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And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day [Gen. 1:3–5].

"That must have been a twenty-four hour day—I don’t see how you could get anything else out of it. Notice that God said, “Let there be light.” Ten times in this chapter we will find “let there be”—let there be a firmament, let there be lights, let the waters be gathered together, etc. Someone has called these the ten commandments of creation. This is the divine decalogue that we find here.

“God said, Let there be light.” This is the first time we are told that God spoke. These are His first words recorded in Scripture."

McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1981, S. 1:ix-14

"Although the earth had been created in a formless watery dispersion, existing in static darkness, God had a great and eternal purpose for it. First the Spirit of God imparted motion and form to the inert and shapeless elements, and next would come the energy of light to dispel the darkness.

Verse 3 is the first record of God speaking in the Bible. “And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.” The Word of God brings light! The Father is the source of all things (verse 1), the Spirit is the energizer of all things (verse 2), the Word is the revealer of all things (verse 3).

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Jesus Christ, the living Word of God (John 1:1, 14) is the “light of the world” (John 8:12), and “in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

When light appeared, “God divided the light from the darkness.” Darkness was not removed completely, so far as the earth was concerned, but only separated from the light. Furthermore, “God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.” As though in anticipation of future misunderstanding, God carefully defined His terms! The very first time He used the word “day” (Hebrew yom), He defined it as the “light,” to distinguish it from the “darkness” called “night.”

Having separated the day and night, God had completed His first day’s work. “The evening and the morning were the first day.” This same formula is used at the conclusion of each of the six days; so it is obvious that the duration of each of the days, including the first, was the same. Furthermore, the “day” was the “light” time, when God did His work; the darkness was the “night” time when God did no work—nothing new took place between the “evening” and “morning” of each day. The formula may be rendered literally: “And there was evening, then morning—day one,” and so on. It is clear that, beginning with the first day and continuing thereafter, there was established a cyclical succession of days and nights—periods of light and periods of darkness.

Such a cyclical light-dark arrangement clearly means that the earth was now rotating on its axis and that there was a source of light on one side of the earth corresponding to the sun, even though the sun was not yet made (Genesis 1:16). It is equally clear that the length of such days could only have been that of a normal solar day.

It should be noted that in the Hebrew Old Testament yom without exception never means “period.” It normally means either a day (in the twenty-four-hour sense), or else the daylight portion of the twenty-four hours (“day” as distinct from “night”). It may occasionally be used in the sense of indefinite time (e.g., “in the time of the judges”), but never as a definite period of time with a specific beginning and ending. Furthermore, it is not used even in this indefinite sense except when the context clearly indicates that the literal meaning is not intended.

In the first chapter of Genesis, the termination of each day’s work is noted by the formula: “And the evening and the morning were the first [or ‘second,’ etc.] day.” Thus each “day” had distinct boundaries and was one in a series of days, both of which criteria are never present in the Old Testament writings unless literal days are intended. The writer of Genesis was trying to guard in every way possible against any of his readers deriving the notion of nonliteral days from his record.

In fact, it was necessary for him to be completely explicit on this point, since all the pagan nations of antiquity believed in some form of evolutionary cosmogony which entailed vast aeons of time before man and other living creatures developed from the primeval chaos. The writer not only defined the term “day,” but emphasized that it was terminated by a literal evening and morning and that it was like every other day in the normal sequence of days. In no way can the term be legitimately applied here to anything corresponding to a geological period or any other such concept.

Returning to the significance of light as created, it is obvious that visible light is primarily meant, since it was set in contrast to darkness. At the same time, the presence of visible light waves necessarily involves the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Beyond the visible light waves are, on the one hand, ultraviolet light and all the other shortwave-length radiations and, on the other hand, infrared light and the other longwave phenomena.

In turn, setting the electromagnetic forces into operation in effect completed the energizing of the physical cosmos. All the types of force and energy which interact in the universe involve only electromagnetic, gravitational, and nuclear forces; and all of these had now been activated. Though no doubt oversimplified, this tremendous creative act of the Godhead might be summarized by saying that the nuclear forces maintaining the integrity of matter were activated by the Father when He created the elements of the space-mass-time continuum, the gravitational forces were activated by the Spirit when He brought form and motion to the initially static and formless matter, and the electromagnetic forces were activated by the Word when He called light into existence out of the darkness. Of course, God is One, and all three persons of the Godhead actually participated in all parts of the creation and continue to function in the maintenance of the universe so created.

All of this was accomplished on the first day of creation. The physical universe had been created and energized, and was ready for further shaping and furnishing in preparation for man, whose dominion it would be.

Although not mentioned in Genesis 1, it is probable that another act of creation took place on this first day. Sometime prior to the third day of creation, a multitude of angels had been created, since they were present when the “foundations of the earth” were laid—probably a reference to the establishment of solid land surfaces on the earth (Job 38:4–7). It is impossible that they could have existed before the creation of the physical universe itself, since their sphere of operation is in this universe and their very purpose is to minister to the “heirs of salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). Angels are called the “host of heaven,” and so could not have been created before the existence of heaven.

Psalm 104 (verses 2–5) says that angels were made as spirits after the materialization of God’s light-arrayed presence in the stretched-out heavens, but prior to the laying of the solid foundations of the land. Therefore, although angels are not mentioned as such at this point in Genesis, their spiritual presence as fascinated observers at the remaining acts of creation and formation may certainly be inferred.

A Tent to Dwell In

After the first day, the earth was no longer without form, but it was still void of inhabitants. It must next be prepared as a home for man during his probationary period. Ultimately the entire universe would be made available for man’s exploration and utilization, but first he must be given the earth (Psalm 115:16), on a trial basis, and it must be made ready as a uniquely suitable planet for him to dwell on.

The earth is indeed a planet uniquely suitable for human habitation. Of special importance is its oxygen atmosphere and its hydrosphere of liquid water. Both are vital for man’s existence and both are unique to the earth, so far as all evidence goes. The first essential in God’s preparation of the earth was a carefully designed atmosphere and hydrosphere. “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure …? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in” (Isaiah 40:12, 22)."

Morris, Henry M.: The Genesis Record : A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings. Grand Rapids, MI : Baker Books, 1976, S. 54

Response to comment [from a pagan]: "Only 'God' (Spirit) is to be worshipped..."

Does this god demand anything from you like turning from your sin and seeking righteousness (Mt 6:33)?

"...and His attributes/qualities are His divine expressions."

His this god/spirit holy? (Ex 15:11). Is this god/spirit able to communicate with his creation (e.g. scripture)? Is he/it personal? (Rev. 22:17). Who taught you about this god? (1 Jn 4:3). Why can't we measure this god/spirit/light? Has he/it created anything? (Rom. 1:25).

" I suggest a little more enlightenment and research on the theology of those you 'judge'."

Does your god judge? (Rom. 2:2). Why is he/it worth researching? Will worship of he/it lead to forgiveness of sin and newness of life? (2 Cor 5:17).

What do you think about Jesus? Who in the world was he? Why did he come? Why was he put to death? Do you think men's sin really isn't that bad? What do you think men murdering an innocent man?

Response to comment [from a pagan]: "[T]hink outside the bun. Expand consciousness. I enjoy God as Spirit, as the One Supreme Reality, the Allness of life, ever being, here.....now. (Eternal Presence) This is good enough for me."

If everything you believed was wrong, would you want to know? (Geraci).

Response to comment [from a pagan]: "Until I have reason to believe that 'everything I believe' is wrong,...maybe we'd reconsider.....however,... as consciousness itself (which I see mySelf as), I'm always open and considering ideas, perspectives, logics, concepts, contexts, possibilities, etc. An open mind works this way. I'm not too worried about 'right' or 'wrong' (dualities)....as 'reality' is probably more stable than such relative viewpoints. The Absolute of Existence itself, appears to be taking care of itSelf with utmost precision."

Would you be worried about "right" or "wrong" (dualities, as you say) if someone punched you in the face? Is there an ultimate right and wrong? Where does our innate sense of right and wrong come from? (Jer 31:33).

Response to comment [from other]: "The origin of our "innate" sense of right and wrong comes from our experience of the consequences of various kinds of behavior..."

So you are a behaviorist. Where do you get your values from (e.g. the heart? God?) Do you think one can work his way to heaven (e.g. good behavior)?

Response to comment [from other]: [Work way to heaven?] "I don't think so. I know so. But, then, my God understands a bit more about human psychology than yours does."

Who is your god? What does "other" stand for? Some cult or 'ism not listed here? And how do you "know"?

Response to comment [from other]: "You can get blood from your heart, and values from natural selection of those with the inbuilt behaviors and attitudes that enhance survival. Gods do not exist and heaven is a delusion."

We know where that leads (Jer 17:9, Pr 6:18). I trust those who get their values from God.