Let there be Light!

Q: I have been studying the creation account in Scripture for a couple of years now and I have a question about your interpretation of day one of creation after reading your article regarding it. The understanding is that light existed for the first 3 three days prior to the creation of the solar cycle due to God Himself, who is light, and the biblical verses are cited. I agree with the fact that God is light, but day one is a creation event like the other 5 days. So, how can God, who is not created, be the source of light when the the light itself is detailed in Scripture as a creation event?

A: Thank you for your question. The question must be asked, "Where does it say that you have to have 'light' in order to have a day?"  According to Answers.com, "The most northern part of Alaska is Point Barrow, Alaska. When the Sun sets on November 18, it won't come back up again until January 23, which is ... a little more than two months of darkness." Here is an example of a long period of darkness. Yet, the days still passed like normal, nonetheless. In terms of astronomy a day is defined as "a division of time equal to 24 hours and representing the average length of the period during which the earth makes one rotation on its axis." Here we see that there is not a necessity for light in order to have a day pass by, just one rotation on the earth's axis is required. Ultimately, you also must realize that there are different forms of light and different uses for it.

Genesis 1:3 says, "And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light." While God is light, the light used for the first three days of creation was also created. What kind of light was it? The Bible is not clear about what this light was, specifically. It was neither God Himself nor the Sun, Moon or Stars. So, now you have the light of God, the light used for the first three days of creation and the light of the Sun, Moon and Stars. The Bible even says that God "lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see (1 Timothy 6:16)." Therefore, you have to ask, "How does God, who is Light, live in unapproachable light?" The key thing to remember here is what we read at the end of Genesis 1:3; "and there was light." If God said there was light before He created the "solar cycle," as you say, then there was light. Furthermore, if God is Light, we can trust that He can use either Himself or light He creates in order to illuminate His creation.

Continuing with the idea that there are different forms of light, aside from the examples given, take a look at how Christians and the Christian life are described in the Bible. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12)." We know that Jesus was not illuminated in some physical sense, but He was talking about how He, being God in the flesh, stands out like a light in the darkness. So, it is with Christians. Of believers it says, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (Ephesians 5:8)." We are described as having been "darkness," but are now "children of light." Again, this is not a physical darkness or light, but a spiritual one. Darkness describes us prior to salvation when we were spiritually dead to God in our sins. Whereas being children of light refers to us now being born again of the Spirit of God through faith in Christ. We are a sort of light to the world because we are a stark contrast to what the world is accustomed to seeing. We are neither like them nor like the religious world. We are an anomaly. Like the Moon, we do not have a light source of our own, but are a reflection of a greater light source; the indwelling Holy Spirit of God.

We must understand that there might be some things we do not completely grasp when it comes to God. Trying to understand the source of light used during the first three days of creation may just be one of them. Like a painting trying to describe how the artist used his brush, blended the colors or selected the canvas, so are we it seems when trying to describe the processes of the Master Artist. What we do know is that there was light because God said there was. Keep asking your questions and praying about it. Remember that "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5)." Darkness is the absence of light. And at creation it says that "darkness was over the surface of the deep (Genesis 1:2)." Without God there is only darkness and there is nothing good associated with darkness. So, "God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness (Genesis 1:4)." God separated the light from the darkness at creation because He saw that the light was good. It is no different with Christians. God has separated us from the darkness of the lost world because, in Christ, He sees His goodness in us. Grace and Peace.