Seven Reasons Why Light Will Eventually Overcome Darkness
7 Reasons Why Light Will Eventually Overcome Darkness
Isaiah 60:1-3 illustrates the principle that God sometimes displays His Glory the most amid the most challenging times in culture and society. Truly, those who understand God’s ways know that every challenge is an opportunity to elevate our capacity. John 1:1-7 gives seven reasons why light will eventually overcome all darkness. (In this context, we understand light to be a metaphor for God’s truth, and darkness is a metaphor for the distortion of truth through the evil one and his fallen systems of earthly governance.)
- The Logos (truth, logic, wisdom, and language of God) is the foundation for all creation reality.
John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The word “beginning” (“Arche” in Greek) was a classical Greek term that referred to philosophers trying to define the “stuff” out of which emanated the material universe. In Greek, the “Word” is “Logos,” which in classical Philosophy referred to the wisdom, logic, and idea that underpins the cosmos. Scripture teaches us here that the origin of all living and nonliving things is Jesus, who is the Logos or wisdom of God. Hence, underpinning all reality is the knowledge and language of God, who spoke and created time and space. The Light will overcome the darkness because, as knowledge and learning increase, logic and reason will eventuate in the dissipation of atheistic evolution and the worldwide scientific embrace of the creator.
- Creation reflects the glory of God whose complexities in design point to the creator (Psalms 19, Romans 1:19-23).
“He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3). As scientific disciplines in the field of geology, anthropology, cosmology, biology, zoology, and so on get more acute and sophisticated, the complexities and beauty of the creative design will overthrow (anti-supernatural) materialistic presuppositions. This will result in a wave of scientists converting to a belief in intelligent design. Consequently, the light will overcome the darkness because new scientific findings will be broadcast, and it will awaken a new generation of God seekers.
- All (biological and spiritual) life arises out of Christ.
“In him was life…” (John 1:4). The Greek word for life is “Zoe,” which in Scripture refers not just to biological but to the (eternal) spiritual life that originates in Jesus. Spiritual here signifies not just conscious existence but connectivity to God out of which emanates power, purpose, and meaning. This ultimately points to and exists only in Jesus (which points back to when God breathed His spirit into man, and he became a living soul; see Genesis 2:7). Consequently, light will overcome the darkness because all who earnestly seek for deeper meaning and significance will find the Son (Jeremiah 29:11-13).
- “The life was the light of men” (John 1:4).
Jesus is the light of all men, not just saved men. Hence, this points again to creation grace, or common grace, whose path leads to Christ. Consequently, creation grace is the divine gift that grants civilization the illumination needed for the laws of logic, public administration, economics, politics, the sciences, music, art, education, etc. The light will overcome the darkness because the laws of logic, natural law, and creation grace ultimately lead to Jesus since the created order doesn’t make sense without a wise Creator/Designer.
- The essence and nature of light is greater than the essence of darkness.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t overcome it” (John 1:5). (“Katalambanō,” is a Greek word meaning: to lay hold of, win, attain; catch up with, seize; catch; understand, grasp, or overcome.) We know that, in its essence, light is, by nature, more powerful than darkness. This can be demonstrated by the fact that if you light a match in darkness, it easily pervades and pierces through it. The light will eventually fully overcome the darkness since darkness cannot fully grasp or attain the light; hence, the light is more sophisticated and greater than darkness.
- The prophetic voice of people grounded in the light.
“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light but came to bear witness about the light” (John 1:6-8). John the Baptist represented the culmination of the Old Testament prophets and, as such, was the bridge to the Lord Jesus. John also represented all those who have had an experiential encounter with God to be a witness of Him (Acts 1:8). John, as the last of the Old Testament prophets, also represented the power and truth of the inspired words of these prophets as recorded in sacred Scripture. He even claimed to be the one Isaiah prophesied about as the voice crying out in the wilderness preparing the way of the Lord. Thus, he had a high view of Scripture (Isaiah 40: 3-5).
So, included in this point is the amazing accuracy, profundity, and authority of the recorded Word of God (recognized by the historic Christian church as the sixty-six books included in the canon of Scripture). Peter calls Scripture the surer word of prophecy (2 Peter 1:19-21). The greatest proof of the bible is the impossibility of the contrary, which means it has the only world and life view that makes rational sense of human existence and the created order. The light will eventually overcome the darkness because the prophetic voice of the church grounded in the power and fidelity of the Scriptures will overcome all opposition to King Jesus.
- “…That all might believe through him” (John 1:7).
John’s mission was that everyone who heard his preaching would believe in the Messiah. However, since He represented all of the Old Testament prophets and Scriptures, His mission also pointed to the meta-narrative of Scripture. It pointed to the consummation of human history when all things in heaven and earth will be aligned under Christ and when every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Ephesians 1:10, Philippians 2: 3-12). The Light will overcome darkness because one day there will be a groundswell of people believing and pointing to Christ who will restore all things spoken by the prophets (Acts 3:21).
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