“light” and “life”

Creator God - Jesus the Messiah – The Word – BIBLE!

The word translated life here means make manifest or illuminate. This light gives everything the power to be. If a person receives this Light, it gives them the power to receive eternal life.

In Scripture, “light and darkness” are very familiar symbols. Intellectually, “light” refers to biblical truth which “darkness” refers to error or falsehood. Morally, “light” refers to holiness or purity which “darkness” refers to sin or wrongdoing.

“overcome.” Darkness is not able to overcome or conquer the light. Just as a single candle can overcome a room filled with darkness, so also the powers of darkness are overcome by the person and work of the Son through His death on the cross.

The 400 years of silence refers to the time between the Old Testament and New Testament, during which God did not speak to the Jewish people. The 400 years of silence began with the warning that closed the Old Testament: “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.

From Isaiah until Malachi the prophets had been prophesying the coming of the Light (Jesus Christ). John the Baptist was to warn that the Light was here. Be ready to receive it. John's one job was to make ready for the Light.

(1) the Samaritan woman (4:29);

(2) the works of Jesus (10:25);

(3) the Father (5:32-37);

(4) the Old Testament (5:39-40);

(5) the crowd (12:17); and

(6) the Holy Spirit (15-26-27).

John was the “agent” who witnessed of Christ. The purpose of his testimony was to produce faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world.

Jesus took on the flesh of Mary, but was in fact, God within that flesh. The spirit and the body are part of every person. The flesh is made in the image of man, but the spirit within each of us is the image of God (our life).

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:"

Notice even here, He did not do it for them. They had their own free will. He made it available to them and gave them power to receive it; but they had to of their own free will, accept it.

“As many as received Him … to them that believe on His name”. The second phrase describes the first. To receive Him who is the Word of God means to acknowledge His claims, place one’s faith in Him, and thereby yield allegiance to Him.

“Gave” is a term emphasizing the grace of God involved in the gift of salvation. Those who receive Jesus, the Word, receive full authority to claim the exalted title of “children of God.”

“His name” denotes the character of the person himself.

The secret to becoming sons of God is in believing in His name. In Romans 10:9, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

It is so simple and yet so many miss out. The confession is that He is our Lord and Savior. Jesus means Jehovah Savior. The belief cannot be surface either. It must truly be in our heart.

John 1:15, "John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me."

John 1:16, "And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace."

We must remember here that Jesus is the Word. The Old Testament teaches Jesus just the same as the New Testament.  John here is saying, "He has been filling us with His Word since Genesis".