John 1:1 - Part 1 - In the beginning

1:1

There are obvious echoes with Gen 1:1 here: “In the beginning God ...”. The Greek word for Word is Logos. The “beginning” here is absolute, and the Greek word used for beginning often implies “source”. In Genesis it is the beginning of all creation, here it is the beginning of the new creation. Everything is in Christ, as summed up in Col 1:16,17. Mark also begins his gospel with “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah” (Mk 1:1).  John is maybe showing that the “beginning” goes back even further! Jesus was not an afterthought by God, He is not a Plan B. The Word was with God from the very beginning, and the Word is God. John’s gospel is deeply trinitarian (as all the gospels are!), and here we have the equality of Jesus and the Father, and the distinction. 

The word “logos'' was widely used, and in different contexts. As an aside, drawing fine distinctions between the “logos” and “rhema” word of God is a very dubious practice and best avoided. Logos can mean rational, logic, reason, but it can also refer to the outward expression. Both of these apply. The whole “logic” of God’s plan is found in Christ, in who He is, what He has done, and what He is doing. He is also the outward expression of who God is. Going back to Colossians, in 1:19 it says God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Christ. If we see Christ then we have seen the father (John 14:9). In the book of Proverbs, in the early chapters, we find the wisdom of God as being almost personified. The wisdom and logic of God is not just an academic theory, it is personified. Later we will read that Jesus said “I am the truth”. Truth is not just an abstract concept, it is embodied in Jesus. Carson sums up the use of “Word” in the Old Testament as God’s “powerful self-expression in creation, revelation and salvation”. In John’s gospel the revelation and salvation aspects of this are at the forefront, and the message is that salvation is found in Christ alone (Acts 4:12). At the same time, the fact that Christ is eternal, that He has always been, crops up repeatedly in the gospel.