The Word was God | John 1:1-5

This morning we’re going to be looking at the first five verses of the Gospel of John. And before we go any further, I would like to start by asking a question: Why did you come to church today? What was your motivation? Was it habit? Routine? The people? To learn something new? To receive encouragement? Ask yourself, “Why am I here?” I’m not saying that any of these motivations are wrong, but I am saying that, as we look at these five verses, my prayer is that we would have so much more than some good music and a few good conversations. It is my prayer that we would come to know something of the God who has, from all eternity past, existed, and brought about our world with the intention of blessing a people through relationship with him. It is my prayer that we wouldn’t settle for anything less today, than to have an encounter with a God like this.

It has been well said of John’s Gospel that its waters are shallow enough for a child to wade in, yet deep enough for a school of theologians to drown in. It is both understandable, yet beyond comprehension. But it is a word from God to us to be studied, admired, and enjoyed.

In the 20th chapter of John’s Gospel, he tells us that the purpose of his writing this Gospel is that the reader might come to believe. That is, John is no distant, detached narrator of the events of Jesus’ life but seeks to show the reader a reality that stood before his very own eyes – the glory of God, revealed to mankind in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Upon the apostle dawned a great, life-changing light – a great light that he wants us to see today.

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 was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

This morning, I have broken down this passage into three parts that I believe are faithful to the text. v. 1-2 speaks to the eternal unity and communion of the Father and the Word. v. 3 then speaks to their unity in purpose in the creation of the world. v. 4-5 then speaks to the way in which the God, who is beyond our comprehension, has made himself known to his world.

The Eternal Word’s Communion with God (v. 1-2)

John opens up his Gospel by making a threefold claim about Jesus Christ, the Word. He writes, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Those of us who are familiar with the beginning of John’s Gospel will recognize that the Word refers to the second person of the Godhead – Jesus Christ. John’s three claims equate to something like this: The Word is eternal, the Word has spent eternity in communion with God, and the Word is God. The great mystery of the Triune God is how John opens his Gospel – the Word was both with God and was God.How do we reconcile these two truths?

The peculiar thing about the way John wrote this introduction is that he simply states the paradox and moves on. He doesn’t try to make sense of the tension, but simply declares it to be so. It seems that he is doing this for a reason. Namely, John’s goal isn’t that he should map out and explain the doctrine of the Trinity. Rather than trying to master the Trinitarian God, John wants the reader to be mastered by the Trinitarian God. It is under the boundless glory and transcendence of God that John brings us to sit and gaze up at in awe. For this reason, John has been likened to a man who holds out a beautiful diamond before his readers, that they may simply stand in awe. He then begins to turn the stone; each facet being admired simply for its beauty.

But something deeper is going on here that might easily be missed. The language of John 1:1 might literally read, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was towards God. This eternal towardness shows the nature of the Triune God in his eternal dwelling, as it provides a picture of continual face-to-face intimacy, the two eternally delighting in the presence of one another. There was a complete relational simplicity, functionality, and harmony. For all eternity, the Word and God have dwelt in a communion of perfect love. Jesus Christ – the Word – left this eternal dwelling to step into our world. The eternal Word had been sent.

But why does John refer to Jesus as the Word? Well, the term John is using here is the term Logos.It is God’s Logos – God’s Word – that was sent forth in Genesis and brought about the creation of the universe. God spoke, and his Word accomplished what it had purposed. Likewise, it was God’s Logos (his Word)that he placed in the mouth of his prophets who would provide direction, consolation, or revelation to the people. No doubt, John had this background in mind, but the term was loaded with ideas and beliefs in many schools of Greek Philosophy too. John seems to take a concept that has much ambiguity and invest it with new meaning in the person of Christ. While his meaning of Jesus as the Logos – the Word – will take the rest of his Gospel to fill out, it might simply be understood like this: Jesus is God’s climactic statement to humanity. The Logos – the Word – is God’s self-expression, proceeding from the Father, and revealed to the world. It is through the Logos that the Father has explained, described, communicated, revealed, disclosed, uncovered, manifested, narrated, made himself known. The author of Hebrews captures the idea well, when he writes, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power”. What the Word was, the Father was.The Word was with God and the Word was God.

The implications of this truth are simply this: God ultimately exceeds our minds capacity to contain him in our thoughts. We are seeking to comprehend the incomprehensible. Yet God has made himself known perfectly in the person of Christ. John seems to be saying that, to look into the face of Christ is to receive God’s climactic, authoritative Word about himself. If we want to know what God is truly like, then we are to look to Christ who said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” We don’t get to bring our experiences to God and tell him what he is like, but he has brought himself to us and revealed who he objectively is. We should, therefore, leave any notion of a tyrannical, harsh, cruel Old Testament God, and a peaceful, gracious, gentle, benevolent Jesus. Does not Jesus continually affirm that he came to do the will of the Father? The two have been eternally united in a harmonious relationship, and Jesus’ ministry was the climactic outflow of this eternal union. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

The Unified Purpose of the Godhead (v. 3)

If v. 1-2 were the establishing of the eternal unity and harmony between the Father and the Son, then v. 3 speaks to their united purpose in the creation of the world. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. Back in Genesis 1, the world’s creation is attributed to God himself. He spoke and the world came into being. But now, John is teaching that it is Jesus – the Logos – who created all things.Positively, John writes, “with the presence of Jesus, every single thing has been created,” and negatively, he writes, “without the presence of Jesus, not even one thing was created.” Drawing the lines between Genesis and John, therefore, we might marvel that the two – God and the Logos – were both united in action and in their purpose in the creation of the world.

Let’s make a point: The Father and the Son, from all eternity past, have dwelt in perfect and continual communion – no relational complexity, disharmony, or disunity. The two, unchanging as they are, have eternally been united in their purpose to create a world in which God might bless a people through their relationship with him. This united, purposeful action of the Godhead means that you are no mere afterthought! While the world will tell you that you are a random, meaningless result of random, meaningless processes, without any real purpose, the Scriptures tell you that God has, from all eternity past, in his Triune community, purposed that you should be created in his very own image, bestowed with value and purpose, and that all who call on his name would be given this status as holy and blameless before him. Paul rejoices in this truth: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him.”

The implications of this are manifold! The first is that God loves you. We might not hear it said enough, but God loves you incredibly. On the span of eternity, you have always been a part of the Triune God’s unified purpose – to bring about a people whom he would bless. This isn’t to say that you and I lie at the centre of the universe. But it is to say that the one who does lie at the centre has placed his love upon you. This universal love of God is even intensified for God’s children, whom Paul prays “may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge”. To comprehend such a love as this, we must look to the cross, where God displayed the single-greatest expression of love the world has ever known – “For our sake he made him [the Word] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” This is the gospel.

Second, you have a purpose in life. God, having eternally purposed to bring about a people who would be blessed through relationship with him, has sent his son to reveal himself to a lost world. The Westminster catechism asks the question, “What is the chief end of man?” – what is the greatest purpose of mankind? It then answers, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” And this is the way that God has so made creation to function. Namely, that a person’s purpose and joy are most intensely experienced when they are found in the glory of God. To say it again, you will be supremely fulfilled only when that fulfillment is found in God’s glory.

But what about that dream job? What about having a family? What about getting healthy, and having a few extra dollars to have fun with? While these things are great things, it simply isn’t how God’s designed the world to work. To settle for a new job or a few extra bucks is to settle for something significantly less fulfilling. Anything short of God himself is a sad substitute for the infinitely fulfilling One. For it is this purpose that the Word has made the world. All things were made through him [the Word], and without him was not any thing made that was made.

The Revelation of God by the Word (v. 4-5)

So again, if v. 1-2 reveal the eternally harmonious union between the Father and the Son, and v. 3 speaks of their united purpose in the creation of the world, then v. 4-5 speak to the way in which God has carried out that purpose in revealing himself to the world. As we have already said, God has not left us in the dark, but his light has dawned upon our land: In him [the Word] was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

This is the glorious thing about the introduction to John’s Gospel: While the glorious incomprehensibility of the Godhead is a profound mystery and ultimately beyond our understanding, John declares that, in some way, God has made himself known to our world in the person of Christ – the Word. As we noted previously, Jesus is called the Word because he is God’s self-expression to the world – the explanation of himself to humanity. If God had simply created the world and moved on, then John’s Gospel could not rightfully be called a gospel at all – for it would be no good news! But the God that John is describing is one who is intimately involved with the affairs of mankind. John writes, in v. 14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” So God has not remained distant and unknown. But in Christ, the invisible has been made visible, and landed in our midst.

John says, “In him was life”. That is, life in the fullest sense of the word. If we are following the context of our current passage, then the creation account from Genesis is in view here. That is, the life that is in him refers to physical life which is given to all the living. Having existed for all eternity past, it is the Word who has existence in himself and imparts life upon all the living. But if we trace John’s use of the term life throughout his gospel, we see that every single use of this term refers to life in the spiritual, and eternal sense – in him was true, eternal life. What John is saying is simply this: In the second person of the Trinity, life finds its fullest expression.

Note the words of our Lord himself: In chapter 6, “I am the bread of life.” Or in chapter 11, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Or again in chapter 14, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Jesus alone is able to make these claims because in him was life. Jesus doesn’t declare, “I have the life,” or “I can give the life,” but simply, “I am the life.” To the man who finds Jesus Christ, so he finds life itself.

When Jesus declares, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”, he continues, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” That is to say, life (in its fullest expression, as John means here) can be found in no other place than in the Son of God himself. We previously noted that the eternal plan of the Godhead was to create a world in which he would bring about a people whom he would bless in relation to himself. God, who created all things, has so ordained it that the fullness of life would be found in Jesus Christ, and in no other. Time and again, the evil one waves a pay-cheque under our noses, or a new job, or a relationship, or perfect wellness, or financial stability, or any other thing that he can offer us that will distract us from the Son of God in whom is life. But these things are a poor substitute for life – an empty promise of fullness. Don’t wait until your finances are in order, or your new house is built, or your health issues are mended, or your relationships are restored to come to the eternal Word.Did not Jesus say, “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”?

The world is full of empty promises of life and love, joy, peace, fullness, and to satisfy the desires of the heart. But to seek life outside of Christ is to miss the whole point! God has made humanity in such a way that we would find our dryness only to be quenched in him. That we would find our emptiness to be filled only in him. That we would find our brokenness to be mended only in him. It was our Lord who said, “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He never said, “Come to me, all who have their lives exactly as they ought to be, their finances in check, and every one of their questions answered.” Rather, he said, “Come” to the weary, the poor, and the broken, and he will provide the rest that he alone can provide. But you must come in humility, throw yourself at the feet of the throne of Grace, and there you will find rest for your souls. Come to him. Come today.

John drives this point further: In him [the Word] was life, and the life was the light of man. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. The reference to light brings about a great list of thoughts: enlightenment, revelation, perception, understanding, truth, good, purity, and glory. John almost seems to mean all of these things. Namely, that at the coming of the eternal Word a holy light has dawned upon a world steeped in darkness. A new kingdom has broken through the thick, dark clouds of sin upon our land. The rays of God’s glory have penetrated the dark smog which has clouded our skies. Isaiah, centuries before, spoke of such an age as this, saying, “The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”

Light has a way of exposing what is hidden. It reveals the things we would rather keep concealed. John writes, “the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” And the question that hangs over our current text is this: What are you going to do with this light? How are you going to respond to the light?

We live in a generation of darkness. We are seeing a world of instability, where truth is being substituted for lies, where sin is blatant and unveiled, and where darkness abounds. We are seeing rationality crumble beneath us, and logic has become a thing of the past. And yet, it is John who declares that Jesus is the Logic – the Logos. In a world that can’t tell you the difference between your truth and my truth, Jesus says, “I am the Truth.” In a world that tells you that there are many ways to live a full life, Jesus tells you, “I am the Life.”

Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” If you have the light of life, then what are you doing with this light? Has it become dull, or is it flickering? Paul exhorts those who have this light to walk as children of light. We are those who walk as light amidst a dark world! We are those who have had the cup of God’s wrath poured out upon Another, and in that cup, not a drop remains! We are those who are now holy and blameless before him. Don’t seek life in financial stability, or perfect physical health, or your occupation. Seek it where it can only be found. Meditate on the finished work of Christ, and that flickering flame will be fanned into an out-of-control fire!

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 was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

This is the God we have come to encounter today: who has, from all eternity past, dwelt in unity and in face-to-face delight with the Word; who, united in purpose, created the world with a vision to blessing a people who dwell in relation to himself; and who has accomplished this in the revelation of himself through the light that has dawned upon a land dwelling in darkness – upon us, has this great light shone.