‘Behold, the Lamb of God’s
ide o amnos tou
theou
College Study
34th teaching
4.22.2013
“God’s Light”
Turn to I John
Chapter One
Tonight we examine one of the curiouser attributes of God:
God’s Light.
There, in I John 1:5,
the apostle says that God is phos,
using the Greek word that means both light
and an emitter of light. Of course,
we get our words phosphorus, photograph, photon and phosphorescent from this
ancient Greek word.
But throughout the Scriptures, God is likened to light. But
God is not only like or similar to light. It’s not just a
metaphor or analogy, like when the Bible says God is a Rock or a Tower. I think
it becomes clear that when the Bible says “God is light”, it’s a statement that means something more than just a
metaphor.
“God is Light” means more than just “God is good and holy”,
for goodness is something we often associate with light. But it means more than
that. It is a description of His Being.
Our study then is entitled: “God’s Light”. This is a
metaphysical attribute. Light describes what God is in His essence and His
Being.
So then, to understand the biblical claim that God is
light, we have 4 points:
1.
What is Light?
2.
Seven Qualities of Light
3.
The Biblical Basis for God’s
Light
4.
Seven Comparisons of God’s
Light
1.
What is Light?
Light is one of the most beautiful and wonderful of God’s
creations. We’ve all watched sunsets and sunrises before, and no matter how
many you’ve seen, they always hold your awe. We’ve all seen firework shows.
Some of us have watched solar eclipses. Many of us have enjoyed rainbows. Countless
poems have been written about the glories of light. And certainly, unless we’re
blind, we have each enjoyed the gift of eyesight. All of these things are made
possible through this amazing thing we call Light.
But light is not only wonderful. It is also mysterious. It
has many qualities which we don’t often think of. We don’t often think of light
as allowing us to see, for example.
Now I’m no physicist, and the study of Light: known as
Optics, is for the physicist. But we want only to know as simply as possible
what this thing we call Light actually is.
Our word Light
refers to a visible range of electromagnetic radiation. You can see on this of
the electromagnetic spectrum that visible light is just a small part of a range
of radiation wavelengths. All the colors visible to us are in this small
spectrum.
What is Light, then? Light is a kind of radiation and a
form of visible energy.
Light, of course, can have varied intensities and
frequencies.
Light can be emitted by different sources: the sun and the
stars, of course. The planet Venus is sometimes bright enough in reflection
light to cast a shadow on Earth. And there are animals that possess the ability
of bioluminescence which can produce light inside their bodies. There are even
plants, like mushrooms, which can produce light.
Light is also made up of particles called photons. But this
is where it gets really tricky, because we often think of particles that are
like specks of dust. Photons are not like that. Photons, for example, have zero
mass. Photons are destroyed or created when radiation is either absorbed or
emitted, though a photon will not decay on its own.
So Light then, is a form of visible energy or radiation
made up of massless particles called photons. Light is truly fascinating and
truly unique. We could say more, but this should suffice for tonight. Of all
the created things that analogically resemble God the Creator, Light is the
most mysterious, complex and beautiful.
As the writer of Les Miserables, Victor Hugo, once said:
“To love beauty is to see light”.
2.
Seven Qualities of Light
We’ve just looked at a few qualities of natural, visible
Light, but in our second point I’d like to zoom in on seven specific ones,
seven specific qualities of natural Light. We will consider these and then
later on contrast and compare them to the qualities of God’s spiritual Light.
I.
Light
has substance
As we discussed, Light is made up of massless particles
known as photons. But even though Light is comprised of massless particles,
Light has pressure. Light exerts a very real physical pressure on objects in
its path. Of course, this pressure is very slight, but it’s still there.
As an example: a one-milliwatt laser pointer exerts a force
of about 3.3 piconewtons on the object it shines on. How small of a force is
that? It’s so small that you could lift one U.S. penny with laser pointers… 30
billion one-milliwatt laser pointers. That may seem tiny, and it is. But on a
larger scale, solar light pressure can cause asteroids to spin faster, just
like wind acting upon a weathervane. So light “pushes”.
Pressure also means light has weight, and though we use the
term lightweight jokingly, we don’t often consider that Light as radiation has
a substantial weight to it. When sunlight hits the Earth, every square inch
illuminated is “pushed” by light with a force of about a billionth of a pound.
Now, again that’s tiny. But on a larger scale: for example, on a sunny day, the
city of Chicago weighs about 300lbs. more, only because sunlight is weighing
down on it.
Light, then, has substance. Though it’s made up of massless
particles, Light has weight. Light matters, though it is unlike other matter.
Light is substantial and weighty, it has substance.
II.
Light
reveals
Earlier I mentioned that we owe our eyesight to Light. If
there was no light, you could see nothing, and by extension, know nothing about
what the world around you looks like. If you want the truth about something, we
say “shed some light” on it. We know that Light reveals what could not
otherwise be known. Illumination and Enlightenment, Light shining and gaining
knowledge are both twin ideas.
Light has a presence that enables you to see. It is
interesting that darkness is merely an absence of light. Blindness, similarly,
is just an absence of either being able to detect light or of having the
presence of light.
Why do you think most people smooch in the dark? Even
better question, why do most people close their eyes when they smooch? Because
most people are ugly. Point made. Next.
III.
Light
is active
We have all heard of the speed of light: 186,282 miles per
second. What does this tell us about Light? It tells us that Light is active.
Light involves energy and movement. It involves radiation that radiates. Light
works, functions, interacts and moves in a path. Light is like a river that
constantly flows.
In stark contrast, darkness does not move. There’s no such
thing as dark-rays outside of science fiction. Science fact is darkness does
not move, rather it is re-moved and
displaced when Light appears.
IV.
Light
guides
Emitters of light have provided guidance since ancient
times. The light of the North Star has helped to guide hundreds of ancient
sailors across the seas. They used methods of astronavigation to find their
way.
Lighthouses serve much the same purpose: aiding ocean navigation,
signaling dangerous coastlines or harbors. For many a sailor, Light has been an
absolutely necessary part of navigation.
V.
Light
gives life
Happy Earth Day! You couldn’t have it without the sun and
its light. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert light energy
into chemical energy. The light of the sun sustains this process and allows
Earth to have the vibrant and diverse life it contains.
Without the Light of the sun, things would look a lot more
like Pluto’s surface: barren, frigid and lifeless.
VI.
Light
brings hope
Have you ever been up all night, whether you’ve been sick
or frightened as a child? Somehow, the dawn brings a sense of hope. The soft
morning light somehow carries in our minds a sense of comfort and promise. A
new day means a new beginning. The morning light inspires us with a sense of
hope.
VII.
Light
is aligned with goodness
All throughout popular culture, and indeed throughout
history, light and darkness have been equated with good and evil. There have
been countless movies made, books written, plays playwrighted and poems
inscribed about battles between good and evil, light and darkness.
So we’ve been trained all our lives, by culture oddly
enough, to associate Light with Goodness. And more often then not, Light and
Good triumphs over Darkness and Evil. Mario rescues the Princess. Darth Vader
tosses the Emperor into the pit. Sauron’s One Ring is destroyed. Link saves the
Land of Hyrule. The Knight slays the Dragon. Why?
I think because that’s what happens in physics. Light
dispels and displaces the Dark, every time. You can’t have enough Dark to
swallow up Light, because Dark only exists as an absence of Light. Nothing can
quench Light. And so this fundamental truth is mirrored in even human fiction.
3.
The Biblical Basis for God’s
Light
We’ve seen now what Light actually is and we’ve examined a
few characteristics of natural Light.
Before we compare God’s spiritual Light to natural light,
let’s have our Project Scriptura verses.
Also, Hebrews
1:1-3, effulgence means a shining forth, Jesus is like the
light-ray of God’s glory.
Revelation 21:22-25.
The ultimate goal line of history is
here. Everything is leading up to this. We have thus far lived our entire lives
under the light of the sun, but that is just mind-training, that’s just to get
us familiar with an example that points to the fact that someday we shall live
not under solar light but under Divine light. Someday we shall no longer have
or need the sun, since the Son of God shall light up the city and the world of
our eternal lives.
It is clear why the Bible so often aligns God and light.
The Bible commentator, Adam Clarke, said “Light is the purest, the most subtle,
the most useful, and the most diffusive of all God’s creatures; it is,
therefore, a very proper emblem of the purity, perfection, and goodness of the
Divine nature”.
4.
Seven Comparisons of God’s
Light
Remember our list of seven qualities of natural light? Now
that we’ve opened the Word, we shall briefly compare natural light with God’s
Light.
Of necessity, God’s Light is not natural. Natural light was
created on the first day of Creation, as recorded in Genesis 1:3. Since nothing is around before itself to make itself
exist, God’s light is not a natural light but a spiritual Light. There are differences
then between God’s Light and natural light.
We must keep in mind that the Bible’s descriptions of God
being like something else are analogical descriptions. God is not totally like
natural light, or He would be made of particles subject to destruction and
absorption. Neither is God totally unlike natural light, which would mean God
is darkness and not light.
No, God is analogically like light, He is similar to natural light. So let’s
revisit our list of light’s seven qualities.
I.
God
has substance
While God is not made of particles and we know Him to be
Spirit and Immaterial, God is like light in that He is substantial. He isn’t
substance, but He is substantial, that is: sufficient, important, weighty.
Did you know that the Hebrew word kabod, meaning glory,
comes from a root words that means to be
heavy or weighty? The ancient Hebrews, then, understood that God’s glory
has weight to it. God exerts pressure, just like Light does.
Just ask King David, who wrote Psalm 32:4, “For day and
night Your hand was heavy upon me…”
The holy nature of God has very real substance and weight
to it, though He is not made of materials or particles.
II.
God
reveals
We’ve talked before about the important statement that God
cannot be known outside of what He has made known. God’s self-revelations are
the only way to know anything about Him. Otherwise, He is metaphilosophical, as
we learned last week: incomprehensible.
Consider this, though: the first act of Creation was the
creation of Light, when the voice of the Almighty cried out “Let there be
Light”! And interestingly, if light reveals and God is light, then God reveals.
And in created natural Light like the Light of Himself, God’s first act of
Creation was an act of self-revelation. When He said “let there be Light”, He
was crying out for the best example, the best imagery of what the Divine
essence is. And so the first created thing was a physical counterpart of God’s
own nature. The first act of Creation was the first act of self-revelation
there in Genesis 1:3.
And what’s more interesting. If you look at the Genesis
account of Creation, you’ll notice that He made light on Day One, but He didn’t
make any celestial objects, no stars or moons or suns, these light-holders, until
Day Four. So where did this light from Day One come from? From the only
possible source: it radiated from God Himself before He made objects to hold
and radiate that natural light.
So too, all the knowledge we have comes from God. Every
illumination and enlightenment of God’s Being and Personality comes from the
Divine Himself. Matthew 16:17, Jesus
tells Peter that the truth of Christ’s identity had been revealed to Peter not
by men but by God the Father.
III.
God
is active
We examined God’s activity when we studied God’s
Immortality and Immanence. God has a life that is characterized by activity and
God’s immanent Presence in the universe is also summarized by activity. Just
like light, God Himself has His own ways, and He continues to act and interact
with His creatures today, as He has for millennia.
Jeremiah 10:10,
“But the LORD is the true God; He is the
living God and the everlasting King…”
The Bible’s term “Living God” describes God as being
active, as taking part in His creation and in history.
IV.
God
guides
How does God guide? How do you know God’s will? Do you have
a pillar of cloud and fire to lead you through life, as the Israelites were led
through the desert? Nope.
Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light
unto my path.” Remember the song? Remember the verse? Don’t forget ‘em. How
does God guide His people today? Through the teachings of His Book of books.
God’s word stands like a lighthouse at the brink of the
dark waters of sin, telling us where we ought to go, where the dangers lie and
where the harbor rests.
V.
God
gives life
Natural life as we know it would be impossible without
Light. On an even deeper level, created life would be impossible without God,
the Giver of Life. Certainly then we owe God our natural and created lives, but
we also owe Him our spiritual lives.
How ironic is it, considering this, that some of the
deadest and most boring places on Earth are in the halls of many hundreds of
churches across the globe. Religion and ritual deaden, but the Spirit of God
gives life (II Corinthians 2:6).
The LORD quickens and enlivens, our duty is to recognize
that and allow it, not quench the excitement and the activity that His Spirit
brings.
God is not only the Living God, but He is the Life-giving
God.
VI.
God
brings hope
Isaiah 9:2, “The people who walked in darkness have seen
a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a
light has shined.”
Vivid words from the prophet depicting the hopeless and the
oppressed suddenly outshined by the radiance of God’s light. I don’t know if
you’ve ever considered what your mortal existence would be like without God,
but I think you should have such a lucid moment of pondering what you would be
like without God in your life.
Sure, you might be any number of things: an addict, an
abusive person, a hateful person, homeless, oppressed, depressed, an outcast…
but you might also be momentarily happy, over-concerned with success and wealth
and the pleasures of the world… and yet still die and suffer the torment of
eternal hell.
Life without God, whether rich or poor, happy or sad, still
ends without hope. If you did not have Him, your life would be ultimately
meaningless. Everything you do would be worthless and senseless. Every
sensation of love or mercy or affection you could have would be pointless. Your
existence would be nothing but a sorry, simple, insignificant series of
chemical reactions in the infinite emptiness of the universe. You would die
forgotten and go to an existence in which everything you knew that was hurtful
in this world would be compounded and multiplied into exponential misery and
pain.
Therefore! How we need to rest all our hope in God, the
Bringer of hope.
Psalm 42:11, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why
are you disquieted within me? Hope in God…”
VII.
God
is aligned with goodness
In the cosmic battle of Good and Evil, Good has already
won. Earlier, I’d mentioned how good vs. evil is a recurring concept throughout
literature, it’s an archetype that countless stories have been built upon. The
triumph of Good over Evil mirrors the physics truth of how Light removes
Darkness.
But it mirrors an even more profound truth than just
physics: that the Son of God vanquished the forces of evil at the cross, and
the battle for history has been won, the souls of any who believe can be saved.
Light, then, is aligned with goodness, and goodness most
often wins in our stories, just as goodness wins out in the story of history.
God, as the source and embodiment of all holiness and goodness, has won and
triumphed over evil. The cross crushed the head of the Devil. Our Hero has
already vanquished the Dragon. And our last enemy, Death itself, will
ultimately be defeated because of the cross of Christ (I Corinthians 15:26).
*So
we see how similar God’s Being is to natural Light. The properties of Light
find their ultimate fulfillment in the spiritual Life of the Holy God.
A question for you: we know now how similar to light God
is, but how similar to light are you?
Jesus said “You are
the light of the world” in Matthew
5:14. Does that describe your Christianity? Are you active? Do you guide?
Do you reveal God and make Him known? Are you substantial or just another
Christian flake?
These are pointed questions we must ask ourselves.
Turn finally to II
Corinthians 6:14-16. We are the light of the world, what then are we doing
with any lawlessness or darkness in our lives? We are the temple of the Living
God, how then can we have any idols within our hearts?
Charles Spurgeon once said: “I would sooner be holy than
happy if the two things could be divorced. Were it possible for a man always to
sorrow and yet to be pure, I would choose the sorrow if I might win the purity,
for to be free from the power of sin, to be made to love holiness, is true
happiness.”
Our problem is we want happiness more than holiness, and in
pursuing happiness instead of holiness, we miss out on both.
God once called the Light to be separate from the Darkness,
and He called the Light Day and the Darkness Night. God still calls for a
separation today: a separation of His children of light from the darkness of
the world.
How we need lives of purity, defined by the emblem of
light. May God in His grace bear with our weaknesses and strengthen us to walk
in the light as He is in the light.
No comments:
Post a Comment