walk in the light

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
Sep 4, 2012
14,424
692
113
Our "two minds" is called an unrenewed mind. Renewed mind is to who they are in Christ.

To the Church of Ephesus Paul writes the following in regards to their conduct...

First he addresses the unbelievers:

19They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

Then he addresses the believers in light of the Gentiles behavior:

20But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,

He stresses that if you really a believer, you were taught the truth in Jesus. What is that?

22to put off your old self,[SUP]f[/SUP] which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,

Notice Paul is stressing their old self is the former manner of life and is now corrupt through old desires. We "put it off". How do we put it off?

23
and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,

Being renewed in our minds. What he calls the "spirit" or "attitude". How we see ourselves...

24and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

After putting off the old. We put on the new man. And this new man is created like God in righteousness and holiness. And anything that says differently to this is a "falsehood":

25Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

Falsehood here is "lies". We put these things away. And we speak truth with his neighbor. This truth is exactly what he has just explained you are not the old neighbor, you are the new! You're a person of love and because you're a person of love, you do loving works. Or do you not believe God is love? Etc, etc.

That is the essence of prophesy. And why Paul said he desired we would all prophesy.

C.
I'm sure this is all true, but the fact remains that we have a carnal mind and a spiritual mind. We daily have to deny the workings of the carnal mind and seek the mind of the spirit.
 
F

FreeNChrist

Guest
I'm sure this is all true, but the fact remains that we have a carnal mind and a spiritual mind. We daily have to deny the workings of the carnal mind and seek the mind of the spirit.
So your double-minded. Makes sense.
 
Dec 9, 2011
14,114
1,799
113
It can't mean what you say because believers can hate their brother, which John said is not walking in the light. The new man still abides in the light even when a believer follows his old man and walks in darkness.
GOD has forgiven the reborn but here on earth your brother or sister might get offended by something you might have done to them and that might happen more than once so then you would reconcile the relationship with them but with GOD,once was enough.
 
Nov 22, 2015
20,436
1,431
0
You may say with your carnal mind/flesh that you hate your brother but deep down in your spirit..in your new man you don't....if you truly do hate....then it is obvious....you do not have eternal life in you....it's black and white....I know you don't like it....but that's how the cookie crumbles..as they say..

any Christian can walk according to the flesh..this does not make them "darkness"..they are still "light in the Lord"


The ledge you are walking on keeps getting narrower and narrower. That's just completely unscriptural.

All who have been baptized into Christ are in Christ. They are members of the new covenant and the body of Christ. They have been circumcised in the heart and have been given a new spirit that dwells in the light. Those are just facts.

An act of hatred towards a brother doesn't change any of those facts, but it is walking in darkness.

You say that one can repent and come to Christ, and that will fix all that hate. But what happens when that brother hates again? Don't you see how you're painting yourself into a corner?
 
Last edited:
Sep 4, 2012
14,424
692
113
You may say with your carnal mind/flesh that you hate your brother but deep down in your spirit..in your new man you don't....if you truly do hate....then it is obvious....you do not have eternal life in you....it's black and white....I know you don't like it....but that's how the cookie crumbles..as they say..

any Christian can walk according to the flesh..this does not make them "darkness"..they are still "light in the Lord"
It's not a question of what one nature says and the other one doesn't; it's what a person does. James and John said that not caring for a needy brother is hateful and walking in darkness. That doesn't mean such a person is not really a Christian or ceases to be a Christian; it just means that person is not acting like a Christian, and such behavior needs to be corrected in order to walk in the light.
 
Nov 22, 2015
20,436
1,431
0
You are confusing the term "..walk in the light " which is the status of a believer in Christ...with behavior....a believer is never "out of the light" because we are Light in the Lord!

There is only one scripture that talks about walk in the light..and that is 1 john 1:7..which we know is talking about

"If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth." (verse 6).

In other words, if someone says he has fellowship with Christ, but is walking in darkness (lost), he is lying and not practicing the truth. The Gnostics ( not true believers ) claimed to be in fellowship with Christ (saved), and yet were actually living a lie and therefore weren't practicing the truth.

"If we ( believers )
walk in the light, as He is in the light, we ( believers ) have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us ( believers ) from all sin" (verse 7).

In other words, if we walk in the light (are saved) we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin. To put it another way, once we are saved, we are permanently in the fellowship because the blood of Jesus continually cleanses us from all sin. Therefore, we aren't forgiven because we confess our sins.We are forgiven because of what Christ did for us on the cross.
 
Last edited:
Nov 22, 2015
20,436
1,431
0
Ephesians 5:8-9 (NASB)
[SUP]8 [/SUP] for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light
[SUP]9 [/SUP] (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),

The fruit of the Light would be that you love your brother in your inner man...not if you have something against him in your carnal mind....someone can say " I hate you"..but they really don't if they are born-again..( that is they don't hate in their new man of the heart )....so..we are to walk - conduct out lives as children of the light which would show good fruit but we are never "out of the light"..

The fruit of our being in the light = that our inner man has goodness , righteousness and truth in in..because we are one with Christ....that is why a Christian cannot truly "hate" anyone from his new man...
 
L

ladylynn

Guest
Positionally, yes. Experiential abiding in the light requires obedience. No disobedience is done in the light, but in darkness. Scripture is clear on this. The believer who hates his brother or doesn't speak the truth isn't abiding in the light.
The one who loves his brother resides in the light, and [there] is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 1 John 2:10-11

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:8-10



Most of my Christian life I have heard those words; POSITIONALLY / EXPERIENTIALLY And they have long caused me to stay put in my moving on in the faith. Basically they mean you don't have them now, you will have them later when you get to heaven. But I have learned we need them now while on earth.
We need to know who we are in Christ and to claim those truths by faith. When we get to heaven we will not need faith. We won't need revelation from the Bible and the Holy Spirit so we need those things very much now. They are not only positional for when our bodies put on immortality., they are for right now when we walk the paths He puts before us.

2 Tim.3:16,17 This is ongoing for the here and now.

We have all things in Christ., He has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness. There is much to learn as we find out what in fact we do have in this salvation. We know more than we first knew when we first heard about the salvation of our souls and the forgiveness of sins. Now we are to grow in faith and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior.
 

mailmandan

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2014
25,471
13,414
113
58
Thats right. Its contrasting the children of the light, the believers, with the children of the dark, the lost.

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light" Ephesians 5:8

"You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness."
1 Thessalonians 5:5
Amen! 1 John 3:10 - In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

1 John 3:10 - ..does not practice righteousness is not of God..

1 John 1:6 - If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

1 John 3:10 - ..is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

1 john 2:9 - He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.

1 John 2:11 - But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
 
Feb 24, 2015
13,204
168
0
[SUP]1 John 1:7
7
[/SUP]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, purifies us from all sin.

Do you extract several truths from this passage?
If you talked about a politician walking in the light you would say they are being honest about their positions and behaviour without hiding anything.

I find it odd that christians do not attach this simple morality to this obvious language.

Jesus talked about being the light, about showing up sin, about conviction and identifying people hating him because He showed their works were evil.

Have you ever gone into a field with a bright light at night. All the shadows disappear, and everything becomes visible and plain.

So if we claim to have faith and yet hide things, are deceptive, sinful we are not walking in the light.

The hyper-grace camp hate this idea because it emphasises being honest and open, dealing with sin for what it is.
This they feel is condemnation, but if they were righteous, walking in the light they would have no problems.

I think this very verse and their long winded interpretation identifies their failure and guilt.

Why else do they not want to walk in the light and admit the worldly nature of their leaders?
 
K

Kaycie

Guest
If I walk in the light God and I have fellowship one with another, and if I am one with God, and there's no darkness in God at all, then there's no darkness in me AT ALL. Oh what a miracle truth! How expensive it must have been to make this possible for me and have it be true. It cost God the blood of His only Son. He POURED out His blood for us. By His stripes we are healed.
 
Feb 24, 2015
13,204
168
0
Staggard

Do you think walking in sin is walking in the light? Do you think sin is something we are ashamed of and wish to hide?

If you have seen people caught in addiction, violence, crime, abuse you know what walking in darkness is.
They appear like everyone else but hide these hidden aspects of who they are.

Who has blinded the people of the light with religion? And yet the people who claim they hate religion use its very language over one of the simplest illustrations of relationship honesty.
 
F

FreeNChrist

Guest
If you talked about a politician walking in the light you would say they are being honest about their positions and behaviour without hiding anything.

I find it odd that christians do not attach this simple morality to this obvious language.

Jesus talked about being the light, about showing up sin, about conviction and identifying people hating him because He showed their works were evil.

Have you ever gone into a field with a bright light at night. All the shadows disappear, and everything becomes visible and plain.

So if we claim to have faith and yet hide things, are deceptive, sinful we are not walking in the light.

The hyper-grace camp hate this idea because it emphasises being honest and open, dealing with sin for what it is.
This they feel is condemnation, but if they were righteous, walking in the light they would have no problems.

I think this very verse and their long winded interpretation identifies their failure and guilt.

Why else do they not want to walk in the light and admit the worldly nature of their leaders?

Well, I guess I'm in that "camp" and I don't hate that idea in the least, and have said the same thing here on this very forum. It's knowing we are under grace and that there is no condemnation that frees us to be open and honest with God....and with others. So.......
 
Sep 4, 2012
14,424
692
113
You are confusing the term "..walk in the light " which is the status of a believer in Christ...with behavior....a believer is never "out of the light" because we are Light in the Lord!
Walking in the light signifies action, not position.

Being in the light represents our status, or position, as GOD's children, just as the children of Israel were considered GOD's people.

Walking in the light represents what we actually do.
 
Feb 24, 2015
13,204
168
0
Well, I guess I'm in that "camp" and I don't hate that idea in the least, and have said the same thing here on this very forum. It's knowing we are under grace and that there is no condemnation that frees us to be open and honest with God....and with others. So.......
This connection is just not true.

Have you ever seen a child be cruel to another child?
I have, and if they think they will not get caught or punished they just repeat the behaviour. It is completely naive to think if you have no down side to your behaviour you will be a good person.

The point of following Jesus is that sin is an eternal downside, it works against life and that which is good.
The reason why christians do not follow sin is because in Jesus they can recognise this and learn to walk in the light, to spend time with God, to be empowered by love in their hearts.

Your language would imply you believe this, but I doubt it, because you constantly want to go back to the ideas of legalism and the law, and how the law is evil because it brings death, rather than the law shows up sin for what it is.
The law does tend to magnify sin, because the sinner wants to justify their rebellion and looks for alternatives to get their own way once one set is stopped. But maybe you are actually ignorant of how the human heart works.
 
Nov 22, 2015
20,436
1,431
0
Yep..just as I said in the post...# 127


Ephesians 5:8-9 (NASB)
[SUP]8[/SUP] for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light
[SUP]9[/SUP] (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),

The fruit of the Light would be that you love your brother in your inner man...not if you have something against him in your carnal mind....someone can say " I hate you"..but they really don't if they are born-again..( that is they don't hate in their new man of the heart )....so..we are to walk - conduct out lives as children of the light which would show good fruit but we are never "out of the light"..

The fruit of our being in the light = that our inner man has goodness , righteousness and truth in in..because we are one with Christ....that is why a Christian cannot truly "hate" anyone from his new man...
 
Sep 4, 2012
14,424
692
113
The fruit of our being in the light = that our inner man has goodness , righteousness and truth in in..because we are one with Christ....that is why a Christian cannot truly "hate" anyone from his new man...
What practical application does such a statement have?

A brother can hate another brother from their carnal nature, just as he can love his brother from his spiritual nature.

What nature a brother chooses to obey determines what he himself will do. Doing is the walking.
 
Last edited:
Feb 24, 2015
13,204
168
0
Pauls argument in romans 7


The law defines what is sinful and what is not.
It defines when a contract starts and stops.


The argument is without the law you cannot be a law breaker.
This ignores the principles of relationship debt or obligation.


The law in every society is often just the codifying of these basic dependencies and resulting areas of trust. The law often comes into play when strangers cause problems and someone has to decide who the guilty party are and who is innocent. You then need evidence and measured punishements for those found guilty.


In a sense the court is structured around these written statutes but if can also work in feudal ways where whatever the king decreed was then law.


Gods law is defined as a judgement on people based on their behaviour.
Paul is arguing because we have a relationship with Jesus we no longer are under Gods law, but under Jesus and slaves to righteousness.


He is picturing the relationship is the source of power to overcome, not be checking the letter of the law and practising very hard to be a good person.


Now you appear to be saying this in part, but want to condemn large sections of the church as if they do not know Jesus. This is not a christian graceful behaviour.
 
F

FreeNChrist

Guest
This connection is just not true.

Have you ever seen a child be cruel to another child?
I have, and if they think they will not get caught or punished they just repeat the behaviour. It is completely naive to think if you have no down side to your behaviour you will be a good person.

The point of following Jesus is that sin is an eternal downside, it works against life and that which is good.
The reason why christians do not follow sin is because in Jesus they can recognise this and learn to walk in the light, to spend time with God, to be empowered by love in their hearts.

Your language would imply you believe this, but I doubt it, because you constantly want to go back to the ideas of legalism and the law, and how the law is evil because it brings death, rather than the law shows up sin for what it is.
The law does tend to magnify sin, because the sinner wants to justify their rebellion and looks for alternatives to get their own way once one set is stopped. But maybe you are actually ignorant of how the human heart works.
No, your post just shows you are ignorant of how the new heart that we have as Christians works. The Law never stopped sin, it just made sin exceedingly sinful.
 
F

FreeNChrist

Guest
Walking in the light signifies action, not position.

Being in the light represents our status, or position, as GOD's children, just as the children of Israel were considered GOD's people.

Walking in the light represents what we actually do.
Walking in the light represents living as who we Christians are, the children of light.