Section Eight

Children of Light

Three verses in the New Testament (in the NIV) use the phrase ‘children of light’. The phrase combines two images used extensively elsewhere: • Being children - children reflect their parentage • Light - especially in opposition to darkness These verses say: 1. In a section of John’s Gospel, Jesus predicts his own death. Jesus uses the imagery of light to describe himself as light. His death would result in a time of darkness. Jesus encourages the crowd to believe in the light whilst he still alive. Those who do believe can then go on to be ‘children of light’. 2. Ephesians has a section that encourages the readers / listeners of the letter to live in ways that honour the position of being God’s children. This includes leaving behind the ways that were a part of being in darkness and so to live as ‘children of light’. 3. 1 Thessalonians has a passage looking forward to the ‘Day of the Lord’. Those who have received salvation through Jesus do not belong to darkness, but are ‘children of light’.