The Light Source

 Recently, I was thinking of how God commanded things into existence and something that I’ve probably just taken for granted suddenly struck me.

Then God said, “Let there be light!” And light began to shine. –  Genesis 1:3 (ERV)

“Let there be light and light began to shine” tumbled around in my head.

You see, it was on the very first day of creation that God made that pronouncement which brought forth light, but that light wasn’t the sun. After that, He commanded into being, the sky, the earth, the seas, grass, plants that made grain, and fruit trees with seeds.

All this was done in three days. It was not until day four that God said,

“Let there be lights in the sky. These lights will separate the days from the nights. They will be used for signs to show when special meetings begin and to show the days and years. They will be in the sky to shine light on the earth.” And it happened. – Genesis 1:14-15 (ERV)

So, God commanded light in verse 3 but not until verses 14 and 15 were there, lights in the sky. So, what was this light on day one; from where did this light come? Perhaps this is not news to you but for me it was time to dig just a little bit.

The sun, moon, and stars are not the light from the first day, they are light-bearers; created to bring light to earth.

So God made the two large lights. He made the larger light to rule during the day and the smaller light to rule during the night. He also made the stars.  – Genesis 1:16 (ERV)

The Hebrew word for the light God commanded on day one is “or”; the Hebrew word for the lights He created on day four is “me’orot”. So even though the English translation employs the word “light”, they’re not the same in Hebrew.

The first light, “or”, is God’s presence, the other lights, “me’orot, are vessels created to channel the light of God’s presence, the Source of light.

Jesus said,

I am the Light of the world. – John 8:12

And in John 1:1 (AMPC) we read,

In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.

And, 1 John 1:5 (AMPC) tells us,

God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [no, not in any way].

Now, Scripture reveals that Jesus is the Light of the world, and Jesus is the Word and Jesus is God, and God is Light, therefore it can be said that, “In the beginning [before all time] was the Light, and the Light was with God, and the Light was God Himself.”

The light that came forth on day one was already in existence, “before all time”; it was the Light.

Beloved, God Himself is the Light Source that was the “Let there be light” Light! And He is your Light even on your darkest days.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “The Light Source” ©2026, January 12, 2026