☆NO 84 The Life (The Light of Men)
This painting is based on John 1:4 and 5.
Verse 4 says, In Him was life. And the life was the light of men.
Verse 5, And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
The KJV English Bible uses "comprehend" but Jap the New Revised Version translates it as " overcome.” for “comprehend.”
Although I do not know the original Greek, I prefer the literal translation of the English version.
The reason for this is that Paul uses the word " comprehend,” in his prayer in Ephesians. (Ephesians 3:18)
that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;
that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
In other words, this comprehension is the word one uses when one understands Christ on a tremendous cosmic scale.
John was the disciple who took Mary, the mother of Jesus, in His last will and was naturally the closest to her.
He knew more about Jesus from Mary, the mother who gave birth to Jesus than from anyone else.
Mary knew that the Holy Spirit who conceived Jesus was already present at the beginning of the world, as described in Genesis 1, and that He was with God.
So, in chapter 1, verse 2, he wrote, "He was with God in the beginning.
John wrote. Jesus' walk is the way of light, as He taught His disciples, for only through it can one come to the Father in heaven, that is, to God.
On the other hand, Satan, who lives in darkness, did not comprehend it.
This inability to understand the path of light is Satan's greatest weakness, which is why he was able to kill Jesus on the cross but was unable to foresee the miracle of the resurrection that followed.
Matthew 27:45 states. Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land.
It was also in the darkness that they caught Jesus in Gethsemane on the night of the Last Supper.
He did not recognize Jesus praying, and when Judas saw Him kissing Jesus, he was able to catch Him.
Satan's work was done in darkness, but this darkness could not understand Jesus.
Darkness has been Satan's world since Genesis.
Paul also says this. “Be angry, and do not sin.” Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. (Ephesians 4:26-27)
Furthermore, verse 18 says, "Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the blindness of their heart."
This is a brief explanation of the darkness's inability to comprehend the light.
Next, we will discuss Jesus in Mary's womb, as depicted here, the Holy Spirit shining beside Him, and God shown by the hand that welcomes them.
Christianity was born out of Judaism, but although it is the same monotheistic religion, it is a trinity of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This is different from Islam, which is also based on the Pentateuch of Moses.
There are various theories as to why the Trinity is one God, but I understand that it is because Christianity is a religion of testimony to the Resurrection.
Judaism teaches that two witnesses are sufficient.
John follows the same principle, saying, "For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.
And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. (1 John 5:7, 8)
In other words, it is the Spirit and Jesus who testify of God, God and Jesus who testify of the Spirit, and God and the Spirit who testify of Jesus.
And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
His testimony is valid because they have two witnesses each in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Everyone understands that Jesus, the Son of Man, was born of the blood of Mary.
Then how do we explain that water is God?
Genesis 1:2 says, "And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the waters.
Moses writes that there was already water from the beginning of the world, but I understand that this water is not liquid, but hydrogen, the source of the water.
If I understand it that way, in verse 6, God said. Let the firmament amid waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."
This is also understood as a description of the early universe filled with hydrogen.
In other words, it explains how there was an empty vacuum and a collection of hydrogen, which eventually became many Galaxies and created various substances.
Most importantly, darkness, Satan, was already present at this time.
It seems that Satan was free to stand before God and go wherever he wanted because he existed before Jesus.
Job 1:6, 7 states. One day when the sons of God came and stood before the Lord, Satan also came and was among them.
And the Lord said to Satan, "Whence come thou?” Satan answered and said to the Lord, "From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."
Perhaps, as a firstborn, he was free to roam the earth without fear of anyone.
Since Satan is also an angel, it is my understanding that God had already provided angels between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis chapter 1.
And after that, the Light of Man (Jesus) appears through the Word of God.
The fact that Jesus, the source of life, was born after Satan is the source of all subsequent events described in the Bible.
In other words, evil exists in the world from the beginning, and the serpent that seduced Eve is only a specific manifestation of it.
The only way to be saved from this evil is to believe in the existence of Jesus, the Light.
Then why did God look at everything He had made while looking at the world with Satan and say, "It was very good."
Therein lies the wisdom of Moses who wrote this.
He deliberately did not write that darkness, or Satan was created by God.
He only said that God looked at all that He had made and said that it was very good.
John also said this. All things were made through Him and without Him, nothing was made that was made.
But can we understand this wondrous trinity God in answer to Paul's prayer?
If we do not understand, will we become dwellers of darkness, as Satan is?
The answer to this question is given by John.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. (John 1:12)
He who believes, even if he does not understand, will be saved. For God is love. Amen.
April 2024 Oil 910mm×1167mm
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