God IS Light!

God is Light!

I was reading through this book this morning, and I really like what Andrew Wilson had to say here, so I thought I would post it.  Great stuff!

John 1:4-5 NIV: "In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

1 John 1:5 NIV: "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all."

"Most opposites are fairly evenly matched. Take any opposite you can think of. White doesn’t overcome black, nor does black overcome white, but the two blend together to make gray. Hollywood films endlessly show us the struggle between good and evil, and although the good usually wins, it’s mostly a pretty fair contest until the end. Wealth hasn’t conquered poverty, and poverty hasn’t destroyed wealth. We could go on: laughter and sorrow, war and peace, disease and medicine. When opposites clash, you cannot be certain which will prevail."

"Light is different. No matter how many experiments you perform, you will never find darkness defeating light. If you flick the light switch in a dark room, the darkness disappears instantly. No amount of darkness, not even in pitch-black underground caves, can drown out the light generated by a small bulb in a head-torch. On a clear night, a candle on a hilltop can be seen forty-three miles away. Darkness prevails on earth when the sun is not shining on it, but as soon as it does, the darkness flees. When John says of Jesus, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it,” he is stating the obvious. Of course darkness hasn’t overcome light. It can’t."

"So to say “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1: 5) is to declare God’s invincibility. In whatever context the light picture is used— and it sometimes means life, sometimes righteousness, and sometimes truth— it speaks of an area where there is no contest. In principle, it is possible for grace to be overcome by legalism, the holy tainted by the common, love spoiled by hate. But it is impossible for the light of God to be drowned out, diluted, or in any way challenged by darkness, any more than shadows can defeat a halogen lamp. God’s light is invincible."

"As light conquers darkness, the resurrection life of Jesus conquers the tomb. Once the life and light of God have broken out in someone, there is nothing Satan himself can do to reinstate the rule and reign of death and darkness."

"Falsehood and truth, death and resurrection life, are not evenly matched, nowhere near. When the light appears, the darkness is sent packing forever. This is why an incredibly unlikely claim made by 120 uneducated Jewish people has spread throughout the world (Acts 1: 15). It is why the gospel thrives most when it is suppressed. It is also why suggestions that the church will fade are so foolish. God is glorious, permanent, and invincible light. And when the light shines in the darkness, the darkness cannot overcome it."

Quotes from Andrew Wilson, "Incomparable, Explorations in the Character of God"