Hello dear ones,
Today, let’s look at this attribute of God that we see mentioned numerous times throughout Holy Scripture:
And this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
— 1 John 1:5
In the very beginning of John’s letter, we see the apostle highlight one of God’s attributes. He says, “God is light.” Furthermore, the apostle claims that this is not his own deduction but rather the message that they received. Even more interesting, he says that they heard this message from God Himself. After hearing this message from God, they now declare it to the recipients of John’s letter.
This reference to God introducing Himself as Light is not new, because we see the apostle mention this very concept in his gospel:
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
— John 1:4
In this reference, we see the attribution being made specifically to Jesus Christ. Having introduced Him as the Word, John now presents to his readers that this Jesus possessed life, and the life was the Light of men.
Another reference to Jesus as the Light is seen as Jesus Himself describes the judgment against evil men:
And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been done by God.
— John 3:19-21
This light that both John and Jesus speak of has to do with purity and holiness. John’s phrasing describes God as the actual embodiment of that light. God is light. Jesus says this embodiment of light itself came into the world, but men loved darkness instead. This is judgment. Denying the light, who is Christ Himself, is judgment.
John adds to this statement by saying that in God there is no darkness at all. Here, darkness represents all that is ungodly. In God, there is no ungodliness. None at all.
God is perfectly light.
This is the view we ought to have of God: that God is pure, God is holy, God is light.
Here’s what this means for us as believers:
- We serve a holy God who is pure and uncompromising.
- God is the embodiment of light; He is the embodiment of actual purity and holiness.
- Our journey of sanctification leads us to ultimately become just as holy as He is holy.
because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
— 1 Peter 1:16
Be blessed,
Paul
Leave a Reply