Metaphors of the Mystery - Part 6
Identity, You Are Light
One of the clearest ways the New Testament describes the believer is with the metaphor of light.
That matters.
The New Testament does not merely say that light is around you, or ahead of you, or available to you. It says something far stronger. It says light is now part of who you are in Christ. This is not just guidance for your path. It is identity language.
Many believers still think of themselves mainly in terms of weakness, struggle, and limitation. They know they have been forgiven, but they do not yet think of themselves the way the apostles described them. Yet the New Testament repeatedly uses metaphors to define the new creation, and one of those metaphors is light.
You are not trying to become light by effort. You are light already, and your life is meant to agree with that reality.
Light Is Not Just Around You; It Is What You Are
Paul says it plainly.
Ephesians 5 (KJ2000)
8 For you were once darkness, but now are you light in the Lord: walk as children of light.
Notice the force of that statement. Paul does not merely say you were in darkness and now you are in light, though that is also true. He says, “You were once darkness, but now are you light in the Lord.” This is not only a change of location. It is a change of nature and identity.
Before Christ, darkness was not just the atmosphere around us. It shaped our understanding, desires, conduct, and direction. But in Christ, something radical has happened. The believer has been brought into union with the Lord, and that union is described as light.
When Paul says, “walk as children of light,” he is not telling believers to pretend to be something they are not. He is telling them to live consistently with what they have become.
That is how New Testament metaphors work. They do not merely decorate doctrine. They explain it.
Jesus First Declared It, Then Shared It
Jesus said of Himself:
John 8 (KJ2000)
12 Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
He is the light of the world. In Him there is no darkness at all. He reveals the Father, exposes error, destroys deception, and gives life.
But then Jesus says something astonishing to His disciples:
Matthew 5 (KJ2000)
14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under a bushel, but on a lampstand; and it gives light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
This is one of the great wonders of redemption. The One who is Himself the Light of the world brings men into union with Himself, then speaks of them as light too.
This is why the New Testament must be read carefully. Jesus is not saying believers are light independent of Him. Paul later makes that clear with the words, “light in the Lord.” But because we are in Him, His life now shapes our identity.
The moon has no light of its own, but it shines because it reflects the sun. In a far greater way, the believer shines because he is joined to Christ. His life is now expressed through us.
Light Speaks of Revelation
Light in Scripture often has to do with seeing clearly.
Darkness hides. Light reveals.
Darkness confuses. Light clarifies.
Darkness deceives. Light exposes truth.
This means that to say the believer is light is to say that in Christ, he has been brought into revelation. He is no longer defined by blindness. He is no longer a prisoner of ignorance. He is no longer left to grope in moral and spiritual darkness.
Peter says:
1 Peter 2 (KJ2000)
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession; that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
God did not merely forgive you and leave you confused. He called you out of darkness into marvellous light. Your new life in Christ is a life of spiritual illumination.
That does not mean you know everything. It means your new realm is light, not darkness. You now have access to truth in Christ. You can know God. You can understand His Word. You can recognise error. You can walk with clarity.
Light Speaks of Purity
Light also speaks of holiness.
Paul continues in Ephesians by saying that the fruit of the light is found in what is good, righteous, and true. That is important because many people want the language of light without the life of light.
But the New Testament never separates identity from conduct.
If you are light, then your life should carry the moral character of light. Not perfectly in the flesh, not by legalism, and not by performance, but truly and increasingly. Your choices, speech, relationships, and habits should reflect who you are.
John writes:
1 John 1 (KJ2000)
5 This then is the message which we have heard from him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But 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.
John is not telling believers to become acceptable to God by walking in the light. He is saying that fellowship with the God who is light produces a life that agrees with that light.
Light does not make peace with darkness.
Light Must Shine
The purpose of light is not private comfort. It is visibility.
Jesus said a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. A lamp is not lit in order to be covered. Light is meant to shine.
This means your identity in Christ is not only personal, but also public. The world is meant to see something through you. Not self-display. Not religious performance. But the visible effect of Christ in a human life.
When the believer forgives, tells the truth, walks in love, rejects corruption, speaks with grace, and lives with moral courage, light is shining.
When a believer understands the gospel clearly in a generation of confusion, light is shining.
When a church proclaims Christ plainly instead of entertaining darkness, light is shining.
This is why identity matters. If you think of yourself only as a struggling sinner trying to survive, you will likely hide. But if you know you are light in the Lord, you will understand that your life has been designed to reveal Him.
Children of Light Live Differently
Paul also says:
1 Thessalonians 5 (KJ2000)
5 You are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
That is covenant language. That is family language. That is identity language.
You are a child of light. The day belongs to you. Darkness is not your home anymore.
The believer should stop making excuses for what no longer fits his nature. Bitterness does not suit light. Deceit does not suit light. Hidden compromise does not suit light. Persistent love for darkness does not suit light.
The call of the gospel is not merely, “Try harder.” It is, “Know who you are, and walk accordingly.”
This Is Why the Metaphor Matters
The New Testament could have said many true things about the believer. It could have chosen abstract theological formulas alone. But again and again, it uses metaphors. Why? Because metaphors make truth visible. They help you see what has happened in Christ.
To say, “You are light,” is to say that in Christ you now belong to revelation, purity, visibility, truth, and life.
It means darkness is no longer your definition.
It means confusion is no longer your master.
It means hiddenness is no longer your calling.
It means your life in Christ was designed to shine.
So do not read this metaphor casually. Receive it. Think with it. Speak with it. Live with it.
You are not darkness trying to borrow some light.
You are light in the Lord.
And because that is now true, walk as children of light.
Continue in grace!