Exploring 1 John: God is Light
1 John 1:5; John 4:25-26 - God is Light, God Created Light, and He has no Darkness.
”This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.“
1 John 1:5 NASB1995
This little verse, all by itself, is full of incredible depth. John does not start by saying that God is love (he does do that later); he begins by saying that God is Light. Let’s look at four words and their origins and usages: Message, Announce, Light, Darkness.
Message in this context comes from the Greek word ἀγγελία or angelía and this particular word is only used twice in the New Testament, both times in 1 John. The Biblical usages are as follows:
message, announcement, news
a proclamation, command, order
Strong’s definition also implies that this is a precept.
Announce comes from the Greek word ἀναγγέλλω or anangéllō with the following Biblical usages; this word is used 14 times in the NT:
to announce, make known
to report, bring back tidings, rehearse
One of the most famous usages of this word for announce or declare (Strong’s definition) is from the Gospel of John, when Jesus is with the Samaritan woman at the well and acknowledges for the first time that He is the Messiah:
”The woman *said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus *said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”“
John 4:25-26 NASB1995
Light comes from the Greek word φῶς or phōs, with the following Biblical usages (this word is used 73 times in 61 verses in the NT):
light
the light
emitted by a lamp
a heavenly light such as surrounds angels when they appear on earth
anything emitting light
a star
fire because it is light and sheds light
a lamp or torch
light, i.e brightness
of a lamp
metaph.
God is light because light has the extremely delicate, subtle, pure, brilliant quality
of truth and its knowledge, together with the spiritual purity associated with it
that which is exposed to the view of all, openly, publicly
reason, mind
the power of understanding esp. moral and spiritual truth
The usages here are probably both physical and metaphorical for God. His brilliance makes the Sun look like a dim light! More on this later in this devotional, because there are so many nuances to God’s light!
Darkness comes from the Greek word σκοτία or skotía with the following Biblical usages; this word is used 16 times in 12 verses, mostly by John:
darkness
the darkness due to want of light
metaph. used of ignorance of divine things, and its associated wickedness, and the resultant misery in hell
The darkness being described by John is the sinner’s ignorance of divine things and the darkness (wickedness) that they prefer to dwell in. The physical darkness of a total eclipse is an interesting way to describe darkness in an image (see below). Sinners work to block the light of God, just like the moon covers the disk of the sun. Eclipses are understood and admired now, but were once considered signs of great evil and caused fear and panic. Notice that light still emanates from the sun, even with the disk covered. Light is extremely powerful!
As a physical phenomenon, light (whether it is the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum or the entire spectrum from radio to gamma rays) is truly profound and a subject that has fascinated me for decades. Light is composed of photons (from the same Greek word origin), which is known as the elementary particle or quanta of that spectrum. The photon is massless, stable, makes no sound and always travels at the speed of light in a vacuum (186,000 miles per second); the speed of light is the theoretical “speed limit” in the known universe. Light has a duality nature; it is both a particle and a wave. The human eye (a wonder of creation) has been found in recent studies to be able to detect a single photon of visible light! Light does indeed drive out darkness. Here is what secular Wikipedia has to say about the photon (links go to other Wikipedia articles):
In the Standard Model of particle physics, photons and other elementary particles are described as a necessary consequence of physical laws having a certain symmetry at every point in spacetime. The intrinsic properties of particles, such as charge, mass, and spin, are determined by gauge symmetry. The photon concept has led to momentous advances in experimental and theoretical physics, including lasers, Bose–Einstein condensation, quantum field theory, and the probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics. It has been applied to photochemistry, high-resolution microscopy, and measurements of molecular distances. Moreover, photons have been studied as elements of quantum computers, and for applications in optical imaging and optical communication such as quantum cryptography.
Hmmmm - physical laws that have symmetry at every point in spacetime. As I have often noted, God is the greatest physicist/mathematician, although Wikipedia would bend over backwards to ensure that these scientific explanations exclude the supernatural.
Now back to the Light of God. Precept Austin has some excellent aggregated commentary on Light and God as Light from this verse. Apart from its physical nature, Light is used in Scripture in the following ways, as noted in Vine’s expository dictionary; links go to the Logos Bible but the verse number would have to be typed in again:
(a) the glory of God’s dwelling–place, 1Ti 6:16;
(b) the nature of God, 1Jn 1:5;
(c) the impartiality of God, Jas 1:17;
(d) the favor of God, Ps. 4:6; of the King, Pr 16:15;
of an influential man, Job 29:24;
(e) God, as the illuminator of His people, Isa. 60:19, 20;
(f) the Lord Jesus as the illuminator of men, Jn 1:4, 5, 9; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35, 36, 46; Acts 13:47;
(g) the illuminating power of the Scriptures, Ps 119:105;
and of the judgments and commandments of God, Isa. 51:4; Pr 6:23, cp. Ps. 43:3;
(h) the guidance of God, Job 29:3; Ps 112:4; Isa. 58:10;
and, ironically, of the guidance of man, Ro 2:19;
(i) salvation, 1Pe 2:9
(j) righteousness, Ro 13:12; 2Cor. 11:14, 15; 1Jn 2:9, 10;
(k) witness for God, Mt 5:14, 16; Jn 5:35;
(l) prosperity and general well–being, Esther 8:16; Job 18:18; Isa. 58:8-10.”
(Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament and New Testament Words)
I also liked this explanation of how God is Light from Baptist Bible scholar Norman Harrison; this is rather good, considering it was likely written in the 1920’s before many of the characteristics of light were discovered:
To know light, and therefore what it means to be in fellowship with light, we must trace it back to its source. As the swift-winged sunbeam that kisses our cheek, when passed through the spectrum, yields up the qualities of the energizing sun from which it emanated, just so is all spiritual light. "God is Light." And again, "In Thy light shall we see light." In GOD is light in the absolute, such light as, coming from GOD, makes known to men His being and nature.
1. LIGHT IS PURE. It suffers no admixture of anything foreign to it. It is incapable of adulteration or contamination. Nothing extraneous can by any possibility attach itself to it. What a picture of our Lord JESUS CHRIST manifesting the purity of Deity in His walk among men. Touching the unclean, He was not defiled. Passing through the haunts of sin and iniquity, in sympathetic contact with the shame and sorrow of human life, He emerged sinless and stainless. What a portrayal, as well, of the purity that must ever attach to and characterize the life that partakes of the divine nature.
2. LIGHT IS PERVASIVE. It enters the least opening accessible to it. It searches out the recesses that otherwise would remain dark, dank and dismal. It penetrates the gloom, leaving it no alternative but to flee before its presence. Science long since disclosed the value of this pervasive quality of light in laying hold of every lurking germ of disease, whether in the homes of men or in the human system. Such is the ministry of Him who came as the world's Light. So far from sin fastening upon Him, it could not even stand in His presence. How often men found themselves confronted with the penetration of His searching insight, only to yield up the sinful unworthiness of their thoughts and actions.
3. LIGHT IS POWERFUL, with a power that is peculiarly its own. No agency known to man travels so swiftly or so far, yet does its work so silently and unobtrusively. From the farthest stellar spaces it reaches to us, revealing yonder worlds upon worlds. From our sun it bears upon its beams a multiform ministry for the sustaining of life and the maintaining of industry. The power put forth in a single day is wholly beyond compute. Yet all is done noiselessly - there is no sound; and gently - there is no jar, but a quiet persistent putting forth of its powers to heal and help.
I like this image that shows that even in darkness, there is light. I cannot fathom the true darkness and cold of eternal separation from God. In spite of my spiritual battles, I want to be standing in the Light of the Lord of the Universe! Enduring Word also helps me out with this commentary to realize that my fellowship faults are indeed my own fault. God is never darkness!
God is light and in Him is no darkness at all: We must begin our understanding of God here. John declares this on the simple understanding that God Himself is light; and light by definition has no darkness at all in it; for there to be darkness, there must be an absence of light.
A good definition of God is, “God is the only infinite, eternal, and unchangeable spirit, the perfect being in whom all things begin, and continue, and end.” Another way of saying that God is perfect is to say that God is light.
“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.” (Adam Clarke)
“There are spots in the sun, great tracts of blackness on its radiant disc; but in God is unmingled, perfect purity.” (Alexander Maclaren)
God is light and in Him is no darkness at all: Therefore, if there is a problem with our fellowship with God, it is our fault. It is not the fault of God because there is no sin or darkness in Him at all.
Any approach to relationship with God that assumes, or even implies, that God might be wrong, and perhaps must be forgiven by us, is at its root blasphemous and directly contradicts what John clearly states here.
Boy, that was a long one for a single verse!! My next devotional examines another single verse: 1 John 1:6 - If we say we have fellowship with God and walk in darkness, we lie!
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I cannot think of a better way to describe You than by saying that You are Light and in You there is no darkness. The physical light of our universe is a testament to Your purity, power, and pervasiveness. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 3/28/2024 to review the lexicon for message, announce, light and darkness.
Precept Austin was accessed on 3/28/2024 to review commentary for 1 John 1:5.
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.