So when Jesus spoke of Himself as the light of the world, those who follow Him are described as people who will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. According to I Peter 2:9, God's own special people are those who have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light. And when light exposes something, it becomes illuminated because anything that becomes visible is light, as Paul explains in Ephesians 5:8.
In John 5:35, Jesus called John the Baptizer a burning and shining lamp. Significantly, John was called by the Greek word luchnos, translated shining lamp. Luchnos means a portable lamp or other direct illuminator, literally or figuratively.
So phos means to shine or make manifest, especially by rays. It also implies luminousness (in the broadest application, natural or artificial, abstract or concrete, literal or figurative). So we are the light of the world, and we are to shine and make manifest, meaning live God's way of life.
This affirms that John (the Baptizer) came to shed light on a specific event - the coming of the Son of God. However, members of God's church are to shine and make visible God's entire way of life. So we must be shining witnesses by living God's way of life and teaching others about it as well.
Now, even in the hidden meanings of the words, we see confirmed in the Bible two specific purposes, two specific commissions. Those rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of God and His beloved Son are strongly associated with light as the thing that defines our very essence.
Just like cultural Christians who do not live by Christ's example, the Jews during Christ's time mistakenly supposed that they were a light to those who were in darkness while being in darkness themselves.
The Jews were such hypocrites that they were a cause of blasphemy among the Gentiles, because the Gentiles looked at the Jews as claiming to be God's people, but not living His way of life.
So being a light equates to illumination of knowledge and understanding of truth and much more.
Those whose knowledge is rooted in emptiness and darkness only have the appearance of it, like a well-drawn picture that is colorful but lacks life. A form of knowledge produces only an appearance of godliness; it only creates an illusion of holiness. We find this in tares in the church. We do not know who they are because they are doing this very thing, but we know that they are there.
A form of knowledge can deceive people, but it cannot fool God's heart-searching, discerning eye. A form may be the vehicle of power, but in reality it only produces the noise of sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.
Sinners fear the light, so God must call people into the light because it is His work. We cannot do anything on our own to bring someone into the church, but with God's help we can do a lot to let our light shine as faithful witnesses and do the work of God in the way we are to preach the gospel to the world.
In short, there are five primary methods that light relates to the faithful Christian.
1. Light is a type of Christian who walks with God.
2. Light refers to the testimony of the Christian or the witness of the Christian.
3. Light is a figure of the state of the Christian after he leaves Satan's kingdom of darkness and is brought into the church.
4. Light refers to the walk of the Christian in which he serves God in a godly way and directs his life according to the Word of God.
5. Light refers to the defense of the Christian who lives above reproach and has a godly witness before his neighbors.
The church is portrayed as the possessor and giver of light as Christ lives in us through His Spirit. The church brings glory to God by revealing His glory to people through its reflection of the life and light of Christ.
