2026/06/15

252. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: Human Knowledge

God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth" (Gen 1:26). The reason humankind was created as a single individual at the beginning is that God is the one and only God in the Trinity. "In our image" refers to God being the one and only God, whilst "after our likeness" refers to God existing in the Trinitarian relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit; and man was created as a being endowed with these two divine characteristics. As indicated by the words of Jesus examined previously—"God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (Jn 4:24)—to manifest "our likeness" in humanity is to bestow the Spirit of God upon them. And so, together with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, humanity worships God.

Genesis records: "Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed" (Gen 2:7–8). The "garden in Eden" can be thought to represent the realm of human memory, according to the description that follows: "And out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. ... And the fourth river is the Euphrates" (2:9–14).

The description of the "trees" that God caused to grow in the garden points to the realm of "God's spontaneity (the breath of life)" that He breathed into man's nostrils. The description of the "rivers" refers to the realm of bodily spontaneity, arising from the reproductive function composed of God's words: "Be fruitful and multiply." The river, described as "flowed out of Eden to water the garden," points to "human knowledge," situated between these two forms of spontaneity. Of the four rivers branching from it, the first, Pishon, refers to the reproductive function that gives rise to spontaneity. The good gold produced there represents offspring, whilst the bdellium—believed to have been a precious commodity comparable to gold—represents power and wealth. The onyx stone, which appears in the Book of Exodus as one of the gemstones adorning the breastplate and ephod worn by the priest Aaron and is also depicted in the Book of Revelation as one of the foundation stones of the wall of Jerusalem, represents authority. The workings of the reproductive function, which generates spontaneity, powerfully imprints these images upon "human knowledge."

Thus, the Lord God, who fashioned the realm of the spirit within man from "dust from the ground" (Gen 2:7), ensured that the "God' spontaneity (breath of life)," which He Himself breathed into man as befitting his nature, and "human knowledge" would be connected in the realm of the spirit through the "tree of life." The "tree of life" was placed there because words were necessary as a mediator for "human knowledge," which is composed of words, to connect with "God's spontaneity (breath of life)" appropriate to man. That is the Word. By connecting with the Word, "human knowledge" can correctly receive the powerful image of the bodily spontaneity arising from the reproductive function, with which it is connected. "Human knowledge," by itself, can seek out the "tree of life" and, through it, connect with "God's spontaneity (the breath of life)." In this way, the bodily spontaneity arising from the workings of the reproductive function is brought under control, and human beings, as those created in God's likeness, can cooperate with the Holy Spirit.

And it was because Jesus knew that human beings were created in this way that He likened Himself to a vine and said the following: "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" (Jn 15:4–5).

St Paul writes to Timothy as follows: "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim 2:1–5).

The image in which "God's spontaneity (the breath of life)" is connected, through the "tree of life," with "human knowledge" resembles that of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. When "human knowledge" is placed in the position of the Holy Spirit in this way, a person can, in reality, act in unity with the Holy Spirit. Hence, the man was trained to act in unity with the Holy Spirit through the concrete work of "tilling and keeping" the garden as it is written, "The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it" (Gen 2:15). Thus, seeing the man—having been granted the Spirit of God appropriate to his nature—working together with the Holy Spirit, the Lord God commanded the man: "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die" (Gen 2:16–17). God was thus proceeding with His plan to divide the man into male and female.

Maria K. M.