05-01-2020 Finish Well on Friday - Life and Light

John 1:4–5 ESV

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

‘Life’ and ‘Light’ can be found in many religions, since their antithesis ‘Death’ and ‘Darkness’ are often seen as tremendous archetypes of mankind’s greatest enemies..

But, here, John expresses two great meta themes found later in the Gospel in John 8:12 & John 9:5 (Jesus IS the Light) and John 11:25 and John 14:6 (Jesus IS the Life)

The Focus of John 1:4 is often misunderstood to be simply Dualism - such as light vs. darkness or good vs. evil.

Verse 4 is a continuation of the great statements about creation and echo the Genesis teaching that life and light (mankind being created, having the breath of God breathed into them and becoming living souls created in His image) originate from One God, expressed three persons.

It is in verse five that we begin to see that this self-existent ‘Light’ ever shining, now into the VOID, the DARKNESS - There was a Literal truth at creation, now this is taken in the Spiritual Context

the phrase “did not comprehend” NJKV or “did not overcome” ESV or “has not understood” NIV are all translations the greek work katalambano - best understood to be “against taking for one’s self” or more simply “overcome in order to possess” - This about the Darkness attempting to steal or wrest the Light for itself...

Satan trying to steal God’s position and right to rule

Mankind trying to bring the ‘gods’ down to be conquered

Sinful man attempting to displace God’s Wrath and Redemption with our own plan, taking the best of God’s offer and making it our own as part of our offer...