Light of God

I'm studying the word ‘light’ as I seek a deeper understanding of its meaning to me.

I posted on one blog but not any others about a strange occurrence in my life recently.

The short version is that my hubby in the darkness of our bedroom as he came to bed where I was already sleeping went to put his hand in mind and stopped when he saw a light in my hand. He tried to figure out where it was coming from but couldn’t. It was so odd that he remarked on it to me the next day and since then has reaffirmed that it was something ‘he’d never seen before’.

I didn’t see the light, I had no part in producing the light, I was sleeping.
I don’t understand the why of it and I could just blow it off as nothing, but it’s not everyday you get told something like that, right?

Since then I’ve been studying, talking to various people, praying, studying, talking to more people, more studying just trying to understand.

There has been the mention of ‘healing’ an idea that came about from someone who uses laying on of hands healing. There has been mention of enlightenment and spiritual growth. There’s been mention also of spreading the word, the truth.

I don’t feel compelled towards ‘healing’ simply because I just wouldn’t know what to do or how. I’ve been told I could try to heal someone and then likewise told that if it doesn’t work it could be my lack of faith or maybe it’s that God doesn’t always heal all those that are treated that way for reasons of his own. So it would seem like trying to heal someone is scary business- it would bring my own faith into question, and it would possibly leave me floundering more because if God doesn’t heal all by those He gives the gift of healing to, how do we know if any of it is really really? How do we know a person wouldn’t have been healed naturally? How do we know it’s not a psychological healing? So many questions.

I was told by someone that a very devout person once warned that seeking to perform miracles in the last days is dangerous because the devil will be using miracles as his tools of deception so widely that it could be a trap for those who would otherwise be God’s. Meaning that the devil is going about seeking to devour whom he may and he will deceive ALL but the very elect.

That is scary stuff there. We have to be rooted and grounded in Christ so completely that we aren’t deceived.

This light in my hand, this inexplicable light has thrown me into a bit of confusion but I’m not going to let it confuse me to the point I get lost in it all and lose my way with Christ, I can’t.

Is it for healing? Is it for spreading the word of God? Does it mean anything at all? I’m going to continue to study for a bit, but after awhile I will just let it all go and wait for something more if God wants me to know more, if this is to mean something He will show me I have to have faith in that, in Him.

Here now is a bit of study on the word light—courtesy of the internet.


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LIGHT
lit ('or, ma'or; phos; many other words):

The creation of light was the initial step in the creation of life. "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3) was the first word of God spoken after His creative Spirit "moved" upon the primary material out of which He created the heavens and the earth, and which lay, until the utterance of that word, in the chaos of darkness and desolation. Something akin, possibly, to the all-pervasive electro-magnetic activity of the aurora borealis penetrated the chaotic night of the world. The ultimate focusing of light (on the 4th day of creation, Genesis 1:14) in suns, stars, and solar systems brought the initial creative process to completion, as the essential condition of all organic life. The origin of light thus finds its explanation in the purpose and very nature of God whom John defines as not only the Author of light but, in an all-inclusive sense, as light itself:

"God is light" (1John 1:5).

{1:5} This then is the message which we have heard of
him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is
no darkness at all.

2. A Comprehensive Term:

The word "light" is Divinely rich in its comprehensiveness and meaning. Its material splendor is used throughout the Scriptures as the symbol and synonym of all that is luminous and radiant in the mental, moral and spiritual life of men and angels; while the eternal God, because of His holiness and moral perfection, is pictured as "dwelling in light unapproachable" (1 Timothy 6:16). Every phase of the word, from the original light in the natural world to the spiritual glory of the celestial, is found in Holy Writ.

{6:14} That thou keep [this] commandment
without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord
Jesus Christ: {6:15} Which in his times he shall shew, [who
is] the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and
Lord of lords; {6:16} Who only hath immortality, dwelling
in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man
hath seen, nor can see: to whom [be] honour and power
everlasting. Amen.

(1) Natural Light.

The light of day (Genesis 1:5);

{1:5} And God
called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And
the evening and the morning were the first day.

of sun, moon and stars; "lights in the firmament" (Genesis 1:14-18;

{1:14} And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament
of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them
be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
{1:15} And let them be for lights in the firmament of the
heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. {1:16}
And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the
day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars
also. {1:17} And God set them in the firmament of the
heaven to give light upon the earth, {1:18} And to rule over
the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the
darkness: and God saw that [it was] good.

Psalms 74:16;

{74:16} The day [is] thine, the night also [is] thine: thou hast
prepared the light and the sun.

Ps. 136:7;

{136:7} To him that made great lights: for his mercy [endureth] for
ever:

Ps. 148:3;

{148:3} Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.

Ecclesiastes 12:2;

{12:2} While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars,
be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

Revelation 22:5)

{22:5} And there
shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither
light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and
they shall reign for ever and ever.

Its characteristics are beauty, radiance, utility. It "rejoiceth the heart" (Proverbs 15:30);

{15:30} The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart:
[and] a good report maketh the bones fat

"Truly the light is sweet" (Ecclesiastes 11:7

{11:7} Truly the light [is] sweet, and a pleasant [thing it
is] for the eyes to behold the sun:

without it men stumble and are helpless (John 11:9,10)

{11:9} Jesus answered, Are
there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the
day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this
world. {11:10} But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth,
because there is no light in him.

; it is something for which they wait with inexpressible longing (Job 30:26;

{30:26}
When I looked for good, then evil came [unto me:] and
when I waited for light, there came darkness.

compare Psalms 130:6).

{130:6} My soul [waiteth] for the Lord more than they that watch for
the morning: [I say, more than] they that watch for the morning.

Life, joy, activity and all blessings are dependent upon light.

Light and life are almost synonymous to the inhabitants of Palestine, and in the same way darkness and death. Theirs is the land of sunshine. When they go to other lands of clouded skies their only thought is to return to the brightness and sunshine of their native land. In Palestine there is hardly a day in the whole year when the sun does not shine for some part of it, while for five months of the year there is scarcely an interruption of the sunshine. Time is reckoned from sunset to sunset. The day's labor closes with the coming of darkness. "Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labor until the evening" (Psalms 104:23).

The suddenness of the change from darkness to light with the rising sun and the disappearance of the sun in the evening is more striking than in more northern countries, and it is not strange that in the ancient days there should have arisen a worship of the sun as the giver of light and happiness, and that Job should mention the enticement of sun-worship when he "beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness" (Job 31:26). The severest plague in Egypt next to the slaying of the firstborn was the plague of darkness which fell upon the Egyptians (Exodus 10:23). This love of light finds expression in both Old Testament and New Testament in a very extensive use of the word to express those things which are most to be desired and most helpful to man, and in this connection we find some of the most beautiful figures in the Bible.

(2) Artificial Light.

When natural light fails, man by discovery or invention provides himself with some temporary substitute, however dim and inadequate. The ancient Hebrews had "oil for the light" (Exodus 25:6; 35:8; Leviticus 24:2) and lamps (Exodus 35:14; Matthew 5:15).

{5:13} Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost
his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth
good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under
foot of men. {5:14} Ye are the light of the world. A city that
is set on an hill cannot be hid. {5:15} Neither do men light a
candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it
giveth light unto all that are in the house. {5:16} Let your
light so shine before men, that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

"There were many lights. (lampas) in the upper chamber" at Troas, where Paul preached until midnight (Acts 20:8); so Jeremiah 25:10 the Revised Version (British and American), "light of the lamp;" the King James Version, "candle."

(3) Miraculous Light.

When the appalling plague of "thick darkness," for three days, enveloped the Egyptians, terrified and rendered them helpless, "all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings" (Exodus 10:23). Whether the darkness was due to a Divinely-ordered natural cause or the light was the natural light of day, the process that preserved the interspersed Israelites from the encompassing darkness was supernatural. Miraculous, also, even though through natural agency, was the "pillar of fire" that gave light to the Israelites escaping from Pharaoh (Exodus 13:21; 14:20; Psalms 78:14), "He led them .... all the night with a light of fire." Supernatural was the effulgence at Christ's transfiguration that made "his garments .... white as the light" (Matthew 17:2). Under the same category Paul classifies `the great light' that `suddenly shone round about him from heaven' on the way to Damascus (Acts 22:6; compare Acts 9:3).

{22:6} And
it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come
nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from
heaven a great light round about me.

{9:3} And as he journeyed, he came near
Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a
light from heaven:

In these rare instances the supernatural light was not only symbolic of an inner spiritual light, but instrumental, in part at least, in revealing or preparing the way for it.

(4) Mental, Moral, Spiritual Light.

The phenomena of natural light have their counterpart in the inner life of man. Few words lend themselves with such beauty and appropriateness to the experiences, conditions, and radiance of the spiritual life. For this reason the Scriptures use "light" largely in the figurative sense. Borrowed from the natural world, it is, nevertheless, inherently suited to portray spiritual realities. In secular life a distinct line of demarcation is drawn between intellectual and spiritual knowledge and illumination.

Education that enlightens the mind may leave the moral man untouched.

This distinction rarely obtains in the Bible, which deals with man as a spiritual being and looks upon his faculties as interdependent in their action.

(a) A few passages, however, refer to the light that comes chiefly to the intellect or mind through Divine instruction, e.g. Psalms 119:130,

{119:130} The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth
understanding unto the simple.

"The opening of thy words giveth light"; so Proverbs 6:23, "The law is light." Even here the instruction includes moral as well as mental enlightenment.

{6:23} For the commandment [is] a lamp;
and the law [is] light; and reproofs of instruction [are] the
way of life:

(b) Moral:

Job 24:13,16 has to do exclusively with man's moral attitude to truth: "rebel against the light"; "know not the light." Isaiah 5:20 describes a moral confusion and blindness, which cannot distinguish light from darkness.

(c) For the most part, however, light and life go together. It is the product of salvation:

"Yahweh is my light and my salvation" (Psalms 27:1). "Light," figuratively used, has to do preeminently with spiritual life, including also the illumination that floods all the faculties of the soul: intellect, conscience, reason, will. In the moral realm the enlightenment of these faculties is dependent wholly on the renewal of the spirit. "In thy light .... we see light" (Psalms 36:9); "The life was the light of men" (John 1:4).

Light is an attribute of holiness, and thus a personal quality. It is the outshining of Deity.

3. An Attribute of Holiness:

(1) God.

"God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1John 1:5). Darkness is the universal symbol and condition of sin and death; light the symbol and expression of holiness. "The light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame" (Isaiah 10:17). God, by His presence and grace, is to us a "marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9). The glory of His holiness and presence is the "everlasting light" of the redeemed in heaven (Isaiah 60:19,20; Revelation 21:23,14; 22:5).

(2) Christ.

Christ, the eternal Word (logos, John 1:1), who said "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3), is Himself the "effulgence of (God's) glory" (Hebrews 1:3), "the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world" (John 1:9) (compare the statements concerning Wisdom in The Wisdom of Solomon 7:25 f and concerning Christ in Hebrews 1:3; and see CREEDS; LOGOS; JOHANNINE THEOLOGY; WISDOM). As the predicted Messiah, He was to be "for alight of the Gentiles" (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6). His birth was the fulfillment of this prophecy (Luke 2:32). Jesus called Himself "the light of the world" (John 8:12; 9:5; 12:46); As light He was "God .... manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16 the King James Version). "The Word was God" (John 1:1). Jesus as logos is the eternal expression of God as a word is the expression of a thought. In the threefold essence of His being God is Life (zoe) (John 5:26; 6:57); God is Love (agape) (1John 4:8); God is Light (phos) (1John 1:5). Thus Christ, the logos, manifesting the three aspects of the Divine Nature, is Life, Love and Light, and these three are inseparable and constitute the glory. which the disciples beheld in Him, "glory as of the only begotten from the Father" (John 1:14). In revealing and giving life, Christ becomes "the light of men" (John 1:4). God gives "the light of the knowledge of (his) glory in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6), and this salvation is called "the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4). Christ is thus the Teacher, Enlightener ("Christ shall give thee light," Ephesians 5:14 the King James Version), Guide, Saviour of men.

{5:14} Wherefore
he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead,
and Christ shall give thee light.

(3) Christians.

All who catch and reflect the light of God and of Christ are called "light," "lights."

(a) John the Baptist:

"a burning and a shining light" (John 5:35 the King James Version). It is significant that this pre-Christian prophet was termed luchnos, while the disciples of the new dispensation are called phos (Matthew 5:14): "Ye are the light of the world."

(b) Henceforth Christians and saints were called "children of light" (Luke 16:8; John 12:36; Ephesians 5:8), and were expected to be "seen as lights in the world" (Philippians 2:15).

(c) The Jew who possessed the law mistakenly supposed he was "a light of them that are in darkness" (Romans 2:19).

(4) The Church.

Zion was to "shine" because her `light had come' (Isaiah 60:1). The Gentiles were to come to her light (Isaiah 60:3). Her mission as the enlightener of the world was symbolized in the ornamentations of her priesthood. The Urim of the high priest's breastplate signified light, and the name itself is but the plural form of the Hebrew 'or. It stood for revelation, and thummim for truth. The church of the Christian dispensation was to be even more radiant with the light of God and of Christ. The seven churches of Asia were revealed to John, by the Spirit, as seven golden candlesticks, and her ministers as seven stars, both luminous with the light of the Gospel revelation. In Ephesians, Christ, who is the Light of the world, is the Head of the church, the latter being His body through which His glory is to be manifested to the world, "to make all men see," etc. (Ephesians 3:9,10). "Unto him be the glory in the church" (Ephesians 3:21), the church bringing glory to God, by revealing His glory to men through its reproduction of the life and light of Christ.

4. Symbolism:

Light symbolizes:

(1) the eye, "The light of the body is the eye" (Matthew 6:22, the King James Version; Luke 11:34);

(2) watchfulhess, "Let your lights (the Revised Version (British and American) "lamps") be burning," the figure being taken from the parable of the Virgins;

(3) protection, "armor (Romans 13:12), the garment of a holy and Christ-like life;

(4) the sphere of the Christian's daily walk, "inheritance of the saints in light" (Colossians 1:12);

(5) heaven, for the inheritance just referred to includes the world above in which "the Lamb is the light thereof"

(6) prosperity, relief (Esther 8:16; Job 30:26), in contrast with the calamities of the wicked whose "light .... shall be put out" (Job 18:5);

(7) joy and gladness (Job 3:20; Psalms 97:11; 112:4);

(8) God's favor, the light of thy countenance" (Psalms 4:6; 44:3; 89:15), and a king's favor (Proverbs 16:15);

(9) life (Psalms 13:3; 49:19; John 1:4).

5. Expressive Terms:

Expressive terms are:

(1) "fruit of the light" (Ephesians 5:9), i.e. goodness, righteousness, truth;

(2) "light in the Lord" (Ephesians 5:8), indicating the source of light (compare Isaiah 2:5);

(3) "inheritance of the saints in light" (Colossians 1:12), a present experience issuing in heaven;

(4) "Father of lights" (James 1:17), signifying the Creator of the heavenly bodies;

(5) "marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9), the light of God's presence and fellowship;

(6) "Walk in the light" (1John 1:7), in the light of God's teaching and companionship;

(7) "abideth in the light" (1John 2:10), in love, Divine and fraternal;

(8) "Light of the glorious gospel of Christ "; "light of the knowledge of the glory of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4,6 the King James Version).

Dwight M. Pratt
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Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that is available from Crosswire Software.

Ephesians

{5:7} Be not ye therefore
partakers with them. {5:8} For ye were sometimes
darkness, but now [are ye] light in the Lord: walk as
children of light: {5:9} (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all
goodness and righteousness and truth;) {5:10} Proving what
is acceptable unto the Lord. {5:11} And have no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove
[them. ]{5:12} For it is a shame even to speak of those
things which are done of them in secret. {5:13} But all
things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for
whatsoever doth make manifest is light. {5:14} Wherefore
he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead,
and Christ shall give thee light.


By the Grace of God may I awake from my sleep, may I arouse my spiritual deadness and receive the light from Christ.

Amen.