There is a close association throughout the Bible between God's glory and the unapproachable light He dwells in. The concept of a God who “covers Himself with light as with a garment” (Ps. 104:2) is carried farther and made grander in 1 Thess. 6:16: “Who alone has immortality dwelling in unapproachable light.” God is described here as eternally abiding in light as a continual dwelling place, and this dwelling is itself impossible to approach because of the brilliance of the light. When Moses asked God to “show me Your glory”, God revealed some of His nature, His goodness, grace and compassion, transformed or transmitted - human words and concepts fail at this point - into blazing light (Ex. 33:18,23).
“God is love”(1Jn. 4:8), and the fruit of the Spirit is love: from love springs forth joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control, but the “fruit” of the Spirit is love, and is purposefully singular to emphasize the overwhelming importance of love in God’s plan for mankind. God holds nothing back in His love for us. His “agape” love is passionate, self-sacrificing - think Jesus - fully committed and all consuming, a deep, constant, unchanging love for us. I have an epiphany about God’s love and God’s glory which I have come to believe. God’s radiant brilliance, His covering and His dwelling place, is a physical manifestation of His love. The deep passion of His love for us, His creation, is released as brilliant, glorious light, billions of times more powerful than our sun. In fact the brilliance of His return will, by contrast, make our sun appear dark when Jesus comes in “great glory” to redeem His elect (Matt. 24:29-31). How much does God love us? The radiated energy of His full passion for us would instantly consume mere mortals. “God is love” is in the anarthrous construction: God as to His character and nature is love, and He lives in unapproachable glorious light, a visible expression of His love. Come shine on me with the light of Your love!
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