Genesis 1 – the first day
- In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
- The earth was without form, and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of 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.
The earth of the old creation, our heart, is without form and void and dark for the lack of understanding.
But then God begins to speak.
Because of this, the old passes away and everything becomes new.
Because of this, the new creation comes about and we become….
1 Peter 1:23 (BSB)
….born again,
not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,
through the living and enduring word of God.
What is the first thing God says?
Genesis 1:3-5 (NKJ)
God said, “Let there be light”.
The first thing God does is to shine the light.
This is crucial.
Throughout the Bible, light is a picture of insight.
When you gain insight into the character of God, you begin to grow.
God spoke so that there would be light in the darkness, He spoke so that there would be insight into our lack of understanding.
2 Corinthians 4:6 (NLT)
For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,”
has made this light shine in our hearts
so we could know the glory of God
that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
Do you see what it says here?
Paul connects what happened on the first day of creation to what happens in our hearts.
God says, “Let there be light!” so that light will shine in our hearts.
This means that first there is darkness in our hearts.
The light that God shines in your heart gives insight into the glory of God.
We can see this glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, in the character, the personality of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, Jesus Christ must be revealed to us.
So that we may come to know the glory of God and find our identity in it.
For as we can read a little further in Genesis 1, we are made in the image and likeness of God.
Therefore, our true identity lies in the glory of God.
Paul puts it this way:
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJ)
We all, with unveiled face,
beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory,
just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
When you look in a mirror, you see yourself.
Paul says when we look into that mirror with an unveiled face, with spiritual eyes, we can see the glory of the Lord.
Jesus tells us to anoint our eyes with eye salve (Revelation 3:18) so that our spiritual eyes are opened and our face is no longer veiled.
For then we are going to see the glory of the Lord when we look in the mirror.
Then we are going to see that we are truly made in the image and likeness of God.
And when we begin to see that, we naturally begin to behave more and more accordingly, because that becomes our identity.
We are then transformed into the image and likeness of God, from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord, who hovers over the waters of our hearts.
Your identity therefore lies in Christ.
For….
Colossians 1:27
Christ in you is the hope of glory.
Therefore, Jesus Christ must be revealed to us so that we may know our true identity.
For Jesus Christ is the fullness of the word of God in a human being.
John 1:14 (ESV)
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we have seen his glory.
Christ means Anointed One.
This is you!
For you are anointed with the Holy Spirit of God.
When you begin to see this, you begin to see yourself as God sees you.
He sees you as His beloved Son, made in His image and His likeness.
God said, “Let there be light!”
This is how light started shining on earth at creation, and this is how light starts shining in our hearts,
Ephesians 1:17-18 (ESV)
so that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him,
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened,
Why?
that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you
and what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints.
Open your heart to Jesus Christ.
Let Him enlighten your heart so that you will come to behold the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, and you will be changed to the same image of that glory.
Then the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord (Num. 14:21) and His will will be done on earth as it is in heaven(Matthew 6:9).
Isaiah 60:1 (NKJ)
Arise, shine, for your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people,
but the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
Now that our hearts are enlightened by what God says, we start to grow and creation becomes more and more complete.
Watch the next video in this series to learn what the next step is in the creation of the new heaven and new earth.
