320. The Light and Service in the Light

“He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12. Just think, “the light of life”! Not just light, but the “light of life.” Jesus went on to say, “Walk while you have the light, so that you become children of the light.” Everything hinges on “walking” and “following Him.” Without this, you will not get light.

By nature we are enemies of God’s light. Light comes as judgment to us. If we are to become children of the light, we have to accept this judgment. “The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God, and we are God’s house.” In the light there is life, and the life is the light of men. No one has light apart from those who walk in the light, and no one has life outside of the light. Similarly, no one can inherit together with Christ unless they abide in the light, for the inheritance of the saints is in the light. The light rules, for God placed the greater light to rule in the day and the lesser light to rule at night. If we are to rule with Christ, we must become light. People said that Jesus judged, but Jesus Himself said that He judged no man. The judgment came because He was a powerful, burning light, whereas the people He testified to lived in darkness and their deeds were evil. People also say the same about us—that we judge. This is what they say as soon as you open your mouth to say a word of truth. The laws of Jesus Christ follow those who follow Him, but the natural man is at enmity with God’s light even if that person is religious.

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins [captures—Norw.] souls is wise.” Prov. 11:30. The fruit of the righteous is the same as the fruit of the light, which again are the same as the fruits of the Spirit. A person who lives and walks in these fruits will become wise, so that they are capable of winning souls, since the same Spirit convicts all men concerning right and wrong. We have beforehand in every person’s soul an ally who is on our side. Our primary task is to awaken people’s will so that they are willing to believe and willing to receive the Word. For those things that are to be believed have already been made a law in the Spirit for each single person, so no one has an excuse. So when it says that “the wise shall capture souls,” it is because the Spirit that makes wise has so permeated them that they are quite capable of capturing souls. The word “capture” speaks to me of a soul that is running loose in sin and false liberty. There is no such liberty in Christ Jesus, therefore the soul must be captured and set on track into the laws of Christ. For we are not without law to God, but under law to Christ Jesus. When I live according to the law in Christ, I become a tree of life—a wise man that wins souls.

We often see new converts setting off to try and win souls, but it does not succeed. Neither can preachers who are void of wisdom win souls. The point is that you have to win them to your own personal wisdom in Christ, and when you do not have this wisdom, you are not able to bring them into contact with the wisdom of Christ. This is why the servants of the church must first be found faithful, and then can they serve in the church.

The wise capture souls. We do see souls being captured during great revivals, but also we see the preacher once again letting loose all those who were won, and then going his way. He is not wise; he has not taken care of those souls. There is no real “catch.” If I capture a bird, for example, and then right away release it, I still haven’t caught anything.

The catch must be cared for. Souls must initially be given milk, so that they can grow thereby, and then later solid meat. It is the adulterer who produces children and then abandons them to their own fate. The wise do not do this; instead they work so that there can be good results in the lives they capture. Not everything that is caught is fit for the kingdom of heaven. Good and bad fish are caught, and the bad ones are thrown back. But there are also good souls in the catch, and these have to be served and cared for year after year, so that they grow up to mature manhood, to the Head, Christ. This is a long-term work that only the wise can recognize as valuable. The end result of the catch is what is actually left in the end. The true sons in the faith testify to the fathers’ faithfulness and become their glory and honor on that Day. This will be a great and substantial portion of their inheritance on that Day.