DAY 1_ The Creation of Light
“In the Beginning”
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” (Genesis 1:1- 5)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world….” “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-9,14)
These are the famous words that open the Bible and are the first words of Genesis. John uses these words to start his Gospel as well. By doing this, he places Jesus’ start past any human birth. He places Jesus’ origins outside of space and time.
On the first day of Creation, we see that the first thing God calls forth is Light. Light is something that reveals and illuminates what is. For example, when you enter a dark room, the first thing you do is turn the lights on. John uses “Word” to refer to Christ here. This refers to a classical Greek idea of “Logos”, where we get “logic” or “something that has been made apparent”. All things are being illuminated through Christ and by Christ. Nothing can be seen or exist except through him.
All throughout John’s Gospel (and later his other books), he expounds upon this idea that Jesus sheds light on the character of Israel’s God. The “Word” is not separate from who spoke it; the Father.
