GENESIS DAY ONE, PART VII

“LET THERE BE LIGHT”

 

TEXT:  Genesis 1:1-5

 

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God 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! Let’s pray.

 

I. The first question that we must answer is what kind of light did God first create? It wasn’t sunlight because the sun, the moon and the stars were not created until Day Four. 

 

Before we answer that question in more detail, look with me at verse 2,

“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the waters. The Hebrew word for “moving” here is “rachaph.” It is pronounced raw-kahp. It can mean to hover, brood or shake. The idea is movement. 

 

Deuteronomy 32:11” Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, That hovers (flutters, shakes) over its young. . .”

 

See the eagle over its’ nest with its wings moving back and forth. 

 

Now see the Holy Spirit hovering, moving back and forth over the waters of a dark, empty, and shapeless earth. Like an empty canvass, see God the artist with the brush in His hand ready to create a master piece! 

 

So back to the question: what kind of light did God create on day one of creation? 

 

1.) First, it was primarily a visible light because it was set in contrast or separated from the darkness. And He “separated the light from the darkness.”

 

2. Secondly, visible light waves involve the process of electromagnetism. Electromagnetism is an interaction between particles with an electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force of the interactions of atoms and molecules. Electric forces cause an attraction between particles with opposite charges and repulsion between particles with the same charge, while magnetism is an interaction that occurs between charges in relative motion. The two forces are described in terms of electromagnetic fields. 

 

This is the point: The relationship between electricity and magnetism produces what is known as electronic waves. And one thing that these electronic waves produce is visible light. And beyond the visible light waves is ultraviolet light (electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X rays. Ultraviolet light, for example, is found in things like televisions and black lights. 

 

What does this have to do with the God’s creation of light on the first day? 

 

When God set electromagnetic forces into operation, through the moving of the Holy Spirit over the darkness and emptiness, it in effect set the stage for the energizing of the physical universe. All the types of force and energy which interact in the universe involve only electromagnetic, gravitational, and nuclear forces; and all of these had now been activated by the Creator through the moving of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not only a person, but He is also the third member of the Godhead! The Holy Spirit is God.  

 

 

 

Perhaps sounding a bit oversimplified, we can summarize by saying that the nuclear forces maintaining the integrity of matter were activated by the Father who created the elements of the space-time continuum. The gravitational forces were activated by the Spirit when He brought form and motion to the once static and formless matter.And the electromagnetic forces were activated by the Word of God, who is Jesus, when He called light into existence out of the darkness!

 

Keep in mind that the Word of God makes it clear that God is One, and all three persons in the Godhead were involved in all parts of the creation and continue to function in the maintenance of the universe that was created. 

 

Hopefully this gives you enough revelation to understand that the kind of light that God created on Day One was different from the light of the sun, moon and the stars that were not created until Day Four. 

 

2. In my second and final point tonight, I want to focus on the second member of the Godhead who was involved in the creation of light on Day One and that of course is the Only Begotten Son of God, the Lord Jesus. 

 

1. In John 1:1-2 we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.

 

This scripture makes it clear that Jesus Christ is God, and that as God, He was there at the beginning of creation! He was involved in the creation!

 

John 1:3-5 “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.4 In him was life, and that life was the light of

men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”

 

Everything that was made or created was made through Him, through Jesus. And nothing was made or created without Him!

 

The revelation of scripture is that Jesus is God, and He was involved in every aspect of the creation. “Before Abraham was, (Jesus said) I AM! That is a declaration of His Divinity as the eternal God, as Creator! 

 

2. Colossians 1:15-18 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

 

This is a stunning revelation of the deity of Jesus. “All things were created BY HIM AND FOR HIM. He is BEFORE ALL THINGS. And in Him ALL THINGS HOLD TOGETHER. 

 

The Son of God was not only involved in the creation, but He actually holds all aspects of the creation together. The universe was not only created by Him, but He is the One who maintains it or holds it together!

 

So many things must be precise to keep or hold the creation together, and that precision is only through the perfect, uncreated, all-powerful, all-knowing God! By the way, did you know that He loves you and knows you by name?  Selah? Pause and think about that! 

 

3. Matthew 17:1-3 “After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.”

 

 

What happened here? What was the purpose of this metamorphosis on the mountain? Jesus wantedPeter, James and John to see His Deity as God. He revealed to them His glory as God!

4. John 17:1-5 “After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

"Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

 

Jesus was God in human form! He made this clear on the Mount of Transfiguration when He allowed Peter, James and John to see His glory as God by being transformed before them. 

 

4. The Shroud of Tourin. We don’t need the shroud of Tourin for our faith, but it is intriguing and shouldn’t be ignored. This is from Newsmax magazine. 

 

“New scientific and forensic evidence has "now strongly" revealed the famed Shroud of Turin to be the burial cloth of Jesus more than 2,000 years ago, a new report in Newsmax magazine’s April issue reveals.

Appearing on Newsmax’s "John Bachman Now" show Tuesday, Newsmax magazine Executive Editor Ken Chandler detailed the publication’s findings for its cover story "The Real Face of Jesus."

Scientists were stunned by their findings of Jesus’ burial cloth — 

"We looked at all the latest scientific and forensic evidence that's been done," Chandler told hosts John Bachman and Bianca de la Garza. “There's been a huge advance in research capabilities since the 1970s, when the shroud was originally researched — there's new scanning techniques, there's new photography techniques.

"The evidence now strongly suggests that the Shroud of Turin was, in fact, the burial cloth of Jesus."

The shroud has been a subject of controversy for some time, but Chandler says major media have largely ignored the new scientific and forensic evidence pointing to its link to Jesus of Nazareth.

"The shroud was examined recently by one of the top laboratories in Italy, and they were able — through this these new techniques that I just referenced — they're able to date the shroud back 2,000 years ago," Chandler said.

"You know, previously there had been research that suggested the shroud was originated in the 13th century, but we now think that that research was faulty."

Chandler's magazine noted how the 2018 research incorrectly dated it to medieval times after the fall of Rome.

"Part of the shroud had been damaged in a fire and new material had been woven in, so, you know, it was very unclear, but this new research really does point to the fact that this is 2,000 years old," Chandler continued.

"And there's all sorts of interesting detail in here, like, for instance, the scientists detected pollen, which is unique to the pollen that's found in the area around Jerusalem.

"There were marks on the shroud that show that Jesus was tortured in a way that the Romans tortured people who are criminals in those days, and it all points to the fact that what happened and where this shroud originated was 2,000 years ago in the Jerusalem area, about the time of Passover in the spring." 

Also, the forensic evidence of the bloodstains match another purported shroud that is said to have been wrapped around Jesus' head after crucifixion.

"It's AB blood and, by the way, that blood matches a cloth called the Sudarium, which is another historical cloth which is on display in Spain at the moment," Chandler said.

"The evidence is mounting,” he said.

"The researchers that we spoke to, and we spoke to numerous researchers, many of whom have devoted their careers to this, independently, they've come to the conclusion that the shroud is real."

The question is this: what caused the image of the face to be imprinted on the burial shroud? 

It is believed that the imprint was caused by a burst of radiant energy—bright ULTRVIOLET LIGHT, X-RAYS OR STREAMS OF FUNDAMENTAL PARTICLES EMANATING FROM THE BODY ITSELF!  Sound familiar?

 

Look at what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 1:4-5 “and who through the Spirit of holiness (or the Holy Spirit) was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Jesus was raised from the dead by the same Holy Spirit who was moving or hovering over the formless and empty earth when Father God said, “let there be light!” 

This is the same Holy Spirit who will give us our new bodies on that great day of God! The Holy Spirit was not only active in the first creation of God, He is also active in the New Creation of God!   

CONCLUSION 

Do you know Jesus? Have you been born again by the power of the Holy Spirit? Do you have the hope of receiving a new body that will live forever in the glory of God? 

You can this very moment? 

John 8:12 “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life."

Friend, Jesus is inviting you to know God. He is inviting you to step into the light so that you no longer walk in the darkness and chaos of a lost world! Why not put your faith in Him right now as Savior and Lord!

Make the decision to turn from the darkness andwalk in the Light of Jesus Christ from this day forward and into eternity!