Light And Apostles

Ἔλεγεν οὖν ἑαυτὸν εἶναι φῶς τοῦ κόσμου· καὶ τὰ παρακείμενα ταύτῃ τῇ ὀνομασίᾳ συνεκπιαστέον, δόξαντα ἂν τισιν οὐχὶ παρακείμενα μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ αὐτὰ τυγχάνειν. Ἔστι δὲ τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν καὶ φῶς ἐθνῶν· φῶς μὲν ἀνθρώπων ἐν τῇ τοῦ προκειμένου εὐαγγελίου ἀρχῇ· Ὃ γέγονε, γάρ φησιν, έν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων· καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβε· φῶς δὲ ἀληθινὸν ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς τῆς αὐτῆς γραφῆς ἐπιγέγραπται· Ἦν τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινόν, ὃ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον, ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν κόσμον, φῶς δὲ ἐθνῶν, ἐν τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ, ὡς προείπομεν παρατιθέμενοι τὸ Ἰδοὺ τέθεικά σε εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν, τοῦ εἶναί σε εἰς σωτηρίαν ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς. Φῶς δὴ κόσμου αἰσθητὸν ὁ ἥλιός ἐστιν, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον οὐκ ἀπᾳδόντως ἡ σελήνη καὶ οἱ ἀστέρες τώ αὐτῷ ὀνόματι προσαγορευθήσονται. Ἀλλὰ φῶς μὲν αἐσθητὸν τυγχάνοντες οἱ γεγονέναι παρὰ Μωσεῖ λεγόμενοι τῇ τετάρτῃ ἡμέρα, καθὸ φωτίζουσι τὰ ἐπὶ γῆς, οὐκ εἰσὶ φῶς ἀληθινόν. Ὁ δὲ σωτὴρ ἐλλάμπων τοῖς λογικοῖς καὶ ἡγεμονικοῖς, ἵνα αὐτῶν ὁ νοῦς τὰ ἴδια ὁρατὰ βλέπῃ, τοῦ νοητοῦ κόσμου ἐστὶ φῶς· λέγω δὲ τῶν λογικῶν ψυχῶν τῶν ἐν τῷ αἰσθητικῷ κόσμῳ καὶ εἴ τι παρὰ ταῦτα συμπληροῖ τὸν κόσμον, ἀφ’ οὗ ὁ σωτὴρ εἶναι ἡμᾶς διδάσκει, τάχα μέρος αὐτοῦ τὸ κυριώτατον καὶ διαφέρον τυγχάνων καί, ὡς ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ἥλιος ἡμέρας μεγάλης Kυρίου ποιητής. Δι’ ἣν ἡμέραν φησὶ τοῖς τοῦ φωτὸς αὐτοῦ μεταλαμβάνουσιν· Ἐργάζεσθε ἕως ἡμέρα ἐστίν· ἔρχεται νὺξ ὅτε οὐκέτι οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐργάζεσθαι. Ὅταν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ὡ, φῶς εἰμι τοῦ κόσμου, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς φησιν· Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου καὶ Λαμψάτω τὸ φῶς ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθε τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Tὸ δ’ ἀνάλογον σελήνῃ καὶ ἄστροις ὑπολαμβάνομεν εἶναι περὶ τὴν νύμφην ἐκκλησίαν καὶ τοὺς μαθητάς, ἔχοντας οἰκεῖον φῶς ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ ἡλίου ἐπίκτητον, ἵνα φωτίσωσι μὴ δεδυνημένους πηγὴν ἐν αὑτοῖς κατασκευάσαι φωτός. Ὠριγένης, Των Εῑς Το Κατά Ιὠάννην Εὐαγγέλιον Εξηγητικόν, Τομός Α', Κεφ Κ' Source: Migne PG 14.65d-68c

He called Himself, then, the light of the world, 1 and this title must be considered with those which are parallel to it, and which, indeed, are thought by some to be not merely parallel, but identical. He is the light of men, and the true light, and the light of the Gentiles. He is the light of men in the beginning of the Gospel before us: 'That which was made,' it says, 'was life in Him, and the life was the light of men; and the light shone in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.' 2 And He is the true light a little further on in the same passage: 'The true light which enlightens every man was coming into the world.' 3 And He is the light of the Gentiles in Isaiah, as we said before: 'Behold, I have set you as a light of the nations, that You should be salvation to the ends of the earth.' 4 Now the sensible light of the world is the sun, and after, not without its worth, is the moon, and the same title may be given to the stars. But those material lights of the world are said by Moses to have been made on the fourth day, 5 and as they give light to the things on the earth, they are not the true light. For the Saviour shines on rational creatures which are guided by intellect, that their minds may behold their proper objects of vision. So He is the light of the intellectual world, by which I mean, of rational souls in the sensible world, and if there be anything beyond these in the world, by which He teaches that He is our Saviour and the most noble and distinguished part, and, as one may say, the sun which makes the great day of the Lord. Concerning which day He says to those who share in His light: 'Work while it is day; the night comes when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.' Then He says to His disciples, 'You are the light of the world,' and 'Let your light shine before men.' 6 Thus we understand that the Church, the bride, is analogous to the moon and stars, and that the disciples have their light, or it is acquired from the true sun, so that they might illuminate those who have no source of light in themselves. Origen, from the Commentary on The Gospel Of Saint John, Book 1, Chap 20 1 Jn 8.12 2 Jn 1.3-5 3 Jn 1.9 4 Isaiah 49.6 5 Gen 1.16-19 6 Jn 9.4-5