The Light of the World

Yeshua describes Himself many times in Scripture as the "Light".  The Light of God is also mentioned at length in the Old Testament.  I got to thinking about Christ as the Light of the World after considering this verse in 1 John 1:5 -

I wanted to know what Scripture considers "light".  There are three definitions I've found.

1.)  God's Light is His Glory. (Revelation 20:11)
2.)  God's Light is His Wisdom. (2 Corinthians 4:6)
3.)  God's Light is Life.  (John 1:4)

Using these definitions, we can infer a few things from the text in 1 John 1:5.  If there is no "darkness" in God, that means His Glory is absolute.  There are no shadows, He's pure bright light.  He shines like the sun on all sides, no part of Him would be dark. 

His wisdom is complete as well.  There is nothing He doesn't know.  If it can be known, it is known by God.  This includes how many grains of sand are in the entire universe, how many atoms are in my body to how many different galaxies (and stars) exist.

If God's light is life, then we know there is no death in God.  He is eternal.  This also infers that sickness is darkness and health is life, considering the fact that light cannot die and sickness allows for death.

It's interesting, while thinking more and more about the light of God, a few more things come to mind that can't really be directly connected to the light by Scripture, but makes sense as attributes of God's light.

1.)  Light is Morality (Ten Commandments, Love God, Love thy Neighbor).
2.)  Light is Fruits of the Spirit (Love, Kindness, Gentleness, Joy, Peace, Patience, Goodness, Faithfulness, & Self-Control).

If there is no darkness in God, then we know He has no hate in Him, He's never unkind, never rough, never unhappy, never full of unease, never impatient, never evil, never unfaithful, and never loses control. 

Light is also warm.  Fire casts light and also warmth.  So does sunlight.  Therefore, God could be considered warm and inviting. 

Something also struck me about the Light of God, however.  In watching a video on white light, it's actually made up of a spectrum of different colors; red, green, and blue.  When viewed through a crystal or water, light can be refracted into a rainbow.

How interesting that God's covenant with Noah was His "bow in the sky" (Genesis 9:12-17).  This is, of course, refracted sunlight, and not the Glory of God.  But the metaphor of "light" being broken into so many colors is fascinating.  Why did God create light in so many colors?  Maybe some scientist out there knows the reason for light being in so many colors.  But being the whimsical, spiritual person I am, I wonder if it's another way of viewing God's Light.

Could it be that each color represents all of God's attributes for the fruits of the Spirit?  Could it represent all knowledge that can be known?  Do the colors somehow tell the story of Yeshua's sacrifice and salvation?  Or is it just pure beauty that God wanted to show off?

There is another rainbow associated with God, and that's the one surrounding His Throne (Revelation 4:3). 

This rainbow, however, is described as a green one -- the color of an emerald.  Does this imply that God's Glory can be refracted, but only to the green spectrum?  Maybe things work differently in Heaven than on earth.  What, exactly, refracts the light of God's Glory?  His Throne?  The sea of glass?  Maybe it doesn't matter.

One thing is for sure, the Bible is full of references to the darkness and the light.  The majority of the references are metaphors for wisdom: "Thy Word is a light unto my feet and a lamp unto my path..." (Psalm 119:105).  It wasn't until Yeshua that we learned the "Light" was a person (John 8:12)!  Not only was He Wisdom, but also Life. 

A few noteworthy facts about the Son of God -- the Light of the World was born at night.  Very fitting that He should arrive in this world in the darkness (Luke 2:6-11).

When He was crucified in the middle of the day, darkness fell at His death (Matthew 27:45).

The resurrected Christ was first encountered in the light of Easter morning (Matthew 28:1).  It's not merely daylight Yeshua was first seen at, but the first light of dawn.  It was indeed a "new day".  Christ had become the firstborn of the resurrected dead (Colossians 1:18).  Scripture says that God's loving kindnesses are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).  Imagine the new loving kindness on That Day!  Death had been conquered!  The Light of Life had overcome the darkness of the grave.  Interesting how joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5), or how help comes in the morning (Psalm 46:5). 

Christ is also known as the "Morning Star" (Revelation 22:16). 

I can't help but wonder if that title of His was due to His resurrection in the morning.  But what's even more interesting is this -- Revelation 2:28 states to the one who conquers, "He will give them the Morning Star."  Our inheritance is the Light -- Yeshua Himself!

Our eternity will be filled with amazing realities.  We will be given the light of Life, the light of Wisdom and Knowledge, and the light of God's Glory!  We are children of the Day (1 Thessalonians 5:5) because the Morning Star has risen with the dawn.  With Christ in us, we are now the Light of the world (Matthew 5:14).

 

Go shine your light.

~~Becka