In Him is Light

Today's topic is light and how this is a picture of God.   According to Merriman Webster, light may be defined as: "something that makes vision possible, a source of light, or spiritual illumination." Not only is God light, but He is the creator of light, He brings light to situations and surroundings and most importantly the human heart. 


To study the antonym of light we would need to contemplate darkness.  If God is light then darkness would represent the absence of God, or a state which obstructs vision, blocks light or veils circumstances and spiritual understanding.  If light brings vision, then darkness brings blindness.  Just as vision can aid in direction, knowledge, and clarity, blindness brings confusion, misunderstanding, bad judgment, and disorientation. 


It is very troubling to be lost or not know ones' way.  I had two blind friends who both got lost and had to have help to find their way.  One was on her college campus.  Even though she knew the campus and went to classes regularly, she had gotten turned around and could not orient herself to her present location.  After I led her to a familiar landmark, she was able to get the rest of the picture in her mind to find her way.  Similarly, my other blind friend was on a street in New York City trying to find the subway.  Once she was told what street she was on, she was able to talk me to the nearest subway entrance to find our way back to the mission base. In the same way, the light of God shows us where we are in relation to all of the twists and turns of life and based on that knowledge we are able to find our way to the desired destination, ultimately, life eternal with God, for whom/which we were created.


Jesus makes this comparison as he is healing the blind man in John 9.  He said that the blindness of this man was allowed in order for the glory of God through a healing would be shown.  He said“but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”  Jesus also declared Himself as the Light of the World after he released the woman caught in adultery from condemnation.  He said in John 8: 12 “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”  Therefore we see Jesus brings light not only to those bound by physical darkness in sickness, resulting in healing manifestations, but also light to those bound by the spiritual darkness in  sin resulting in deliverance manifestations to where they are free to: go and sin no more.

First let us consider that God creates light/illumination.  It says in Genesis 1:

"1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.^a 2The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

3Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”  Everything started with nothing and that nothing was in darkness and waters.  It is at that word of God that light came forth and this was distinct from darkness.  Notice that this was separate from the creation of the sun, moon and stars which did not happen until day four of creation.  Therefore, there exists light outside of the celestial spheres which comes from God Himself.  This light is good and emanates from God Himself.  So then, God is able to take what is nothing and dark and create from it light.  This brings hope to any situation no matter how distressful.

Isaiah speaks often of God coming as light to bring hope to dark situations.  In Isaiah 60 he tells the people:

1“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see.

For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.

2Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth,

but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.

3All nations will come to your light;

mighty kings will come to see your radiance.

Also in predicting the coming of Christ in Isaiah 9:

1^aNevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.

2^b The people who walk in darkness

will see a great light.

For those who live in a land of deep darkness,^c

a light will shine."

So then darkness, refers to a state of despair, hopelessness and oppression of enemy forces.  For years Israel suffered at the hands of cruel nations that pillaged their land and took them into bondage and hostile situations.  They looked for a deliverer to bring them political and economic freedom.  This is a picture of our spiritual situation without Christ.  Without Jesus, things are very gloomy.  It is like a cloudy day with no sunshine.  There is a gloominess on the land and a curse that brings a life of captivity and oppression.  But praise God for His light which we see in the face of Jesus Christ our Deliverer, Savior, and Hope.

This leads us to the next point that God is the greatest (physical) light source.  We can see God beautifully described as a light in the new Jerusalem in Revelation 21.  We see here that the city needs no light such as a human-made or celestial light because it is illuminated by God.  It says "And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. 24The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. 25Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there." and again this is described in Revelation 22 with these words: "3No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever."


Therefore, the sources of light we use in the earth realm for energy and vision is only temporary.  The true, lasting, and eternal light is found in heaven.  That radiant light will energize the whole city.  It will be on 24/7 activity and worship because there will be no need for sleep, reenergizing or waiting for a sunrise to operate.  When we spend time with God, His light shines on us and we ourselves begin to shine.  It says of Moses in Exodus 34:29 that his face began to shine after talking with God.  In fact, he was so bright that he had to wear a veil for some time.

Next, we see that God brings spiritual light.  Darkness is a type of spiritual bankruptcy and light is a type of spiritual awakening.  So then, just as sin brings death and darkness, Christ, the light, brings life and light.

In 1 John 1, the apostle says 5"This is the message we heard from Jesus^c and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin."  This passage shows that human methods of dealing with the sin problem do not bring light.  If we live in sin we can say that we are serving God all we want but we are still in darkness.


John 3 says 18“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants"

People who do not want to change or live for God prefer darkness.  They do not want to change so they veil or cover their behavior and actions so they can continue seemingly with no consequences.  Once light or truth comes, lies are exposed and sin is seen for what it truly is and it demands a penalty.  We in Christ, run to Him for our cleansing because we love His light and want to please Him and know that He is the one that can make us acceptable for the Father.  Unbelievers, however, hate the light of Christ.  They hate truth because it exposes their wrongdoings bringing judgment and conviction.  This is painful and actually a death sentence for those who refuse to turn to Christ for their redemption.  People who do not turn to Christ make that choice because they love the evil things they are participating in and do not want to stop. 

Praise be to God, that He turns us and gives us hearts to love His light even when we are unwilling in our own strength to do so in 2 Cor 4 it says "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”^a made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.  Also in 1 Peter 2:9 it says "you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light."

Finally, God shines on those who believe in Him to become lights to the world.  Jesus speaks of this in Matthew 5 when He says: 14“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.