And Then There Was Light

Once God had established the basic building blocks of creation, he spoke light into existence. Genesis 1:3-5 describes how God created light: ³And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning–the first day.

Let There Be Light

Light is produced when atoms gain extra energy and enter what is called an “excited” state.  Atoms become excited by absorbing light from another source or being struck by other particles, which pass on energy.  An easy way to excite atoms is to heat them up.  Once excited atoms tend to want to de-excite, to go back to the condition they were in.  As they de-excite they give off photons which make up visible light and other electromagnetic waves. 

When God said, “Let there be light,” it would seem he excited the atoms that he had created by putting energy into his creation, causing atoms to absorb energy and release light.  Whatever he did, he did it by the power of his word and the nature of who he is. 

Let’s stop and think about what the first three verses of Genesis say existed in creation during the first day. 

• First God created the heavens or the space in which he would put the things he made and the basic matter of which things would be made.
• God brought forth the light which is essential for life. 
• After bringing forth light, God saw that the light he made was good. 

When God says that something is good that means it fulfills the purpose for which he designed it.  We need to understand the design of light and just how good and purposeful light is.  We also need to recognize that light exists in both the physical and spiritual realms.

Necessary for life

We’ve already seen that light is necessary for life, so the first purpose of light is to provide for physical life. Besides producing the warmth that is needed to sustain life, light is essential to the process of photosynthesis, which enables plants to produce the food they need to live and grow.  That means that all food has its source through light since all life is dependent in some way on food from plants (i.e., Animals eat animals that eat plants.). 

Secondly, light makes everything God has created visible.  Without light we would not be able to see the colors and beauty of the physical world.  That means light enables us to see God through his creation.

There is a third important property to light, that of bringing both healing and cleansing.  Light causes cuts, wounds and infections to heal faster.  It also kills harmful bacteria and has cleansing power. If you leave something out in the sunlight, any germs on it will be killed.  

Light Comes from God

Remember that at the time God created light, the earth or matter he had made was still formless.  There was no physical source of light like the sun or stars when God brought forth light. 

Just as all things have their origin or source in God so does light.  The first light of creation must have come from God himself, as he injected energy into the space and the formless matter or atoms he created. 

The fact that light, energy and matter all have their source in God should cause us to reflect  on the fact that when the sun and other matter cease to exist, our Creator God will still exist.  Created things have a beginning and will have an end.  Only God is eternal.

Light is used in the Bible to describe God’s presence and Jesus is called the “light of the world.”  In the spiritual realm, Jesus functions in a way similar to that of light in the physical realm. 

Jesus provides what is necessary for spiritual life and makes God visible.  Through Jesus we are able to see who God is.  Jesus also brings spiritual healing and cleanses us from the sin that harms us.

The Design of Light

Physical Light	Spiritual Light (Jesus)
Provides what is necessary for  physical life	Provides what is necessary for  spiritual life
Makes God’s creation visible	Makes God visible
Brings physical healing and cleansing	Brings spiritual healing and cleansing

John 1:3-4, explains that Jesus is the creator of life and the light of men. Everything that exists was made through Jesus, which means Jesus is God ³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

• Overview Questions:  What existed before light?  How did light come into existence?  What did God see about the light?  What does that mean?  What did God do to the light and the dark?  What did he call the light?  What did he call the darkness?  What day of creation was this?  What can be learned about God from Genesis 1:3-5?
• Thought Questions: What is light?  How is light made?  Where did the light God create come from?  What is light designed to do?  Why can’t light and dark exist together?  What are other opposites related to light and dark? (day/night, good/evil, warmth/cold, health/disease, life/death, Christ/Satan) What does the fact that opposites can’t exist together mean for us spiritually?
• Prayer: Thank God that he is the creator and sustainer of all things.  Thank God for his light that provides for and sustains both physical and spiritual life.
• Week’s Memory Verse:  John 1:3-4

Who is Jesus? Jesus is the creator of life and the light of men.

³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of men.