One day God will fix stupid. Here's how.....
I John 1:5-7
5 Now this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him. 6 If we say, "We have fellowship with Him," and walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing [c] the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
The stark contrast of the words "light" and "darkness" intrigued me. I wanted to know what does it mean that God is light. And what exactly is the darkness?
So I did some digging and found out that the original Greek word "light" in this verse is φῶς (phōs). The definition of phos includes the practical idea of anything that emits light, such as a lamp, a star, or fire. But it is also defined as being "of truth and its knowledge".
Darkness in the above verse is the word σκοτία (skotia/skotos). Again, the definition includes darkness as in the absence of light, but it too has an additional definition; "of ignorance of divine things, and its associated wickedness".
So light is truth and darkness is ignorance. Therefore, it would not be inappropriate to sub those words in the above passage, like so:
I John 1:5-7
5 Now this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is TRUTH, and there is absolutely no IGNORANCE in Him. 6 If we say, "We have fellowship with Him," and walk in IGNORANCE, we are lying and are not practicing [c] the truth. 7 But if we walk in the TRUTH as He Himself is in the TRUTH, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
The same Greek words for light and darkness are found in many verses. Here are a few:
You are all sons of the light (phos, truth) and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness (skotos, ignorance)
1 Thessalonians 5:5
For you were once darkness (skotos, ignorance), but now you are light (phos, truth) in the Lord. Live as children of light (phos, truth).
Ephesians 5:8
BUT HERE'S WHERE IT GETS REALLY COOL!!
Look at Revelations 22:5
There will be no more night*. They will not need the light (phos) of a lamp or the light (phos) of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light**. And they will reign for ever and ever.
*This word "night" is νύξ (nyx) and its definition includes "the time of moral STUPIDITY and darkness".
**This light is NOT "phos". This is a different light that we will experience when we get to Heaven. THIS word for light is φωτίζω (phōtizō). Its definition is "to enlighten, light up, illumine,to bring to light, render evident,to cause something to exist and thus come to light and become clear to all,to enlighten spiritually,to give understanding". It's best summarized by the word ENLIGHTENMENT.
The main truth that we fight to hold on to here on Earth, but will become completely clear in Heaven, is how very much GOD LOVES YOU.
While we are in this life, the enemy of our soul works hard to keep you in the dark. When we put our faith in Christ, we became children of light or truth--we came to understand an assemblance of God's love. This truth of God's immense love is something we must actively hold on to and try our best to not allow the darkness of doubt to creep back in. Our fleshly view of God's love is tainted by our environment, low self esteem, and our finite minds. However, in Heaven, the truth of His love for each individual will be illuminated straight into all of us without the need to constantly hold onto it, because we will become completely enlightened and the truth will be clear to ALL.
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