Description:
Christ, the Word of God, beholds His newly formed creation. His aspect of light and majesty highlights His transcendent and numinous character. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (Jo 1:5, NIV).
Technique: digital painting.
Dimensions: 3.508 x 4.961 px.
Christ, the Word: Jesus' participation in the pages of the Bible is clearly more prominent in his actions after the incarnation. However, we cannot forget that Jesus is eternal and identified as the second person of the Trinity. TTexts such as John 1:1-3 and Hebrews 11:3 summarize the New Testament affirmation that Jesus existed from the beginning, before the foundation of the world. Not only that, it also highlights his participation as an active member in the creation of the universe.
In John 14:8–9, Jesus declares Himself to be the image of the invisible God. Not only that, “In John 8:58, Jesus announces, 'Before Abraham was, I AM.' Thus Jesus and the NT writers recognize that Jesus appears throughout the OT! In this sense, the entire OT is a revelation of Jesus, because He is the Yahweh of the OT” (DAVIDSON, 2021)1.
Light and Darkness: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (Jo 1:5, NIV). This sentence serves as a bridge between the Jesus who created the universe, described in verses 1–4, and the Jesus who becomes incarnate in the verses that follow. This happens because the sentence can function both as a symbol of those who recognized or did not recognize Christ as Savior (John 1:6–13), and as a subtle reinforcement of the theme of order versus chaos, present in so many cosmogonies.
Just as Genesis does by contrasting a formless and empty world with an ordered creation in six days, John recalls in a few words "the chaotic and desolate pre-creation condition that is transformed into an ordered and purposeful condition" (REINKE, 2023).2 through the image of light against darkness. "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5, NIV).
- DAVIDSON, RM Christ in all Scripture: an Old Testament Perspective . Kerygma Journal , Engenheiro Coelho, v. 16, n. 1, p. 13-42, 1st semester 2021.
- REINKE, A. D. Atlas Ilustrado da Bíblia. 3. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Thomas Nelson Brasil, 2023, p.30.
