I stumbled across an interesting remark by a greek scholar on the phrase in John 1:4 where we read —with reference to Jesus — that “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” The scholar pointed out that “the article with both ‘life’ and ‘light’ makes them interchangeable.” In other words, both the following statements are true:
that life was the light of all mankind
and
that light was the life of all mankind
The meaning of the word life with reference to God seems to me to be best defined as “purposeful living.” Hence, in Jesus we find purposeful living and it is both light and life for humanity’s baneful existence — a way out.
But the way out — purposeful living — is the path of constant helpfulness, that is to say, the path of divine love.
So it seems to me that the life, light, and love of God are one and the same reality, for that matter — a Person.
