THE TRUE LIGHT (3)

“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that GOD IS LIGHT...” – 1 John 1:5a

GOD is LIGHT and His Son Jesus Christ is the TRUE LIGHT: “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that GOD IS LIGHT and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 Jh.1:5). The True Light is the only Authentic, Real, Perfect, and Uncreated Light! Scriptures consistently associate God’s Glory, awe-inspiring Majesty, and regal Radiance, with LIGHT! However, human vocabulary cannot adequately capture the essence of this wholly spiritual light that’s invisible to mortal eyes: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1Tim 1:17); “who alone has immortality, dwelling in UNAPPROACHABLE LIGHT, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen” (1Tim.6:16).

Jesus Christ, the True Light, is the Uncreated Creator and Source of all created lights, whether the invisible lights of His heavenly throne room, the visible lights of the skies above – the Sun, Moon and Stars, or the artificial lights of science, experiments, and human intelligence. The visible lights of the heavens above proclaim the faithfulness and universality of His sovereign rule: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge” (Psa.19:1-2). The invisible radiance of His splendid garb and heavenly throne room manifests the glorious, awe-inspiring nature of His kingship. Yet, no form of created light is identical with God. They simply reveal and conceal His utterly transcendent divine glory!

God is all Light – no darkness at all! God is the purest and brightest of light. His Light transcends, outshines, out-radiates all created lights. For this reason, though created lights, both invisible and visible, only manifest the “hem” of God’s transcendent Splendour, they are nevertheless faithful ambassadors and fitting modes of His divine revelation. Created luminaries lead us up the ladder to their Uncreated Source – the Sovereign Fountain of all being, Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. The Prophet envisioned the Beauty of His Glory: “Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; they will see the land that is very far off” (Psa.33:17).

The Psalmist pictured the Lord in the dazzling brightness of the Sun: “For the LORD God is a SUN...” (Psa. 84:11). The apostle ‘caught’ the capstone revelation: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the FATHER of LIGHTS, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (Jam.1:17). God’s Uncreated Light shines above and beyond the capacities of the creature’s physical or spiritual comprehension. The Son, the True Light, is the Ultimate Revelation of His Glory: “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (Jh.1:18). To walk with Christ is to fellowship with Pure, Eternal Light!