JESUS IS THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

John 1:4-5

Morning Meditation 7/23/16

Verses 4-5 say, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

The word “In” is a “primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively).” - Strongs. The word “him” (autos) is speaking of Christ being the location that “in” points to. He is the source of all life. Life did not originate accidentally. It did not evolve from death. The Logos had in him a quality of life called everlasting.

Then he says, “In him was life.” The verb “was” is the imperfect indicative of “eimi” (I am). The imperfect tense represents continuous action in the past. It could be translated “In him there kept on being life.” Psalm 90:2 says, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.”

Tozer says of this life, “If you will trace that word everlasting in the Hebrew language, you will find that it can mean ‘time out of mind,’ or it can mean ‘always,’ or it can mean ‘to the vanishing point.’ It can also mean ‘to the beginningless past.’ From the beginningless past to the endless future, God is God!” Then he says, “. . . for we are between the everlasting vanishing point of a forgotten yesterday and the equally everlasting vanishing point of an unborn tomorrow!” Selah! Does that stretch your mind a little? Sometimes mine just walks right out of my body, walks around a while, breathes in the air of another world and comes back. Thank God, so far it has come back!!!

Then John says, “and the life was the light of men.” The verb tense is the same as before. It is imperfect. The word “light” is mentioned 235 times in the Bible. It is divisible by five which is the number of grace. It is 5 x 47 and 47 is 7 x 7 which is the perfect number multiplied by itself. The life God gave to every man originates in Jesus Christ and is the perfect gift of Grace. This is not to mean that God has saved every man, it simply means that there was nothing in man in his original state that deserved that gift of life. God gives life because it is his nature to do so. Man is a creature. God is not. When God created man, he breathed into him the breath of life. Man was nothing but a dead piece of dirt until God breathed life into him. God created man but he did not create life. The life of man did not come from creation but from God.

Life and light are connected in this verse: “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Tozer said, “Love and mercy and righteousness are His, and holiness so ineffable that no comparisons or figures will avail to express it. Only fire can give a remote conception of it. In fire He appeared at the burning bush; in the pillar of fire He dwelt through all the long wilderness journey. The fire that glowed between the wings of the cherubim in the holy place was called the ‘shekinah,’ the Presence through the years of Israel’s glory, and when the Old had given place to the New, He came at Pentecost as a fiery flame and rested upon each disciple.”

Light reveals. John says in chapter 3:19, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” Jesus is the light about which John is talking (our text and verse 7 where John the Baptist bears witness to the Light). Light is also visible. The Children of Israel saw the “pillar of fire by night.” The “shekinah” that was the revealed Presence of God was also visible. At the transfiguration Jesus glowed with light which was no doubt the “shekinah” breaking through (John 1:14). This light that was the light of men was put into every man according to verse 9. This light gives men insights that the animal world around him does not have. When man observes creation he sees God’s handy work. An animal thinks nothing about it. Man is born with eternity in his heart. Paul describes it this way: “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things” (Rom. 1:19-23). This is a sad description of where man is today. He is in darkness because “. . . holds the truth in unrighteousness.” The word “hold” in verse 18 means “to suppress, to hold back, to restrain.” It is a present active participle and means that Paul is talking about mankind as they are today. God has put something within a man that makes him actually have to actively resist believing in God to be an unbeliever. This is the reason that David said in Psalm 14:1, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.”

Jesus is the one in the Godhead who puts this light into man. John begins his epistle by presenting Christ as preincarnate, the one who communicates God, the Creator, and the one who gives life and light to all. Christ is the source.

Then John says, “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” The word “shineth” is a present tense verb which means that John is saying it is happening now. The word darkness is describing the state of man’s mind, the state of the world. The word “comprehended” (katalambano) means “to lay hold of so as to make one's own, to obtain, attain to, to make one's own, to take into one's self, appropriate.” It is an aorist tense verb which means that they just didn’t grasp it. There is nothing in man by nature that makes him understand. He has ears but he does not understand. But lest you think I am saying that he is helpless and not responsible, Romans 1:28 says, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;” They are responsible. They are without excuse.

John deals with Light again in his First Epistle: “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1John 1:6-7). Here he is speaking to us as Christians. Let me close this by giving you the steps to personal revival. 1. You must be willing to come to the light. 2. You must be willing to deal with what the light reveals. 3. You must be willing to walk in the light after cleansing. All of this is dealt with in 1 John 1:5-10.

May the Lord bless each of you.

In Christ

Bro. White