GOD IS LIGHT

"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5)

Devotion 5 of 22

DWELLS IN THE LIGHT

The diffusion of God's nature dominates everything around Him. From this viewpoint, He dwells in the light. "Who only hath immortality, DWELLING IN THE LIGHT which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen" (1 Tim 6:16). It is not that light is a place God inhabits. Rather, light is found wherever God is. He dwells in the light, so to speak, He Himself produces.

It is not that the light affects God--it does not. Light is the RESULT of His Presence. What and Who He is exudes from His Person, and cannot be hidden. That light is like a barrier that prohibits anyone unlike Himself from approaching to God. That is why He is said to dwell in the light "which no man can approach to." It is not only an illuminating light, but a consuming fire to all that conflict with the Lord.

When Scripture affirms that God dwells in the light, it means that everything about Him is dominated by Him. That domination is not ruthless, but is the potentially beneficial result of His Person.

Everything and everyone are really subordinate to Him. It will only take an encounter with Him to confirm this is the case. When Israel confronted the Living God at Mount Sinai, His glory shot through the thick clouds like lightning bolts (Ex 19:16; 20:18). When the birth of Jesus was announced to the shepherds, "the glory of the Lord around them" (Lk 2:9). On the Mount of transfiguration, the divine glory of God burst through the clothing of Jesus, causing His face to "shine as the sun," with his raiment becoming "white as light" (Matt 17:2). When the angel of the Lord descended from the presence of the Lord to roll back the stone from the tomb in which the body of Christ was buried, "His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow" (Matt 28:3-4). When the Lord appeared to Saul of Tarsus, it is written, "there shined round about him a light from heaven" (Acts 9:4).

In all of these cases, either the Lord Himself or an angel from His presence was made known to men. Those experiencing this revelation were anything but casual. All of the revelations were veiled, and did not
reveal the fulness of God. Yet, the limited glory that was made known removed all attention from anything else.

How different God is from ourselves. He is not altered by any circumstance or person. We, on the other hand, are influenced by what is around us. God is not this way! He is the One who dominates, not the one that is dominated. Man, by his very nature, is subject to another--God is not!

What is more, this light cannot be approached by man. No one can intrude into it, or stumble into it accidentally. However, "unapproachable" does not mean inaccessible. It does mean our natural powers cannot bring us into such light. But Jesus can! That is why He came into the world. He is, in strict accord with God's eternal purpose and grace, bringing us to God (1 Pet 3:18).

PRAYER POINT: Father, I know I would be consumed by Your glory if I was exposed fully to it. I praise Your name through Jesus Christ for determining to show me Your glory by transforming me into the likeness of Your Son. I joyfully submit to the process, and ask with Moses, "Show me Your glory.

-- Tomorrow: THE FATHER OF LIGHTS --