Light is used in the Bible to describe the power of God, and light in this physical world has many interesting properties that can be applied to this metaphor.
The first physical manifestation of light mentioned in the Bible is in Genesis 1:3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
Then when God wanted to lead his people, he chose a light. Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar, And by night with a pillar of fire, To give them light on the road Which they should travel. Nehemiah 9:12.
The books of Job and Psalms list so many references to God and His light they are too numerous to show here.
God speaks through Isaiah about bringing the light to the Gentiles. “I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. Isaiah 42:7-8
In Acts 26: 18, Jesus commands Paul regarding his calling to the Gentiles.... I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
Matthew 6: 19-34 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
Eph5: 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God
Doctrine of Light by Gary Glenney 2005
1. Definition:
a. Light is a complex scientific puzzle.
b. Scientists have battled over various theories of what light is for centuries.
c. The ancient Greeks believed that light streamed out of the eye much as water streams out of a hose, the idea being that we see a thing by directing this stream of light to hit it.
d. In 1668 Sir Isaac Newton proposed the theory that light consists of small particles, corpuscles, of matter emitted in all directions in straight lines or rays by a luminous body such as the sun, a burning candle, etc.
e. At about the same time a Dutch astronomer, Christian Huychens, advanced the wave theory of light which states that light radiates from a source in straight lines called rays; and they are perpendicular to the circles called wave fronts.
These light waves travel in much the same way as water waves produced when a stone is dropped into still water.
f. In 1860, James Maxwell postulated the theory that visible light, radiant heat, ultraviolet, infrared, and electromagnetic waves are all electromagnetic in
nature.
g. In 1905, a German physicist named Max Plank proposed the “quantum theory” which states that light consists of bits of energy, “quanta of energy,” which are
also known as photons. According to this theory, light energy is emitted and absorbed in quanta or photons. This is explained by the assumption that the electrons in the atoms revolve in fixed spherical shells, and that any electron when in a particular shell has a definite amount of energy. When electrons fall from a higher energy level to a lower one, they loose energy in the form of light. The same quantity of energy, no more or no less, is required to lift them back again to the higher level.
h. In 1905, Albert Einstein asserted that matter and energy were one and the same thing by the relationship in his now famous equation, E=mc2. His research to determine the general theory of relativity is the basis of all modern scientific technology including laser technology.
2. Etymology:
a. fw=j - phos – (Greek noun.) light, light bearer, light as the element and sphere of the divine. (Eph. 5:13; John 1:4, 7-9)
b. fwteino/j - photeinos – (Greek n.) shining, bright, radiant, full of light, illuminated. (Matt. 17:5)
c. fwti/zw - photidzo – (Greek vb.) to shine, to give light to, to light up, to illuminate, to enlighten, to shed light upon, to reveal. (Rev. 22:5)
d. roa - ’OR – (Hebrew) 1. noun – light; 2. verb – to be light, to become light, to shine, to give light. (Gen. 1:3, 4)
3. God created light out of nothing and therefore God pre-exists light as we understand it from a physics definition – see point #1. (Gen. 1:3)
4. God is described in terms of His creation; “God is light.” (1 John 1:5) Also, Jesus Christ is said to be “the light” in John 1:4.
a. Light becomes a good illustration of both the “essence” and the “Trinity,” persons of the Godhead.
b. Light is one in essence or substance, yet it is composed of three aspects:
(1) Actinic light or ultraviolet light is not seen nor experienced. This is analogous to God the Father. (1 Tim. 6:16; 1 John 1:5)
(2) Luminiferous light or visible light is both seen and experienced. This is analogous to God the Son. (John 12:35, 36)
(3) Calorific light or inferred light is not seen but is experienced. This is analogous to God the Holy Spirit. (Gen. 1:2)
5. Jesus Christ as the manifest person of the Godhead is light. (John 1:4; 8:12; John 9:5; 12:35, 36)
6. Light in its literal sense is absolutely necessary for man’s existence on the Earth. (Eccl. 11:7; Jer. 31:35)
7. Israel received divine guidance from God during their wilderness experience in the form of the Shekinah Glory cloud, “light by night.” (Ex. 13:21, 22; 14:20)
8. The gospel is called light. (2 Cor. 4:3, 4; 2 Tim. 1:10; cf. Acts 13:47 and Isa. 49:6)
9. The evangelist is called a light. (“the tribes of Jacob,” Isa. 49:6, “Paul and Barnabas,” Acts. 13:47)
10. “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” (2 Cor. 11:14)
11. Salvation brings the believer out of darkness into light, just as the planet earth was brought out of darkness into light by God. (Luke 1:79; 1 Pet. 2:9; cf. Col. 1:12-14;
Gen 1:3)
12. Anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ becomes one of the “sons of light.” (John 12:36; 1 Thess. 5:5; cf. “saints in the light,” Col 1:12)
13. Believers in fellowship with God, filled with the Holy Spirit, are said to “walk in the light.” (1John 1:7; 2:8-10; Eph. 5:8b)
14. Bible Doctrine resident in the souls of believers through study and the ministry of God the Holy Spirit, is portrayed as “the fruit of the light.” (Eph. 5:8-10, Psa. 119:105, 130; Prov. 6:23; cf. Psa. 36:9)
15. An edification complex of the soul of each believer is constructed from the light of Bible doctrine. (Psa. 43:3; 119:130; Rom. 13:12, “the armor of light;” Eph. 5:8a)
16. The mature believer reflects the light of Bible doctrine. (Matt. 5:14, 16; 2 Cor. 4:6)
17. The glory of God will illuminate the new Jerusalem “and its lamp, the Lamb,” the Lord Jesus Christ, “and the nations will walk by its light…” (Rev. 21:24)
18. Believers in eternity will have an illumination from the glory of the Lord God. (Rev. 22:5; Daniel 12:2, 3)
Other Notes
Paul intentionally contrasts the old life in darkness with new life in the light in Christ Jesus ( Eph 4:17-24 ). Although Satan can disguise himself as "an angel of light, " Christians live in the true light of salvation, laying aside the deeds of darkness and putting on the protective "armor of light" ( Rom 13:12 ). The revealed will of God provides light to the heart, soul, and mind of humanity, providing guidance in a dark world ( Psalm 19:7-10 ; Psalms 119:105 Psalms 119:130 ). A stark contrast will characterize the old life and the new: "For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of lightfor the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true" ( Eph 5:8-9 ). The truly Christian life is a life of light.
Reference resources
http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/light.html
http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/let-us-walk-in-the-light-of-god