The Grace and Mercy of the Light

^“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.”

Even in John’s name God has hidden treasures for the lovers of His Word!  God left nothing undone in proving through His Word His love for us! 

John’s name in the original Greek (G2491) is Johannes, which is Yehochanan, meaning “grace and mercy of Jehovah (God)”.  His purpose was to be a witness, a proclaimer of the grace and mercy that had been sent through the birth of Christ, which would give “Light” to man. 

“Light” is the Greek work “phos” (G5457), which means to shine or make visible, or enlighten and enable discernment.  “Light” is not a physical light, but a spiritual one.  God is spirit and the Word must be understood to be spiritual.  John was bearing witness of Christ, who is also God, having a divine existence wrapped in human flesh (“Hypostatic Union”).  Spiritually speaking, the “Light of man” refers to the Holy Spirit, which gives man the enlightenment of right and wrong, discernment of truth, and eternal life.

Luke 11:34-35 says “The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.“

The eye spoken of by Luke is not the one in the head, but the spiritual eye that can see and know good and evil.  He calls it a “lamp” noting that it should have light, and also states that the light in you can be darkness, which is the absence of light.  That absence of spiritual light is the absence of understanding good and evil, of understanding sin and the will of God, which is without sin. 

A lamp is meant to hold a flame.  It is not at its full purpose until the flame is lit, creating light, and giving discernment of all around it.  We all, being created in the image of God, have a lamp inside us called a soul.  That soul has a void which is meant to hold the Holy Spirit through believing in Jesus Christ, who John says in John 1:4 “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”    

If I were to hold a flashlight to walk through my bedroom at night, I could see the corner of my bed.  If I chose to run into it and nearly break my toes after seeing it, you’d call me crazy - and you’d be right! 

The light of the soul allows us to discern good and evil.  Jesus says in John 16:13 that He will send His Spirit, and He would “guide you into all truth”.  Having the Holy Spirit in your soul lamp, being able to see good and evil, and choosing evil - is also crazy.  The Light is meant to transform us into the image in which we were created – God’s image – who is also Christ – the giver of the Light.

Think back to the name of John, the witness of the Light, whose name means “the grace and mercy of God”.  How did John become the “witness” of the Light, the Holy Spirit?  In Luke 1:41 we read that when he was still in his mother Elizabeth’s womb, Mary, who was carrying Jesus in her womb, came to Elizabeth.  The verse reads "And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” John witnessed the Holy Spirit’s presence before His birth at that first encounter with the yet unborn, yet alive for all eternity, Jesus Christ. 

The Grace and Mercy of God!  God could have left us without the Light.  He could have dismissed us to the curse of sin, which disconnects us from Him, because He is Holy and Light has no fellowship with darkness (1 Corinthians 6:16).  But, through His infinite grace and mercy, He CHOSE to give the gift of Light, discernment of good and evil, and the gift of eternal life through Christ.  Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

How can we accept the gift and ignore its purpose?  How can we hold the Light in our soul lamp and reject the transformation it is to create?

Father God, forgive us for not using the Light you have so graciously given.  We love you and thank you for your Grace and Mercy!