The Light of Christ

God opens our eyes of understanding, when we see the truth. It comes quickly to dispel darkness, through the light of Christ. The change is sudden and abrupt. Darkness is defeated immediately in the presence of light. That's the way God's Son changes people who have lived in spiritual darkness. Christ is the light of truth, taking away the darkness of unbelief. 

The Holy Spirit opens our eyes of understanding to see the truth of Christ. We see the light by new birth, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not our achievement. Rather, light comes to us from without, changing us from within. There was darkness, then there is light. That's God's work in us, "the eyes of our understanding being enlightened" (Ephesians 1:18).

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life" (John 8:12). The light of Christ comes to us by the grace of God through the Holy Spirit. We see Christ dying for our sins. We see Christ as our living Lord (Romans 10:9).

"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). Our eyes of understanding are open to see the light of Christ as the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). We see ourselves cleansed from all sin to walk in the light of Christ.

Do Not Be Deceived

Do not be deceived. We reap what we sow. There is a law of nature that involves sowing and reaping. A farmer sows the seed and expects to reap a harvest. That is also a spiritual principle. We reap what we sow. That's the reason Scripture says, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Galatians 6:7). 

A person without Christ continues to sow to the flesh, which is the corrupt nature of those who reject the grace of God in Christ. They are deceived by the works of the flesh in their unbelief. While a believer sins from time to time, he cannot continue in sin without the discipline of the Lord (Hebrews 12:5-11). Believers repent and confess their sins to find fresh cleansing in the blood of Christ (1 John 1:7-9).

Do not be deceived. "For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself" (Galatians 6:3). If we think that we are above temptation, we deceive ourselves. Every believer faces temptation from time to time without exception. Yet, we can depend upon God to help us when tempted (1 Corinthians 10:13). 

Do not be deceived by false doctrine. Salvation is not by grace plus our works. To the contrary, salvation is by the grace of God, through the finished work of Christ. It's through Christ crucified for our sins and risen for our justification. It's Christ working in us. We are his workmanship as a new creation in Christ. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation (Galatians 6:15).