Not only will our goodness be manifested under God's light to not be good, but even what we normally consider as not good will be brought under God's light to a point where we further realize the extent of its not being good. Oftentimes we know very well that we are weak in certain points. We feel so. We tell others of the same, and we tell God this in our prayers. However, concerning our weakness, we do not have a deep enough feeling; we do not feel that it is so despicable. Moreover, although we know of this weakness, we still carelessly pass the days away. When the light of God comes, we will realize our weakness to the uttermost. Only then will we desperately feel the pain of this weakness and only then will we have a heart that deplores this weakness. Furthermore, we will feel that if we are not delivered from this, we cannot live on any longer. The difference in depth between the self-knowledge derived from our examination and the self-knowledge received from the light of God is too great to be measured. Therefore, friends, even if you know yourself, without the light of God you do not truly know yourself yet. Self-knowledge derived from examination merely demonstrates what you say about yourself. Self-knowledge received from the light of God demonstrates how God sees you. The judgment we have concerning ourselves can never be as accurate as the judgment of God concerning us.

Here we see the difference between the light of God and knowledge. Knowledge is what we know; it is understood in our mentality. The light of God is what God knows, and it is revealed to us through His Spirit. Many make a mistake in thinking that the light spoken of in the Bible means knowledge. For this reason we often hear people say that someone has much light, but his life is very poor. This cannot be so. Light is not knowledge. The Bible says that knowledge puffs up. But when the light of God shines into a man's heart, it does not puff him up. Rather, it causes him to reprove himself, repent of the past, hate the flesh, and beg in ashes for God to deliver him from his filthiness. It is possible for one to be full of biblical knowledge, yet at the same time, void of any of the light of God in his heart. If one has backslidden, he can still tell people about the Bible from his previous understanding, but he does not have the light of God. God's light is knowledge which is found in the power of the Holy Spirit, and knowledge is that light of God that is retained by man in his mentality. Knowledge has its place both in the Bible and in spiritual experiences, but knowledge apart from the power of the Holy Spirit is dead. Scofield said, "There is nothing more dangerous than when truth is divorced from power." Even though we may know much truth and receive much knowledge, we have no light and are not able to know our true condition or walk on the path ahead if these are not in the power of the Holy Spirit. If we have received light from God, we must then guard what we have received through the Holy Spirit who gave us the light, and we must make it the lasting light to our path, not letting it lose its power.

Oftentimes God gives us light and grants us true perception to a certain matter. During that time we seem to discern the deepest and the innermost part of the matter. It seems that everything is laid out before us and manifest in a naked way before our eyes. After a while, even though we still remember the experience and retain the knowledge, our feeling toward the matter seems to be not as deep, as if what we now see is not as clear as before. At this moment, the light of God is gone. What remains is nothing but knowledge. (Note: At the very least we must walk according to the knowledge we have. This does not mean, however, that it is enough just to have knowledge. We also need light.) Light can cause man to have the deepest feeling; knowledge cannot.

Therefore, if we want to walk in the path, the shining of God is indispensable. Our own feelings will either completely fool us or reduce the conviction of our sin. We will be following a blind guide if we are to pursue holiness through our feelings. There needs to be the light of God. Only then will the real condition of a matter be manifested. Light means how God sees our condition and what God says. When God says it is wrong, it is wrong. When God says it is one hundred per cent wrong, it is one hundred per cent wrong. Before the light comes, it is merely what you think and is not reliable. It is not what you say your life is, but what God says your life is.

When Miss Barber died, she left a Bible to me. Written in it were the words, "O God, grant me a thorough and unlimited revelation of myself." How deep is this! We often think that as long as we do not see anything wrong that this is good enough. Little do we realize that God has another kind of view regarding us. We will just be fooling ourselves if we do not receive the sight of God. We must have the boldness to be shined upon by God with His light so that He can reveal to us the real picture of ourselves. We have no way to know our own selves unless there is the shining of God. Our own evaluation of ourselves is not trustworthy.