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