Introduction
“The light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God,” is veiled to those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). The god of this world blinds the minds of those who are perishing, preventing them from seeing the light of the gospel. Any follower of the Lord Jesus can likely recall how their minds used to think before they became a newborn Christian. They can attest that the influences of the world—such as the environment, sciences, politics, and government—play a significant role in blinding people to the Word of God.
The true light, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God has been revealed to the world, calling all humans to be part of His everlasting kingdom where He reigns as King and Ruler over all things (John 1:1-5, John 8:12). As followers of the Lord Jesus, our primary goal is to serve the Lord Jesus rather than the world and to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ to unbelievers and those around us. He calls us to proclaim the gospel, which is the light of the nations. We should feel excited that the Lord has chosen us to serve Him and share the light of the gospel with those around us.
In this blog, we will explore the connection between the light spoken of in the act of creation described in Genesis 1:3-4, the light spoken of in 2 Corinthians 4:6, and the light spoken of in John 1:1-5.
The Lord Jesus is the True Light of the World
In this section, we show that the true light, “the glory of God,” exists from the beginning, is present in creation, and shines through the beloved Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. When God created the heavens and the earth, He also let His light shine over all of the creation (Genesis 1:3-4).
Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Comments Genesis 1:3. Here, the light from the palm of God comes out and shines throughout the earth, but it has no shape, no substance; it is the light that is part of God. We can think about it as the “glory of God,” but there is no substance, just pure light. This light is not the same as the light humans know.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
The Holy Spirit, in 2 Corinthians 4:6, connects the light mentioned in Genesis 1:3 with the Lord Jesus. The verse states, “Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Comments 2 Corinthians 4:6. When the Lord created the universe, earth, and humans, the light of the Lord God Almighty shone through and touched all His creation. Because of His love for humans, the beloved Son of God came down to be born as a human. The beloved Son of God is the true light for all living because in Him God the Father has given that light and authority. All living beings have knowledge of the true light, but the dark mind controls the human mind, dimming that light. But when humans look through all creation, that true light, which is in all humans, will be stirred up. And the light of knowledge of the beloved Son of God will stir the human heart to seek and meditate on the Holy Word. When humans meditate on the Holy Word, the light in their souls will shine out, and all who seek the Lord God Almighty will have their souls guided to come and be part of the true light. The light shining out is through the Holy Son of God.
In the Gospel of John, chapter 1, we learn that the Lord Jesus is the true light for all humanity, from the beginning, and that because of His love for humanity, He came down to show the way to the Father. Below, we will comment on a short passage from John 1:1-5; however, we encourage all readers to read the entire chapter for a fuller understanding.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Comments John 1:1. This verse tells all readers that, in the beginning, the Three in One already existed before all things were created, and it is here that we can learn this. The “Word” in this verse refers to both the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and “God” refers to God the Father, as this verse speaks of the Trinity of God. We can imagine in this way as well: God the Father is so big that God the Son and the Holy Spirit are in Him, and all Three are tangled together and cannot be separated, yet each of the Three has His own duty as well.
“In the beginning was the Word.” As the verse here tells all readers, in the beginning, before all things were created, the Word, the Trinity of God, was there already, and all things will happen through the Trinity of God.
“And the Word was with God.” Now, the verse tells all that in God the Father Himself, the beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit are already in Him.
“And the Word was God.” The most important thing to notice here is that the Word itself is also God the Father Himself because God the Father has the Holy Spirit and the beloved Son of God in Him from the beginning.
We can pause and ask: why are we discussing the “Word,” and how does this relate to the Lord Jesus, the incarnate One? As the Bible tells us, the Father will send the beloved Son to save all creation by taking on human form; the Father wants all things to link back to the beginning of creation. By sending the beloved Son to come on earth, all things have linked back to the beginning of creation on their own.
Another question that arises here concerns God the Father, who is Spirit. We refer to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of the Father, and we also consider the Word, which refers to both the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit. How do we reconcile all of this? Holy Spirit is the identity of the Spirit of the Father; the Father Himself will not come down on earth. The majority of the believers believe the Word refers to the beloved Son of God. However, all readers should remember that God is One. The Three become One God as well: the Father, the beloved Son of God, and the Holy Spirit are One, which is why we call the Trinity of God. And, because God of Three, the term Word includes the Three, it cannot be just One being the Word; all Three are the Word.
God is Spirit; God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit: Three in One, but each One has His own identity; however, none of them can be without one another; God is Three in One and cannot be separated.
As humans, we have spirit and soul, which are different, but these must be together as well; to be a complete human, we cannot lack any of these.
2 This was in the beginning with God.
Comments John 1:2. “This” in this place refers to the Trinity of God in the first verse. That is why it says “this” in this verse; when saying “this,” all Three are together as One, as discussed in the verse above.
Because the Lord wants to ensure that humans understand the Trinity of God, which cannot be separated, the verse uses the term “this”: “This was in the beginning with God.”
3 All became on account of Him, and apart from Him, nothing became that has been made.
Comments John 1:3. As this verse tells us, everything the Father has created, He created with the purpose of glorifying the beloved Son of God. Everything was made through the beloved Son of God because the Father has seen that all His creation will be saved through the beloved Son’s death on the cross. The Father has seen what will happen already, that His created things will crucify His beloved Son on the cross, and that is why here the verse tells: “apart from Him, nothing became that has been made.”
“All became on account of Him.” God is eternity. The beloved Son of God was in the beginning, He was in the beginning with God, and God the Father created all things through the beloved Son of God, because with the love of the beloved Son of God, all that belongs to Him will be forever with Him.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
Comments John 1:4. This verse tells us that through the beloved Son of God, life has been given to all humans and that life becomes the light of men for surviving; as long as they keep the faith and abide by the love of the beloved Son of God, their own life will be based on the light of the beloved Son of God.
“In Him was life.” Because the beloved Son of God lives forever, His life will be light for all humans. Because when the beloved Son of God gave His life on the cross, that life that He gave becomes light for humans. The light here refers to the true knowledge about God.
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not seized it.
Comments John 1:5. When the beloved Son has given up His life for the humans, the light from His life becomes the ray of light shining through the darkness. The dark itself cannot stand against His light, and cannot accept it, because the dark cannot accept the light in their area; the dark wants to remain dark.
The dark here is the power of the evil one that controls it, which can blind the mind and the eyes of those who seek and walk with the dark. The dark cannot fight against the light; that is why the verse tells us that “the darkness has not seized it.”
The light is the true knowledge about God, and that knowledge will shine out, and the dark cannot seize it.
Conclusions
In conclusion, God the Father has declared that “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). To become better evangelists, we must joyfully share this true light—the good news about the Lord Jesus—with those around us and promote the coming of God’s new Kingdom. The path to eternal life is found solely in the Lord Jesus. Whoever believes in the work of salvation accomplished by the Son of God, Jesus Christ—believing that He is both the Son of God and the Son of Man, that He was crucified, shed His blood, and died on the cross for the sins of the world, was buried, rose from the dead on the third day, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will return in the clouds to take His own with Him—will be worthy of being part of His Kingdom.
Meditation Tasks
- As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we should think of ourselves as having the most valuable gift we can offer to those around us: the Lord Jesus. We encourage everyone to reflect on how they can share this gift with everyone they encounter. For further insights, please consult our blog article titled “The Most Valuable Gift to Offer.”