Light and Fire

Ἐσημειώθη ἐφ ἡμᾶς τὸ φῶς τοῦ προσώπουσου, Κύριε, κ.τ.ἑ   Ὅτι φῶς ἐστιν ὁ Θεὸς, Ἰωάννης φησὶν ἐν τῇ Καθολικῇ ἐπισολῇ· Ὁ Θεὸς φῶς ἐστι, καὶ σκοτία ἐν αὐτῷ ἐστιν οὐδεμία. Κἂν πῦρ δὲ λέγηται, ὡς ὁ Παῦλος ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ἑβραίους φησί· Καὶ γὰρ  ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν πῦρ καταναλίσκον ἐστί· δεικνὺς αὐτὸν εἶναι Θεὸν νόμου καὶ Εὐαγγελίου, τουτέστι τὸν Πατέρα τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο Θεὸν ἡμῶν· οὐκ ἄλλο τι νοητέον εἶναι τοῦ φωτὸς τῇ είπινοᾳ διαφέρον τοῦ πυρὸς τοῦ καταναλίσκοντος τοῦ παρὰ τὸ φῶς. Ὥωπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ σωματικῷ συνέτυχεν ἡ μὲν αὐτὴ οὐσία καθ' ὅ μὲν φωτίζει, φῶς ἐστι, καθ' ὅ δὲ ἐπικρατεῖ τῶν τοιῶνδε ὑλῶν, καυστικὴ καὶ καταναλωτικὴ τυγχάνουσα αὐτῶν πῦρ ἐστι καταναλίσκον· οὕτω τοιγαροῦν καὶ ὁ Θεὸς τῶν μὲν χειρόνων ἀφανιστικός ἐστι, καὶ τῆς κακίας ἐξαναλωτικὸς, τοῖς δὲ ἐπιτηδείοις καὶ κεκαθαρμένοις τὴν καρδίαν φῶς τυγχάνει.   Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος Δ'

Sealed on us is the light of your face, O Lord, etc, 1  God is light, says John in his general letter, 'God is light and there is no darkness in him.' 2 And He is also called a fire, as Paul says in his letter to the Hebrews: ' For our God is a consuming fire.' 3 This shows him to be God of the Law and the Gospel, that is, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and therefore our God. But this consuming fire should not be judged as something separate from light, but as the same thing differing only in thought. As into vision come things material and as these same things are to this or that extent illuminated, so we have light, and in so far as these material things are taken up and devoured in burning, so we have the consuming fire; and thus God destroys those things which are depraved and consumes wickedness, but to those who are worthy of it, whose hearts are pure, He is light. Origen, On the Psalms, Psalm 4 1 Ps 4.7 21 Jn 1.5 3Heb 12.29