CREATION IN JOHN’S GOSPEL

The word ‘creation’ (ktictlc;) does not appear in the Gospel of John. Yet the opening verses of the Gospel establish such a profound connection with the first creation narrative of Genesis that creation is made foundational to the story that will be told. The great affirmations of the first creation story in Genesis - the pronouncement of God creating light and darkness, day and night, the waters above and below, those powers that illuminate and rule, the material world and indeed all life, including humanity and its purpose - are expounded narratively as the Johannine story unfolds, so that the creation is never very far from view. The Fourth Gospel evokes creation in sensory as well as symbolic ways. Creation is valued in this Gospel as the locus of God’s glory, most clearly seen in the Word made flesh; and, for the believer, creation is the tangible medium of revelation