In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:1-3
In the Beginning
John starts his gospel with the same words as the book of Genesis — In the Beginning!
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:1-2
This is the same beginning that John references here at the beginning of his Gospel:
- This was before time (the stars and the moon were not yet created).
- The earth, as we know it, did not exist (The earth was without form and void).
- Man did not exist – God had not yet uttered the words recorded in Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”
This is the same beginning that John references in 1 John 1 when he says:
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life — 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us — 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. 1 John 1:1-4
John affirms that Jesus, the Word, was from the beginning with the Father and His life is eternal.
John wants us to understand a profound fact about Jesus, our Lord: He is God!
- He is from before time.
- He is the creator.
- He is everlasting.
John is not alone in this assertion:
In Colossians 1:15-18, Paul writes:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
A few points from that passage:
- Paul tells us that Jesus was before all things.
- He says that by Him, even, everything in Heaven was created.
- and of Jesus, he says “who is the beginning.”
When we think about the beginning, we may be tempted to think only in terms of this world, however:
- Jesus has existed from a beginning that we cannot comprehend!
- In fact, He is the Beginning.
In John’s Revelation, we have the words of Jesus, Himself, when He says in 1:8 —
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
In the Old Testament, we see God the Father described in a similar fashion (in 1 Chronicles 16:16, Psalm 41:13, Psalm 90:2, Psalm 103:17 and Psalm 106:48) — we see God described as “From Everlasting to Everlasting.”
THIS is the Jesus that John wants the readers of his Gospel to know.
- Many today — and — at the time of John’s writing would like Jesus to be nothing more than just a man. Some might want to cast Him as a prophet of God who lived and died and some would prefer to see Him only as the little baby born in Bethlehem.
John is building a case for Jesus as:
- The Everlasting God of Heaven
- He who came to this world in the form of man
- He who came to save us from our sins by dying on the cross
- The only one who could redeem us
His opening argument is: In the beginning
In the Beginning — was the Word
How do we begin to discuss “the Word?”
I would like to say, first of all, that I will not scratch the surface of the depth of what one might learn on this matter, but let’s jump in — I suppose we must start by recognizing that “the Word” is not the same as what we generally mean when we say “word”:
- In English, we might define a “word” as a collection of consonants and vowels to which we have given a specific meaning or those particular parts of speech that make up nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, articles, conjunctions, etc.
- We might refer to a person’s verbal or written commitment, as in “he gave me his word.”
However, “the Word” as found in our passage comes from the Greek word “Logos”:
- As in the English language, logos often refers to a part of language and is translated in the New Testament as “cause, communication, sayings, word, words, account, and commandment” and appears over 3000 times.
- but in the case of our text, it takes on a greater meaning. One lexicon says “the Divine Expression of God.”
As with many words, a dictionary or lexicon definition, alone, does not teach as much as use and context. Here again, are a few stand-out uses in the New Testament:
- Our initial text:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” John 1:1-3
We see, clearly, that John is not referring to a part of speech but a person: “He or Him.” - John 1:14:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Again, we see a person and an individual reading the book of John for the first time begins to understand that that person is Jesus.
- From 1 John 1, we read earlier that John referred to Jesus as the “Word of Life.”
We know that in that passage as well, he was speaking of the person of Jesus.
The Hebrew word for “word” is ‘davar’ and in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament “davar” was naturally translated “logos.”
Consider also the following verses:
- After these things the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” Genesis 15:1
- Now the word of Yahweh came to Samuel, saying, “I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.” And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to Yahweh all night.
1 Samuel 15:10-11 - Then the word of Yahweh came to Solomon, saying: “Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.” 1 Kings 6:11-13
When we read passages like these, we know that they have received a revelation from God. We have the benefit of the New Testament — particularly our text. In this, it is now nearly impossible, not to see at least an allusion to the person of Jesus in these passages.
With all of this, we miss the depth of who Jesus is if we entirely discount the language aspect of the word “logos.”
- Yes, as Paul teaches, Jesus is “the image of the invisible God.”
- In this way, He is “the Divine Expression of God.”
- But, He is also the Divine Expression of God because He embodies the spoken and written word of God:
- Jesus is found in every promise God has ever made to His people
- Jesus is found in every judgment God has ever pronounced against His people
- Jesus is found in all the events of the Old Testament that point to the Savior
(we call these types) - Jesus is found in every prophecy
When defining what the “word” meant in language, we noted that we might refer to a person’s verbal or written commitment, as in “he gave me his word.”
God gave us His Word. When we read the word of God, we read God’s Word — in essence, Jesus!
Jesus is God’s promise to us!!
