“Good” was the term that God employed at the very beginning of creation when He made the heavens and the earth. In this article, we explore the qualities that define what is considered good from God’s perspective.
David extensively wrote about the goodness of God, and we often declare that God is good at all times. In the parable of the talents, Jesus referred to the two servants as good and faithful. But what does this concept truly signify from God’s perspective?
1. The Creation Of The Heavens And The Earth
Let’s explore the events surrounding the creation of the heavens and the earth, which will aid us in discovering the reason why God referred to His creation as “good.”
1.1 The Creation Of Light
God said, “Let there be light”, and there was light. Then, in Genesis 1:4, He saw that the light was good. Light was the first thing that came into existence.
Light is the foundation of all creation, anything created by God requires light to function.
In John 1:5, it is stated that God is light, and within Him, there is no darkness whatsoever. Since God is light, therefore all creation requires God as the fundamental basis for all existence and life.
Furthermore, since God is light, this means God perceives Himself as good. Therefore the first part of creation is God declaring this: I AM Good.
He alone can never die, and He lives in light so brilliantly that no human can approach Him. 1 Timothy 6:16
God is light and He lives in light. When He created light, it was a physical reality of who He is and where He dwells.
1.2 The Separation Of Light From Darkness
The next event is the separation of light from darkness. Genesis 1:4-5 reads,
Then He separated the light from darkness. And called the light “day” and darkness “night.”
The separation of light and darkness reveals that God is holy. He does not compromise with darkness. There is no speck of darkness in Him, He alone is truly holy, just as John saw angels always singing “holy, holy, holy is the LORD God” (Revelation 4:8).
1.3 The Separation Of The Waters
The second phase of creation occurred on Day 2, this involved the separation of waters by a space which God called the “sky” Genesis 1:6. This resulted in two waters: waters of the heavens and waters of the earth.
This could mean that the waters of the heavens and of the earths were indistinguishable, thus God made a boundary between, calling the boundary the sky to separate the two waters.
The separation of waters reveals that God is orderly. 1 Corinthians 14:33 confirms that God is not a God of disorder. God’s orderliness is also mentioned in Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 2:6.
For all the earth is the LORD’s and he has set the world in order.
1.4 The Appearance Of The Ground
The condition of the earth, while the Spirit of God hovered, was that of a vast sphere of water—formless, empty, and shrouded in darkness. God then gathered the waters together to create the seas and oceans, allowing the dry land that lay beneath to emerge.
This again is an act of separation that also reveal that God is orderly. He placed boundaries between all elements that He formed and spoke into existence.
In Jeremiah 5:22 God says, “I, the LORD, define the ocean’s sandy shoreline as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the boundaries I set.”
In this act of separation, God is further demonstrating that His commands and boundaries are eternal and unchangeable. Additionally, God shows His faithfulness to His own Law; nothing about Him shifts. His boundaries reflect His order, or His word, and nothing of His word can be modified.
When the dry land appeared God saw that it was good. This statement reveal that God meant that His laws are good. The longest chapter in the bible, Psalm 119, discusses at great detail at how God’s laws are indeed good.
To quote a few, the Psalmist wrote:
- I will never forget your commandments, for by them you give me life. (Psalm 119:93)
- Your laws are my treasure; they are my heart’s delight. (Psalm 119:111)
- Your laws are wonderful. No wonder I obey them. (Psalm 119:129)
1.5 The Land Sprouts With Vegetation
After the emergence of the land, God calls it to sprout with vegetation – every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed bearing fruit (Genesis 1:11). When the land produced the vegetation God saw that it was good.
Here God reveals that His paramount directive is fruitfulness, that each entity must replicate each self in a manifold manner. Fruitfulness is a divine law that has been given to all living things.
In this passage, God unveils His ultimate command: To be fruitful, where every vegetations is called to reproduce itself at an exponential scale.
1.6 The Lights Appear In The Sky
The fourth day began by God declaring lights to appear in the sky, separating day and night. They are commanded to be signs to mark the seasons, days and years. Then God saw that this was good.
Here God imposes a time factor over the earth through days, years and seasons. Therefore, the fruitfulness of the vegetation created on the third day will occur within seasons of time.
He said the the greater light would govern the day and the lesser light would govern the night, thus each light has its time period apportioned to govern.
At the end of day 4, God saw that it was good. Day 4 reveals that fruitfulness occurs in time seasons.
Therefore the abundance of vegetation would occur in the appropriate time season, illustrating the truth of the saying that there is a season for everything, as noted by Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:1.
1.7 God Fills The Seas and The Skies
On Day 5, God created numerous kinds of sea creatures to fill the water and the birds of many kinds to fill the skies.
Each creature would produce offspring of the same kind. This is consistent with the law of fruitfulness, which entail the multiplication of the creature with offspring of its kind.
Similar to the vegetation, the sea creatures and birds of the skies also have seasons to reproduce as they all have mating seasons illustrating that the time season factor also applies to the creatures created on day 5.
1.8 God Fills The Earth With Animals
Like sea creatures, God created the animals of the land to produce offspring of the same kind, within time seasons.
And God saw that it was good, this reveals that according to God, everything that produces and multiplies anything of itself is good.
1.9 God Creates Human Beings In His Own Image
The final activity of creation on day 6 is the creation of mankind in Genesis 1:26:
Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.
This is God expressing that even He Himself will obey His law of fruitfulness. He creates mankind just as all the sea creatures, birds and animals are capable of producing offspring of their own kind.
2. What Then Is Good According to God?
Dear reader, I’m certain that having read the article it is now evident that:
The description that qualifies someone as good consists of being in the light of God and embodying holiness—distanced from the realm and kingdom of darkness. By remaining faithful to His word, which is his law, the individual bears fruit that bring Him glory.
We have evidence through the life of Jesus that a life of fruitfulness is indeed within reach in the life of a believer. This leads us to explore how Jesus embodied the likeness and nature of our good God during his life on earth.
When someone referred to Jesus as “good Teacher”, Jesus response was that there is only One who is good, referring to God (Matthew 19:17).
Therefore, each time God saw that it was good in Genesis 1, it was like God was looking at Himself in the mirror, and the sight that he saw was good. Everything that He saw was a physical manifestation of Himself – the God who is unseen.
3. How Jesus Revealed The Nature of God
It has been established that God is light, He is holy, he is a God of order and laws, and He is fruitful. He expects us (His children) to be like him so that he may be glorified.
Jesus’ life was characterized by the same, he revealed the nature and character of God during his earthly life.
3.1 How Jesus Was Revealed To Be Light
Peter, James and John saw Jesus transfigured to light at the mount where his face became as white as the sun (Matthew 17:2).
Peter, exclaimed, “it is wonderful for us to be here”. While James and John asked Jesus to sit on either side of his glorious throne (Mark 10:37).
The disciples remarks reveal the goodness of being in the light of God.
3.2 How Jesus Was Revealed To Be Holy
Jesus in John 10:36 asked people in the temple, “why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into this world.”
This was Jesus distinguishing himself as holy, set apart from from world yet in the world. He came as the light in a world of darkness, he was the Holy One of God in a world of wickedness.
3.3 How Jesus Was Faithful To The Law
He came to fulfill the law of God. Everything that was written of him he achieved successfully. He fulfilled the scriptures as written by the prophet in Isaiah 61:1-2.
After reading the scripture about himself, he the said in Luke 4:21, “The Scripture you’ve just read has been fulfilled this very day:” Meaning everything the God commissioned him to do he successfully accomplished.
At the cross Jesus cried “It is finished”, denoting that he was faithful to God’s command and will right until the very end of his life.
3.4 How Jesus Was Fruitful
Jesus was fruitful in that he made man believe in him as the Son of God. Thus they were forgiven of their sins, brought into the kingdom of light, set apart to be holy, obey his teaching and finally make others like them.
This began with his 12 disciples, thereafter, as he performed many miraculous signs and many believed. He launched an exponential increase of believers in Christ.
It was in Antioch that believers in Christ we called Christians. This was because they were performing miraculous signs and wonders, as well as preaching the message of the Good News that observers realized that they had the nature and character of Christ thus calling them Christians.
Jesus made many people to be like him, demonstrating his fruitfulness. It is for this reason that Jesus is referred to as the good Shepperd, for he leads us into his precious light, that we may be set apart as holy and acceptable to God through his blood. Thereafter we are called to live a life following his teachings and bearing fruit each season.
4. How Believers In Christ Have The Nature And Character Of God
It was established that God is light, holy and faithful, therefore, if God created us in His image and likeness, we too can confidently say that we have the light of God in us, have been set apart to be holy and to be faithful to His word that we may be fruitful.
Jesus death on the cross gave us to embody the nature and character of God. Paul explained the process in Ephesians 5:8.
For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of the light! For this light within you produces only what is good, right and true.
In his writing, Paul explains that we were once surrounded by darkness, much like the earth in its initial state. However, we now have the light from the Lord—akin to God’s command, “let there be light,” which brought forth the light of Jesus into our lives.
He encourages us to embody the essence of being people of the light, this is a call to holiness by urging us to separate from the kingdom of darkness. By living as individuals of the light, we naturally produce outcomes that are fruitful (good), orderly, and righteous (right), aligning our actions with the word of God, for His word is the ultimate truth.
Below are additional scriptures to support how we embody the nature and characteristics of God
4.1 Light
- You are the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14).
4.2 Holy
- For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16).
- And since God chose you to be the holy people that He loves (Colossians 3:12).
- For God’s purpose was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time (Hebrews 10:10)
4.3 Faithful to His Word
- You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings (John 8:31)
4.4 Fruitfulness
- But if you remain in me and may words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted. When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father (John 15:7-8).
5. Conclusion
We conclude with Psalm 1:1-3 which captures all the 4 distinct elements that make up the good nature and character of God as as revealed in Genesis’ first chapter and as expressed through the earthly life of Jesus.
It’s apparent that mankind has been created in a never ending cycle fruitfulness that occurs in the presence of the light of God and obeying his word. This culminates into us experiencing divine joy as our fruitfulness bring glory to our Father.
6. Prayer
Dear reader, I pray your life will be filled with fruitfulness of great proportions as you continue to live in the light of God. Hold steadfast to your position in the Kingdom of God, as you stay rooted and grounded in Christ.
May you have zeal and desire for God’s word that you may realize the fruits of salvation, joy and many kinds, for as the Scriptures say, “joyful are those who obey His laws and search Him with all their hearts” (Psalm 119:2).
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