"Then spake Jesus again unto
them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk
in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12
If we were
to look at the Ten Commandments as a description of the life of the Father and
Jesus then we may begin to see it is a promise of the life His Spirit is
forming in us. These same commandments have bookends. The first command, if we
dive in to the language, makes it clear that we are to look to no other power
to affect or form us but YHWH alone. If we go against this first command then
we have broken them all.
I am YHWH thy Elohim, which have
brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt
have no other Elohim before me.
For this reason every person born of
Israel heard, prayed and said throughout their life “hear, o Israel; YHWH is
our Elohim, YHWH is one” which loosely translated is Listen up! Chosen princes
of God; The one true God who has entered a marriage covenant with you is your
creator and maker, The one true God who has entered a marriage covenant with
you has no separation of you and Him. He has cleaved to you.
The last bookend
of the commandments in a similar way shows us that when we, by our natural
ability, set out to imitate through obedience the commandments description of
life we are still undone. True life does not even consider breaking the other
commands for they are its true nature. The very struggle to imitate what we
should be doing shows that the life described is not the life in us.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s
wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ass, nor anything that
is thy neighbors
It is for this reason that even Paul
who followed the strictest teachings of the Pharisees was forced to find
himself as a sinner.
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God
forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust,
except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
I have said
all these things to make clear our consideration of Jesus statement of being
the light of the world. The light and possession of life are again and again placed
together throughout the scripture. The word tells us God is life, light, a
consuming fire, love etc. what we must remember is God is one so these things cannot
be compartmentalized.
"Thy word is a lamp unto my
feet, and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105
"And the LORD went before them
by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar
of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night" Exodus 13:21
"The light of the body is the eye: if
therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if
thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the
light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matthew
6:22-23
"But the path of the just is as
the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of
the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble." Proverbs
4:18-19
"Ye are the light of the world. A city
that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it
under a bushel, but on a candlestick and it giveth light unto all that are in
the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16
"The LORD is my light and my
salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom
shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1
"For God, who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2
Corinthians 4:6
"For ye were sometimes darkness,
but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light" Ephesians 5:8
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the
praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous
light" 1 Peter 2:9
When Jesus
says I am the light of the world he says that those who have Him will not walk
in darkness but will have the light of life. His life in us is the light. One
of the many things that set Jesus apart from the other teachers around Him was
that while they might reflect the words of life to their audience Jesus instead
emanated the life from His being. This is because He is the living word, as He
told His disciples if you have seen me you have seen the Father.
If we stop
at just this difference we can see the great glory and praise that Jesus showed
forth of the Father. Yet for our savior and Gods messiah this is just the door
to where He is bringing our understanding. By both His own mouth and the
witness of His apostles by the Holy Spirit Jesus says that those who believe,
follow, and become His disciples will have this light and life in them. The new
covenant is not a place where men reflect the light of God nor do we strive to imitate
that light but instead we have the life abiding in us.
It should go
without saying but it does not; no man can serve two masters. No man can live
two lives; if we live by a trust and expectancy of ourselves to produce life we
frustrate the grace of God’s life in us. We must trust and expect that our old
life is crucified and dead in Messiah and that our dependence is on the Spirit
to live the Fathers life through us. As we take up our cross daily, as we are brought
from faith to faith the righteousness of Messiah is revealed in us. That we
would, by His life becoming our life bring praise and glory to the Father; as
we are made the living word of God. We are one with our Father and our Messiah
and brother has made us to be as He is the light of the world.
