God Is Light
In the Bible, light is closely associated with the Deity. The Bible teaches that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). He is described as “everlasting light” (Isaiah 60:19, 20) and as dwelling in brightness which no man can approach unto (1 Timothy 6:16).
Glory is a quality of the Creator’s nature (1 John 4:8). The physical manifestations of the glory in the Father and the Son are symbolic of the moral purity and perfect holiness that distinguish the Godhead (John 1:14; Romans. 3:23; 1 Corinthians 11:7). Proverbs 4:18 resembles righteousness as the “morning sun.”
One of the most notable qualities of glory is its power to expel darkness. The darkness of sin cannot exist in the Lord’s presence (Habakkuk 1:13). When He set His hand to creation, light was first to come into existence (Genesis 1:3). And to His created beings, the Lord revealed Himself with the great glory (Exodus 19:16–18; Deuteronomy 33:2; Isaiah 33:14; Habakkuk 3:3–5; Hebrews 12:29; etc.).
Jesus the Light of the World
When Jesus came in the flesh, He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). The apostle John affirmed this truth when he said that Jesus “came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through Him might believe” (John 1:7).
Because the heavenly Father is pure, we are exhorted to walk in His radiance: “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth” (1 John 1:6). And Jesus commands, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds” (Matthew 5:16).
While glory resembles righteousness, darkness resembles evil, the apostle says, “You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5). The Savior’s children are not just called to be righteous but also to seek the lost that they may “open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan” to the Lord (Acts 26:18) so His glory may fill all the earth.
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In His service,
BibleAsk Team