And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
John 1:5
The opening verses of John’s Gospel introduce us to Jesus Christ as the incarnation of God. John wants his readers to know that Jesus is fully God in human form. John then reveals the purpose of God coming to earth as a human: “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4–5). Jesus Christ came to bring the light of God’s life into a spiritually dark and dying world. In Genesis, the creation of light was God’s first creative move (Gen 1:3). In the process of generating life, the light was God’s initial instrument for illuminating the dark and formless void. It was the inaugural instance of God shining light in the darkness.
When John spoke of the Incarnation, he was echoing the creation account. Scripture tells us over and again that God is the source of life and light: “For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see” (Psalm 36:9, NLT; see also Acts 17:28; Psalm 27:1). “God is light; in him, there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Jesus Christ is God’s light sent down to earth to pierce through the darkness.
Gabriel T. Selorm
www.gabrielselorm.com