When You Understand & Others Don’t

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. — John 1:4-5

Last time we discussed the first part of this text. That Jesus, or the "Word," is the "ever-existing life." But now John adds this metaphor. And it's important because he will use this one a few times. It's "light."

And if you are even a casual reader of the Bible, you know this is the first thing that God creates. First, there was God and the Word that always existed, and next comes "light." So with this metaphor, John takes us back to the first pages of the Bible again.

But it is a metaphor, so we must ask the obvious question. What does this metaphor mean? And the word light infers "understanding." So the text could read:

In him was [ever-existing] life, and the life was the [understanding] of men. The [understanding] shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. — John 1:4-5

So when we read it this way, we discover another word and metaphor. The word "darkness." And darkness infers "ignorance" or a state of "moral and spiritual ignorance." This means we can now read the text this way:

In him was [ever-existing] life, and the life was the [understanding] of men. The [understanding] shines [into the spiritual ignorance], and the [ignorance] has not overcome it. — John 1:4-5

So what John has done is borrowed from the schools of Greek language and Greek philosophy and demonstrated how Jesus is everything unresolved in Greek schools of thought. That Jesus is the resolution to the divide between what is human and divine. That the divine Logos (or the Word) has come down to earth, made himself known, and has spoken with man to bring divine understanding that we lacked to that point in history. He lived with us and among us. But the world was confused about him because of their limited understanding. But those who want to understand can have understanding because it is found from, in, and through him, the Word, the Understanding of God.

This explains why we, as believers, sometimes see something so clearly that others do not. By hearing and believing in the Word, we receive divine understanding. And continuous engagement with this Word by reading the Word results in a continuously redeemed and renewed mind. And the redeemed and renewed mind sees things that the ignorant mind does not. So the next time you are irritated by all the ignorance you see and hear in the world, remember, you are not going crazy. This is just your redeemed mind seeing something others have yet to see. It's also an excellent reminder to keep your mind in the Word because it's the only way you are not going to go crazy.

ASK THIS: Do you see with greater understanding?

DO THIS: See everything with your redeemed mind.

PRAY THIS: God, redeem my thinking, show me your Word, and give me divine understanding.

PLAY THIS: Whatever Your Plan Is.