We believers in Christ are the light of the world, those who let their light shine before men to dispel the world’s darkness; we are light in the Lord, we walk as children of light, and we are saved from obsession by living in the light and being open to God’s shining, not generating our own light.
Lord Jesus, thank You for shining on us and coming into us as light. Hallelujah, we are now enjoying Christ as the light of life, and He is in us as light! Shine in us, Lord, and shine through us. Thank You for making us the light of the world. We want to let our light shine before men to dispel the world’s darkness. Amen, Lord, keep us in the light today. Keep us in Your presence. We want to walk as children of light. Save us from any obsession and self-deception by keeping us in the light! Oh, may Your living light scatter all our night and make everything bright! Amen!
Thank the Lord for everything that He is doing in us to make us what He wants us to be!
The New Testament shows us that we are the salt of the earth; we are those who are sanctified by the Lord by having Him in us to the extent that, wherever we are, we eliminate and kill the earth’s corruption and rottenness.
However, if we lose our salting function, we become like Lot’s wife, a pillar of salt that is in between being fully saved and fully rescued from the present evil age. Oh Lord!
We need to make a career of following the Lord by giving our all to Him; all we have, all we are, and all we can do, we give to the Lord for His purpose.
If we don’t give ourselves to Him fully, if we don’t love the Lord but love some things in the world also, we will be a failure, becoming like tasteless salt.
May the Lord save us from losing our taste. Especially these days when the world is so enticing, entertainment is so attractive, and the world freely gives us what it has in order to get us hooked and usurp us, we need to love the Lord and learn not to love things in the world.
As we follow the Lord and enjoy Him daily, may we not be discouraged or disappointed but strengthened and enabled to live out the divine economy by the processed and consummated Triune God as our all-sufficient grace.
Grace can take us through. Grace can do in us what we cannot do. Enjoying God in Christ as grace will cause us to go on with Him, be the salt of the earth, and shine the Lord forth.
We Believers are the Light of the World who Let their Light Shine before Men to Dispel the World’s Darkness
In Matthew 5:14-16 we see that we believers in Christ are the light of the world, those who let their light shine before men to dispel the world’s darkness.
Because Christ is in us, He as the light of the world makes us light, and He shines in us and through us to make us the light of the world. Hallelujah, we are the light of the world, and it is impossible for us to be hidden – we simply shine forth with Christ as the light!
Just as men don’t light a lamp and place it under a covering but on the lampstand to shine to all who are in the house, so we need to let our light shine before men!
We need to let Christ shine in us and through us so that others may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in the heavens.
Light is the presence of God; because we have been born of God, we are now light in the Lord, and we must walk as children of light (1 John 1:5; Eph. 5:8-9).
In our nature, we are the healing salt (Matt. 5:13), and in our behaviour, we are the shining light. We are light in the Lord, and He in us is the light, so He makes us light, shining through us.
When we have the divine light, we have God’s presence; when we have God’spresence, we have light, and we are light in the Lord.
The key is having the Lord’s presence; when we have His presence, we are shining, for He is light. He shines on us, He shines within us, and He shines through us.
Thank the Lord that we are light in the Lord, and we can walk in the light to shine the Lord as light to others. Today the world is in darkness, for the whole lies in the evil one, under his evil sphere of influence.
The earth is corrupted, so it needs the Christians as the salt of the earth to kill any germs. The earth is full of darkness, even in darkness, and it needs the believers as the light of the world.
We can look around us, in human society, and see that this system of Satan, the world, is in darkness and is darkness; all men are in darkness, and their works are in darkness.
We are the light of the world, a shining lamp to enlighten those who are in darkness. To those in the darkened world, we as people of the kingdom of the heavens are a light that effaces the darkness.
How can we have light? We have light from the Lord; light is not of ourselves but of Christ.
Life comes from the shining of light; light is in the word of God, and light is the inner sense of life (2 Cor. 4:6; Psa. 119:105, 130; Isa. 66:2; John 8:12; Rom. 8:6, 14). If we want to have the divine life and experience it, we need to come to the Lord as light.
The more light we receive, the more life we have. The less light we have, the more darkness we have, and the more we are in death.
How can we have light? We need to come to the Word of God; we come to read the Bible not in our mind to gain more knowledge, but we come with the exercise of our spirit to receive light and life. Light is in the word of God.
We come to the Word of God with the exercise of our spirit, and we get light; this light brings in God’s life. Light is also in the inner sense of life; as believers in Christ, we read the Bible to receive God’s light, and we also take heed to the inner sense of life.
When we listen to the Lord’s inner speaking, we are in the light. When we read and pray over God’s word, we enjoy His light, we walk in the light, and we shine as the light of the world.
May we welcome the Lord’s light and be open to His light. May we not shut out the light but allow the Lord to shine on us and shine through us.
The lamp of the body is our eye; when our eye is single, our whole body is also full of light, but when our eye is evil, our body is also dark.
May we watch that the light which is in us is not darkness. If our whole body is full of light and have no dark part, our whole being will be full of light as when the lamp with its rays illuminates us (Luke 11:34-36).
Lord Jesus, we open to Your shining. We come to You in Your word to receive Your shining. Shine on us. Shine within us. Dispel all the darkness in our being. Eliminate any darkness in every part of our being. May our whole being be in the light. Keep us in Your presence. Amen, Lord, we love to be in Your presence today. Your presence is light; we love to be in the light. Hallelujah, we are light in the Lord, and we are walking as children of light. Oh Lord, praise You for making us the light of the world. May our very presence with those around us dispel the world’s darkness. We want to let our light shine before men! Keep us coming to You in Your word, for there is light in Your word. We want to heed the inner sense of life so that we may receive more of Your light. Amen, Lord, may our light shine before men. May our whole being be in the light so that the light in us may be brightly shining! We love You, Lord, and we fully open to You! May our whole being be in the light and may we shine as light in this world, expressing You!
Being Saved from Obsession by Being under the Lord’s Light and Living in the Light
On the positive side, we praise the Lord for making us the light of the world; on the negative side, we need to deal with all the hindrances and obstacles that cause us to not be the light of the world.
Especially we as believers in Christ can fall into something called obsession or self-deception, generating our own light and walking in our own light, not in the Lord’s light. Oh Lord!
The way to be saved from obsession, self-deception, is to live in the light, be open to God’s shining, and not generate our own light (Psa. 36:8-9; 80:17-19; 139:23-24; 1 John 1:5, 7, 9; Isa. 2:5; 50:10-11).
We may think we are not obsessed, for we love the Lord and the word, but we need to realise that so many times we believe we are right, we think we are doing the right thing, yet we are lying to ourselves.
In 1 John 1:8 we are told that those who say they have no sin deceive themselves; they are obsessed. It is one thing to be deceived by others, but it is even worse when we deceive ourselves.
Those who lie are condemned in their conscience, but those who are deceived are confident in themselves.
Those who are obsessed think they are right, being convinced that they are correct and are taking the right way; in reality, they are deceived. A man who is obsessed takes his perception of reality as reality and considers his reality to be absolutely right. Oh Lord Jesus!
In 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 we see that the perishing ones do not love the truth but rather believe a lie; this is very sad.
When Christians overestimate themselves, they follow the lie in their mind. Unless these lies are removed, they will fall into obsession sooner or later. Oh Lord Jesus!
Obsession is always tied to self-deception. There is one thing worse than lying to people, and that is to lie to yourself. The way to be saved from deception is to be in the light; it is to come to the Lord as light and live in the light.
Those who manufacture their own light and walk in it will end up in torment; may we come to the Lord as light and remain in His light.
The symptom of a person who is obsessed is that what he thinks and does are totally wrong, yet he thinks and believes that he is totally right (Matt. 6:22- 23; Isa. 5:20).
We all are guilty of this; we may do something in the church life or for the Lord, and we may think we are completely right, yet after some time we see that we were utterly wrong and off.
To have sinned is a matter of defilement; to sin, yet believing that one has not sinned and justifying it, is a matter of darkness (1 John 1:8, 10).
May we come ot the Lord to be under His shining. In His light we can see light. May we not live our life and do things according to our own concepts but rather be under the Lord’s light and see light in His light.
The reasons for obsession and self-deception are loving the darkness rather than the light (John 3:19-20), pride (Obad. 3), not receiving the love of the truth (2 Thes. 2:10-11; Prov. 23:23), and not seeking the glory that is from the only God (John 5:44).
May the Lord have mercy on us and save us from any obsession. May we not argue with the light but let the Lord shine on us through His word, through His speaking in the church, and through the inner sense of life.
May we open to the Lord, for His light shines when there is an opening. May we remove any hindrances to His shining. Light comes from the shining of light; light is in the word of God, and light is the inner sense of life (2 Cor. 4:6; Psa. 119:105, 130; Isa. 66:2; John 8:12; Rom. 8:6, 14).
May we come to the Lord as light and let Him shine on us, deliver us from self-deception, remove any obsession, and make us the light of the world in reality.
May we not trust in ourselves but allow the Lord to shine on us and dispel all our darkness so that He may shine through us on those around us.
Lord Jesus, we love You and we love the light. We come to You today. Keep us in the light. Save us from thinking we have no sin; may we remain under Your light and let You shine on every aspect of our being. Oh Lord, shine on our obsession. Expose any self-deception. Save us from thinking that we are right. Save us from trusting in ourselves. May we not generate our own light but may we come to Your light to let You shine on us. Amen, Lord, we want to walk in Your light, for in Your light we see light. It is in Your light that we see the true nature of things. Save us from judging things and living our life according to our mind, ideas, imagination, and conjecture. Save us from presuming that we are right. Save us from being confident in ourselves. May we remain under Your light and walk in the light so that we may be saved from self-deception and be the light of the world in reality. Amen, Lord, shine in us and shine through us! We want to pay attention to the inner sense of life and be under Your shining all day long! Amen!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Minoru Chen on this topic, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 44, chs. 117-119, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Believers (1) (2026 July Semi-Annual Training), week 3, “The Wheat of Life, the Good Seed, the Salt of the Earth, the Light of the World, and the Fishers of Men” – day 5.
- Hymns on this topic:
– In Thy bright beams which on me fall, / Fade every evil thought; / That I am nothing, Thou art all, / I would be daily taught. / More of Thy glory let me see, / Thou Holy, Wise, and True; / I would Thy living image be, / In joy and sorrow too. / Each day let Thy supporting might / My weakness still embrace; / My darkness vanish in Thy light, / Thy life my death efface. (Hymns #395 stanzas 2-3 and chorus)
– I hardly know myself; / Deceived so much by pride, / I often think I’m right / And am self-satisfied. / I know Thee even less; / In doctrine, shallowly; / True revelation lack / Of Thy reality. / As for Thy life within, / In darkness I mistake— / If spirit or the flesh, / One for the other take. / Oh, may Thy living light, Lord, / Scatter all my night, Lord, / And everything make bright, Lord, / For this I pray to Thee. (Hymns #426 stanzas 2-4 and chorus)
– The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin; / The light of the world is Jesus; / Like sunshine at noonday His glory shone in, / The light of the world is Jesus. / Come to the light, ’tis shining for thee; / Sweetly the light has dawned upon me; / Once I was blind, but now I can see; / The light of the world is Jesus. (Hymns #1018 stanza 1 and chorus)
In Matthew 5:13 the Lord Jesus spoke of the earth and in verse 14, of the world. For the earth there is the need of salt, but for the world there is the need of light. The darkness is not upon the earth; rather, it is in the world, which denotes human society, a system of Satan. The world, Satan’s system, the dark human society, needs light. The light of the world in verse 14 is the shining of a lamp to enlighten those in darkness. To the darkened world, the people of the kingdom of the heavens are such a light effacing its darkness. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 1158-1159)