TEXT: Genesis 1:3-5

SUBJECT: Henry on Genesis 1 #4

Tonight, with the Lord’s blessing, we’ll move on with the Puritan study we began three weeks ago; it’s called Matthew Henry on Genesis 1.

What’s the first chapter of the Bible about? Most believers would say, "It’s about creation". But Matthew Henry knows better. The first chapter of the Bible—like the others that follow—is about God. Creation is one way God reveals Himself to us.

What does the creation tell us about God? So far, Henry has named four things. The universe tells us Who God is—not the Unmoved Mover of the philosophers—but "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ". It also tells us what God is like—He’s powerful, wise, good, beautiful, and mysterious. It also tells us that this One God is also more than one. This does not prove the Trinity, but it allows for it, and enabled Bible-believing Jews to accept the Divinity of Jesus Christ without rejecting the theology they had always been taught. Finally, it tells us something about the initiative God takes. When the world was in chaos, "The Spirit of God hovered over the face of the deep". It is He who acts; the creation is acted upon. That becomes central to the whole doctrine of salvation. We don’t save ourselves; God saves us.

That’s enough review. Let’s move on, now, to vv.3-5.

They teach us that, in ordering the universe, the first thing God did was separate light from darkness. Henry says,

We don’t usually think of light as a "being"—but it is. It’s a thing—a real thing—that wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the power, the wisdom, and the goodness of God. Note, also, that this light is not dependent on the sun or the moon or the stars. At the moment, we get our natural light from these heavenly bodies. But not from the beginning. This reminds us that we’re dependent on God. The sun, moon, and stars provide light, but their light is derivative—it comes from somewhere else. It comes from God.

Why did the Lord create light first?

Henry says, negatively,

Men require light. Put a painter in a dark room and he’s got nothing but a mess on the canvass. The same is true for carpenters, plumbers, and other craftsmen. They depend on light. But God doesn’t. Had He wanted to, He could have created light last—or not at all. Without light, we couldn’t see the greenness of the grass or the yellow of the tulip, but God could have and might have enjoyed them as much as He does now.

Positively, Henry says, God created light first for two reasons. The first reason is physical,

The Lord is so good that He wants us to enjoy the colors of creation. For us, color depends on light. Thus, He made light so that we could appreciate the blue sky, the red tomato, and the white teeth of a laughing child. We could survive without light—the blind do—but how much poorer our lives would be without it.

The second reason the Lord made light first is spiritual. Henry says,

Light is a fine metaphor for God. What light is and does on one level, God is and does on a higher level.

Light is pure. Turn on the flashlight and you don’t see a checkerboard of light and darkness—no, it’s all light. Even a weak beam is pure. So is God.

No sin, no ignorance, no indecision. He’s a Pure being—in the world—but in way polluted or watered-down by the world.

Light is also powerful. It throws out darkness. Go into a bunker a hundred feet underground. Not a trace of light can be seen, but flip a light switch and the thick, black darkness simply goes away. It is no contest—darkness and light do no compete. The darkness never put out the light, but the light puts out the darkness.

God is this way. Let Him come into an ignorant or sinful mind and the ignorance and sin flee for their lives! Let the Lord Jesus return in glory and every shadow falls away and the universe is flooded with light.

Light is beneficial. By the rays of the sun, grass grows, cows eat it, and people have barbecues. What a blessing the light is! And how that Secondary Giver of Life points to the True Source of Life.

Light comes first—Henry says—so that we can enjoy the works of God and think about the One who did the work.

If God is the source of light, how did He bring it into the world? Henry says,

God brought light into the world by His Word. Could He have done otherwise? Of course He could have. Light could have come from His thought. He could have snapped His fingers or waved a magic wand or something else. But He chose to create Light by His Word.

Why the Word and not some other means? Henry gives two reasons:

He wants His people to admire and trust His Word. If the Word of God can create light out of darkness, there’s nothing it cannot do. And that’s what the Lord wants us to know—His Word is alive and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. This is one of the ways—it seems to me—that He

Except for God Himself, there is nothing more precious than the Word of God. We ought to love that Word, obey it, and let others hear it too.

The Lord also wants us to know that our knowledge and holiness depend on His Word,

Why does the believer know more than the unbeliever? Why do we see through mistakes that confuse them all their lives? Why is the Gospel so obvious to us while—even if they study it—it’s nonsense to them? There is only one reason: God has spoken to our souls. They’ve read the same Bible that we do—some of them even read it with great care in Greek and Hebrew—yet we know because God the Word of God has opened our hearts to it’s Truth.

If knowledge and holiness depend on the Word of God—both the Bible and the confirming work of the Holy Sprit—then let’s get busy studying the Bible and never forget to pray for understanding. As the first light allowed everything to be seen, so the Light of God’s Word enables us to see—not only what’s in the Bible—but everything else, too,

This is something I would have never thought of: but it’s there. What God commands, He approves of. This means, when we do good works (which are never perfect, but they’re still good), the Lord is pleased. There’s a bondage some people feel. Because their good works are less than perfect, they feel God abominates them!

Yet the Bible says the opposite. Speaking to the Philippians, for example (who were far from perfect), Paul says their sacrifices were,

The believer’s service to God doesn’t stink! They smell good to Him; He accepts them, in fact, they’re well-pleasing to Him.

This is very encouraging, isn’t it? Our works aren’t perfect; they’re not even mature (in most cases). But the Lord is happy with them. Think of a great artist—like Rembrandt. When his little boy brought him a crayon drawing do you think the painter tore it up in disgust and rage? Of course he didn’t. He liked it as much as other parents do…

We might say, the colors are wrong, the shape is wrong, the dimensions are wrong. But the father loved them. And our Father loves what we offer Him. If God commands holiness or humility or witnessing or Bible-reading or prayer, then we can be sure He approves of it in us.

Next we have the separation of light from darkness. Henry says,

Henry doesn’t develop the idea here, but you get the idea. If God separates visible light and darkness, then He also separates moral light and darkness.

From this, we can learn to think in black and white—and not in gray. Fornication is bad—even if you’re in love and when others say it’s all right. Standing up for Christ is good—even when people say you’re trying to impose your religion on them. Most Americans think you can blend darkness with light, good with evil, truth with lies—and come out okay in the end.

But God says no! In matters of right and wrong, His people are to separate darkness from light. While others are mixing the two, we should,

There’s one last thing Henry says about the creation of light.

This is a very interesting observation. In the Ten Commandments, the Seventh Day was honored as the Day God rested (and His people, under the Old Covenant must observe). But Henry says—What about the First Day of the Week?

It was the Day when God’s Light first shone in the world. In the same way, he says, it was on the first day of the week that God’s True Light (the Lord Jesus) rose from the dead to give His People the Light of Life.

Thus, every Sunday, we can remember that Light Has Come into the World! Visible light on the first Sunday and spiritual life on that Happy Day when the Lord rose from the dead!

That’s Matthew Henry on the First Day of the Creation Week. Thank God for light—both visible light and spiritual light. Come to the Light (if you’re not in it already). Walk in the Light (if you’re already in it).

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