The Origin Of Christ

John will not begin his Gospel with a genealogy nor an account of Christ’s birth as was done on other Gospels. Instead he will immediately establish who Jesus is and exactly what His origin is.

Let’s look to the first verses.

JN 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He was with God in the beginning. (NIV)

John refers to Jesus as “the Word” and in the very first couple of verses we get a couple of revelations.

• Jesus, the Son was God.

• He was present with God from the very beginning.

The Amplified Bible says it this way, “In the beginning [before all time] was the Word [Christ], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God.” (AMP)

The New Century Version (NCV) says it this way, “In the beginning there was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” (NCV)

Note: The Greek word for word is “Logos”. According to Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words logos means “The expression of thought—not the mere name of an object.” (We can see this for example by the use of the blue oval representing Ford Motor Company---the oval is not Ford Motor Company but is symbolic [a symbol of] Ford Motor Company.) But in reference to Christ Vines says, “The Personal Word, a title of the Son of God.” Interestingly enough they say this identification is substantiated by none other than what John said in John 1:1-18.

So if you have ever wondered where the title of Jesus as the “Word of God” originated now you know that the Apostle John is the originator.

But John is going to do more than just say that Jesus was present with God in the beginning---for some of us he is going to stun our theology!

JN 1:3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (4) In him was life, and that life was the light of men. (5) The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (NIV)

John 1:3 (AMP) “All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.”

How about that! We have always thought that God the Father did all the creating that was done back at the beginning of the world, but John sets us straight on that in verse 3 and to emphasize and show absolute clarity about what he is saying he adds, “….without Him nothing was made that has been made.”

This lines up perfectly with what the Apostle Paul teaches in Colossians where he describes Christ’s position. COL 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (16) For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. (17) He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (NIV)

Those who long to know what God looks like can fulfill that desire by looking at who Jesus is and we can see Him clearly in the Gospels.

It is heart warming to this Bible Student to find this solid agreement between these two Apostles.

We may also note that the writer of the Book of Hebrews had something similar to say in the beginning of his book. Hebrews 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (4) So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

So John has initially focused our attention on the fact that Jesus is the Creator, and He was with God from the beginning.

John 1:4&5 (4) In him was life, and that life was the light of men. (5) The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (NIV)

Life, all life, is literally in Him, and His life was the light of (or for) men. We may read the last part of verse four by saying something like, “He was the Creator of life and He lived a life that communicated light (the knowledge of God) before men.”

Paul said it very well in the scripture we just quoted from him, “….in Him all things hold together.” (Col 1:17)

Truly the light does shine in the darkness. It was present and lived right in front of God’s chosen people (the Jews) but they chose not to recognize it in spite of all the prophesy about Him. They chose to live in darkness. In spite of all the prophecies that spoke of Him they chose darkness---to not believe.