Philippians 2:15

 

"The sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." (Philippians 2:15)

 

The Hebrew and Greek terms for "sons of God" are essentially the same, but the Old Testament always uses the phrase in reference to angels, whereas the New Testament always references the twice-born saints of God.

 

Our text for this day emphasizes the precise reason that our Lord Jesus prayed: "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world. . . . They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world". We who share this marvelous relationship bear both the "love the Father hath bestowed upon us" and the unique rejection that "the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not".

 

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world", and we who are His disciples are "the light of the world" . We, unlike the angels, are to remain in this unfair and distorted world as lights. Consider this! We are the light that the Lord Jesus left in this world to represent Him and His message after He returned to heaven.