Genesis 1:4

Gen 1:4-5 "And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. So the evening and morning were the first day."

"And God saw the light, that it was good..." - More anthropomorphic language. Did a God who can see all things specifically need to turn His attention to the light? No. But it certainly helps us to understand these concepts.

The light is considered "good" by God. In what way was the light "good"? Was it simply beautiful to look upon or did it have other qualities that made it "good"?

Using scripture to understand scripture, we can determine that there are three ways light is "good". The light is "good" in that it is:

1. Pleasant to the eye
2. Of high moral quality
3. Innocent

Pleasant to the eye - The Hebrew word for "good" is tobe - meaning "Good, pleasant, agreeable." This word has many different uses in Hebraic literature, but is always generally associated with the English word "good." Heaven is described as a place where there is no night (Rev 22:5). In stark contrast, Jesus describes the conditions of hell as "outer darkness." (Mt 8:12, 22; 22:13; 25:30)

Of High Moral Quality - Some might ask, "But how can light have moral attributes? Is it not morally neutral?" When viewed in scripture, it seems light is special in that symbolically (and possibly metaphysically), it contains moral attributes. Consider these verse and decide for yourself:

• John 3:19 "And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."
• 1 Thes 5:4-5 "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness."

I would argue that the word of God sees light as more than simply symbolic in its "goodness". There are attributes of light that seem to contain good on a metaphysical level. For instance, amongst humankind, there is a higher level of depression and suicide where there is less light. Most crime is commited at night. Does our human behavior reflect this metaphysical quality of light? I believe it does.

Innocent - The light was "good" in that it, like the rest of creation was innocent at its birth. However, this changed at the fall of man. Now, again, you may ask, "How can a created entity with no moral choice be regarded as in need of redemption?" I would be right with you in thinking this was simply preposterous, if it weren't for the book of Romans.

Let me first allow Paul, the human author of Romans, to explain the fall of man (which we will cover in Genesis chapter 3).

Rom 5:12 "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned -" (Italics mine) (Note: If it seems like that verse ended too abruptly, it did. Paul is explaining some very deep theological concepts very quickly, jumping from thought to thought. This is very typical of the book of Romans. It is filled with incredible theology, but seems to jump from concept to concept very quickly.)

The concept Paul is speaking about here is that through Adam's sin (Genesis 3), sin spread to all humanity. But how does this apply to non-human creation? Keep following:

Rom 8:19 "For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subject to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs until now." (Italics mine)

Now, lets break down this interesting verse and see how it relates to us in Genesis. To do so, I am going to spoil the story... so if you have not read Genesis yet, read the next few chapters first, then come back to this blog. Here is what happened in a nutshell:

• Man (Adam) was given dominion over the whole world. It was not only his priviledge, it was his responsibility. (Gen 2:15, 18)
• Man (Adam and Eve) sinned. (Gen 3) This brought death into the world. (Gen 2:17; Rom 5:12)
• Creation, which was given over to man, suffered man's fate. (Gen 3:17, 18) Death came upon creation. This is why creation dies. (Note: All creation "dies" even though it all animate or "alive." Geological formations erode, planets and stars "die". But does light "die"? Yes it does! What "kills" it are called black holes!)
• Creation, like man, will be restored when God makes an end of sin and death at Christ's second coming.

Matthew Henry - "Light is the great beauty and blessing of the universe. Like the first-born, it does, of all visible beings, most resemble its great Parent in purity and power, brightness and beneficence; it is of great affinity with a spirit, and is next to it; though by it we see other things, and are sure that it is, yet we know not its nature, nor can describe what it is, or by what way the light is parted..."

"...And God divided the light from the darkness."

This verse sets some great precedents for the rest of scripture:

1. God is the great "Divider" of light (good) and darkness (evil).
2. As followers of God, we are to be in the light, and have no fellowship with darkness.
3. Light (good) and darkness (evil) will only co-exist until Christ returns.

1. God is the great "Divider" of light and darkness.

Jesus Christ is the dividing point between heaven and hell, salvation and damnation, and God's children and the children of darkness. There are two types of people in this world: Those who have received by faith the gift that Jesus has offered the world, and those who have not. Consider Jesus' teaching about how He comes to divide:

Mt 10:34-39 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father; a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."

Let's break this passage down to understand Christ's role as "Divider."

He starts out with a puzzling statement: "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth." Critics would say He is making a contradictory statement to several other biblical concepts and statements by Jesus. For instance, in Isaiah 9:6 Jesus is prophesied as being the "Prince of Peace." In Luke19:42, Jesus says, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for peace!" Jesus is calling out to the Jews to receive Him as their king that they may have peace. Certainly there are many other verses where Jesus is described as giving peace.

So then, what does Jesus mean by peace in this verse? Is there a "bad" peace, meaning one that Christians are not supposed to have, in the bible?

Let's tackle the second question first. The short answer is "Yes, there is a 'bad' peace." Very often in the old testament, false prophets would be proclaiming peace to the nation of Israel when God was about to punish them for their greivous sin. For example:

• Jer 6:14 "They have also healed the hurt of my people slightly, saying, 'Peace, Peace!' When there is no peace."

God's goal was repentance for His people. If they would not repent, God's judgement was coming. They needed to act, but these false prophets were "healing" the people by saying, "Don't worry about it! You are ok, I am ok." There are times when the Lord does not want us at peace because He wants us to feel the weight of our sin and run to our Savior. This is not a true peace at all, but the sin of complacency!

Now, for the first question asked. In Matthew 10:34, Jesus is speaking about the false peace of complacency within a family containing believers and unbelievers. As a believer in such a family, there is a very strong urge to not look any different than the people around you. But Jesus rejects this as a viable Christian lifestyle. He says, in effect, "By your very nature you will divide your family when I enter your heart. You need to embrace it. You must love them, but you cannot deny you are inherently different from them." He goes on to say that if we love our family so much that we will not live for Jesus within the family, then we are not worthy of Him. This is a harsh statement. I must honestly say I don't know what it means exactly. But it is meant to take us out of complacency and to live completely sold out lives.

In the passage, Christ is clearly saying he is a "Divider" of families. The reason is that as the gospel message is shared, some will receive it with gladness, others will outright reject it. It is Jesus Christ Himself who is the dividing point. Peter puts it best:

• 1 Pet 2:7-8 "Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,' and 'A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.' They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed."

How difficult and sad it is when a believer lives in a family that refuses to receive Jesus Christ. Some of the most fervent prayers come from the longing of the believer to see the family that he or she loves more than any other to come to Jesus. There is certainly going to be turmoil, but stand strong in the love of Christ and He will see you through!

2. As followers of God, we are to be in the light, and have no fellowship with darkness.

The fact that the Lord divided the light and the darkness is a foreshadowing of the world to come. Today, in the world around us, there is a light and darkness to the world. If you are a Christian, you have chosen the "light" of Jesus Christ and refused the darkness. The difficulty is that this is a life-long battle. I would like to look at some verses that speak to us about the light and darkness in the world and what we should do about it.

• John 8:12 "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world." He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
• 2 Corinthians 6:14 "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?"
• 1 Thess 5:5-8 "You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation."
• 1 John 1:5-7 "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowshipwith one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

3. Light (good) and darkness (evil) will only co-exist until Christ returns.

It was already stated earlier that God's division of light and dark is a foreshadowing of the world to come. God created a sinless world, but as we shall see in a few chapters, it does not stay that way. The wonderful news from the word of God is that though we currently live in a world beset by a conflict of good and evil, the Lord will overcome it in the end.

• Rev 22:5 "There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever."

Lord come quickly and bring this to reality!

Andrew Murray - "I know I am speaking in vain to anyone who is pretty well contented with himself. Anyone who says, "I am an earnest Christian; I am doing my best. I am not what I ought to be, but I do fairly well." If there is anyone who thinks that way I do not have much hope in them taking this critical step. But if there is one who says, "I do feel sinful, I do feel wretched; I cannot live this low kind of life any longer. I have denied my Lord Jesus too often already by many things I have done-- but now no longer. I have tried hard but have failed. I now see the root of it all. Self has been seeking to conquer its own evil works and has just been getting stronger all the time." Come, by beloved friend, and bring self and lay it at the feet of Jesus. Cast it into His very bosom and believe now that the Son of God is coming into you to be a new self, to be your very life, because He will live in you by His Holy Spirit."