creation. His preexistence is accordingly presupposed. The formula teaches the type of λόγος / εἰκών / σοφία Christology (“word/image/wisdom”).49 If the revealer is the mediator of creation, then a foregone conclusion is that revelation is not exhausted in its historic manifestation, and indeed that it is prior to the creation.50 The soteriological significance is not contained in a direct statement, but is expressed indirectly by the confessional style51 and the hint that revelation is