The phrase is found in the letter by James, the brother of the
Lord. He states: “Every
good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of
lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17)1
At first glance the words ‘father of lights’
sound mysterious; a journey through the scriptures, however, illuminates the phrase
in all its richness. What is the significance of ‘light’; and why and how is it
used in the biblical text?
We don’t have to go far into the scriptures to encounter that God’s first
recorded words were: “let there be light”.
‘And God saw that the light was good’. Then He separated the light from the
darkness. (Genesis 1:3-4) Some rightly ask the question: what was the source of that
first light prior to the creation of the sun and moon on the fourth day? Those who are familiar with the association of light with the presence of God point out that the Creator Himself was the source of that first light.
Just a few steps further into Genesis, we see the lights appointed to rule upon
each day and night (v 16). This off course is a description of the how light,
literally as we know it came to be through God’s spoken word. And yet, from
then on scripture associates light with the Divine presence.
For instance, God appears to Moses in a burning bush. We also
observe that when the plague of darkness was over Egypt Israel Israel
The messianic age, the arrival of the Messiah, is
ushered in by the entrance of light. Matthew refers to this when he writes: ‘the
people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land
of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.” (Matt 4:16) – here Matthew quotes the prophet
Isaiah (cf Is 9:1, 2; see also Luke 1:79, 2:32).
The theme of the Divine light is particularly prominent in
the writings of the Apostle John. Indeed, the opening of his gospel is marked
by the entry of the light into the world (being the person of the Messiah): ‘In
him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.’ (John 1:4, 5, see also to
v9). It is doubtful that it is a mere coincidence that the Apostle’s prologue appears
to mirror the opening of Genesis 'and God said: “Let there be light”. The Divine
presence as light is also affirmed where the Apostle states: ‘This is the
message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all’ (1 John 1:5).
This theme is made manifest in Jesus’ own words of himself:
‘And the judgment is based on this fact: God's light came into the world, ...’ (John
3:19 see also to v 21) Jesus asserts: "I am the light of
the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you
will have the light that leads to life." (Jn 8:12) and he continues to
refer to himself as the light (Jn 9:5, 11:9, 12:35, 12:36, 12:46).
As we have seen earlier, this theme is not novel to the New
Testament writings, without a doubt it finds its roots in the scriptures of the
Old Testament. Job contrasts the way of the righteous who has light, to ‘those who rebel against the light, who
do not know its ways or stay in its paths” (Job 24:13).3 The
psalmist speaks of the Almighty: ‘For with you is the fountain of life; in your
light we see light’ (Ps 36:9); ‘He wraps himself in light as with a garment’
(Ps 104:2a); often referring to the light of God’s countenance’ (see Ps
44:3, 90:8).
The prophets spoke the language of light. Isaiah entreats Israel
The Apostle Paul also reflects this thought when he writes
of the Almighty: ‘God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord
of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no
one has seen or can see (1 Tim 6:15b-16a). Note that the Apostle Paul when witnessing
the glory of the Lord identifies the glory as a great light – (see Acts 22:11,
26:23).
Looking to the journey ahead, the prophet Isaiah
was given the words of a wonderful promise that one day "No longer will
you need the sun to shine by day, nor the moon to give its light by night, for
the LORD your God will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your
glory (Isa 60:19).
This vision is again renewed by the revelation given to the Apostle John,
the beautiful vision of the New Jerusalem: ‘And the city has no need of sun or
moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.’ (Rev
21:11) ‘The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp (v23). The nations
will walk by its light…’ (v 24); What an amazing vision! just as when before the sun
and moon were spoken into existence, the Light was shining, so it will be
without need for another. In the last chapter of the book - Revelation 22:5 - ‘And
there will be no night there - no need for lamps or sun - for the Lord God will
shine on them.' Amen.
Notes:
1 The New Living Translation renders the partial
phrase as ‘…God our father who created all the lights in the heavens’. The
interpretation of ‘lights’ to mean the lights in the heavens here, I believe is
unwarranted and a bit of a liberal stretch given the context. Most other Bible
translations render the phrase ‘father of lights’ in line with the Greek text ‘patros ton photon’. Consider also the context in the
statement of the verse directly following (v 18) ‘He (God) chose to give us birth through
the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.’
2 see also Ester_8:16 ‘The Jews had light, and
gladness, and joy, and honour.’
3 compare to John 3:19-20
Thank you for the time you took to put this together and then share it with the onlookers here! It was a great help to me.
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome, glad it was of help!
Delete- God Bless
Great Wisdom! Be blessed
ReplyDeleteGood teaching. You are bless
ReplyDeleteGood teaching. You are bless.
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