us free from the curse of the law; [Galatians 3:13] and give us the acceptance and the heritage of sons of God [Hebrews 1].

We cannot, brethren, be saved, sanctified, nor please GOD by keeping one of Moses’ laws [Romans 8:8]. Moses can only accuse us before the throne. [Galatians 3:22; 2:16]

Under the OC, the chief Law was: “to Love the Lord God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself…..” You who would keep the law of Moses, have never for even one hour kept this Law, and therefore stand condemned by it, regardless of all your Sabbaths, Feasts, Kosher, tithe keeping, etc… [Colossians 2:16-20]

NOW, this same Law to love, with curse to those who fail, which all followers of Moses stand under, transcends the OC into the NC, but unlike the failure with rejection in OC, [Hebrews 8:8] the fullness of that Law is met in NC. “For the law of the S[s]pirit of Life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the [Mosaic] law (with the curse) of sin and death… That the righteousness of the (transcendent) law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the FLESH, but after the S[s]PIRIT. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the S[s]pirit the things of the S[s]pirit. For to be carnally minded is death (Now perceive that the observances of Mosaic law for Christians are here called carnal, and void then of LIFE;) but to be spiritually minded (now perceive the pursuit of GOD the Father in Jesus Christ and His Commands) is LIFE AND PEACE. Because the carnal mind (refusing the propitiation of Jesus found in the Law of the S[s]pirit, by pursuing God in the OC) is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the (transcendent) law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the Flesh (religious darkness) cannot please God.”…. [Romans 8:1-10]

Has not God directed us to keep the law of Moses? Or at least IS not the Most High pleased with a Christian’s attempt in doing OC law?

“No! As then we have not rightly discerned the Word of attaining Life. And have failed to see the fulfilling purpose, and the great transition in the Light of Jesus Christ, in order that we might, through Him only, finally fulfill the Law of Love unto sonship of the Father.

CONSEQUENCES OF KEEPING THE LAWS OF MOSES

If it is wrought by unbelievers, it is a dead work, hateful to the living God.  It is a vain busying of themselves, who overlook or refuse the Son of God.  If wrought by believers, it is vain worship displeasing to God, a turning back to the shadows of Law, from which the Gospel was designed to set men free [Galatians 4].”

WELL, WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Back to the basics….One plus One….back to Jesus the Christ to establish Him by the Spirit of Wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of God’s witness, not as we had DARKLY understood Him in past, with un- yielded will, that our present STAGNANT CONDITION now bears witness against us, but back to see where we have not SEEN Him in the fullness of His being, as God, as Savior, as our coming King and Judge, as the ever-present, as Bridegroom, as Awesome, now allowing His Words to wash over us and receive of His revelation and Nature. Back to the Basics…. Yielding our WILL to His Commands. All starts with Jesus and proceeds afterwards according to our yielded will…. to know and do His Will. [John 7:17]

Only in Yielded will, we may move forward with expectation of furtherance in grace, that is to say the Holy Spirit’s influence upon our carnal soul for spiritual growth, as we now look entirely to Him, Jesus, God of very God, and a new and certain enabling power and wisdom to avoid the snares of darkness in the World.

To follow the Lord in our will is to drink Him in our spirit in the power of the Holy Spirit [John 7:37-39]. To consume that Bread that cometh down, that satisfies and sustains to Life and that Life more abundantly. OUR spirit must take ascendancy by renewing our minds and over the misguided fleshly will and desires. We need to feed on Christ daily, submit to Him, to maintain the strength necessary from our spirit/inner man to rule over the flesh and to be guided into all Truth.

Jesus answers to us as a living soul, in our present daily need, in type that we should see in our 2 great natural cravings of body, that of hunger and thirst. First as we were in that malnutrition unregenerate state, He satisfied us. But now to partake of Jesus, ”For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup….” is to not just to memorialize His past sacrifice of body and blood in bread and wine, but by drawing from the Throne, humbly, Grace and Mercy, that is to eat and drink of Him in His present Work, and to appropriate the necessity of the soul’s well-being, that food and drink for Life’s strength in spirit over our flesh today.

Unbelief is not just a sin reserved for the unregenerate, but is the chief sin among the regenerate. [Mark 16:14, Hebrews 3:12,10:29; Galatians 5:4] This resurrection, being raised up at the last day, He promises, then is the result of eating the true manna, that is of believing and then following Jesus as the Son of God, THE Light of the World.

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