let there be light

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And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Genesis 1:3).

As God begins to work with the raw material of His creation, His first act is to separate darkness from light. Notice that the Bible does not give us a mechanical description of how this light was produced. Rather, the focus is on the “divine fiat.” The word fiat comes from the Latin phrase let there be. God speaks and things are created out of nothing.

In verse 3 we find a clear affirmation of the authority of God. The word authority is built on the word author. God as Author of all things has authority over all things. Only God has the power of being within Himself. Only God can declare anything into existence. The great “I AM” is the Author who speaks.

Verse 3 points us to an understanding of God’s power in creating all things. Theologians say that the world was created ex nihilo, out of nothing. They also say ex nihilo, nihil fit: out of nothing, nothing comes. Both statements are correct when we understand what they mean. The modern secular view of the origin of the universe holds that the universe arose out of nothing “by chance.” 

This expression is ultimately meaningless. Chance here can only refer to a mathematical concept, and within itself has no power of being. By chance means “we don’t know how it happened, but God didn’t do it.” Against such an absurd and self-contradictory philosophy, Christianity maintains that ex nihilo, nihil fit: out of nothing, nothing arises by itself.

The universe was not created by nothing. It was created out of nothing by God. It came from the creative act and word of God. It was spoken into existence. Ancient philosophy, however, said that the universe was made out of the substance of God, as an outflow of His being. 

Against this notion, Christianity maintains that creation was ex nihilo. God made the universe neither out of Himself nor out of any pre-existent eternal substance. Rather, He caused it to come into being out of nothing by the power of His creative act. 

As believers it is encouraging to remember that the same power displayed in creation also raised our Savior from the dead. Further, this power was brought to bear by the Spirit of God in your personal redemption. Remember that this same power will sustain you through any difficulty this coming week.

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