Similarities Between Genesis 1 And John 1

The two main types of lights are the sun and the moon, respectively designated as a greater and a lesser light. One reason the moon may be lesser is because its surface reflects the light of the sun rather than creating light within itself, like the sun. The notion of a greater light and a lesser light is similarly expressed in John 1. Jesus, as the son of God, is the ‘true’ - in meaning perfect and ideal - light. John is a witness to the light, not the light itself, suggesting his figure as a lesser light reflecting the light of Jesus and of God.
There are also significant differences between the development of light in each text; lights are physical in Genesis 1, emphasizing the materiality of the world; John 1’s light is spiritual. Light marks the day (Gen. 1:5) and lights are the sun, the moon, and the stars (Gen. 1:16), part of the physical world. In John, light is the life within God (John 1:4) and the lights are within the individuals who receive God (John 1:9); thus, in John, light is more spiritual and immaterial than in Genesis. God’s physical light brings man comfort and warmth; God’s spiritual light brings …show more content…
In Genesis 1, light represents creation and newness; in John 1, it is the moral good that connects man to God. It is also evident that light is expressed in two different, yet not opposing, ways: Genesis 1 depicts a physical light and John 1 renders a spiritual light. Both lights, physical and spiritual light, are eternal forces used by God and Jesus, figure of divine authority, to serve and aid man. The opposition between light and darkness is stronger in John 1, where the conflict is used to assert that man needs God and his light. God is the one who created light and spreads it to protect man from physical and spiritual darkness; as a result, only God can save man from the dark, a worldview statement that continues through