John 1:9 That was the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world. Jesus Christ enlightening every man — I. FROM WITHIN, i.e, in the intuitive conceptions of the mind. 1. This light is internal, shining in the mental constitution of every man. What was life in the Word pre-incarnate was light or reason in men. 2. This light is innate in every man. "That was the true Light which lighteth every man as he cometh," etc., is a translation of many scholars. God takes care to write His name on the soul of every man; human nature bears the sign-manual of its Maker in its deepest constitution (Romans 1:19, "in them"). 3. This light is Divine, the same in its nature as that which illuminates God Himself. The light proceeding from the sun is the same as that which resides in the sun. 4. This light is persistent. It continues to shine notwithstanding the Fall and its consequences "lighteth," present tense. II. FROM WITHOUT, in the revealed doctrines of Christianity. 1. It is a supernatural light: not unnatural, or contranatural, for the most perfect correspondence obtains between the natural and the supernatural. Railway companies often possess running powers on each other's property, and the natural and the supernatural often run their trains on each other's lines. The latter is only an extension of the former. 2. It is a perfect light: true, i.e, the complete as opposed to the imperfect, the full as opposed to the partial. Christ is this; not a ray wanting. You may see God through the creation, but you may see Him in Jesus Christ. 3. It is a universal light. (1) It enlightens every man that cometh into the world. The perfect is always universal. "Go ye into all the world." The Sun of Christianity is as all-pervasive as the sun of nature. (2) It enlightens every man that goeth out of the world. It can penetrate the blackest recesses of the dark mountains along which you are descending, and dissipate the mist of the swelling flood, and illumine your way right into the unseen. (3) It enlightens the world into which you are going. " The Lamb is the light thereof." (J. Cynddylan Jones, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.WEB: The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world. |
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