Light of the world

Matt 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. 

Understand light in the context of darkness.

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning — the first day.

Don’t confuse this light with the Sun, moon and stars which are created on day four. The two forces that affect man in this world are Light and darkness, or, Good and evil. The world (Satan) represents Darkness, sin and death. Some say the light that God spoke into the world was his Messiah. God’s way of calling man out of darkness. Jesus always references Light and Darkness, Day and Night from a Spiritual perspective.

Darkness: OT:2822choshek (kho-shek'); the dark; hence (literally) darkness; figuratively, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness:

*** …the darkness he called "night."

Night: OT:3915 layil (lah'-yil); properly, a twist (away of the light), i.e. night; figuratively, adversity:

1 John 1:5 …God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

God is the source. Light originates from the father. God is Holy, pure, love, goodness, etc. His Messiah is the light that came into the world. Jesus and the Father were one, he came to do the will of the father. Jesus came to reveal God through him, he was God’s light extended to us.

Light: OT:216 'owr (ore); from OT:215; illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.):

OT:215 'owr (ore); to be (causative, make) luminous

3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God called the light "day,"

Day: OT:3117yowm (yome); from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), [often used adverb]:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.

3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

John 9:4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.

 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

John 12:35 Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. 36 Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light."

John 12:44 Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

Col 1:13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 

God made a distinction between light and darkness, good and evil. We choose being yoked to him or to the world.

Gen 1:14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights — the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning — the fourth day.

Jesus was the light that governs the day.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

Rev 22:16 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."

Satan was the light that governs the night.

Lucifer is not a name for Satan. Lucifer is the Latin term for “Light bringer”

Isa 14:12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn!

Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! KJV

***From Wikipedia.com

Lucifer (/ˈluːsɪfər/ 'light-bringer', corresponding to the Greek name Ἑωσφόρος, 'dawn-bringer', for the same planet) is a Latin name for the planet Venus in its morning appearances and is often used for mythological and religious figures associated with the planet.

John 3:19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

2 Cor 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see

the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

2 Cor 11:13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. 

***17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness.

Think about Israel escaping from Egypt with the parting of the Red Sea.

Ex 14:19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. 

As the first born son, Israel is a light to the nations.

John 4:22 …for salvation is from the Jews.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Acts 13:46 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'" 

As children of God we are a light to a dark world. Imagine being in the woods at night with fireflies shining in the darkness. You get the picture.

2 Cor 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the

light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

As followers of Christ, we are a light to our neighbors. As God loves us, we should love our neighbor. Anything we do for the sake of honoring the father, helping someone in need, forgiving our enemy, fleeing temptation, being quick to listen and slow to speak, etc. That is when those in darkness see the light of God through us. 

Matt 6:22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

2 Cor 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 

God has a way, a path for those to follow. It's in the scriptures. It's there to guide us. It boils down to loving our neighbor.

Ps 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

Isa 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,

who put darkness for light and light for darkness,

2 Cor 6:14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?

Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

1 Thess 5:4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

2 Cor 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Eph 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for it is light that makes everything visible.

1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

1 John 2:9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.

2 Sam 22:29 You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light.

30 With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.

1 Kings 15:4 Nevertheless, for David's sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. 5 For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lord's commands all the days of his life — except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.

Rev 21:23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.

Rev 22:5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.