Creation Revisited Chapter 5

Let there be Light

We have now come to the moment when Scripture records the first utterance of Elohim.  "Then Elohim said, 'Let there be Light'; and there was Light” (Genesis 1:3).  Perhaps you have noticed that Light is capitalized; the reason is that this Light is not a mere electromagnetic radiation.  The previous verse (v. 2) ended with, “… and the Spirit [Breath/Wind] of Elohim hovered above the face of the waters.”  This reference to Light ("OR," in Hebrew) is the calling forth of a Person.   Elohim’s breath gave utterance, and His Son, who is the “Word,” responded and actually became the Light in those Spiritual Waters.  Again, Light is the manifestation of He who is the “Word” of the Father.

 And since there was no earth as we know it, until it was spoken into physical reality on the Third Day, nor sun, moon, or stars until the Fourth Day, this Light constituted a spiritual reality that emanated from the very being and essence of Elohim via His Word.  “Elohim is Light and in Him is no Darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

“He [the Son], was in the beginning with Elohim.  All things came into being by Him and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.   In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men” (John 1:2-4). 

When the Son incarnated into humanity, He said, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the Light of Life" (John 8:12).  

In the previous chapter (4), the focus was on the Spirit of the Father as He hovered over the Spiritual Waters that would become His and His Son's Domain.  Thus, when He says, “Let there be Light,” the response through the “Living Word” is instant, "and there was Light."  The activity that is presented here demonstrates an act of “creation.” According to the Hebrew language, this activity (to create) is an exclusive prerogative of Elohim, as it means to bring into being something that heretofore had not been expressed outside of Himself.  This will keep on occurring in each of the succeeding days of the creation.

Light and Life are the very essence of the Father’s being, His nature, character, attributes, authority, and dominion.  Nothing happens without His knowledge and full sovereign control.  But remember, He is One with His “Word/Son,” who "….was foreknown before the foundation of the world" (1 Peter 1:20). 

For there to be Life in those Spiritual Waters, the latter had to be impregnated with Light.   Light of necessity requires Water to produce Life, just as natural water needs sunlight to generate life.

John the apostle encapsulates the connection between the “Light” and the “Word”: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim.  He was in the beginning with Elohim” (John 1:1-2).  The Light (of Life) will now begin to have a creative influence upon the condition of the Waters that had been described by the Hebrew term toho va’vohu (ref. Genesis 1:2a).  This will bring order in accordance with the Creator’s eternal operational statutes, laws, ordinances, and principles, without which there can be no stability in what will be created.  In other words, Elohim is establishing His Kingdom in these Spiritual Waters, and together the Father and His Son will have dominion over the entire Creation. 

John’s revelation of Yeshua as the Word, the manifested Light of Elohim and the exact image and likeness of the Father, is founded, therefore, upon Genesis 1:3 and expressed in Yeshua’s own words: “I and the Father are One” (John 10:30), and “As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world” (John 9:5).  In John 1:4-5 it says about Yeshua: “In Him was Life; and the Life was the Light of men.   And [perhaps it should read, “BUT”] the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness did not comprehend it [that is, could not seize or apprehend it]."

One cannot talk or write about the Father’s Son-Light without mentioning two essential attributes of the Father - Love and Wisdom.    These are personified in the Son.

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."  (John 1:14).  The Father's love cannot but be equated to grace, just as wisdom is equated to truth.  All four are particularly revealed in Yeshua’s role as the suffering Messiah, who was willing to give up His life as Savior and Redeemer.

"How precious is Your lovingkindness,(grace) O Elohim! … For with You is the fountain of life; In Your Light we see Light" (Psalm 36:7a, 9).