In The Begining Was The Word, John 1:1

The prologue of John's gospel account is one of the most beautiful passages in the bible. He wrote in a simple manner, but the ideas cause you to think about them for days. Even though he is writing about Jesus he does not use Jesus' name until verse 17. John calls him the "Word."

"Word" is translated from logos, and it is one of those hard to translate words. It can mean anything from a single word to a book. Luke in Acts 1.1 refers to his first book and the word translated "book" is the word logos. FF Bruce, in the Gospel of John, discusses how Greek philosophical schools used logos to refer to order they saw in the world. When we try to understand how John wanted us to understand his use of logos we don't need to study Greek philosophy, John points us in a different direction, he tells us to look 'in the beginning."

How did God create the heavens and the earth? He spoke. He said "let there be." He spoke words. We tend to discount the power of words but the word of God is spoken of in the bible as an active force. Psalm 33.6 "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth." Isa 55.11 "...so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." John tells us that Jesus is the Word of God, the active force that God used to create the heavens and the earth. The writer of the book of Hebrews says the same thing "...his son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the universe," Heb 1.2.

"The Word was with God" John tells us. Go back as far as you want to go and Jesus will be there with God. They had always been together. Perhaps this is why Jesus cried out "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me" (Mark 15.34)? That was the first time he had ever been separated from God.

"And the word was God." That statement causes one to pulse. John is not saying that Jesus and God are the some person, but that that what God is Jesus is. Paul explains it as well as anyone could in Phil 2.6 "...who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped...." I don't claim to fully understand it, but is it really to strange for a son to made of the same stuff as his father?

Lord willing, I will study verse two next week.

RAJ