Acts 26:18, commentary and pictures

Christ sent Paul to open the eyes of Jews and Gentiles and turn them from spiritual blindness, darkness and Satan's power to God, so that by faith in Him they might receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those made holy. To be given sight is to be brought to the truth of God's word, to see what sin is, to escape unbelief and Satan's deceptions, and to lay hold on Christ and His righteousness. Turning from darkness to light is turning from error to truth, from transgression of God's law to obedience, from unbelief to faith, and from guilt and misery to salvation and peace. Only the risen Christ can forgive, cleanse by His blood, renew the nature, clothe with His righteousness and restore the willing soul from Satan's power to God by the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit. The same work given to Paul is given to every minister and true Christian, to lead souls in darkness, error and sin to repentance, confession, forgiveness and inheritance, not by human strength but by Christ's presence, Spirit and power working through prayer and personal effort.

Paul's Call and Commission

At the gate of Damascus Paul saw and heard the crucified and risen Christ, the same Jesus who had walked the streets of Jerusalem, died on Calvary, broken the bands of death and ascended to heaven. The voice bade him proclaim the gospel of a risen Saviour, and he could not disobey. The heavenly vision at first filled him with unspeakable terror, but afterward it became his greatest consolation as a revelation of divine glory with Jesus enthroned in glory. By transforming mercy the man who had despised and hated Jesus and sought to destroy His followers became a new man, a sincere penitent and fervent believer, called by God's will to be Christ's apostle.

Christ delivered him from the people and the Gentiles to whom He sent him, charging him to open the eyes of Jews and Gentiles and to turn them from spiritual blindness, darkness and Satan's power to God. The purpose was that they might receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those made holy by faith in Christ. This commission defined his mission as witnessing to what he had seen and heard of Jesus and leading people to salvation and inclusion among God's sanctified people. This agrees with the charge given through Ananias that Paul was chosen to know God's will, to see the Just One and hear His voice, and to bear witness to all people of what he had seen and heard. Ananias also urged him to be baptized, calling on the Lord's name, that his sins might be washed away.

In obedience Paul bore witness of Jesus the crucified in Damascus, in Jerusalem, throughout all Judea and in regions afar off, to all classes. He preached repentance toward God, faith in Christ, turning to God, and works meet for repentance with a life consistent with faith. His seeing and talking with Jesus was as real as that of Cephas, James, John or any other of the disciples, so that denial of the resurrection is without reason. After being miraculously brought to sight and baptized, he preached Jesus as the Son of God.

He said nothing other than what Moses and the prophets said would come. He testified with clearness and power that the Messiah of prophecy had already appeared in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, and that the Old Testament Scriptures declaring the Messiah was to appear as a man among men were fulfilled in every specification outlined by Moses and the prophets in the life of Jesus. That Christ should suffer, be the first to rise from the dead, and show light to the people and to the Gentiles, that for redeeming a lost world the divine Son of God endured the cross despising the shame and ascended to heaven triumphant over death and the grave, the Holy Spirit enabled him to understand and to present clearly. His commission to go to the Gentiles was an important turning point in the spread of the gospel. Through the gospel Gentiles were brought into God's people, having their eyes opened to turn from darkness and Satan's power to God and to share by faith the forgiveness and inheritance of the sanctified.

The gospel for which he was imprisoned was thus carried before kings, governors, princes and nobles, as the gospel was afterward proclaimed before the imperial rulers at Augsburg. As he told of Jesus and his own conversion, hearers were convicted. Thousands believed and rejoiced, while others delayed, hardened their hearts and lost their opportunity. It remains an offer of grace and pardon even for those guilty of grievous crimes, but it must be accepted, and Agrippa refused it by rejecting the cross of Christ.

Meaning of Turning

To open the eyes is to be brought to the truth of God's word and to escape the darkness of unbelief. It is to be given discernment of spiritual necessities, to recognize what sin is, and to see through Satan's deceptions and the dangers they bring. That awakening is for laying hold by faith on Christ and His righteousness.

Turning from darkness to light is turning from error to truth, from transgression of God's law to obedience, and from unbelief to faith in Christ. It is turning from guilt to the light of salvation, and coming to recognize and obey God's will with a change from misery to peace. It takes place through preaching, as those who receive the light reflect it from God its source, carrying His authority and not their own. When souls accept the truth and take their stand to obey, the universe of heaven looks down with rejoicing and blessing, and Christ feels joy in His heart.

The world's spiritual darkness is under Satan's rule, and truth is the light that can bring people out of darkness to be prized and let shine so others may be brought to it. Souls unrescued are under his power and black banner, united with Lucifer in rebellion against God, and unless rescued from his power unto God they are without hope. The cross of Christ that rescues them proves that God is love.

To pass into Satan's power is to be led away from God by the deceptive temptations of the enemy. When people fail to study and obey God's word they leave Christ's guardianship and care and come under the guardianship of the prince of darkness, bringing confusion. Habits of intemperance that injure mind and body bring a person into that condition, leaving a confused mind that yields readily to temptation, with no clear discernment of the difference between right and wrong, a defiled conscience, and inability to discern spiritual things.

Turning from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God is a definite change each person can know for himself, deciding whether his feet are tending toward the city of God or toward darkness and the shadow of death. It draws a clear line between God's children and those who do not believe, with one brought into captivity to Christ and the other left in captivity and bondage to the prince of darkness. Those turned rest upon the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour, receive Christ by faith, are made sons of God born not of blood nor of man but of God, and become partakers of the divine nature. They know what true light is and know the power of the grace of Christ, having a faith that works by love and purifies the soul, and they live as children of light and children of the day, watching and sober, in contrast to spurious Christians who travel the broad road of selfishness and sin. They respond to the drawing of Christ, receive grace that leads to doing right, become aglow with His love, praise Him for calling them into light, use speech to tell the grace given them, and serve willingly and obediently to advance His glory as channels of light.

Turning the face away from darkness to light is turning from doubt and unbelief, from murmuring and complaining, and from every deceptive, falsifying influence pressed in through human agents who claim to believe the truth but do not cherish light and evidence and gather darkness about their souls. It is turning away from those agents and influences, refusing to let lying reports lodge in the mind and refusing to talk unbelief. It is instead talking faith and light, praising God, and coming into actual, personal contact with Jesus Christ as the source and center of light. Those who do this surround themselves with an uplifting and reviving influence, live in Christ and work in Christ, and do not live apart from Christ nor lead others onto the enemy's ground.

Forgiveness and Inheritance

Only the risen Christ can forgive sins and bring both Jews and Gentiles out of spiritual darkness into light, with forgiveness and an inheritance for those sanctified by faith in Him. He alone can awaken those dead in trespasses and sins, convict and convince sinners by revealing what sin is, blot out transgression, and turn them from darkness to light.

Through the gospel He forgives sin, renews the nature, clothes the soul with His righteousness, restores the sinner to a right mind, and prepares that person to work with God. By the Holy Spirit's work people escape Satan's power and darkness, repent and turn to the living God, and are cleansed from sin through the blood of the Lamb. The Holy Spirit's redeeming grace restores the willing soul from Satan's power to God, expelling enmity, envy, and unbelief, sanctifying the affections, and bringing unity with God and with fellow believers. That same grace changes old habits, customs, and practices that separate the soul from God, and sanctification continues to grow.

The inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Christ is an inheritance among the saints and angels in the presence of God, coming through the great salvation His righteousness brings to men if they will accept it. Christ, the Commander of all heaven, One with God, made this possible by clothing His divinity with humanity that humanity might touch humanity. He humbled Himself to dwell on earth and placed Himself among the poor, that as a human being He might become acquainted with man's temptations, trials, afflictions, and besetments. Those held in bondage are freed by strength from heaven and rejoice in the Lord. The mighty power of the gospel, presented in the Bible in the simplest language, when received cuts the chains that bind men in slavery to Satan's chariot, turning them from the power of Satan unto God to save a fallen world.

Remembering this deliverance and Jesus' great sacrifice to redeem from misery should move the rescued to resist selfishness and covetousness rather than grow weary in doing good. The promise of an inheritance among the sanctified gives value to labor for others and stands against indolence, selfishness, and doing as little as possible.

Work Entrusted to Believers

The commission laid on Paul is laid on every minister of Christ, to open eyes to spiritual need and turn sinners from darkness to light and from Satan's power to God, leading them to repent, confess, receive forgiveness and an inheritance among those made holy by faith in Jesus. This turning from spiritual darkness to spiritual light is the grand work of every true Christian in cooperation with Christ. Everyone is entrusted with the mission of leading souls in darkness, error and sin to the light, because a world of sin and ignorance lies around. Every possible effort must be made to bring souls from darkness to light, treating each case rightly, with living faith shown by works and personal responsibility.

Those who devote themselves to bringing others to God and turning them from darkness and Satan's power to God sincerely pray for His kingdom to come. The kingdom of grace is set up as sinful, rebellious hearts yield to God's loving rule, while the kingdom of glory will be fully set up at Christ's second coming. The good news of grace must be carried throughout the world before that coming, and winning souls to God hastens the coming of His kingdom.

The message must be carried quickly to every country so souls now in darkness are brought to light, leaving none in darkness if by any possible means enlightenment is possible. It is directed to the neglected and lost that they may see Christ by faith and trust Him as personal Saviour unto forgiveness and salvation. It calls every soul to reach people in cities anywhere and everywhere, carrying warning truth to believers and unbelievers to stir them to meet God, a work that never ends while mortals remain unwarned. Delay leaves undone what might have been done years before, whereas earnest faith, magnifying truth as it is in Jesus, wise personal efforts and a favorable beginning bring many from darkness to light and give reason to praise God. Pressing forward the work brings salvation to souls still in darkness, unable to see or understand.

Converted people are to labor for those within reach, including family and neighbors, patiently presenting Christ so sinners may be saved. The young are called to seek God's help and labor to rescue souls and turn them from Satan's power to God. Through a believer's efforts one or more may be brought from darkness to light by the truth. Servants of Christ should devote talents and efforts to turning people from spiritual darkness to God, accepting burdens and gaining scriptural knowledge and experience to save souls, with the promised inheritance among the sanctified giving value to labor for others against indolence, selfishness and doing as little as possible.

Through the apostles' labors many were brought from spiritual darkness to light. Empowered by the Holy Spirit through Christ's grace and earnest persevering prayer and close communion with Christ, they labored for salvation and many were brought to light and gathered into churches. Sinners are still brought from darkness to light through work for the truth.

Christ as head carries on saving work through the unity and cooperation of His people, who work together in unity, faith and love, receive His divine power and impart it to bring those under Satan's rule back to loyalty to God, putting all abilities to work. The work is not done alone but with others accompanying and with felt need of a higher power, with thorough conversion that stays converted through close connection with Jesus sought with all the heart and full purpose of heart under the Holy Spirit.

God works through men and women trained as self-supporting missionaries for foreign fields, laboring under the special light given and under His leading, so that when many receive such practical training the church becomes a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. The sanitarium is one of His instrumentalities for bringing those in darkness to light, doing much toward it when right influence controls it by keeping up the standard, keeping the moral tone from enfeeblement, keeping religious interest healthful, and having professors of truth represent the divine Teacher by precept and example. Eyes are opened to discern Satan's deceptions and dangers and to lay hold by faith on Christ and His righteousness, and exposing Satan's plans through the gospel message and publications serves that turning from Satan to God.

Power and Manner of Working

The work of turning souls from darkness to light is not done by human strength, for workers have none of themselves, but by the all-power of Christ and His constant presence to help perform duty and to guide, comfort, sanctify, sustain and give success. Christ gives His Spirit to His servants as they seek the lost, and their efforts then lead souls to turn from sin to righteousness. Through His grace, the Holy Spirit and earnest, persevering prayer the apostles labored to bring people from darkness to light, and many were brought to the light and gathered into churches. Their earnest, persevering prayer and close communion with Christ equipped them to work for the salvation of souls, and empowered by the Holy Spirit they brought many from darkness to light and established churches. Those who receive the light reflect it from God its source; they have no authority of their own, but as His messengers they carry His authority, and ministers are messengers of light.

Christ moves upon hearts, convinces of sin, and works through His messengers to turn people from spiritual darkness and disobedience to light and righteousness, while His presence guides and strengthens them in that work. That work means awakening the attention of men, convincing them of sin as transgression of Christ's law, turning them from disobedience to obedience, and leading them from darkness to light and from Satan's bondage of sin to the righteousness of God. It means awakening those dead in trespasses and sins, alarming them to rise from deathlike slumber, and persuading them to turn from darkness to light away from the power of Satan's devices and away from sin unto God. It is done by speaking words that draw attention to Christ and awaken in minds the desire to understand the hope and meaning of the truth. This is done with the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost as heaven's loving, powerful agencies for representing God in the world, and with Christ's own presence to guide, comfort, sanctify and sustain His workers in aggressive warfare, making them successful in bringing many souls to acknowledge the truth and confess their sins until the end of time.

A clean heart and new birth are essential to godliness and to living in obedience to God, and a living connection with God is needed to help others come from darkness to light. Those who abide in Christ become lights in the world and cooperate with Him in winning souls from darkness to light, and the Holy Spirit molds and equips them for it. Only those truly converted and born again are fitted to do this grand work of every true Christian in cooperation with Christ, which is done by setting forth Christ and Him crucified, with faith in Christ as the only hope of salvation and the Holy Spirit as efficiency through immediate divine cooperation. Faithful workers do this work as channels under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, seeking the salvation of souls and the glory of God rather than their own glory. God gives understanding and spiritual warmth to those who accept the message carried by His disciples and ambassadors, enabling them to receive the light He sends. God makes the efforts of faithful workers successful to open the understanding of many, and those who are enlightened are then led to work for the salvation of others.

People are converted to Christ, not to the human messengers; Jesus, not self, is to be seen. Through Christ's grace and the Holy Spirit's power gospel ministers can help bring about the turning from darkness to light and from Satan's power to God, and many are turned to the light, converted to Christ and not to men. Their work bears fruit through the Holy Spirit and can withstand Satan's assaults. The message to be carried is to bring people out of spiritual darkness and error and establish them on the platform of eternal truth. It is to teach all nations to observe all things Christ commanded, awakening and persuading them to turn from darkness to light and from sin unto God. It turns from sin to righteousness and from spiritual darkness and disobedience to light and righteousness, forgiving sin, renewing the nature, clothing the soul with Christ's righteousness, restoring to a right mind and preparing to work with God, and those who carry it are to follow Jesus' self-denying example and seek the lost.

This turning is coming to recognize and obey God's will, bringing a change from misery to peace. It is a change of life, as when one who had turned to the light twenty years earlier spoke of receiving light from Scripture and thankfulness for the Sabbath. Those who turned away from eager pursuit of the earthly crown and sought the heavenly crown changed from gloom to cheerfulness and holy joy.