Blog Twelve, October 24, 2025
The God Who Sees
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over 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. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:1-4 ESV, emphasis added).
Whatever your persuasion in spiritual matters, Scripture begins with a bang. In verse 1, everything is created from nothing (That’s the real Big Bang!) In verse 2, the Spirit initiates an intentional series of steps making Earth habitable for man. The whole thrust of the Bible is encapsulated here with the assertion that there is an all-powerful and authoritative God who created a place for His special creation, humanity.
Against that considerable backdrop, the next verse lands with both physical and spiritual importance. The Creation account’s subsequent separation after heaven and earth is darkness and light. “Let there be light.” Sight would be the organizer of the senses in human beings, with light of course a fundamental parameter.
God’s intent was for us to see. A review of action word sequence intensifies the impact of “seeing.” Note the first five actions of God as Genesis begins: God created. God was hovering. God said. God saw. God separated.
The first three actions (creation ex nihilo, hovering over created matter, authority over nature via the spoken word) are solely the domain of God; these magnify the sovereignty of the Creator (with the corollary thought that we are unable to do any of these). He creates from nothing, then organizes the uninhabitable morass of Earth with a word of His mouth. His initial fine-tuning of the natural realm was adding light to the chaotic fluid of Earth.
Asserting divine authority without apology, God creates, hovers, and commands. And then God sees; significantly, the fourth action verb is the first one that man is empowered to do also. Seeing is the first act of God in Creation that He passes on to mankind. Significantly, God’s fourth action is the first that provides spiritual insight – He saw that the light was good. We are able to see both physically and spiritually, like God.
Scripture makes its first moral / spiritual analysis with the advent of light – it was good. God’s sight was spiritually discerning, applying spiritual attribute. In this simple assertion, we find the basis of our spiritual journey. We are given physical eyesight for our earthly walk, but learning to discern good from evil – to see spiritual truth – requires a lifetime of seeking the Kingdom, a spiritual growth journey through discipleship (pursuit of knowledge).
We also see practical truth for man; God sees after He had created light. Light is necessary for man to see. Electromagnetic radiation is necessary for man’s sight, as surely as God’s light is necessary to enlighten our spiritual journey. From the beginning, God models for man the craft of seeing.
That is the goal for every follower of Jesus, to learn to see as God sees. Our earthly journey to spiritual sight has its basis in the very character of God, thrust before us at Creation.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). Perhaps Jesus was telling us purity of heart allows us to see as God sees.
D. E.