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Gospel of John

These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Acts 17:11

The Word was God

The Word Was God

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 a previous article (In the Beginning), we had established that John is demonstrating Jesus’ deity as he opens his gospel and throughout the book of John.  

We have seen through the study of just the first six words of his gospel “In the beginning was the Word” that:

  • Jesus is from before time
  • Jesus is the creator
  • Jesus is everlasting

As we begin to look at the remainder of our text, it is important that we get a good working definition of the word ‘God.’  This may seem strange and unnecessary as we all know who God is, but do we understand the basic title ‘God’ as found in our passage and other parts of the Bible?

  • The word ‘God’ should primarily be understood as the title He gives Himself in Scripture and establishing that He is THE Deity
  • The word ‘god,’ however, is not special in relation to the Almighty, as it also refers to all the false deities.
  • The word ‘god’ appears over 3000 times in the Old Testament in some form of the word “Elohiym”

‘God’ is too often mistaken as being the Almighty Father’s name.

  • Hundreds of instances of  the word ‘God’ are found in tandem with His name as ‘Yahweh God’ or as it is found in the Hebrew: ‘Elohiym Yahweh’
  • We find this in our English Bibles as ‘LORD God’ which is how the translators have respected the Hebrew custom of replacing God’s name ‘Yahweh’ with the word ‘Adonai’ which means Lord  — as they believed this prevented them from saying God’s name in vain.
  • We also see an alternate pairing of ‘Lord GOD’ as in Genesis 15:2, ”But Abram said, ‘Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’”)
  • It is interesting that when we use the phrase ‘God’s name,’  we instinctively understand that He has a name, just as our father has a name. We may call him father (or something similar), but we know he has an actual name.
  • There are many times when God’s name is preserved as part of a compound name such as Yahweh Yir’eh which means “Yahweh provides.”
  • Joshua of the Old Testament is named in a fashion that incorporates God’s name, giving his name a deeper meaning and describing how the Almighty would use him. He is ‘Yeshua’ – the meaning we will see later. Joshua is not alone, however, in this naming convention:
    • Jonathan = Yahweh given
    • Joel = Yahweh is his God
    • Josiah = Founded of Yah (shortened version of Yahweh)

Yahweh is the name our God expresses as His in Exodus when talking with Moses at the burning bush.  This name is His covenant name with the people of Israel. 

The word ‘God,’ in the New Testament and the Septuagint is derived from the Greek word ‘theos’ which has as its primary definition: deity.  It is used in excess of a thousand times in the New Testament to refer to our Almighty Father and Jesus but also is often used in reference to the many false gods of the world.

  • Strictly speaking, we never find the Father’s name, Yahweh, in the New Testament — except in a few quotations from the Old Testament*
  • And yet, God has a name throughout the New Testament: Jesus
  • It so happens that Jesus is the Greek version of Joshua or Yeshua, which means
    “Yahweh Saves.”
  • So, in Jesus’ name, we have the covenant name of God preserved in the New Testament

    *(Also Alleluia or Hallelujah in Revelation 19:1-6 meaning ‘Praise Yah.’)

Now, onto our text:

The Word was with God, and the Word was God


This is the completion of John 1:1 — “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Whatever else we take away from our discussion on the word ‘God,’ no one is confused by who God is in the Old Testament or the New Testament. When we say ‘God’ we mean:

  • The God of Heaven
  • The Creator
  • Our Almighty Father

John boldly informs us that in the beginning, Jesus — the Word, was both with God and was God.  There can be no clearer statement of Jesus’ Deity!!

And yet John does not leave it there:

  •  In John 8:58, we hear the words of Jesus when He says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

This is one of the eight I AM statements of Jesus in John — this one declaring, “I am God.”

  • Likewise, John 10:30 gives us Jesus’ words where He makes it known that He is together with God — “I and My Father are one.”
  • In John 14:9-11, Jesus has to remind his disciple Philip that He is God and with God:

Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?   Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.   Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

Admittedly, the concept of Jesus being with God and being God is difficult.  However, the Hebrew word for ‘God’ helps us understand.

Elohiym, again, is the word for ‘God’ in the Old Testament and we find it in Genesis 1:1-2:

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.

Elohiym. interestingly, is plural.  It can also be employed in the singular, but as a plural, it encompasses the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

In Genesis 1:1 we read that God (plural) created the heavens and the earth. We see this demonstrated later when in Genesis 1:26, God says “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”

So, then, John is in perfect agreement with the Old Testament account of creation:

He was in the beginning with God

In the beginning was Jesus.  Jesus was with God, Jesus was God.  Jesus was in the beginning with God.

Jesus is God!  John is not the only one to testify to this:

  • Matthew 1:23 quotes Isaiah 7:14: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

    We know, of course, that He is never called by this name, but His birth and life on this earth embody this name which Matthew tells us means “God with us.”  El (in Emmanuel) is a shortened version of Elohiym. It is often seen in the Old Testament as in El Shaddai or God Almighty.
  • 2 Peter 1:1 “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ”

    Here Peter calls Jesus God and Savior.
  • Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 3:16 that “God was manifested in the flesh.”

    We know that Paul is talking about Jesus and his statement agrees with 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.”
  • In Philippians 2:5–8 Paul writes the following:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 

Here, again, Paul confirms that Jesus was God who took on flesh and blood to die on the cross for our sins.

Jesus is God and was in the beginning with God, and this is why John can continuethe following in John 1:3: 

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made

John drives home his point that Jesus is God: 

  • All things were made through Jesus — Jesus was with God, was God, was with God in the beginning
  • Jesus was with the Creator, Was the Creator, was with the Creator in the beginning
  • Without God nothing was made that was made — without Jesus nothing was made that was made

Our text again: John 1:1-3

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.

What do we take away from this passage?

  • Jesus is God who came down to earth as a man
  • Being a man for a time did not diminish his position in the Godhead
  • He was not created, rather He created everything

These are the facts we take away from this passage, but the reader must take away more!

Since Jesus is the Creator who has come to earth as a man:

  • We need to strive to understand why. We want a fundamental understanding for our own lives.
  • Once we understand why — we must obey His words and will.
  • Because we know who He is and what He came to do — we must tell others!

IN THE BEGINNING

In the Beginning

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 — 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 — 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. 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. 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. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 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 begin 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!!

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