REFLECTOR OF LIGHT

REFLECTOR OF LIGHT

“Who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.” 1 Tim. 6:16

unapproachable light The UNSEARCHABLENESS of God includes His understanding (Isa. 40:28), His wisdom and knowledge, truth must be taught by Him, and judgments and ways (Rom. 11:33), and His deeds (Job 5:9). He dwells in light to which no man can approach (1 Tim. 6:16), for no man hath seen God at any time (John 1:18). He had to bring light to us.

immortality Jesus Christ is God and, therefore, is the only one who has intrinsic immortality. However, He assumed human flesh, in order to die as man’s substitute for sin. “I am He that liveth, and was dead;” He says; “and, behold I am alive for evermore” (Rev. 1:18). Since this is Jehovah Who accomplished this feat the witness for Jehovah needs to answer the question "When did Jehovah die?" The answer is hard for them to swallow. Now He “hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim. 1:10). Now we can say, with Him: “This mortal must put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:53).

No man can see God in His essential glory and live (Exod. 33:20; John 1:18). But we shall see Jesus Christ, the Man, in the glory, and live forever (Rev. 21:23; 22:4-5), and that by grace.

light Light is that which penetrates and dispels darkness. The concept of "light" appears numerous times in both the Old and New Testaments. God created light (Gen. 1:3). However, a careful reading of the Scriptures reveals that the physical entity that we call "light" is actually only the second form of light in the universe, since everywhere the Bible declares that God Himself is light. Psalm 27:1 says, "The Lord is my light." In Psalm 104:2, the psalmist testified of the Lord who "covered himself" in light. In John 8:12 Jesus, the God-man, said, "I am the light of the world." Such expressions make at least two things abundantly clear. First, the origin of light rests with God. Second, in some sense God Himself is the very essence of light. Such statements do not suppose that God is light and nothing more, but they do stress that God is the ultimate source of all knowing and understanding. To this end Psalm 119:105 informs us that God's Word is a "light" to one's path. Here the emphasis lies upon perception and understanding gained when darkness is dispelled and light revealed.

    This last concept becomes even clearer in John 3:19; people love darkness better than light, because their deeds are evil. Such statements reveal that the character of light is to reveal and to provide understanding and purity, while the opposite of light or darkness is designed to obscure, to deceive, and to harbor impurity. We see this played out in the political parties around the world.

    A small problem confronts the interpreter who discovers that Jesus said to His disciples in Matt. 5:14, "Ye are the light of the world." Yet in John 8:12, Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." What appears to be a contradiction is not one at all. The moon provides light for the earth just as the sun does. Yet, the actual source of light for both the sun and the moon is the sun. The moon only reflects the light of the sun. By the same token, Jesus, the God-man, is the source of all light. His disciples become reflectors in a darkened world, transmitting through their lives the true light of the eternal Son of God

"Ye are the light of the world." That refers to a spiritual revelation which is to radiate from these subjects of the Kingdom. We are the light of the cosmos, of all the order, not merely of the earth, but of the universe. You minister to the heavenly order also in Ephesians. We remember another occasion when the Master said, "I am the Light of the world." Linking this up with that great full word concerning Himself, we understand when we are yielded to Him, subjects of His Kingdom, obeying Him, then we too become the light of the world, we become His reflectors. The quality of light is not that it desires to be looked at! Light enables other things to be seen by its shining. The sun is in the heaven, not to be looked at, but the sunshine enables us to see other things clearly. "Ye are the light of the world." Let your light so shine that men may glorify your Father. The light of the Christian shining in the world illuminates all the worldly order, so that men see the true way. In this connection two figures are employed by our Lord, "a city set on a hill," and "a lamp . . . on the stand." The city set on a hill is for the illumination of vast distances. No Christian can fulfill that ideal alone. That demands fellowship, a corporate relationship. That demands the whole Church. Every church should be a city set on a hill, illuminating the far expanses of life. Then He came from the figure of the city on a hill into a house, and there took the figure of a lamp stand, illuminating the home, and the near. Inevitably the mind goes back to a word of the psalmist in the Old Testament, (Psa. 119:105) "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And light unto my path." Keep the figures separate. The light shines from some eminence, indicating the road, the pathway. The light shines on the way to be trodden, so that the way may be found along the illuminated path by the lamp. Thy word, says the psalmist, is a lamp. Each Christian man and woman has to fulfill a double function in the world. The whole Church in its corporate relationship, in the bonds of love, friendship, and service, is to illuminate the distances; and then in the home, with the shut door, the lamp is to illuminate everything there. Christ said here the lamp is not put under a bushel but on a stand. Many years ago a prince of expositors, Dr. Maclaren said this illuminating thing: "No man lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel. If he did, what would happen? Either the bushel would put out the light, or the light would set the bushel on fire!" We can apply that.