God is the Light

God is the light of the gospel. In it we see Him. As rays and beams bring the sun’s glory to earth, the gospel of Christ brings God’s glory to sinners. Imagine a good king who goes out into the slums and invites sick, filthy beggars to come feast with him, live with him, and share in all his riches and glory. Why would a king show himself in the slums? Why would a king share himself with beggars? He is merciful. The gospel is how God comes to, shows Himself to, and shares Himself with wretched sinners. These mercies come in Christ. Find Christ and find all. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Therefore come.

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1).

God is the light of the gospel, and that light is the light of Christ. “He is the radiance of the glory of God” (Hebrews 1:3). Seeing Christ by faith in the gospel is “beholding the glory of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Seeing Christ in the gospel is “seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Do you see Christ? Do you love and trust Him? Then praise the Lord. For if you see Christ, you see God. If you love and trust Christ, you love and trust God. Christ is the light of God to and for sinners in darkness. To those who believe, He is the light of God in and upon the sinner’s darkness. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

People who love money really, in fact, love what money can get them (at least, what they believe money can get them). They desire influence, luxurious things, many things, comfort and ease, reputation and status, control over their affairs and future, control over others, and so on. Men lust after riches because they are captivated by the promises and prospects of riches. The devil knows how to bait the trap. A friend of mine once said that if you hate a city and never want to go there, then a bridge to that city is irrelevant to you, even offensive. If you, on the other hand, cherish a city and want to go there more than anything, then a bridge to that city is priceless to you. It is glorious because it gets you where you most want to be. O city of delight!

The gospel is most precious to you only if God is most precious to you, because the gospel takes you to God. He is the promise and prospect of the message of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. As we meditate on the treasures of Christ and admire its glow, remember the nature of this glow. The gospel shines forth the glory of God. Christ is the radiance of the invisible God. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, [46] who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:45-46).

Jesus brings God to man and man to God. He reveals the Holy One; He redeems an unholy multitude. He is the light of God; God Himself is the light of the Gospel. It shines forth Him in Christ for undeserving sinners. “‘If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’ [8] Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ [9] Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, Show us the Father’” (John 14:7-9)? To see Jesus and not see the Father is to not see Jesus (John 8:42!).

The Light of God in the Gospel of Jesus Christ

What glow is this? How does the gospel of Jesus Christ shine forth the light of God? What beams emanate from this gospel treasure? Many and wondrous beams.

First, there is Jesus as a person. He is the eternal Son of God. He is Creator, not created. He is infinite, not finite. He dwells in the bliss of His own divinity and perfection in communion with the Father and Holy Spirit. He “is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, [16] who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen” (Timothy 6:15–16). Before Jesus does or says anything that reveals God, He is God. Light of lights! Water is water and dirt is dirt; fire is fire and grass is grass; Jesus is God.

Second, there is Jesus’ incarnation. As the person of Christ shines forth God, the incarnation of Christ shines forth the incomprehensible power of God in historical fashion.

Amen and amen:

Amen, He is God, Amen, He is man;

The Beloved Son—we say again, Amen—

Has made enemies into friends (see Romans 5:10).

Incarnate means in flesh. Incarnation refers to the eternal Son of God coming to earth in flesh while remaining unchanged and unphased in His essential deity. The Son of God did not, in other words, cease to be God when He became a man. He was conceived in holiness—untainted from natural human corruption—by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary. The incarnation is neither the first nor last miracle in the Bible. It may not be the most important or climactic miracle in the Bible—those would be the death and resurrection of Christ. The incarnation, however, should be considered the central miracle of the Bible because it makes the death and resurrection of Christ possible.

The wonder of God becoming man, aside from any other consideration—e.g., God’s mercy, love, justice, etc.—is beyond comprehension. How can Jesus be both fully man and fully God? The immeasurable, infinite, incomprehensible power of God is the only way. The incarnation is a miracle of the highest order. God’s supreme power is on display in the man Jesus Christ. He shines forth the blinding light of God but in a see-able, approachable, and knowable way. This light of God in Christ is powerful beyond measure. Yes, it is true that Jesus is gracious and warm, but He possesses a power we know nothing about.

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’” (John 8:12).

Third, there is Jesus’ righteous life. Christ’s person shines forth God, His incarnation shines forth God’s incomprehensible power, and His righteous life shines forth the light of God’s holy character. Holiness refers first to God’s absolute uniqueness and exaltation over all created things. He is categorically different than and infinitely superior to everything. This has been called God’s otherness or separateness. Holiness refers secondly to the moral purity and perfection of God, which is just the ethical implication of His absolute uniqueness and the majesty of His essence.

Jesus is that reflection of God’s character that we have never seen in ourselves. He is that glory of which we fall short (Romans 3:23). Falling things obey gravity. Waves obey the wind. But the only person to obey God on earth was Jesus. What is obedience? Obedience is living in conformity to God’s holy law. It is living according to God’s good commandments. Obedience has two sides. One side is doing what God requires in heart, mind, hands, and feet. The other side is not doing what God forbids in heart, mind, hands, and feet.

God’s commands are just a reflection of God’s holy character. They are not arbitrary. They are not meaningless. They are not practical tips for life. They are holy demands from our Creator-King. To obey them is to reflect God. To disobey them—i.e., to transgress God’s law—is to reflect Satan rather than God. This is sin, the failure to love and obey God. Sin is iniquity, the wickedness and corruption of fallen man. This is why we need a Savior. The Savior, blessed be His Name, did not live like we live. He did not live a wicked life but a righteous life. Without true righteousness, it is impossible for anyone to enter God’s heavenly temple. Praise the Lord that Jesus lived a truly righteous life; and praise the Lord that He graciously gives this righteousness to us as a gift. By this righteousness, i.e., by His righteousness, we enter heaven (Isaiah 61:10; 2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Romans 3:21-25).