Clarion Letters – “The Light of Life” – Part 2

In Part 1 of the “Light of Life”, we saw that from the universe to the womb life begins with light.

We also learned how the Father uses various forms of natural light to reveal Christ-centered events.

Now, in Part 2, we turn to the radiant light of Christ – its first coming, its relation to salvation and His glory, and the Church’s priestly calling of stewarding it. In Part 3, Lord willing, we will learn about the miraculous and visible power of Christ’s light and how it testifies to His unseen reality – with actual evidence-based testimonies supporting it.

#1: The Light of the World

We saw in Part 1 where the Spirit of God delivered light over the dark waters at the Father’s Word to create the Heavens and Earth (Genesis 1:2).

Centuries later, John, the beloved disciple, penned a great revelatory truth: that before Christ came in human form, He pre-existed with the Father in Word and Light form during creation.

The Word is the Father’s speech, the perfect expression and representation of His mind and nature.

Because the Word comes from God, it is both one with Him yet distinct from Him. Through the Word, all things were made:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Through Him (Christ the Word) all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. – John 1:3 NIV

During the Feast of Lights/Miracles in 8 BC, God’s light and Word that created everything was miraculously conceived as a human. For the exact dates of His conception and birth, see The Light of Life – Part 1.

From Jesus’ birth onward, God’s Word in bodily form began living on the same earth He created:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:14 NIV

Jesus was not born with a full knowledge of Himself as the pre-existent eternal Word of God. As a child, Jesus grew in wisdom, gradually coming to understand who He was and His purpose:

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. – Luke 2:52 NIV

He discovered much of the Father’s will through scripture:

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; Then I said, ‘Here I am–it is written about me in the scroll–I have come to do your will, my God.’ ” – Hebrews 10:7 NIV

At age 30, while being baptized in the Jordan River, the Spirit of God anointed the man Jesus. This caused His light within to burn and shine with great power wherever He went:

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. – Acts 10:38 NIV

The anointing Jesus received was without measure. This made Him “the Christ” – The anointed One:

For He is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. – John 3:34 NLT

#2 – The Light of Salvation

Near the end of His ministry, Jesus increasingly revealed the primary purpose for His human body: to bring salvation to those in darkness (Luke 2:32).

A seed must be buried and its outer shell broken to release its life within. Likewise, Christ’s body had to be broken & buried. Afterwards, resurrection power released the explosion of the light of life within Him. As a result, it became available for all mankind to receive and embody.

Today when Christ’s light shines upon someone, it first exposes their need for salvation and the reality of their darkness. Without it we are completely unaware of our need, without hope, and simply living in death’s shadow daily waiting for it to come:

THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.” – Matthew 4:16 NASB20

The enemy is working in this current age to blind people’s minds from being receptive and open to Christ’s light of salvation:

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. – 2 Corinthians 4:4 NIV

If you are realizing your need today for the first time, pause and pray this with sincerity:

“Jesus, I look to you. I decide right now to turn away from my sins and turn to You. I believe You died, were buried, and rose again to take my sin away and give me everlasting life. I receive your salvation, forgiveness, and light of life right now. Thank You for loving me and giving Yourself for me. I now give myself to live for You forever. Amen.”

#4 – The Light of His Glory

After the light of salvation, our spirit is quickened and becomes the Lord’s lamp. Our “pilot light” gets turned on:

The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD that sheds light on one’s inmost being. – Proverbs 20:27 NIV

Our body becomes a temple to contain it:

But we have this treasure in earthen containers, so that the extraordinary [greatness] of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; – 2 Corinthians 4:7 NASB20

His light within us now has the power to illuminate our hearts and minds to see, know, and experience the glory, love, and mysteries of the Lord for ourselves:

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. – 2 Corinthians 4:6 KJV

As we behold the Lord freely and with an open mind, the radiant light from His Spirit reflects back and forth off our spirit like a mirror. This process causes us to be transformed from glory to glory:

But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:18 NASB20

According to Peter, paying special attention to the prophetic writings of scripture also causes the glory of Christ’s light to increase within us:

And [so] we have the prophetic word [made] more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. – 2 Peter 1:19 NASB20

Prophecy reveals the hidden mind and plans of God. Knowing our future through past writings causes us to reassess our current priorities. For example, it was revealed to Peter before His martyrdom that everything around us will be burned up one day:

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. – 2 Peter 3:10 NKJV

As the new day dawns and the Day of the Lord draws near, the Spirit of God is emphasizing the importance reading the writings of the prophets and being better carriers of Christ’s light of salvation.

Let’s conclude with Christ’s light within His collective Body.

#5: The Church – God’s Light of the World

Jesus declared the Church as a “city on a hill” and thus the collective light of the world (Matthew 5:14–16). As His collective temple, we have been given orders to steward His light well.

In the Tabernacle of Moses, the golden lampstand (Menorah) prophetically symbolized the Church’s priesthood calling of light today. The lampstand was a key furniture piece comprised of seven candlesticks that was positioned inside the tent of meeting (Tabernacle) outside the veil.

God’s instructions to Moses revealed the precise pattern individual saints, local churches, and the global Church is to follow:

“And you shall command the sons of Israel that they bring you clear oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually.

In the tent of meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the LORD; [it shall be] a permanent statute throughout their generations for the sons of Israel. – Exodus 27:21 NASB20

We see three important truths in this priestly protocol:

1. The lamp light required clean oil from beaten olives.
2. It was to burn continually.
3. The priests were mandated to ensure it remained lit at night (from evening to morning).

Our new covenant application is as follows:

The secret to continuously burning bright is a steady supply of clean oil. How does it come?

Like Noah’s dove, the Spirit of the Lord is the keeper of the olive branch and its oil. For His oil to fill the lampstand, we must crush and give up our own will, agendas, and wants. This means we make what God wants us to do our continual life purpose and heart attitude. Not just in big life matters, but the everyday details and decisions that may run contrary to His will.

This includes crushing sinful bodily desires and offering our members (our hands, feet, brain, and all other physical members) as a living and holy sacrifice to Him (Romans 12:1-3, 1 Corinthians 9:27).

Though it can be painful and difficult, denying and giving up self is THE key that releases the Spirit’s oil to flow out to fill our individual and corporate lamps, causing our light together to shine in the world. This is especially important today as the darkness outside God’s Temple increases.

The Lord has sworn that for His Body’s (Zion’s) sake, His Spirit will not rest. The Lord will make Her brightness His perpetual work and focus until all is accomplished and He returns:

For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp [that] burns. – Isaiah 62:1 NKJV

As individuals and churches crush our own personal and political agendas and come together to sincerely seek what the Lord wants for His Kingdom, we can expect the nations to come to our light (more salvations), and His global temple on earth to increase in glory:

“For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you. And His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. – Isaiah 60:3 NASB20

Pentecost was just a taste of this reality. When the Dove descended onto the Lord’s House and released His oil on truly surrendered servants, it caused 120 lamps to burn so brightly together that 3000 people from nearly 15 nations came to it and received salvation (Acts 2:9-11).

Conclusion

Christ came as the light of the world to bring life and salvation. Now that He is in Heaven, He has placed His flame and light inside His saints for transformation and revelation insight of His glory. He has also put His light within His corporate Body for its members and gatherings to shine together on earth amongst the darkness. We are called in this hour to crush the flesh to release oil to burn bright, and to bring His light of salvation to those in darkness as we see the Day of the Lord drawing closer.

While much of Christ’s light in the Church is invisible, I perceive the Spirit of God desires to increase visible displays of signs and wonders on earth to further illuminate the reality of Christ and His coming Kingdom.

In Part 3, Lord willing, we will learn about His miraculous power with evidence-based testimonies supporting it.