New Christians and those seeking Christ are often instructed to read the Book of John, particularly the first chapter, before taking on the rest of the Bible. Among many other things, it declares that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who became flesh, and all who believe in him will be saved. John 1:1-18 is my favorite passage in the entire Bible.
The apostle John uses simple language to convey profound concepts:
*The Deity of ChristIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
The Preincarnate Work of Christ
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. [better translated as "overcome it"]
The Forerunner of Christ
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John [the Baptist]. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
The Rejection of Christ
That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
The Acceptance of Christ
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The Incarnation of Christ
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.
John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, “He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.”
And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
(*Headings used in the MacArthur Study Bible.)
When I read John for the first time, I wondered why “Word” was a proper noun. I grew up going to church, but I didn’t pay attention, apparently. After reading Bible study notes, commentaries and asking a lot of questions, I learned that John used it that way for many reasons. For this post, I’ll discuss one.
Living in Ephesus in the midst of Greek culture, John knew that “word” or logos in Greek, was well-known to Greek pagans. Logos meant not only speech but philosophy, intellect and divine wisdom. To the pagans, logos was also impersonal and remote. Logos, from Merriam-Webster:
1 : the divine wisdom manifest in the creation, government, and redemption of the world and often identified with the second person of the Trinity
2 : reason that in ancient Greek philosophy is the controlling principle in the universe
Both definitions are relevant in this context, but the second is most relevant to the Greek’s understanding of the word. John’s use of Word is intended to demonstrate to Greek readers that “sacred” reason and the “Unknown God” were indeed personal, known and one in the same. That is, Logos was Christ.
Remember the apostle Paul’s speech to the Greeks at the Areopagus? He explained to the philosophers that the wisdom they sought was the living God, the Divine Wisdom.
Christ (The Logos) existed in the beginning with God and he is God. He always existed; there was never a time he didn’t exist. Some religions (Islam and Mormonism, for example) claim that Jesus was created, but John stresses that he was not. Jesus Christ is inseparable yet distinct from God as the second person of the Trinity (The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit).
Now the Trinity is a concept unbelievers have difficulty with. As a matter of fact, so do Christians. With finite minds, we can apprehend the infinite Trinity but can’t comprehend it. I’ll tackle the subject in another post, but in the meantime, read this.
This section of John was on my mind today. I should do more posts like this and give politics a rest for a while. If you want good, theologically sound posts served up daily, I urge you to bookmark the JollyBlogger.
The Bible is so filled with wisdom that a lifetime isn’t enough to uncover it all.
I forgot to mention a new aggregator, League of Reformed Bloggers. Want to join? See this post. What is Reformed Theology? Good question and good post topic. For a quick introduction, see this link.
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A must-read about moral and political issues at Crowhill.
