«And That Life Was the Light of Mankind» (Jn. 1:4)

The all-sustaining actions of God the Word in the sum of creatures are only life: “«for in him we live, …and move and have our being»” (Acts 17:28). In rational creatures, however, his actions are not only life but also light—he does not only sustain their life and being but illuminates them, teaches, guides. In other creatures he acts by his almightiness: he commands, and all is directed according to his will; rational creatures he illuminates, revealing his will to their consciousness so that they themselves freely then walk according to its direction. He gave them freedom and does not force it but, prescribing commandments as law, leaves it to the free decision of each whether to follow them or not. He persuades them, presents the supreme necessity to follow his will, depicts the bitter consequences of disobedience, even coordinates external events to direct freedom toward the path of his will, but binds no one’s will. Whether inwardly inspiring something to mankind, or sending an angel, or placing a word in the mouths of the chosen—the meaning of his precepts to people is always one: behold, fire and water are set before you; toward which you wish, there stretch your hand. Then the Lord so acts that from each he expects willing service to himself in fulfilling his will. God placed the foundation for such order of action in the structure of human’s very spiritual nature.

Material forces are dark forces; the life of plants and animals is like the flickering of light at the stars and moon. But human spiritual life—its image is the bright radiance of the sun. It has been given inner self-illumination, with illumination of all its relations, and precisely in self-consciousness mankind, being conscious of itself, is conscious of the supreme Creator and sovereign, feeling in the process his complete dependence on him and the duty to serve him with all the powers of his being in hope of abiding in his eternal favor—is conscious of his external relations to those like himself and to all creatures—is conscious of how he ought to conduct himself and whether he does conduct himself as he should. In this inner light of mankind, poured into him in his creation in the image and likeness of God, lies the light of man. The Lord, acting by his all-sustaining power and preserving human’s spiritual nature, preserves this light and is, by that very fact, already light for him. But he is light even more in that to all rays of the natural light of the human spirit he is pleased to add his own divine light, by the action of which the personal light of mankind becomes, properly speaking, light—true, definite, and all-determining, causing all things to appear in their true outlines. This inflow of spiritual light into mankind (and to all spiritual creatures higher than him), so necessary for him that, according to Revelation, we do not see a single moment’s sojourn without it for mankind called into being. Upon first opening his eyes, he already saw before him God, who had explained to him what he is and how he ought to live and act. These determinations of God impressed their seal on the directedness of the consciousness of human’s spirit, which in themselves would have remained undetermined and, consequently, dimly lit. From this determination they have never departed; but have been preserved and are preserved in mankind even until now and will be preserved forever. The rays of this light are: fear of God—with the feeling of complete dependence and the duty to serve God; conscience—with the assurance of being pleasing to God through fulfilling its demands; dissatisfaction with anything created—with the hope of thoroughly satisfying well-being in eternity.

One living according to these indications of divine light abides in god-likeness for which he was created and thus stands in the closest relation to the Son of God, who is “«the radiance of glory” of the Father “and the image of his substance»” (Hebr. 1:3). The all-sustaining Word of God is thus “«light of mankind»” (Jn. 1:4): light that illuminates with knowledge of the truths about God and God’s deeds; light that indicates to conscience what is good and what is evil and inspires toward the doing of the one and the shunning of the other; light that fills the blameless heart with gladness from the feeling of God’s favor and expectation of all-sided blessedness in him. From of old he is for mankind truth, way, and life. The receiver of this light stands at his goal and, filled with light, is all-blessed. Such was the state of paradise of the first-created. It was bright from the clarity of communion with God and knowledge of God, from the purity of conscience and the absence of disturbance in all relations, from the great gladness of innocent and all-satisfied life. The Fall disturbed all this. Upon the spiritual sphere of mankind fell darkness.