John 1:15-18
John has been laying the groundwork for his story of Jesus in this prologue. He has been introducing themes that will be taken up and opened out in the pages that follow.
In particular, he has introduced us to the Word and shown us something of his greatness. In these closing verses, he takes up what he has said and summarises just why the Word, Jesus Christ, is so great and why, therefore, we need to listen to his story, trust in him and love & serve him with all our hearts.
1. Jesus, greater than John (v.15)Immediately after this Prologue, John tells us in more detail about John the Baptist and the work he did in preparing the way for Jesus and pointing people to him. Here in v.15 he summarises that ministry, stressing again that John testified to Jesus. And what John said of him is especially important.
He says that "He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me". In those days, the person who came first was given the greater priority. Now, John was older than Jesus and arrived on the scene before him. By convention, he should have had priority.
But John knows that the truth is different. Yes, he may be older than the man Jesus and started his ministry before him. But Jesus is different and special: he was before John. That is an absolute statement that means that he was before not just John but before everything. And that gives him the priority!
We have been shown that the Word existed before all things. He comes first in time. But he also created everything so that means he comes first in importance too.
The Jesus that the gospels speak about must be listened to and responded to because 'he was before us and before all things'. The truth about him humbles us & calls us to worship.
2. Jesus, source of all blessing (v.16)John then describes a relationship with the Word which yields untold blessing. He says that "From his fullness we have all received". When he speaks of 'we' he is referring to all those who received Jesus, who believed in his name (v.12).
Those who so responded have received 'from his fullness'. In v.14 John told us the amazing truth that Jesus was God come in human flesh, full of God's glory. When a person believes in Jesus, they enter into a relationship where they receive from that fullness. In Jesus, God shares himself with us.
And what is it that all who believe receive? "One blessing after another". Now, that isn't a straightforward phrase to translate and we need to think about it quite closely.
One way is to understand it as 'grace upon grace' hence the NIV's 'one blessing after another'. That is certainly true and is an important truth: those who trust in Jesus are ushered into a relationship in which God continually blesses them with his grace.
Someone has suggested that John may be picking up on Ex. 33:12,13 where Moses, having received God's favour, asks for that favour to continue towards him. Grace upon grace; one blessing after another, God leading his people into an ever deeper relationship with himself.
This is what God has in store for all who really turn to Jesus and receive him. Isn't it wonderful? If you haven't received him yet, can't you hear his voice of invitation?
Another way of understanding the phrase is to take it in its most usual sense of 'grace instead of grace' .The meaning here would be that in Jesus God blesses with a grace that replaces an earlier display of grace. That would be to say that in the OT, God showed grace to his people but now in Jesus he has replaced that grace with his grace in Jesus.
Given the close connection with v.17 (which begins with 'for') it is perhaps best to understand what John is saying here in that way. So let's look at verse 17 to see what he says!
3. Jesus, surpassing Moses and the OT (v.17)John reminds us that "the Law was given through Moses". That was a very important part of the history of the Jews but also of God's whole plan of salvation for the world. In John we find that the Law anticipates the coming of Jesus. It was preparatory. And that fits in with John showing us here that, although the giving of the Law was an act of grace, the fulfilment of that was to be through Jesus Christ. He is the one who has shown and embodied the unfailing love and faithfulness of God. All the promises of God come true in him.
You'll notice a difference here in how John says the Law came and how Grace and Truth came. The Law, he says, "was given through Moses" but grace and truth "came through Jesus Christ". That's an important distinction. Moses was a channel for something which was entirely outside of himself. Jesus was the channel for something which was integral to his own being.
And notice too that John speaks here of 'Jesus Christ', the first time he has given us the identity of the Word. He only uses the full name 'Jesus Christ' twice in this gospel and both times it is speaking about the great work of God in salvation, showing his grace and truth in his Son.
Whatever came before has paled in comparison; it was a shadow and now the reality is here! Jesus is the one to be received and believed.
4. Jesus, the revealer of God (v.18)John concludes this amazing opening passage by emphasising again who Jesus is and what he does.
Who is Jesus? He is none other than God himself. In this verse he tells us that Jesus is "God the One and Only". Again there is a translation issue there but essentially John is saying that Jesus, the unique one, is God himself. His special relationship with the Father is stressed again in that he is said to be "at the Father's side". That is a phrase which speaks of real intimacy. No one could be closer.
What does Jesus do? That leads us into what Jesus does and how he is uniquely qualified to do it. Jesus has come to reveal God to us (and so to draw us into relationship with him). On our own, because of our deep sinfulness, we could never see God. Not even someone like Moses could see God, he was only permitted to see something of God's glory.
But Jesus, the unique son, God himself, he has made God known. In Jesus we see a perfect reflection of the Father, the full revelation of the heart of God (cf 14:9 "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father"). We can have full confidence that God is as Jesus has revealed him - and no one can give us a fuller account of god than Jesus has done.
John's prologue has reached a climax here. The crucial question for us is: How will we respond to it? How will we respond to Jesus? There is no one greater than he. And as God and the revealer of God and the way to God, he is worthy of our trust and love and worship. Will you do those things?
John 1:14
1. "The Word became flesh..."John now reminds us that he is speaking of 'the Word' (first use since v.1). He carries forward everything he's already written and adds to it what has been called "the most significant and memorable (statement) ever penned" (Bruce Milne).
What makes it so stunning is the combination of 'Word' and 'Flesh'. The Word is the creative, revealing, saving personal expression of the eternal God. And this God we are told here became flesh. John doesn't use the words 'man' or 'person'; instead he chooses to use a word that speaks of "human existence in its frailty and vulnerability" (Milne) - cf Isaiah 40:6.
He became flesh. That word "expresses (the fact) that a person or thing changes its property and enters into a new condition and becomes something it was not before" (Milne). That isn't saying that Jesus ceased to be the Word when he was born at Bethlehem; it is saying that he added true humanity to his God-ness. And he added it permanently; he became flesh. The incarnation is irreversible.
This is profound theology which should move us to fervent worship (Who is he...'tis the Lord!). He humbled himself for our sakes. Eternity steps into time; power embraces weakness; infinity is "contracted to a span".
Doesn't this show the love God has for us? It also affirms the validity of human existence, in that God himself was prepared to become a man, to don human flesh and then to carry it with him into eternity.
But then it is also intensely practical teaching. It tells us that God himself has come where we are and experienced, really and truly, what we experience. All the weakness of our creatureliness was felt and experienced by Jesus.
As such, he is able to sympathise with us in the fullest sense and pray for us in the light of his understanding. The writer of Hebrews is very keen to make this point - see 2:17,18. No one else feels so much for us and no one else prays so much for us. Take heart!
2. "...and made his dwelling among us."The Word came in flesh and John says he "made his dwelling among us". In time and space, the eternal Word came and lived in this world, among people, seen by them, touched by them.
John is telling us here that he wasn't just on a day trip; "he made his dwelling among us". But he is saying more than that. What John is doing is picking up on OT themes and showing how they are fulfilled in Jesus.
The word he uses here is 'tabernacled'. He is linking the Word made flesh with the place in the OT where the presence and glory of God was known. Just as God used to show something of himself in the tabernacle and the temple, now he has shown himself in Jesus.
It seems almost paradoxical but the greatest and fullest revelation of God was not in his awesome presence in the tabernacle or in the splendour of Solomon's temple but in the 'the Word made flesh', through the medium of frail humanity.
3. "And we beheld his glory..."Did taking human flesh extinguish the glory of God? No, not at all says John. "We beheld his glory"; we saw it, we gazed on it. The word 'beheld' means to literally see something with your eyes. John and others did not see a vision; they saw a real man walking this real earth. And in him they saw the glory of God.
One writer has said that "When the Evangelist says 'We beheld his glory', he is really saying that the final purpose of God is already achieved in the historical person of Jesus" (Strachan). This is what mankind was made for: to know God, to look up into his face, see his glory and live and share his life. In the OT there were hints of God's glory and temporary manifestations of it but the way it is really and fully shown is in Jesus.
How does John describe this glory of God?
i) It is "the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father". Older translations have here the term 'only begotten' but the word doesn't really mean that. It is the same word that is used in Heb. 11:17 to describe Isaac. He wasn't Abraham's only begotten son but he was his special son. And that is what the word means: unique, special, hence NIV's 'one and only'.
As we said last week, John only uses the term 'son' for Jesus; Christians are called in John the 'children of God'. He is saying that Jesus has a special relationship with the Father. He is his unique son.
Now, the glory that Jesus displayed in his life on earth is the glory that comes through that special relationship. He alone is qualified to reveal God's glory because he is the unique son of God. He has come from the Father for this express purpose.
Jesus is special and we ever need to guard this teaching. He is not just one of many expressions of God. In Jesus, God has revealed himself fully and finally.
ii) It was glory that was "full of grace and truth". Here again John is picking up on the OT, especially Ex. 33,34 where Moses is shown something of God's glory and God declares what he is like to Moses (see 34:6). This glory of God is fully seen in Jesus as he demonstrates the grace and truth of God (corresponding to 'love and faithfulness' in Ex. 34).
Do you want to know what God is like? John says, Look at Jesus and you'll see. And what is he like? Full of grace and truth; he is loving and faithful. That says that all who look to him for mercy will find it and he will never forsake them or fail them. He is true and dependable; he is forgiving and gracious.
This glory of God that was seen in Jesus, this display of the grace and truth that are at the heart of the being of God, it was seen in the miracles that Jesus performed (see 2:11 & 11:4,40) but it was seen most clearly and perfectly in the death and exaltation of Jesus. Look at 13:31,32; 17:1-5.
Jesus as God's unique son who reveals God's glory does so in the most incredible way by dying for our sins and rising again. That is the summit of the grace and truth of God. If this doesn't lead us to trust him and love him and serve him, what will?
We can't behold his glory as John did, in the physical sense, but we can see by faith the glory of God as we read of Jesus, as we consider him and as we trust in him.
May we all see God's glory, full of grace and truth!
John 1:10-13
1. The Word: In the world...(v.10)Perhaps by now we're getting used to John's style, how he introduces a term and then repeats it and develops his thought concerning it. The same thing is happening here with the term 'world' and the Word's relationship to it.
'The world' for John almost always has negative overtones, because it is his way of referring to mankind in rebellion against God, to the whole system of opposition to him. In v.10 John mentions 'the world' 3 times. He drives home his point!
What is his point? In verse 9, we were told that 'The true light...was coming into the world'. Now John develops that and tells us that 'He was in the world'. He came into the world but not just for a brief visit. He stayed. The Word, the eternal, creative Word of God, was in this world! It is a staggering thought and one that's developed as the Prologue continues.
Why was he 'in the world'? Why did he come? He came because he cares. This whole gospel is going to be taken up with that thought and the great plan and purpose of God in coming.
The world is a real mess and we deserve all we get because we're the cause of the mess. But God, in his great mercy, has come into the world because he cares for us. People often ask 'Where is God? Doesn't he care?'. That question has been laid to rest in the coming of Jesus into this world.
2. The Word: Rejected (vv.10,11)He was in the world - staggering thought! - but what kind of response did he get?
i) The world did not know him - This world that was made by him and for him simply did not know him and didn't want to know him.
The thought here is not a bare recognition of him, like we might recognise someone in town. It is dealing with a failure to know him intimately, to know and love him as a friend. This is why he came but he wasn't known, he wasn't embraced.
ii) But bad as it was for Jesus to be in the world and for the world not to know him, John goes further: "He came to that which was his own and his own did not receive him".
John is saying here that Jesus came home and was not received. He came to people of Israel, God's special people, a people amazingly privileged, and they refused to receive him.
John is taking us further here. Not only was he not known in his world, he was rejected by his very own people. In a sense, the whole world is his home because he made it. But John's point is this: the Jews were a people God had made ready for the Word to come to. And they did not receive him.
For many years, and in many ways, God had spoken to them and prepared them: through law, prophecy and wisdom; by his deeds of deliverance, judgement and mercy. And now he comes in person but they refuse to receive him.
As you read through this gospel, this point is seen over and again, as Jesus is opposed by the Jewish leaders and rejected by them and, in large measure, by the people too.
This rejection of the Creator by his creatures and of the Redeemer by his people shows to us just how deep the darkness is, just how sinful sin is. And nothing has changed in 2000 years. Still he is rejected, not known, not received.
In some ways, our own nation has been specially blessed in terms of its heritage and yet that is being thrown overboard and Jesus with it. This is so sad but it should not surprise us. Men's hearts are dark, blinded by Satan, and their minds foolish.
3. The Word: Received (vv.12,13)But that isn't the whole picture. John goes on to tell us that while many rejected him, there were some who received him, some who believed in his name.
And that's the way to respond to him: to welcome him and to trust him, to turn to him for mercy and grace, to commit yourself to him.
It happened in Jesus lifetime: in this gospel, we can read about the woman at the well, about Lazarus, Martha and Mary and many others. In the deep gloom, there were bright spots as people trusted in the Saviour. And it happens today too.
Now, John describes for us what happens to those who receive Jesus, who believe in his name: they are all given the right to become God's children. Notice a number of things about this:
i) It is for all who believe - this is a great emphasis in John's gospel (cf. 6:37). Whoever believes, whether Jew or non-Jew, male or female, rich or poor - whoever believes in Jesus is saved.
ii) Those who believe are given the right to be God's children. That is true for them as individuals. They are welcomed into a new family, the family of God. Up until that point, they have been in Satan's family, lost and dead in sin. But now, as they trust in Jesus and commit themselves unreservedly to him, they are welcomed into the family of God. They are given a whole new life.
iii) It is also true of them collectively: those who believe now constitute the true people of God, the true Israel of God.
But how does all this happen? How are they given this new life? How does this adoption into God's family come about?
John tells us firstly how it doesn't happen and then how it does. It doesn't come about, he says, by man's efforts. It isn't through natural descent. The Jews put great store by their heritage but that wasn't enough, as Jesus explained to them.
Nor does it take place by human decision or by a husband's will. As Jesus explained to Nicodemus, flesh only gives birth to flesh. So how can they be given a place in the family of God? How can they be given a whole new life, a new birth, a spiritual resurrection?
The answer is that is it God's work, from start to finish. The Spirit gives birth to spirit. For anyone to be given a place in God's family it needs the powerful, gracious work of God by his Holy Spirit. Those who are in God's family are there because they have been born of God. The credit is all his!
Where do you stand on all this? You've heard about Jesus - have you received him or rejected him? Those who receive him are welcomed into his family, made new by his Spirit, given the most amazing privileges. But it is only they. Those who reject him will be condemned and lost. Which will it be for you?
John 1:6-9
Having written about the relationship between the Word and God and then the Word and creation, John here tells us something about the Word and John (the Baptist).
1. John: a man made and sent by GodJohn introduces the other John in a very interesting way and for a reason. He says that "there came a man". The word 'came' is the same word used in v.3 translated as 'made'. Straight away we see that there is a profound difference between John and Jesus: John was made; Jesus just was.
John is quite clearly inferior to Jesus. That isn't doing him down, it s simply affirming the greatness of Jesus. And it is something that John wasn't going to hide: see 1:27.
Although inferior to Jesus, John is accorded real status here in that he was "a man who was sent from God". He didn't create his own ministry; he wasn't a self-made man but was formed and fashioned by God - and very clearly for a purpose.
2. John: a man made for a purposeThe fact that God made John and sent him also implies that there was a purpose in his coming. God is not in the business of acting randomly.
That purpose is elaborated for us in v.7. There are 2 things to notice here:
i) John "came as a witness to testify concerning that light". His purpose was bound up with Jesus the Light and in particular with bearing witness to him. As you read about John, in this and the other gospels, you can see just how well he did his work. Continually, he pointed people away from himself and towards Jesus.
It must have been tempting for him to bask in this reflected glory or to try to take some of it for himself. But he refused to do that. John knew his calling and rejoiced in it - see 3:27-30.
We do not share John's specific calling but his example is certainly one for us to emulate: 'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world'. Pointing away from ourselves and to Jesus. Bearing witness to that light.
But we also need to notice in terms of witness just how prominent the whole idea is in this gospel of John's. Of all 4 gospel writers, he uses the term witness/testify far, far more than the others. It is crucial to what he is presenting here about Jesus.
And in this gospel, it isn't only John who bears witness to Jesus. Those who bear witness to him are the Father; Jesus himself; the Spirit; the people; his works and the scriptures.
It is clear that this is a major topic for John the gospel writer. To give testimony about something is serious; it has a legal ring to it. John wants us to know that what he is presenting to us about Jesus has been verified, it is the truth, it can be relied upon.
Here is encouragement to us. We live in a world that denies absolute truth. Listening to such voices can knock us off balance. How good then to come back to the gospel of John and read over and again this testimony to Jesus!
And here is challenge for us. The truth is to sanctify us and set us free. And when it has done that, we are to join the ranks of those who testify concerning Jesus. This world is adrift is a sea of subjectivism and emotionalism. It needs to hear the authentic truth about Jesus, the Word of God, the Life & Light. If we don't bear witness to him, who will?
ii) Which leads us to the second aspect of the purpose for which God made John and sent him. He was to act as a witness to that light "so that through him all men might believe".
His work was not concerned with establishing truth in an abstract, detached sense. Truth is personal. And the great purpose here is that, through John, all sorts of people might come to believe in Jesus.
That is to be the great end in view in all our own witness to Jesus - as we proclaim him through meetings & events, as we speak of him in the home and at work. So that people might believe. We're not to be interested in winning arguments so much as winning hearts and minds to Jesus.
Maybe sometimes we feel inadequate for the task because we feel we lack intellectual gifts. Perhaps we feel that we haven't got the gift of the gab and clam up so easily. Take a look at John again. His ministry wasn't sophisticated; he hadn't gained a PhD before setting out on his ministry. He simply pointed people to Jesus and God's way for dealing with sin, as God's way of bringing life & light into this world.
In all sorts of ways we can do the same. By our words and by our actions we can point to the one whose love and power has saved us.
3. Jesus: the true lightJohn has a definite function: to testify concerning the light. And just in case we haven't got it yet, we're told emphatically in verse 8 that "he himself was not the light". A great man, a man to respect, a bright shining example to us. But set aside the true light, his own flame pales and darkens.
And so we're brought in verse 9 to the true light. The word true combines the ideas of 'real/genuine' and 'ultimate'.
It is true there had been others before who had shed some light on the plan and purpose of God (see Heb. 1:1) and John was perhaps the greatest of these. But they were not the true light. The real and ultimate light, we're told, was coming into the world.
In the following verses, John will explain what happened when he came into the world and how he came, but for now he simply speaks of the fact that he was coming into the world. Having shed some light, God was planning to blaze forth and John was a witness to that and prepared the way for him.
This is something we need to hold onto, rejoice in and proclaim: Jesus is the true light, the real and ultimate light. Whatever of God's truth is perceived in other places in this world, the full and complete and entirely trustworthy revelation has been made in Jesus.
He was coming into 'the world'. The light shone, not in a place conducive to him, but in the realm of darkness and opposition to God ('world' is another keyword for John). We'll see next time how the world responded to his light.
But notice that he "gives light to every man". That is a bit of a tricky phrase but I think it can be best explained this way. Just as God sends his sun and rain upon all people and all have the choice of responding in thanks and praise or to ignore and so reject him, so too with Jesus. He gives light to all, he offers to all the truth about God and a life with God which is real and eternal. But mankind has a choice to make: to accept, with joy and wonder, or to reject and take the bitter consequences.
That is the subject for our next study but it is worth thinking now: have you responded to the light of Jesus, the eternal world who came into the world to bring the light and life of God?
John 1:3-5
The Word - in vv.1,2 John has described his relationship to time and to God: he was there in the beginning, with God, because he is God. Those verses teach us a great deal.
But John has so much more to say about the Word! In these verses, he is going to explore the relationship between the Word and Creation, between the Word and mankind and between the Word and darkness. Again, what we will see here is a foretaste of what is seen throughout this gospel and is foundational for our understanding of Jesus and the world today.
1. The Word and Creation (v.3)John has deliberately echoed Genesis 1:1 as he began this gospel and now in verse 3 he opens up for us how the Word relates to creation.
What he says is comprehensive and profound: through the Word, all created things were made. And just in case we haven't got that, he puts it negatively too: "without him, nothing was made that has been made".
In the NT, we often read of how God created 'through' Jesus. He was the Father's instrument in creating. And as you read in Gen 1:2 of God's Spirit hovering over the waters, it becomes clear that all 3 members of the godhead were actively involved in creation. They acted together as partners in the creative act.
This says some important things to us:
i) Creation is not inherently evil. A good God made all things. Yes, the world is now a fallen place but we must hold onto a biblical understanding of creation as being made good (that's what God said when he made it). As Christians, we must not despise or ignore what God has made. He is so concerned for it that he is in the business of remaking it!
ii) The Word (God) is separate from his creation. Many religions, including the modern New Age movement, say that God is in creation, a part of it. That's why many stress the need to 'get one with nature'. But this verse knocks that idea on the head. He made all things and is distinct from all created things. Nature does not contain its creator. Whilst it is right for us to have a healthy respect for this world - as made by God - we must not deify it. Our calling is to look at this universe and to see everywhere the glory of God.
In this gospel, we see something of the Word's relationship to creation as Jesus performs miracles: water into wine, healings, walking on the water and so forth. He is over creation because he made it.
iii) The Word is pre-eminent over creation. Sometimes it doesn't seem that way but he is and he will one day be seen as such (see Col 1).
2. The Word, Life & Light (v.4)John then tells us about the Word that "in him was life". Life did not come into being through him, as the creation did. He possessed life in himself. All life proceeds from God. He has it in himself. Life is of the very essence of God.
This gives us a big picture of what life is. Life is more than the physical functioning of the world and the creatures God has made. Life has to do with God and his being, with the relationships in the Trinity. It has to do with knowing him and relating to him. Life is so much more than drawing breath.
In the rest of this gospel, the term 'life' means 'eternal life'. So the question is asked, Is that how John is using it here? If eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ whom he sent, then, yes, this life is eternal life.
He gives life to his creation but that life has most significance to mankind as the pinnacle of that creation. And so John says that "that life was the light of men". Now here's a phrase to ponder!
Some have suggested that this refers to natural intelligence but keeping in mind what we have seen about life so far, it is more than that, although that is included. Again, pictures of creation spring to mind here: And God said. Let there be light! The Word, as life, brings light, to the world and especially to mankind.
Jesus is at the centre of the universe as the great Creator. He possesses life in himself and all good comes from him. The only light for mankind is in this God. Without him, all is darkness, all is hopeless. To have his light is to have his life.
3. The Word and the Darkness (v.5)As we think about this world and mankind, it is very clear that all is not goodness and light. mankind lives in darkness, having physical life but not life in all its fullness. That is what Jesus came to bring! All who follow him have the light of life.
Life is all about knowing God. But in this fallen world of sin, he is not known, he is only dimly perceived. Yet this gospel is going to be all about how the Word became flesh to bring people into his light, to share his life.
But right here John lets us know that there is a problem. This world is a place of terrible darkness, where darkness means life without God and in rebellion against him.
But the battle between light and darkness, between God and the forces of evil, is not an evenly matched contest! Yes, the battle is real, the symptoms of darkness in this world are terribly ugly and destructive of all that God made. But that isn't the full story!
You see, still "the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it" (which is probably the better translation). From the rebellion of Satan and then the fall of mankind into sin, this universe has been at odds with its creator, trying to go its own way, trying to dethrone him. But it did not, it has not, it will not succeed! The darkness has not overcome the Word.
As John opens up the story of Jesus for us, we see that conflict. It comes to a head when Jesus is betrayed ("Now is the hour of darkness") and is crucified on the cross. Yet, wonder of all wonders, in the purposes of God, that is also the time when darkness will be decisively defeated ("Now the prince of this world is driven out").
The darkness has not overcome the light and will not. That should give us great comfort as the Lord's people and energise us for our daily life as we seek to witness for him, as we pray for others to be rescued out of the darkness and to be brought into his marvellous light.
So let us live in the light of the fact that this is his world, that all life comes from him and that true life in its fullness is to know him. And let us life secure in the knowledge that still his light shines and the darkness has not overcome it and will not do so. Amen!
John 1:1,2
When a scholar of the calibre of Don Carson gives advice to preachers, he is worth listening to very carefully. In his commentary on the Gospel of John, he suggests tackling the prologue in one sermon because the themes here recur time and again in John's gospel. I must confess that I'm going to go against that advice but only for this reason: in this brief series, we're only intending to look at the prologue and not the whole book.
But we need to take notice of the point he makes, that what is said here is amply illustrated in the life of Jesus. And I trust that what we learn together from these verses will help us in our own reading of the whole gospel.
1. What's in a Word?The first thing to ask about what John writes here is just what does he mean by 'the Word'? Clearly he's going to tell us many things but where does he get 'the Word' from?
This is a question that has been debated by scholars for a long time. The term was current in the Greek world of John's day, being used by philosophers of various persuasions and so some have suggested that that is the place to look to see what he means by 'the Word'. That is something john would have known and he wouldn't have ignored the fact.
But there is a better answer that is much nearer to hand and that fits in with John's own background and purpose in writing this gospel. The term comes from the OT and it used there in 3 very significant ways.
It speaks of the Lord who
- creates - Gen 1:3ff; Ps 33:6;
- reveals - Jer 1:4;
- saves/judges - Ps 107:20; Is 55:11;
It is this Word that John is writing about here, the personal, powerful self-expression of the one true God in creating, revealing and saving/judging. His Word is at the heart of all he does.
2. The Word, eternity and GodSo what does John tell us about this Word? In vv.1,2 he highlights 3 things about the Word that lead into each other.
i) The Word existed before all created things.
'In the beginning was the Word'. John takes us back to the very beginning of all things, deliberately echoing Gen 1:1, and says that when all things were made, the Word was already there. Later he is going to expand on the Word's relationship to creation but notice for now that the Word was. He is excluded from the category of things that were created.
Now, that raises a question that John is going to answer for us. If the Word was there at the very beginning, already existing, what was his relationship to God?
ii) 'And the Word was with God'
The word John uses here, 'with' is nearly always used of one person with another, often speaking of an intimate relationship. So he is saying that the Word is a person and, as a person, was in relationship with God before all things began.
He is also clearly saying that this person - the Word - was distinct from God. You can't be with someone and at the same time be that someone! They are in close relationship yet distinct from each other.
But that surely raises another question: if this Word existed before all things and was in a close relationship with God, what is his status? What sort of being is he? That leads us on to John's next statement.
iii) 'And the Word was God'
The startling truth that John opens up for us is that the Word is God! Now, we need to look at this closely and think carefully about it.
Let's deal first with an objection some people raise against what we've just said - the Jehovah's Witnesses for instance. They say that because in the Greek the word for 'the' is not there, what John is saying is that Jesus is 'a god' but not 'the God'. How do we answer that?
Without wanting to get too complex, we answer it this way and say two things. Firstly, you don't need the word 'the' to mean a particular thing or person. There are many, many examples in the Bible and other Greek writings to show that. And to do what John does here has the effect of emphasising the word God - this is what the Word is; he is God!
Secondly, and very importantly for what John is saying here, if he had used the word 'the', he would be saying that no divine being existed except the Word, which would have been contradicting what he had just said about the Word and god together.
He is bringing before us something of tremendous importance but not easy to grasp: The Word is God, truly and fully. What God was, the Word was too. He shares all the attributes, all the characteristics, of God-ness. But God is not the Word only. There is more than one person in the Godhead (there are 3).
But distinction does not mean different in essence, nor does it mean dissonant in terms of their desires and agendas. There is one God who is at one in his purposes, yet he exists in 3 persons.
As you read through John's gospel, look out for these points to be illustrated in Jesus' life. Before Abraham was, Jesus says 'I am'. How often he says that he and the Father share the closest of relationships and are one - not in the sense of being identical, but the same God and completely united in purpose.
3. What is all means for usHow should all this truth impact on us as we begin our studies in this passage?
i) It humbles us - we're in the presence of a great and mysterious being, the God who is before all things, who creates, reveals and saves. Before him, we are as nothing.
ii) It should lead us to worship and serve the Lord Jesus - and all the more as we go through these verses and see just what he has done. But we need to stop and just appreciate him for who he is, the eternal God, worthy of all we can bring and so much more besides.
iii) It is something to proclaim - Jesus is unique, there is no-one like him and what the Bible says of him is utterly important. As John writes about Jesus, the most appropriate way he can find to describe him is at the one true God who creates, reveals and saves. That is why Jesus is so important to us and to this world. And that's why he must be proclaimed.
People in John's world spoke of 'the Word' but their ideas were far from the truth. Today people speak of God and of Jesus, but they are far from the truth. Our commission is to tell them who God really is as we tell them the good news of Jesus.
