Dr Paul Allen

The message heard from Christ, now declared, is that God is light. The source whence all light, whether it be physical, or moral or spiritual, comes; the Enlightener of the universe. The term denotes luminous clearness, the free and benevolent source from whence flow light, intelligence, purity and blessing, absolutely free from alien intermixture, since in him there is no darkness at all. Light represents truth, knowledge and holiness. Darkness represents ignorance, error, falsehood and sin. 6. If we say … and walk in darkness. To claim a fellowship with him who is Light and to walk in the darkness of error, of ignorance, and of sinfulness are utterly inconsistent. Do not the truth. He who obeys not the truth walks in darkness. 7. But if we walk in the light. We walk in the light by following Christ, the Light of the world. We have fellowship. All who are walking in the light have the common life. The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. Cleansed by the blood

The description of God as Light captures the essence of His nature and is foundational to the rest of the epistle. However, unlike the straightforward expressions “God is spirit” (meaning that God is immaterial in form; compare John 4:24 with Luke 24:39) and “God is love” (meaning that the persons of the Trinity love one another and mankind; cf. 3:17; 4:7, 16; Mic. 7:18; Zeph. 3:17; John 5:42; 15:10; Rom. 5:5, 8; 8:39; Eph. 2:4; Titus 3:4), the idea that God is Light (cf. Ps. 78:14; Isa. 60:19–20; John 1:9; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 12:46; Acts 9:3; Rev. 21:23) is more complex. Throughout the Scriptures, God and His glory are often described in terms of light. For example, during the exodus God appeared to the Israelites in the form of light:     The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pilla

God is light . In Scripture, light and darkness are very familiar symbols. Intellectually, “light” refers to biblical truth while “darkness” refers to error or falsehood (Ps. 119:105; Prov. 6:23; John 1:4; 8:12). Morally, “light” refers to holiness or purity while “darkness” refers to sin or wrongdoing (Rom. 13:11–14; 1 Thess. 5:4–7). The heretics claimed to be the truly enlightened, walking in the real light, but John denied that because they do not recognize their sin. About that basic reality, they were unenlightened. no darkness at all. With this phrase, John forcefully affirms that God is absolutely perfect and nothing exists in God’s character that impinges upon His truth and holiness (cf. James 1:17). MacArthur, J., Jr. (Ed.). (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed., p. 1964). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.

God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 JOHN 1:5 Come to God with all your desires and instincts, all your lofty ideals, all your longing for purity and unselfishness, all your yearning to love and be true, all your aspirations after self-forgetfulness and childlikeness; come to Him with all your weaknesses, all your shames, all your futilities; with all your helplessness over your own thoughts; with all your failure, all your doubts, fears, dishonesties, meannesses, paltrinesses, misjudgments, wearinesses, disappointments, and stalenesses. Be sure of this, He will take you and all your misery into His care, in His limitless heart. He is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If He were a king, a governor, if the name that described Him were the Almighty, you may well doubt whether there could be light enough in Him for you and your darkness. But He is your Father, and more your Father than the word can mean in any lips but His who said, “My Father and your Fathe