Part 4
The
Light of Life
Psalm
36:9
For
with
thee (Lord) is the Fountain Of Life: (only) In Thy LIGHT
Shall We See LIGHT.
Jesus
Christ is God as
"the light of the world" (Jn
1:5). LIGHT is the Key to all LIFE,
physical
& spiritual.
Consider
the "seed." Jesus is
the "Seed"
(cf.,
1Pet 1:23, Gal 3:16), "the water of
life," and "the
light of life"
- Organically,
having light but no
water … a Seed
survives, preserved.
- Seeds
with water, but no
light, after a time will rot and die.
- Seeds
with water and light
grow to... express
the life within the seed.
In
the Genesis
recreation account God
as Light
banished the darkness to bring forth
Life.
As
of Gen 1:2 We see that darkness and chaos
had covered the earth, under the flood waters of an earlier judgment.
But then also the "Spirit
of God" brooded over the death waters to bring forth life.
Genesis
1:2-5 ...the
earth was without form
(Hebrew, desolation), and void (Hebrew,
ruin); and darkness was
upon the face of the deep
(waters). And the Spirit
of God moved (Heb
rahap, brooded,
as a hen about to hatch life) upon
the face of the waters.
Let's now look at the
first 4 days of the recreation account
1)
The First
Day Light came to the
earth by God's Word, which is Light (Psalm 119:105).
3And
"GOD SAID, Let
There Be Light": and there
was light. 4And God saw the
light, that it
was good:
and God divided the light from the
darkness (by earth's rotation). 5And God called
the light Day, and the darkness
he called Night. And the
The
FIRST DAY
LIGHT was of God's
word on the first day as "light." Christ
is seen as the "Sun" (Mal
4:2).In His second coming to earth He "will
come out of the east" (Matt 24:27) thus His light
brought "Day
and Night" and
the earth was dark in part and
light in part. This would yield the
rhythm of life on earth, making it neither too hot or too
cold.
2)
The Second Day
God created "the
firmament" (the
visible sky, heavens). The earth as of Gen 1:2 was covered by water
but the light yielded evaporation and the oxygen atmosphere
that would sustain life.
3)
The Third
Day God made "dry
land" appear out of the flood waters to restart
life on planet earth.
The "earth
'brought forth'
(not created) ...
grass, herbs and fruit trees"
and all vegetation.
The seeds had obviously previously existed and survived the
flood.
NOTE:
Christ Himself rose on "the third
day" out of judgment to be the source of resurrection
life to regenerate believing men.
4)
The
FORTH
DAY LIGHTS of the
sun and moon were created,
producing the sea tides to carry the tempering winds. The temperate seasons
came for flowers
to bloom and the trees to bear their fruits.
The
Fourth Day Light brought higher conscious life; e.g., animals and man created on the 5th and 6th days. The
Fourth Day Lights were "For
signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years."(Genesis
1:14) There was no "time"
till then. This resulted in the rhythm of creation for conscious life.
Genesis
1:14-18
And God said, Let there be lights
in the firmament of the
heaven (the visible sky) to divide
the day from the night; and let them be
for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let
them be for lights in the
firmament of the heaven to give light upon
the earth: and it was so. And God made two
great lights;
the greater light
(the
Sun) to
rule the day, and the lesser light
(the Sun's reflection off the Moon)
to
rule the night: he made the stars
also. ... And the evening and the morning were the Fourth
Day.
Why
didn't God make the sun and moon for the "third day" vegetation?
Perhaps, God wanted us to know that
it's not
really the sun that sustains life, but rather God
Himself as the Creator of the Sun. Many
say if there is no sun, there cannot be life. But the truth
is if there's no God, there is no life.
A
FACT to be seen by noting "light" for the 1st and 4th days is
that the DEGREE OF LIFE… is according to the DEGREE
OF LIGHT. First Day
Light brought the lower
forms of life on the 3rd day. e.g., The life of unconscious
seeds germinated into plants on the Third
day. This symbolizes
the initial stage of God's
intervention to create life.
The earth received light
and life to be reborn. We received light
to kindle our spiritual rebirth.
At first we may be without consciousness of what's happening when God intervenes
in our human to bring us to "life" spiritually.
It
was with the added 4th days lights
that God created human life with consciousness.
Then
later, in Genesis 2:9, God gave Adam the opportunity to take into
himself the fruit of the "TREE OF
LIFE," which is a prefigure of man gaining Christ's life
and nature as the
real "Tree of life"
to be within him as his new
life and nature.
Gen
2:9
...the Lord
God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight,
and good for food; the
TREE OF LIFE also in the
midst (center) of the garden,
and the Tree
Of Knowledge Of Good And Evil.
·
God'
Life initially comes as the "light
of life" (the
first day light & the fourth
day lights). Then
"The Tree of Life" and its seeded fruit speaks of God… as the
LIFE-giver to be taken INTO
man. Believers take Christ's resurrection life into them.
We
see God's "Vine-Tree"
in John 15:1 & Revelation 22:2, 14. Christ
is to be the Life IN the believers.
John
15:5 I
(Jesus) am the vine, ye are
the branches: He that abideth
in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me
ye can do nothing.
John
1:4
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
(His life is the light.)
John
8:12
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying,
I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light
of life.
John
3:3
Jesus answered... Except a man be born
again, he cannot see
(Gk., eido, know) the
kingdom
of
God
.
The
Eternal City of New Jerusalem
on the New Earth
will dwell in the fullness of His
Light for eternity.
Rev.
21:23
And the city (
Jerusalem
from above)
had No Need Of The Sun,
neither of the moon, to shine in it: for
The Glory (radiant
expression) of
God Did Lighten It, and The
Lamb Is The
Light thereof.
The
"Spirit of Life"
1st comes
to us as Light to give us spiritual
sight that is otherwise not possible - we begin to
see our need of Christ. God's Light is the precursor to the kindling His
life in man.
Psalm
36:9 with thee
is the fountain
(flowing source) of
Life: in thy Light shall we
see Light.
Like
the Sun, "God
is a consuming fire"
(Heb 12:29)
and … His Light is His Fire
in its life-giving
form.
E.g.:
The Sun's is fiery light
nourishes life (e.g.
photosynthesis for plant / animal life
for man's food.)
Earth's axis is on a 23-1/2° tilt and just the right distance from the
sun's light, so as to promote "life."
God
is Light & Life,
but He comes to us 1st as light. New life in Christ 1st
springs out of 1st having received the Light of the
truth that springs from...
His Word.
Fallen
Adamic Man dwells in soul darkness that must have the intervention
of light. Jesus Christ's "light
of life"
intervened in the dark world.
- Darkness
can't of itself be transmuted into light. Only Light
overcomes darkness.
Jn
1:9
(Jesus) was the true Light,
which lighteth (shines
on) every man that
cometh into the world.
Jn
1:12
But as many as received him
(the light),
to them gave he power to become the
sons of God,
God's
is Life… His life is 1st
transmitted as light to be received… to kindle His Life within man.
Christ's
Shining "Light
of life" is "from and with God's Life" to bring God's Children to birth.
John
1:4
In him (Jesus)
was life;
and the life was the light of
men.
John
1:12 But as
many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe on
his name:
Light
Brings Faith. It's
by God's shining into our heart
that we 1st saw and then we believed!
We
come to See Christ spiritually by His Light's revelation... we then
believe! Faith is the
spontaneous result of His Light upon the
truth of "the
gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).
2
Cor. 4:6
For God, who commanded the light to
shine out of darkness,
hath Shined In Our Hearts,
to give
the Light Of The Knowledge
Of The Glory Of God in
the face of Jesus Christ.
1)
Light comes NOT
by the Bible alone. It's by the Spirit of God shining &
speaking into man's heart. The Bible's Words must be
anointed by the Spirit's light in order to become
"life" to us (cf., 2Cor 3:6b).
Psalm
119:105
Thy Word Is A Lamp
unto my feet, and A Light
Unto My Path.
Psalm
119:130
… thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto
the simple.
Christ's
SPOKEN Words are "spirit
and life"
to us when we will
receive them into our soul life.
John
6:63
... The Words That
I Speak Unto You, They
Are Spirit, And They Are Life.
To
Receive His speaking
over our self-preferences is to receive Christ's
words as Light.
To
hear (obey) Him is to allow Him to become expressed
through us.
Isaiah
66:5
Hear the word of the Lord,
ye that tremble (have fearful regard)
at
his word
(speaking);
Let the Lord be glorified
(be expressed through you):
but he shall appear
to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.
Personally
Walking in Union with
Him … results in our enjoying His
light & life.
Jn
8:12 Jesus again
unto them, saying, I am the light
of the world: he that followeth
me
(Gk, akoloutheo, walks
in union with me) shall
not walk in darkness, but
shall have the Light Of Life.
2)
Light for the Christian is…
is known by an Inner Sixth Sense we have by Christ's
indwelling life.
Christ's
Life as Light is within
us … to be followed Personally and
Individually. John
here is writing to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel
, but we also can learn of the indwelling "anointing."
1Jn
2:20
ye have an unction (anointing)
from
the Holy One (Christ),
and ye know all things.
1
John 2:27a But the anointing which ye have received of
him (Christ) abideth
IN YOU, and ye need not
that any man teach you: but as the
same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth…
Where
exactly do we have His Light of Life?
Proverbs 20:27 The spirit
of man is the lamp (vessel of the light) of the Lord… 2
Tim. 4:22 The Lord be
(is) With Your spirit. Grace be with you. 2
Cor. 3:17 Now the Lord is
that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty.
1
Cor. 6:17
But he that is joined unto the Lord is One
Spirit.
1Jn
4:13 …know we
that we dwell in him,
and he in us, because he
hath given us of HIS Spirit.
3)
Consciousness of Christ as Light
will regulate our living.
We
need His Light of Life to
for Revelation to transform
our soul.
Ephes.
1:17-18 That the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give
unto you (individually) the
spirit of wisdom and revelation
in the knowledge (Gk. ginosko, experiential knowing) of
him: 18The eyes
(seeing) of
your understanding
being enlightened;
that ye may know what is
the hope of his calling,
and what the riches of the glory
of his inheritance in the saints,
Christ's
Light will regulate our living … IF we
will yield to that inner sense that guides us.
Maintaining
the Conscience to abide in the light
…Keeps the consciousness of the sixth sense vibrant.
Hebrews
10:22 (AMP) Let
us all come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) hearts
in unqualified assurance and
absolute conviction engendered by faith (by
that leaning of the entire human personality on God in
absolute trust and confidence
in His power, wisdom, and goodness),
having our hearts sprinkled and
purified from a guilty (evil) conscience
and our bodies cleansed with pure water.
A
clean conscience keeps us transparent. We are to be without opaqueness to block
the Light. This permits us to receive the
Light of revelation of all that Christ is to us and in us. This
permits God to gain ground in renewing our soul … that He
may shine out through us.
We've all been around people who a are closed
to God - they're secretive, in darkness, with deadness.
Those who are open to God are
transparent and emanate His Light... to
others, turning others to righteousness. 3
And they that be wise
shall shine as the brightness
of the firmament; and they that turn
many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. Daniel
12:3
4)
The True Light Rests with the Mercy of God. We can't demand light. It
comes in God's Time as result of His "work" in us. Note here
below God's time to bring life to Paul.
Acts
9:3-4
he (Paul) came near
Damascus
: and suddenly there shined round
about him a Light from heaven: 4…he
fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me?
Gal
1:15-16 when
it pleased God, who
separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, 16
To reveal his Son
in me, that I might preach him among the heathen...
We
are not to not "conjure up" or manufacture pseudo or counterfeit light, by our vain
imagination and the work of
the Satanic spirit as an "angel
of light"(2Cor 11:4).
Isaiah
50:11
Behold, all ye that kindle a fire,
that compass yourselves
about with sparks:
walk in the light of your fire,
and in the sparks that
ye have kindled.
This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.
2
Cor. 4:6
For God, who commanded
(past
tense) the
light to shine out of
darkness,
hath (past
tense) shined
in our hearts, to give
the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ.
Initially,
the Born-again child of God is still in Darkness
in his corrupted soul's mind and will…
…Until
he sees himself as he
really is in soul. We don't initially know we are needy for Him to renew
our soul. We must be Opened to receive the shining Light
on God's terms - that's Gods work.
We
must deal with our lives, but only according to sense
of the His inner shining light.
So how much should we deal with?
Do we soul search ourselves? NO!
We only deal with what is in our "conscience"
as seen under His Light,
and only until we have inner
peace restored.
Romans
8:6
For the mind set on
the flesh is death, but the mind
set on the Spirit is life
and peace,
Romans
8:14
For as many as are led by the Spirit
of God, they are the sons of God.
Refusing
the Light, we remain as "children"
(Rom 8:16),
not growing up to be "sons
of God" (Rom 8:14)
The
Deception of Darkness:
We often fear opening ourselves, being exposed to the Lord's light.
We're
sometimes like rolled up paper. Fearing exposure, keeping God from shining
upon us. Notice that when we stand inside a dark room at night we can see
others outside, not knowing our own condition. But standing
in a bright lighted room you can see yourself as you are, but you can't
see others outside.
We
must have our heart turned to the Lord, in order to become unveiled
and have light.
2
Cor. 3:16
… when it (the
heart) shall
turn to the Lord,
the vail shall be taken away.
Turning
away from Self to Him… is
the denying of self. Situational
suffering, under His "light,"
is to make
us recognize our need of
trusting Him.
His light exposes our neediness, so ultimately, out
of recognized need, we turn to Him in our
spirit. Then we turn
from Self-reliance to trusting Him, finding again His overcoming life,
peace, and rest.
John
16:33
These things I have spoken unto you, that in
me ye might have peace
(rest).
In the world ye shall
have tribulation (thlipsis,
pressure): but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
When
we're turned
to behold Him we then can reflect Him
in our soul, giving expression His life, His glory.
2Cor.
3:18
we all, with open face
beholding (seeing) as in a glass (mirror) the glory
(expression) of the Lord, are changed (Gk. metamorphoo,
elementally changed in soul) into the same image from Glory to
Glory BY THE LORD'S SPIRIT.
Don't
deny or fear His Light, but quickly to embrace
the sense of His light within us. We should receive,
submit to, and deal with our life according to the
light we've received.
E.g. If He within us says "drop it, let it go" – then we should let it go! Recall that the grown up
a "sons
of God... are
led by the Spirit."
We
need to continuously trust and live in the Light.
Psalm
36:9b
… in thy light shall
we see light. John
12:36 While ye have light, believe
(trust in) in the
light, that ye may be
the Children (offspring that grow)
of Light.
Jesus
is "the
light of the world."
He is in us as us.
His is the "light" in
our human form today.
Therefore Jesus did not
say "you have light," but rather "YE
ARE the light of the world" (John 5:14a).