You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
8 For[gar] ye were[en] sometimes[pote] darkness,[skotos] but[de] now[nun] are ye light[phos] in[en] the Lord:[kurios] walk[peripateo] as[hos] children[teknon] of light:[phos] KJV-Interlinear
8 for you
were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of
light NASB
Darkness is associated with nothingness, evil, sin, human opinion, delusional thinking, confusion, chaos, invented beliefs, and such, all of which are related in arrogance and the lack or rejection of truth.
Light, on the other hand, is associated with truth, divine good, reality, accurate facts, orientation to life and God and self and others, correct thinking, clarity of thought.
God is light, the source of light, and perpetuation of light and all of the Biblical concepts associated with light.
Rejection of God, indifference toward God, defiance toward God, is darkness, delusional thinking, corruption and so forth.
This verse does not say that you were in darkness. It does not say that you were associated with darkness.
This verse says that you were, darkness. That means that you were once the actual substance, the actual content, the actual essence of darkness. In other words, you were nothing, had nothing, and could look forward to nothing.
The only way to get out of being darkness, you have to receive some light. And the only source of light is God.
That acquisition of light initially comes to you through faith in Christ, which brings you out of the darkness that you were, and into the light, which you become.
However, as a believer, you still have the challenge in your life of maintaining that light. That is the maintenance of your spiritual life.
And in order to keep the light shining, you have to feed it power, which is Bible doctrine. No power, no light. When the batteries run out, then the light stops shining.
But unlike unbelievers, your salvation is always there, so your darkness is different than that of the unbeliever.
Whereas the unbeliever is darkness, the believer that does not function in their spiritual life, imitates the darkness of the unbeliever. While not actually being darkness, the negative believer imitates or acts just like darkness.
That simply means that you gain nothing in your spiritual life. You amount to nothing in your spiritual life. And so you are nothing in your spiritual life.
Better to be something, than nothing.
Better to receive an inheritance, than to have the promise of an inheritance and get nothing.
Better to live and possess the life intended, than to see it and turn away from it. There are more advantages in the possession and use of a phenomenal gift, than in rejecting a highly valued gift.
When you had nothing, and then entered into a life that has everything, which would be the wiser, to return to the nothing, or to pursue the advantages of the everything?
Darkness comes with no responsibilities, no obligations, no benefits. Light comes with responsibilities and obligations, and phenomenal benefits.
