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Light Vs. Darkness

Sermon by  Thomas Thornhill Jr

Passage: 1 John 1:5

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WHAT GOD HAS NOT JOINED TOGETHER (8)

We are continuing our 2026 theme, we have been noting some doctrines God has NOT joined together.  After noting some doctrinal issues, the past 2 lessons have addressed the way we live. We discussed God and mammon last month. Last week, we talked about how God has not joined together the wisdom of man and God’s wisdom.  Today, we want to build on that lesson by noting that God has NOT joined together light and darkness.  1 John 1:5 notes, This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

1. What is Light and Darkness?
   1. Clearly, we do not have physical light and darkness in mind, though there is observation to be made about this – Genesis 1:1-3. When God created the universe, there was darkness.  Then He spoke and there was light.  There is reason why that analogy is so germane to our discussion today. What God was able to accomplish physically He can accomplish spiritually as well.
   2. What is light? It represents everything associated with God and His ways. 1 John 1:5. It represents truth, God’s presence and guidance. It also implies the removal of darkness as we will discuss in a moment.
      1. John 8:12, 9:5 Jesus declared, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” The context is Jesus healing a blind man which is another analogy of this contrast. He was blind (in darkness), but Jesus gave him sight (light).
      2. It was how John the writer introduced Jesus – John 1:6-9.
      3. Psalm 119:105 – God’s word is described as “lamp to my feet and a light to my path”.
         Psalm 119:130 – The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.
         Proverbs 6:23, For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
      4. 2 Corinthians 4:6, For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
      5. James 1:17 – every good and perfect gift comes from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (a shifting shadow – LSB)
      6. Colossians 1:12 – giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. It is descriptive of the saved.
      7. Revelation 21:23, 22:5 – in John’s depiction of that which associated with heaven and God’s throne he notes, The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. …There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
   3. Darkness represents the ways of the world.
      1. Darkness is that which has no light. It represents sin, evil, separation from God and Satan himself.  Last week when we contrasted the wisdom of man with God’s wisdom, we were contrasting light and darkness.  The influences of this world, that reject God, are darkness.
      2. Ephesians 5:8 – it describes the state one is in BEFORE he obeys the gospel – you were once in darkness.
      3. 1 John 1:5-7 – If we say we have fellowship and walk in darkness…
      4. 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 – Satan transforms himself into an angel of light, and so do his ministers.
      5. John 3:19-21 – And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
      6. Luke 22:53 as Jesus was being tried by wicked men Jesus told them, When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”
      7. Matthew 8:12 – one of the descriptions of hell is a place of outer darkness.
   4. They are NOT compatible!
      1. One way to define darkness is the absence of light (which is also a scientific description of darkness). Conversely, light is the REMOVAL of darkness.  When you introduce light into a space, darkness is removed.  The greater the light, the greater the exposure of what WAS darkness.  Conversely, you cannot introduce darkness to light.  The only way darkness overcomes the light is when it is extinguished.
      2. Matthew 6:22-23 – “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
      3. Isaiah 5:20 – Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
      4. 1 John 1:5 – if we say we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness…
2. We are to be lights in this world
   1. Matthew 5:14-16 – Jesus told His audience, “You are the light of the world.” This is a key passage indicating that we are called to be examples in our lives.
      1. In realty, we are REFLECTING the light of Jesus to the world. If Jesus is the “Sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4:2), we would be like the moon reflecting that light in His full glory.
      2. John 12:36 – (Also 1 Thess. 5:5) – we are called “sons of light”
      3. We must not hide it under a basket, but put it on a pedestal.
      4. Let your light SO shine…
   2. Ephesians 5:8-14 – we are to walk as children of light AND expose the unfruitful works of darkness. This appeals to our following the example of Jesus.  But goes further and notes that we are not only to avoid the works of darkness, but when needed we are to expose them. Vs. 13 notes it is with our light that we do expose them.  Do what you can to shine His light in dark places, ESPECIALLY when they affect our purity and unity as His people.
   3. We must not let the darkness of this world influence us.
      1. Luke 16:8, in the parable of the unjust steward, Jesus noted, So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. Last week we constated the wisdom of this world (man) with that of God.  Jesus noted that often in worldly ways (of darkness), they are more shrewd that we are, but we must be on guard lest they overtake us.
      2. John 12:35-36 Jesus warned, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
      3. 1 Thessalonians 5:4—7 – we are sons of light and no longer walking in darkness.
      4. Romans 13:12, The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
   4. We are called to proclaim His praises – 1 Peter 2:9 – we are called out of darkness into His marvelous light; Philippians 2:15 – we shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.  Matthew 10:27, speaking to His apostles as He sends them out, preparing them for what was to come, “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.
   5. We are to be walking in the light even as He is in the light – 1 John 1:7 – a powerful passage that talks about our daily walking (our path, our direction) in His light leads to our fellowship with Him (and with others – cf. vs. 3)
   6. We love one another – 1 John 2:10 – He who loves his brother abides in the light. BE reminded of the importance of our fellowship with one another. IT is based on each of us walking in the light.  As we have emphasized frequently, we need each other in a world that is driven by darkness.

And thus we can see that light and darkness are NOT joined together by God. Yet how often does man want to join them together by declaring believe what you want, do whatever you want as long as you are a good person and have “accepted Jesus.”  When this life is concluded we will stand before God in judgment and the path we have chosen will determine whether we will spend eternity with Him in unapproachable light or in outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Which one are you going to choose?  Think about it!