Logos Series

Today, we say that talk is cheap. We live in a time where people tend not to do what they say they will do. We generally don’t expect politicians to do what they say. Advertisers will often exaggerate claims in order to sell products. We are accustomed to extensive wavers of liability that are so lengthy and verbose, that even lawyers disagree on what they say.

God is a God of His word. He reveals Himself and His expectations through words. His actions back up His words and give us assurance for the future that He will do what He says what He will do. As a New Testament designation of the Christ, the term Word occurs only in 1:1, 14; 1 John 1:1; and Rev. 19:13. A word serves two distinct purposes: a. it gives expression to the inner thought, the soul of the man, doing this even though no one else is present to hear what is said or to read what is thought; and b. it reveals this thought (hence, the soul of the speaker) to others. Christ is the Word of God in both respects: he expresses or reflects the mind of God; also, he reveals God to man (1:18; cf. Matt. 11:27; Heb. 1:3) (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to John (Vol. 1, p. 70). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.).

Imagine the impact on our lives and our world if we truly became a people of the word, if we became a people of our word. Imagine if people could rely upon us to do exactly what we say and we hold others to their words. Instead of hiding behind vague or misleading statements, what if our kids, spouse, co-workers and friends could rely upon us do be a people of our word.

John 1:1-5, shows how Christ is the complete embodiment and fulfillment of the Word of God. He is the Word as seen from 1) His Preexistence (John 1:1-2), 2 His Creative power (John 1:3), and 3) His self-existence (John 1:4-5).

Christ is the embodiment and fulfilment of the Word of God as seen through:

1) The Preexistence of the Word (John 1:1-2)

John 1:1-2 [1:1]In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2]He was in the beginning with God. (ESV)

Since Mark begins his Gospel with the same word, ‘The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ’, it is also possible that John is making an allusion to his colleague’s work, saying in effect, ‘Mark has told you about the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry; I want to show you that the starting point of the gospel can be traced farther back than that, before the beginning of the entire universe.’ (Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John (p. 114). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.)

This notion of beginning is vast. This word beginning (Archē) can mean “source,” “origin” (cf. Col. 1:18; Rev. 3:14); “rule,” “authority,” “ruler,” or “one in authority” (cf. Luke 12:11; 20:20; Rom. 8:38; 1 Cor. 15:24; Eph. 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Col. 1:16; 2:10, 15; Titus 3:1). Those connotations are true of Christ, who is both the Creator of the universe (v. 3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2) and its ruler (Col. 2:10; Eph. 1:20–22; Phil. 2:9–11). But archē refers here to the beginning of the universe depicted in Genesis 1:1.

Jesus Christ was already in existence when the heavens and the earth were created; thus, He is not a created being, but existed from all eternity. (Since time began with the creation of the physical universe, whatever existed before that creation is eternal.) “The Logos [Word] did not then begin to be, but at that point at which all else began to be, He already was. In the beginning, place it where you may, the Word already existed. In other words, the Logos is before time, eternal.” That truth provides definitive proof of Christ’s deity, for only God is eternal. (Marcus Dods, “John” in W. Robertson Nicoll, ed. The Expositors’ Bible Commentary [Reprint; Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2002], 1:683. Emphasis in original.).

The imperfect tense of the verb eimi (was), describing continuing action in the past, further reinforces the eternal preexistence of the Word. It indicates that He was continuously in existence before the beginning.

The concept of the Word (logos) is one filled with meaning for both Jews and Greeks. To the Greek philosophers, the logos was the impersonal, abstract principle of reason and order in the universe. It was in some sense a creative force, and also the source of wisdom. To the Greeks, then, John presented Jesus as the personification and embodiment of the logos. Unlike the Greek concept, however, Jesus was not an impersonal source, force, principle, or emanation. In Him, the true logos who was God became a man—a concept foreign to Greek thought.