Theme · narrative
Light and Darkness
God's first creative act is to speak light into existence and separate it from darkness. The pillar of fire guides Israel through the night. The Psalms declare that the LORD is the psalmist's light and salvation. Isaiah promises that those who walk in darkness will see a great light, and a child will be born to bring it. John's Gospel builds on this: Jesus is the light of the world, and those who follow him will not walk in darkness. Paul tells believers they are children of light, and John's first epistle makes it an ethical test: 'God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.'
Related doctrines
Passages expressing this theme
- 1Cor 4:5 — Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man ha
- 1John 1:1 — That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
- 1John 1:5 — This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
- 1John 1:6 — If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
- 1John 1:7 — 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 2:8 — Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
- 1John 5:19 — And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
- 1Pet 2:9 — But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
- 1Thess 5:5 — Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
- 2Cor 4:4 — In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
- 2Cor 4:6 — For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
- 2Cor 6:14 — Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
- 2Pet 1:19 — We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
- Acts 13:47 — For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
- Acts 26:18 — To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith t
- Acts 26:23 — That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.
- Amos 8:9 — And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:
- Col 1:12 — Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
- Col 1:13 — Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
- Dan 2:22 — He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
- Eph 4:18 — Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
- Eph 5:8 — For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
- Eph 5:11 — And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
- Eph 5:14 — Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
- Exod 10:21 — And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.
The Church Fathers on Light and Darkness
And He divided the light from the darkness. For He divided them not only by their quality but also by the distance of places, namely by spreading light in the upper part of the world where human activity was to take place, while allowing the lower parts to remain in their ancient darkness.
Light and dark are two things, as are truth and falsehood, goodness and wickedness. But they are not to be imagined as equal, for it is not pious to compare anything to God, even by contraries. So we are to understand that there are two spirits, one of faith and one of disobedience. Satan and his devils have their…
Light has nothing in common with darkness, and there is no agreement between Christ and Belial. The person who does good has Christ, the true light, and not darkness or Belial. But the person who does evil is from Belial and darkness and has not seen God or had any knowledge of him.
What fellowship has light with darkness, life with death?
The light shines in darkness, in this life and in the flesh, and is chased by the darkness but is not overtaken by it. By this I mean the adverse power leaping up in its shamelessness against the visible Adam but encountering God and being defeated—in order that we, putting away the darkness, may draw near to the…
Now the expression darkness will likewise be used to refer to two corresponding concepts. The statement "And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night" is an example of the more common meaning. An example of the spiritual meaning occurs in the statement "The people who sat in darkness … and in the…