Logos is God (1:1-4)

Aaron Sturgill

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Introduction

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 Words relation to God

All things came into being through Him,

and apart from Him nothing came into being

that has come into being.

The Words relation to creation

In Him was life,

and the life was the Light of men.

The Light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness did not comprehend it.

The Words relation to man

Introduction

As we consider this passage, we will soon find one of the clearest and most beautiful Christological passages in all of scripture. As a result of our firmly held beliefs there will be little if anything of which you will need to be convinced. We already affirm: the pre-existence of Christ, the deity of Christ, the eternal fellowship between the Father and the Son, the distinction between the Father and the Son, Christ’s creation of all things, and the light that came into the darkened world as a result of Christ’s coming. Therefore, the purpose is not to convince you of these beliefs, but instead to reassure, solidify, further appreciate, and further understand these beliefs.

ü The pre-existence of Christ

ü The deity of Christ

ü The eternal fellowship between the Father and the Son

ü The distinction between the Father and the Son

ü Christ’s creation of all things

ü The light that came into the darkened world as a result of Christ’s coming

Therefore, the purpose is not to convince you of these beliefs, but instead to reassure, solidify, further appreciate, and further understand these beliefs.

Understanding Terms

In the Beginning. I would like to acknowledge just one unique point concerning this word beginning, here in . A translation of “beginning” is perfect for this context but what is interesting is that it doesn’t have a modifier along side of it. The vast majority of uses, for this word, include a context for the beginning. For instance, in Judges, when Gideon is alongside his hundred men, they come to the outskirts of the camp “at the beginning of the middle of the watch” (Jud 7:19). In Ruth, we read about how Ruth and Naomi returned “to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest” (). There are two passages in which no context or modifier is given for beginning. Those two passages are here in and in . “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (). “In the beginning was the Word” ().

I believe it is John’s intent to draw our minds back to Genesis and the beginning of creation. He does so successfully. If I were to start a message with “when in the course of human events” and coupled that with “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” your mind would likely be drawn to the Declaration of Independence. If I were to start a message with “fourscore and seven years ago” you mind would likely be drawn to Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. In the same way, when John starts with “in the beginning,” he is intentionally connecting Christ to the initial creative work of God.

Was & Were. We would likely pass over the word “was” in any normal reading but let me draw our attention to one significant fact. While the English word “was” is used several times in these first few verses, there are two different Greek words in the text. The first (eimi) communicates the idea of existence or “the one who is, exists.”[1] The other Greek word (ginomai) communicates the beginning of something or its’s point of origination.[2]

What then is the point? Let me draw your attention to verse 3. A literal reading could go as such: “all things were brought into existence through him, and without him nothing was brought into existence that was made. As well, a few verses later we could read, “A man was brought into existence from God, whose name was John” (). Yet, those couple instances are different than the word choice in the first two verses. Let me offer a rough translation. “In the beginning the Logos already existed, and the Logos already was with God, and the Logos already was God” (). Creation came into being. John the Baptist came into being. The Logos, or Jesus Christ, already existed in the beginning.

The Logos. The underlying Greek word, here translated as word, is logos. In this context we should understand logos to refer to God’s divine communication or self-expression. While we know that logos is referring to Jesus Christ, the passage does not clearly state that until later in the chapter. Interestingly, John refers to Jesus Christ as “The Word” in the prologue but then never use this term again throughout the gospel. “The Word” is only used in the prologue and is used two times, verse 1 and verse 14.

It seems likely that John desires to establish a presupposition for the rest of the gospel, that being that Jesus Christ is in fact the Creator God. The rest of the gospel is to be understood in light of this fact. Whereas the synoptic gospels discuss to a much greater degree the humanity of Christ, John immediately established Jesus Christ as the revelation of God. Jesus tells us as much when He says, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” ().

Logos in Greek Philosophy. We will see shortly that the Jews tied the idea of logos to religious concepts, but for the Greeks logos was found in the world of philosophy. Around 500 years before Christ incarnation, Greek philosophers were discussing the importance and concept of logos. One of these philosophers was Heraclitus, who lived from 535-475 BC and was a native of Ephesus. Let’s pause for a moment to be reminded of the fact that it appears that John wrote his gospel from Ephesus, therefore the understanding and meaning of this word in the mind of those in Ephesus plays an important part. It was Heraclitus that wrote, “They do not step into the same rivers . It is other and still other waters that are flowing.”[3] It appears that the point he was making was that all of life is in continual change, and yet while everything is changing, the world does not seem to be in a constant state of chaos. Why would this be? Why is the experience of one generation the same as that of people who have gone before? The solution for Heraclitus was that there must be some divine reason (or logos) and this logos was the mind of divinity controlling the world and all mankind.

Heraclitus. Although this Logos is eternally valid, yet men are unable to understand it -- not only before hearing it, but even after they have heard it for the first time. That is to say, although all things come to pass in accordance with this Logos, men seem to be quite without any experience of it . . . although the Logos is common to all, most men live as if each of them had a private intelligence of his own. [4]

The Stoic philosophers, a couple of hundred years after Heraclitus (300 BC), established the principle that the Logos was “the principle through which the universe was formed and is sustained, maintains order in a universe essentially in flux.”[5] Plato associated logos with discourse or rational explanation.

Hundreds of years later, when John was writing his gospel, the time of Heraclitus was far gone; but his teachings still were alive in the teachings of the Stoics; and his philosophy had engrained itself in the minds of the Grecian people. The Greeks knew all about the logos. In fact, they probably would not have struggled much with these first few verses. They considered the Logos as more of a force than a person, but still their struggle would probably not have come until John acknowledges in verse 14 that the logos had become flesh.

Boice. Therefore, it was with a stroke of divine genius that John seized upon this word . . . and said by means of it, “Listen, you Greeks, the very thing that has most occupied your philosophical thought and about which you have all been writing for centuries—the Logos of God, this word, this controlling power of the universe and of man’s mind—this has come to earth as a man and we have seen him.”[6]

Logos in Jewish philosophy. Philo, a Hellenized Jew (20 BC – 50 AD), used the term Logos to mean an intermediary divine being. Philo wrote concerning the Logos. “And the most ancient Logos of the living God is clothed by the world as with a garment .... For the Logos of the living God is the bond of everything, holding all things together and binding all the parts, and prevents them from being dissolved and separated.”[7]

This same concept is found in extra biblical Jewish literature as well. In the “Wisdom of Solomon” we read the following:

Wisdom of Solomon. For while all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in the midst of her course, Thy Almighty word leaped down from heaven from thy royal throne, as a fierce conqueror into the midst of the land of destruction ()[8]

Logos of God in the Old Testament. The word logos is used in a great many context throughout the Old Testament, but let me point out just a few context in which logos is personified in some way. (1) In we are told that “by the word (or logos) of the Lord the heavens were made.” In this context Logos is connected to creation. (2) Logos is as well connected to God’s revelation to mankind. Isaiah writes, “Then the word (logos) of the Lord came to Isaiah” ( ESV). (3) As well, the idea of deliverance is connected to the Logos on a number of occasions. “He sent out his word (logos) and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. ( ESV). And again in Isaiah:

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth . . . 11 so shall my word (logos) be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. ( ESV).

Therefore, whether in the Greek or Jewish mind, the idea of the Logos had profound and divine meaning. Within the mind of the Greeks, the idea of an unnamed, divine all powerful source would have come to mind. Within the mind of a Jew, the powerful Word connected to God’s creative power, revelation, and destruction would have come to mind.

While the Jews would have been the closest to John’s intent, neither of them was quite accurate and all of them would have been alarmed or set back to hear in that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among them.”

Therefore, we see through these passages that the Logos has a divine source. It is sent by God to accomplish a divine purpose. It does not fail in accomplishing that purpose. And, once it accomplishes that purpose, it returns to God.

Christ as the Logos

Who then is this Logos? I’m certain that the vast majority of us are immediately connecting the idea of Logos to Jesus Christ, but the passage has not yet done that. We know that the Gospel of John is about Jesus Christ, but these couple of verses offer no indication that Christ it the Logos. Of course, most people reading this letter would begin to suspect something when John the Baptist is mentioned. We are told that John the Baptist came to bear witness concerning the Logos. There are pretty clear hints towards the presence of the Logos here on earth when John writes, “he came to his own but his own people did not receive him” (). It’s in verse 14 that we realize that John is communicating that the Logos is a person and that is narrowed down even further in verse 17 and 18 where we are told that “grace and truth came through Jesus” and it is Jesus who has made the Father known.

So then, Jesus is the Logos. We are then able to compare the concept of Logos in the Old Testament to the person of Jesus Christ. In so doing we find some wonderful similarities. In similar fashion, Jesus Christ fulfills all three of the aspects from the Old testament concerning “The Word.” (1) It was by the word of the Lord that the heavens were formed, therefore, it was by Christ that the heavens were formed. (2) It was God’s word that shared God’s revelation with Isaiah, and it is Christ that is God’s ultimate and most vivid form of revelation and communication. (3) And it was the Word that delivered Israel from destruction. Christ is our ultimate and eternal salvation from destruction. He is our deliverer. In the same way that the Word, in , was sent out by God, accomplished the purpose given to him, and then returned to God; Christ was sent by God, accomplished his intended purpose, and then returned to His Father. John writes in .

For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” ( ESV).

Christ did not fail to accomplish the purpose for which he was sent. Christ declares “’It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” ( ESV). Christ brought to an end the purpose for which he was sent. He fulfilled all that was expected of him. And once Christ accomplished the purpose for which he was sent, he went back to the Father (, [9]).

Christ’s Relation to God.

So then, as we draw some conclusion to our study of “in the beginning was the Word,” we conclude that the Word (or the Logos) is eternal. He is the ever-present force and guiding principle of life. He is the creator of all things. And, He is God’s communication to mankind. And most importantly, the Logos is Jesus Christ. This brings us to the second and third phrase of verse one, “and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

These two phrases communicate two foundational truths concerning Jesus Christ. (1) He is distinct from God, and (2) He is equal with God. The second statement in these two verses is that Jesus Christ was with God. He was alongside of God. He was separate from him. He had a different personality than him. He’s going to say that he is fully God, but in this statement, he lays down the important truth that there is diversity within the Godhead.

The final phrase of the three declares Jesus to be fully God. “The Word was God.” Jesus Christ shares all of the divine attributes. “In Jesus dwells all the wisdom, glory, power, love, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth of the Father. In him, God the Father is known.”[10]

Conclusion

Importance of Christ’s deity. Why is the deity of Christ so important to the Christian faith? (1) We can have real knowledge of God. “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (). Therefore, we can know God because we can know Jesus Christ. The reverse is as well true. If we do not know Jesus Christ we cannot know God. “There is no knowledge of God apart from a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and there is no knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ apart from a knowledge of the Bible.”[11] (2) Redemption is available to us. A finite human would not have been a sufficient sacrifice for sins. Christ, who is God, is able to offer a perfect and eternally worthy sacrifice. Christ is the only one who is capable of offering a sacrifice resulting in our redemption. (3) God and humanity have been reunited. God himself crossed the chasm between Himself and the human race which was caused by sin. (4) Worship of Christ is appropriate. If Christ is not God, we cannot appropriately worship Him. Yet, He is deserving of our praise, and it is appropriate and good that we praise, adore and obey Him. (5) And one final thought that I found to be both thought provoking and encouraging is found in William Barclay’s commentary of John’s Gospel. He writes the following”

Barclay. If the word was with God before time began, if God’s word is part of the eternal scheme of things, it means that God was always like Jesus. Sometimes we tend to think of God as stern and avenging; and we tend to think that something Jesus did changed God’s anger into love and altered his attitude to human beings. The New Testament knows nothing of that idea. The whole New Testament tells us, this passage of John especially, that God has always been like Jesus. What Jesus did was to open a window in time that we might see the eternal and unchanging love of God.[12]

[1] Timothy Friberg, Barbara Friberg, and Neva F. Miller, Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, Baker’s Greek New Testament Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 131.

[2] Friberg, Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 99.

[3] Heraclitus, “Heraclitus: The Complete Fragments: Translation and Commentary and the Greek Text,” trans. William Harris (Middlebury College, 1994), 10, https://web.archive.org/web/20070927033213/http://community.middlebury.edu/~harris/Philosophy/heraclitus.pdf Fragment 20.

[4] Heraclitus, 3 Fragment 1 .

[5] Chris L. de Wet, “Mystical Expression and the ‘Logos’ in the Writings of St. John of the Cross,” Neotestamentica 42, no. 1 (2008): 39.

[6] James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 34–35.

[7] Gerald Friedlander, Hellenism and Christianity (London : P. Vallentine, 1912), 114–15, http://archive.org/details/hellenismchristi00frieiala.

[8] The Holy Bible, Translated from the Latin Vulgate (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), . This is Jewish literature written after the Old Testament.

[9] You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. ( ESV).

Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” ( ESV).

[10] Boice, The Gospel of John, 22–23.

[11] Boice, The Gospel of John, 23.

[12] William Barclay, The Gospel of John, Rev. and updated., vol. 1, The New Daily Study Bible (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 2001), 44.

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