Jn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
The gospel of John is first and foremost about light. Light in the scriptures equates to understanding. In Psalm 119 we are told this truth;
Psalm 119:130
The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
By contrast, darkness equates to ignorance and blindness;
Eph 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
John wrote his gospel to introduce the light of the world to men all over the world. Jesus Christ is not reduced to being the light of Israel, even though he is that, nor is he the light to the churches, though he is that too, and he is not the light to a bunch of Calvinists who suppose that they only are special to God, though the light could even reach them if one could get through the ignorance and blindness of their hearts. Jesus Christ is the light of the world and light is the emphasis of the ministry of Jesus in this gospel.
In Jn 12:8 he says 'I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life."
Jesus said this;
John 9:5
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
Here is why Jesus said he came into the world. You can make of it what you will;
John 12:46
I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
He equates following him and the light as the light of the day, the sun, something in our physical understanding.
Joh 11:9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
I have been conversing on other threads with men who cannot see the marvelous pictures that God draws for us in the physical that illustrates and confirms his great person and allows a view into his infinite ways. With Civic I have shown how God for his excellent works has revealed that he views a thousand years as one day and one day as a thousand years and that all his work of redemption will be complete in six of those thousand years and he will rest, and call all the earth to rest on the seventh day of the week of thousand year days. He gives us a glimpse into the future in chapters like Isa 2 and 9 where he shows the earth a perfect peace and instruments of war being re- forged into agricultural tools. We, however, as men. view a day as 24 hours and a thousand years as a millennium, and that is the proper thing for us to do.
So, what do we see in John's gospel. We see a pivot point of God with the entrance of Jesus Christ in the person of a man. He will make all that is recorded formerly, including the creation of the physical world, to make sense to us if we will believe. The world is never going to be the same because of Jesus Christ. He came at the end of the forth one thousand year day of God to lighten the world. In the creation story we have this said;
Gen 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
The light that divides the darkness from the light came into being on the forth one thousand year day day. Our Lord Jesus had some commentary from his own lips about this; Here;
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
The above speaks to why men will not come to the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Jn 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
The reason is not because they are not elect or Jesus would have said so. The reason is because they loved their evil deeds and hated the reproof of the light on them. This very statement demands that men have the ability to reason and make choices. Men who doeth truth are not ashamed to come to the light, seeing as how there would be no reproof for doing good.
Before Jesus came there was no light except in Israel. That light did not shine into all the world. The world would have no hope if that was the only light they ever knew. When Jesus Christ died and rose again he sent his preachers into all the world to preach his gospel. This is the light. The Spirit of Christ indwells the church of Jesus Christ and Christ is in the church, his body, in the person of the Spirit, giving light and understanding of life from God. This is equated to the lesser light that is set in the heavens to reflect from the sun and shine on the world. This light rules the night.
Jesus is typified by the Sun;
Malachi 4:2
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
The gospel of John is first and foremost about light. Light in the scriptures equates to understanding. In Psalm 119 we are told this truth;
Psalm 119:130
The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
By contrast, darkness equates to ignorance and blindness;
Eph 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
John wrote his gospel to introduce the light of the world to men all over the world. Jesus Christ is not reduced to being the light of Israel, even though he is that, nor is he the light to the churches, though he is that too, and he is not the light to a bunch of Calvinists who suppose that they only are special to God, though the light could even reach them if one could get through the ignorance and blindness of their hearts. Jesus Christ is the light of the world and light is the emphasis of the ministry of Jesus in this gospel.
In Jn 12:8 he says 'I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life."
Jesus said this;
John 9:5
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
Here is why Jesus said he came into the world. You can make of it what you will;
John 12:46
I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
He equates following him and the light as the light of the day, the sun, something in our physical understanding.
Joh 11:9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
I have been conversing on other threads with men who cannot see the marvelous pictures that God draws for us in the physical that illustrates and confirms his great person and allows a view into his infinite ways. With Civic I have shown how God for his excellent works has revealed that he views a thousand years as one day and one day as a thousand years and that all his work of redemption will be complete in six of those thousand years and he will rest, and call all the earth to rest on the seventh day of the week of thousand year days. He gives us a glimpse into the future in chapters like Isa 2 and 9 where he shows the earth a perfect peace and instruments of war being re- forged into agricultural tools. We, however, as men. view a day as 24 hours and a thousand years as a millennium, and that is the proper thing for us to do.
So, what do we see in John's gospel. We see a pivot point of God with the entrance of Jesus Christ in the person of a man. He will make all that is recorded formerly, including the creation of the physical world, to make sense to us if we will believe. The world is never going to be the same because of Jesus Christ. He came at the end of the forth one thousand year day of God to lighten the world. In the creation story we have this said;
Gen 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
The light that divides the darkness from the light came into being on the forth one thousand year day day. Our Lord Jesus had some commentary from his own lips about this; Here;
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
The above speaks to why men will not come to the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Jn 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
The reason is not because they are not elect or Jesus would have said so. The reason is because they loved their evil deeds and hated the reproof of the light on them. This very statement demands that men have the ability to reason and make choices. Men who doeth truth are not ashamed to come to the light, seeing as how there would be no reproof for doing good.
Before Jesus came there was no light except in Israel. That light did not shine into all the world. The world would have no hope if that was the only light they ever knew. When Jesus Christ died and rose again he sent his preachers into all the world to preach his gospel. This is the light. The Spirit of Christ indwells the church of Jesus Christ and Christ is in the church, his body, in the person of the Spirit, giving light and understanding of life from God. This is equated to the lesser light that is set in the heavens to reflect from the sun and shine on the world. This light rules the night.
Jesus is typified by the Sun;
Malachi 4:2
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.