And God divided the light from the darkness
Let us contemplate today the words of Scripture: “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:3–5). And also: “For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial?” (2 Corinthians 6:14–15).
And God divided the light from the darkness
The person who walks in the way of God must separate himself from every path of sin and stumbling, for what communion has light with darkness? No one can live combining both in his life.
When God called Abraham, the father of the fathers, He said to him in His first calling: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). And there He said, “I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.” It was difficult for him to live a spiritual life in that environment, so God told him to come out of that place and away from the site of sin.
As the Lord did with Abram when He brought him out of Ur, so He did with Lot when He brought him out of Sodom, saying to him: “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed” (Genesis 19:17, 22).
When the whole earth was corrupted in the days of Noah, God separated Noah, his sons, and their wives, and destroyed the earth with the flood. It was a process of separation between light and darkness. As Scripture says: “Put away from yourselves the evil person” (1 Corinthians 5:13; Joshua 7:13). Thus the Lord continually separated His children from every evil environment. He did not allow them to mix with the peoples of the earth, nor to intermarry with them. Scripture also says: “Do not keep company with sexually immoral people” (1 Corinthians 5:9). Even more strongly, it says (1 Corinthians 5:11): “If anyone named a brother is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not to keep company with such a person, not even to eat with such a one.”
It is also written that “evil company corrupts good habits.” The Lord took this separation from sin and sinners to very strict limits, saying: “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you… And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you” (Matthew 5:29–30). Nothing is dearer than the eye or more essential than the right hand. But if either becomes darkness, separate yourself from it. Avoid every stumbling environment.
A person far from the sources and causes of sin, when tempted, fights one battle only—from within. But the one who lives in an evil environment faces two battles: one from within and one from without.
Thus, God divided the light from the darkness from the beginning of creation. This separation continued throughout the ages of the patriarchs and prophets. The sinner’s place was outside the camp so that the camp might remain holy.
The Church also separated sinners, removing them from the fellowship of believers—excommunication.
John the Beloved, the apostle who represents love in its depth, was in this matter extremely firm. He urges us to avoid every brother who walks disorderly, saying: “Do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds” (2 John 10–11).
The children of God are a holy people who have separated themselves from sin, from the world, for they have died to the world and all its evil works.
The first act of separation begins in baptism, when we renounce Satan, all his hosts, and all his works. In baptism also, we are separated from the old man and born as new, in the image of God, putting on Christ.
We continue our lives separated from the world, sin, and the devil.
In the early Church, the Apostle Paul separated the sinner of Corinth (1 Corinthians 5:2), and the Apostle Peter did even more with Ananias and Sapphira.
If you cannot formally separate sinners, at least separate yourself from them practically, far from their influence.
This separation between light and darkness began from the very start of humanity, when the Lord separated our first parents from the Tree of Life and cast them out of Paradise.
A person must separate himself not only from sinners but also from sin itself and all its appearances and causes. He must separate his mind from evil thoughts, his heart from wicked desires and false emotions, and not make his life partly for God and partly for the world. There should not be a single moment in a person’s life shared with sin, nor should any part of the heart or mind be given to sin. For Scripture says: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind” (Deuteronomy 6), and also: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).
When Samson did not separate himself from Delilah, he fell, though the Spirit of God had once come upon him. Therefore, the prophet Elijah rebuked those who wavered between two sides, trying to combine light and darkness, saying: “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21).
Sit with yourself and ask: Do I still have fellowship with sin and sinners and their influence? Do I still waver between the two, walking one day in light and another in darkness?
The one who walks in darkness loves the darkness because it hides his deeds, for he cannot commit sin openly in the light. Therefore, the works of sin are always hidden, planned in secrecy and concealment; and when they appear, they are covered with lies and hypocrisy. Evil always lives in darkness, and that is why the Lord said to the Jewish rulers: “This is your hour, and the power of darkness.”
The children of God live in light—in this world and in the world to come. Just as they now have enlightened thoughts and pure feelings, so also in the world to come they will have radiant bodies. Scripture says they will shine like the brightness of the firmament and like the stars forever and ever, for one star differs from another in glory. But of the wicked it is said that they “will be cast into outer darkness.”
In eternity, God will also separate light from darkness: the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares, the righteous from the wicked, the rich man from Lazarus—a complete separation. There will be no meeting, as there is in this world. Here the fisherman casts his net and gathers fish of every kind, good and bad; but on the shore of eternity, the good will be separated from the bad. Here the ten virgins live together, but there the five wise will be separated from the five foolish—some will enter, others will stand outside.
This eternal separation between the righteous and the wicked will be the cause of the sinners’ suffering, for they will be deprived of the fellowship of angels and saints. They will see them from afar, unable to reach or enjoy them, being also separated from God Himself—and that is the greatest pain.
God has divided light from darkness even here—in style, manner, and language—the children of God are evident, and the children of the devil are evident (1 John 3:10). As it was said to Peter, “Your speech betrays you.” The lives of the children of God are distinct—their ways and manners have a special character. Even their appearance and features reflect their inner spirit—their looks, conversations, gestures, clothing, and entertainments can easily be distinguished from those of the people of the world.
We see these gathering together, and those gathering together—separate. As the proverb says: “Birds of a feather flock together.”
The children of God are the light of the world; they shine themselves and bring light to others. Every place where the children of God dwell, light shines, and darkness fades away. They have their dignity and reverence, which make darkness ashamed and retreat. People fear to commit sin in their presence, and God separates darkness from that light.
Yet there is an important note regarding the separation of the righteous from the wicked: this separation is not out of pride, as the scribes and Pharisees separated themselves from sinners and blamed the Lord when He visited tax collectors and ate among them. That was a haughty separation, showing pride and contempt for others.
But the separation of the righteous is from participating in evil deeds. “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” Thus the Scripture says: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful” (Psalm 1), and also: “Do not be conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2).
The righteous person does not flatter sinners nor immerse himself in their lifestyle; he separates from them but has compassion for them and prays for them.
Another note: there is a great difference between pastors and ordinary believers in their relationship with sinners. The ordinary believer keeps away from the company of sinners lest he stumble and fall, but pastors and servants visit sinners to bring them back to the way of the Lord.
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Article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – El-Keraza Magazine, Year 7, Issue 7, February 13, 1976
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