The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear? (Psalm 27:1)
The Psalter declares his praise for God, establishing firmly in the minds and hearts of all who read it the eternal presence, protection, and love of God. But how could David speak so confidently of a salvation or light that had not yet manifested itself to mankind? If salvation is through Christ only, what kind of assurance did David have that allowed him to speak so of YHWH?
To David had been promised the begetting of a Son who would be a king, a priest, a prophet, a warrior, a savior--a light among the nations. He would be of David's own blood, yet would be a king greater than David, a prophet and a priest greater than Moses, and a savior such as the world had never known, a light in which existed no darkness at all. To David, God's Word was eternal, a "sure thing". There were no doubts in his mind that, although this Son would come after he had departed this life, that his life would be sustained by the Word of the LORD, as would the lives of all who set their eyes upon the great light of His person.
Jesus Christ was and is the fulfillment of the centuries-old promise made by God to the world.As both the Son of God and the Son of Man, Jesus personified and fulfilled the promise made to David and to the nation of Israel, through whom all nations would be blessed. John's Gospel opens with the proclamation that Jesus Christ is indeed not only equal with God, but completely indivisible from Him. Jesus Christ is the anthropomorphisis of God, which does not make Him any less omnipotent, omniscient, or omnipresent. According to John's protrayal of Christ, He has both the characteristics of God and of the foretold Messiah of the Old Testament:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (John 1:1-5)
One example of the many messianic prophecies presented in the Old Testament is that of Isaiah, who depicts the coming Messiah as "a great light" seen by the people "walking in darkness" (Isaiah 9). Matthew 4 echoes the words of the prophet as Christ fulfills the words spoken nearly 400 years before. He would be a light not only to the nation of Israel, but to all nations. He would be the salvation of the world--to both Jews as well as Gentiles. Jesus himself claimed to be the light about which the prophets spoke (John 8:12) who also fulfilled every one of statistically hundreds of thousands of preconditions associated with his coming.
As believers in Jesus Christ the Messiah, our hearts become at once imbued with his light (2 Corinthians 4:6). Anyone who continues to walk in darkness, does not know God, because God is the light, just as anyone who does not love his neighbor does not know God, because God is love (1 John 3:11-24).
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).
According to Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments, we once walked in darkness (Job 12:25, 24:13; Isaiah 9; John 3:19; Acts 17:11; Ephesians 5:8; 1 Peter 2:9), but are now children of the light and cannot have any association with the darkness (Proverbs 4:18-19; 2 Corinthians 6:14).
But what does it mean to be in the light? I think a good start would be to define Light, its nature and function. Light illuminates, exposing everything, thereby eliminating darkness. Nothing that is of darkness can dwell within the Light, not only because the darkness hates the light, but more simplistically and scientifically because Light ELIMINATES darkness. Where there is light, there are no mysteries and now shadows; everything is out in the open. In the Bible, we are informed that God has exposed our sins or acts performed in the dark, hidden places (Psalm 90:8; 1 Corinthians 4:5). Jesus, the Light of the world, has revealed to us our own need for redemption by exposing the darkness we once revelled in. The work of the Holy Spirit is to expose sinfulness by shining His light in the hearts of those who have believed (John 16:7-13), whereby darkness in us is eliminated. But the function of Light is not purely negative; in fact, exposing darkness is not entirely negative in itself, either, for in its exposition and elimination we are cleaned and made to shine white. Light reveals the splendor of God's love for us and the greatness of His promises, glory, and power. Light reveals the truth behind mysteries and illusions we have concerning morality and destiny. Light enables us to see what was always there, what was always true, but obscured by the darkness within which we dwelt. The word for light used in Psalm 27:1 is or, meaning literally "to be luminous"; the other usages of the word include, but are not limited to "bright", "dawn", "to make shine", "enlighten/ed/ing", "illumine", "make a fire", "give light", etcetera. The word used in John 1:4 is the Greek phos or phaino, which can be used to mean a light (1), fire (2),to shine (3), become evident (4) to lighten (5), etcetera. Jesus at once makes to shine the light of His infinite glory. He is our bright hope, our new dawn. For the night is over now, and a new dawn has come, basking the universe in the light of truth. The Light of God serves to reveal, to expose, and to guide. As the psalmist wrote, His light is a lamp unto our feet, as is His Word (which has since been identified as Christ Jesus). As a guide, we are led in the direction that is best for us, having our path fully exposed/revealed. I think salvation might be presented as a three step prcoess: (1) our sin is exposed and made clean, (2) His love is revealed, as is His purpose for us, and (3) His Light guides us through life, convicts us, lights us from within, and embraces us.
This is decidedly a very cursory examination of light, its usage in the Bible, and its relation to GOD. What do you want from a seminary student? I suppose all I can really state concerning an understanding and application of light in the lives of believers is my own personal conviction regarding it. To me, God is light, He has brought from darkness into the light of love and understanding--from death to life. He has shown Himself in a dark place and replaced my dread, fear, and hatred with peace, confidence, and love. Light, to me demosntrates, not only the nature of God as Father, King, Savior, and Creator, but also what He desires of mankind, specifically those who have accepted Him as Lord of their lives. As Light, God tolerates nothing less than light; there cannot be pseudo-light or bright darkness. As He desires us to be either hot or cold, He also desires and requries us to be consumed by His light that we might represent it to a world sprawling in the darkness. If we are in darkness, we are not In Christ and cannot bring anyone into His luminosity. As Christians, we have become righteous through Christ's righteousness and--as new creations in Christ--are compelled to shine His light to the world (Matthew 5:14-15). As believers, we are encouraged and required to preach the Gospel to a perishing world, for "God who said 'Let light shine out of darkness' made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). We are lit from within, set on fire that we might shine anew! We are not mere reflections, but have become representatives, like flickering candles symbolizing an infinite bonfire. As we shine, we must also seek and thereby grow brighter. As seekers of the Light, we must dwell in the Light; if we dwell in the Light, our reward will be eternal (Daniel 12:3).
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