2023-10-27
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Today, the Holy Spirit leads me to begin with an event that took place long before we came on the scene, the Creation, in our quest to better understand God’s glory. A familiar verse began it all, GN 1: 1-5, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” It’s very interesting that traditionally Jewish people, ones who reject Jesus Christ as God’s Son and second personality, use the Hebrew word for God, Eloheim. That word is plural, a clear reference to God’s Trinitarian nature, without mention found in the NT of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Both the Father and the Holy Spirit are mentioned in the OT but not the Son. Yet Jesus Christ, though not mentioned by name, is all over the OT! We learn in COL 1: 15 of the NT, that “The Son is the visible image of the invisible God; the Firstborn of all Creation.” What this means is that the Father made the decision to create the universe including heaven and earth, that the Son did the work of Creation. And remember, they are two personalities of the same Being. The third personality, the Holy Spirit is mentioned in GN 1: 2 above. We know that these three personalities are of one Being from DT 6: 4, what traditionally Jewish people call the “Shema.”
Now, to the subject at hand: light and darkness as they are applied in the Scriptures. 1 JN 1: 5-7, “This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is Light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.” Let’s look at a few Scriptures that will help us to better understand the significance of light and darkness. PS 119: 105, “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.” PS 27: 1, “The Lord is my Light and my Salvation—Whom shall I fear?” MICAH 7:8, “Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my Light.” JN 1: 5, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
From the very beginning, light and darkness were opposites, each defined as the absence of the other. White reflects light; it’s the presence of all colors, but black absorbs light and is the absence of all color. JN 1: 9-13, “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” The light pierces the darkness and uncovers what is kept secret by those whose motives are evil. When the Son spoke, in MT 25: 32 of “separating the sheep from the goats,” He was using this metaphor to describe the work our God would do described in the book of Revelation—the consummation of all prophecy to lead the forces of evil to their final destruction and establish the New Jerusalem [place in heaven where all the believers will dwell]. It is in that place that we see God’s glory in its fullness.
PRAYER: O Lord, Once we understand the differences between ethical light and darkness and the importance of our study Your Word… Yes, we have a decision to make. We need to decide if we will walk through the door marked FAITH or not. When we do, we can see the love that You have for us and what Your will for us is. Our God is Light, which is why when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, his face radiated the glow of Your glory. This frightened Aaron and the others, who had no way to understand what they were seeing [EX 34: 29-35]. I used more citations here from the OT, so that we could see the consistency of Your teaching. This reveals that Your Son was indeed in our history from the very beginning, in fact He did the work of Creation as You commanded Him to do. We ask You to guide us in self-examination, to help us to not waste the grace You give us but help us to gain eternal life by doing the good deeds You already prepared for us to do [EPH 2: 8-10]. We offer You our heartfelt thanksgiving and praise, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit declares that I should continue writing about God’s glory and how it impacts mankind. MT 5: 14-16, “You are the Light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” I have night blindness and I must ask people I’m with to help guide me as I walk from a lit place to our car at night. Don’t feel sorry for me, because my life is all about serving the Lord in Whom I believe, and He is taking care of me. This is evident to me every day, as I count my blessings-- of which there are many. I mention this, because if we ask God for His guidance, He is only too willing to give it. When the Lord directed Paul to write 2 TIM 3: 16-17, He told us why studying the Scriptures is so important and useful. His words are described there is “God-breathed,” which means they come from His very heart to ours and have tremendous applications in our lives. Our God loves us with all His heart, and nothing can separate us from that love [RO 8: 38-39]. How very blessed we are!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24; 15
© Lynn Johnson 2023. All Rights Reserved.
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