“In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness overcame it not.” John 1:4-5
There is but one Light of the world, and it is God, in Christ. He IS the light that shineth in the darkness, a light that is pure, good, true, and life giving. The Light is revealed to men in two ways. The first is the Light of truth as we discover God in the word of God. This objective, absolute truth of God, pierces the darkness of men’s thoughts and concepts, drawing a convicting comparison between God and lost men. It is as the truth comes, energized by the Spirit of truth, and applied in power, that darkness is dispelled, losing its grip upon the souls of men. How essential are the words of the Apostle Paul, when he speaks of the means of communicating the truth of God: “…and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14)
The second aspect of the Light of men, the Light of life, is the very person and nature of the Son of God. He is the personified, absolute truth, revealed in the flesh. The Apostle John calls Him the Word, which was with God, the Word which WAS God. (Jn.1:1) Being the creator, it is Christ who alone, and uniquely, IS the possessor of life. His life “was the light of men.” It is this life, this Christ, as He walked on earth, taking upon Himself the limitations of human flesh, that would say to Philip the disciple: “…he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.” (14:9) It is in every revelation of Christ, His person, nature, and character, as we see Him in the Scriptures that, that we are brought face to face with the reality and truth of His life. But this life goes beyond a knowledge of the truth, though remaining perfectly in conformity with it, to the personal encounter with the power of such a life, a power that we, as believers are called not only to believe, but to know and experience.
To grasp something of this Light of life, revealed in truth, and in the power of His person, we go to Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian believers. There he declares in unmistakable terms that this Light of men is indeed the life of Christ, revealed in the hearts of men. He writes: “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus, might be made manifest in our body.” (4:10) It is when this Light of the world, reveals Himself by the Spirit, in the life, that the believer becomes what Jesus said we are, “…ye are the light of the world.” How then is the revelation of this “treasure in earthen vessels,” realized as we walk this earth? It is essential that this singular, solitary Light, that shineth in the darkness of a lost world was revealed from Bethlehem’s stable, to Calvary’s cross. This same Christ, this same Light, is that which has come to dispel the darkness, giving the power to live. It is as Christ dwelleth in the heart by faith, that the power of Christ’s life is revealed.
How then are we thus to live with the knowledge of Christ as our eternal Light, and life? How is the believer to live in communion with God, by this very Light of the world, so that Christ reveals Himself to men, that they might be saved? It is accomplished a faith and power given to appropriate Christ as our life. It is accomplished by a capacity given by God, to abide in Christ, trusting Him to abide in us. Herein is the Light of life revealed in and through men, and in the body of Christ. The question then becomes, “How can we daily know this life, and trust God to reveal this life to others?” It is in looking only unto Jesus, steadfastly dependent and submitted to Him.
Dear Father, Thou giver of eternal Light, and Life, fill us with the life of Christ today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.