Who Is the Word in John 1?

Summary

Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.

The question — and the brief definition

• The question posed (in the host's framing): John's opening verses to his gospel — in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God, as the host quotes them — turn on the Greek word he uses there, logos. What does the term 'word', or logos, mean — and how is this passage to be understood? His answer begins with pointers to his fuller treatments — his book The Oneness of God talks about this, and the sequel, The Oneness View of Jesus Christ, has a whole chapter on the word, with even some quotations from other scholars that, although they're Trinitarian, will support some key points he's making — and then the brief summary: the scriptural definition of the word in this context is God revealing himself, God uttering himself. The word is God in self-revelation.

Logos: the Greek background — and the Hebrew meaning that governs

• As he says, the Greek word here is logos (spelled out in the answer), and it has a very complex history. In Greek philosophy it came to mean reason, as the controlling principle of the universe — so it's much more than just a particular word: it's thought, mind, reason, principle, plan. The Greek philosophers felt the whole world was organized in a logical scheme, and was run according to a logical scheme. They didn't necessarily have an idea of a personal God, but they did have an idea that there was a world of ideas behind the physical world — Plato had that concept of the world of ideals, or the world of forms, and this physical world was an imperfect copy or representation of the eternal world of ideas. So the word — or logos — was the controlling principle, the controlling mind, the controlling plan of the universe. Now, I do believe John very deliberately — inspired by the Spirit — used that term, knowing its Greek background: he was writing in Greek, to Greek-speaking people, in the late first century, so obviously he had to know that he was using a word that was quite prominent in the thinking of that day. But also remember: he was a Jew — and so, probably even more relevant to him was the Hebrew meaning of the word. So if you go in the Old Testament: the word was never thought of as a second God, or a second person, or somehow separated from God. But the Word was God in expression, God in revelation, God in extension. The term 'word' was a way of describing how God interacts with the world.
• So: Psalm says, he sent his word and healed them. Isaiah: my word will not return unto me void, but it will accomplish my purpose. So God's word is somehow thought of as acting for God — but not as a separate person. So you might even say: God in action. Or I go back to my standard definition: God in self-revelation.

Scriptures: Psalm (book-only); Isaiah (book-only)

John's purpose — and the text itself: John 1:1 and verse 14

• So John is writing his gospel to reveal who Jesus is. And if you study the whole Gospel of John: he gives different stories, some miracles that are signs, some teachings — all for the purpose of showing who Jesus truly is. So in John 1 he gives a prologue — kind of a: here's what I'm going to show you. And then John 2 through 19, he gives all these stories to show who Jesus is. Then John 20 culminates — the climax of the book — Jesus, the resurrected Christ, appearing to the disciples, and Thomas putting this all together, saying: now I finally understand — you are my Lord and my God. And then John 21 is epilogue. So if you look at the book as a whole, it starts out by saying: I'm going to tell you who Jesus is; now I'm going to tell you stories so you can see it for yourself — you can put all the evidence together: he does all these kinds of miracles, he says all these things, he reveals himself to be all these kinds of things. And then at the end: who is the only one who could do all these miracles, who could fulfill all these sayings, who could be the light of the world, the bread of life, the living water, the resurrection and the life, the Good Shepherd — and on and on — the I am, which is a divine title representing Jehovah, or Yahweh? Who could be all these things? Jesus is my Lord and my God.
• So from that context, let's go back: John 1:1 — in the beginning was the word, the word was with God, and the Word was God. Then if you go down to verse 14: and the word became flesh — it was made flesh, literally — and dwelt among us, literally tabernacled among us. So that's obviously Jesus Christ; he goes on to identify. So John 1 is basically saying: Jesus is not just an afterthought of God; Jesus is not merely a good teacher, or a martyr for truth. Jesus is the revelation of God in human flesh. So it's an obvious parallel to Genesis, 'in the beginning' — but whereas Genesis talks about God creating heaven and earth, talking about the physical creation, John in a sense goes back before that: in the beginning, before there was a physical creation, there was God — in the beginning was the word. So think of it from the terms of Greek philosophy: he's basically saying, yes, you've got a valid point: this world did not just haphazardly evolve, or just spring into existence by accident — there actually was a plan, there was a scheme, there was a divine mind. So in the beginning, before there was the creation, there was the mind of God. So 'the word was with God': think of it in the sense of pertaining to God, belonging to God, of God's essence — so God's plan, God's mind. So this plan for the universe did not exist on its own; it existed as the mind of God. And to make that clear: the word was with God, and the Word was God. And it's interesting, because the Greek word order is emphatic — so much so that the Amplified Bible paraphrases somewhat: the Word was God himself — not just a god, or substance of God. The Word was God. And this word, who was God, became flesh.

Scriptures: John 1:1; John 1:14

To Jews and Greeks alike: the one God, and a creation predicated on Christ

• So when you put it all together: if you're looking at it from the Hebrew perspective, John would be saying: you know, there's only one God — Deuteronomy 6:4. You Jewish people, you understand that. And you know God is high and lofty, and above; he's holy, he's separate. But yet he interacts with our world: he speaks to us, he reveals himself to us, he heals us, he delivers us. And this, as God's word, that's God's way of interacting. Well, let me tell you who Jesus is: he's not just a prophet — he's more than a prophet. He's not just the high priest — he's more than the high priest. He is God speaking to you. So the Jews would have never thought: oh, he must be the second person. They would have understood: he's claiming that Jesus is God speaking to us, God revealing himself to us — the I am of Exodus 3, who spoke to Moses from the burning bush. So God is Yahweh, Jehovah — but he speaks, and he says 'I am'. And so that's the word of God.
• But then, if you're from a Greek background, John could be saying: well, you know that the universe is not just random or haphazard — it has logic, it has order, it has design; it's amazing; it's the revelation of divine mind. Well, that's true. Well, let me tell you: Jesus is the divine mind. The whole universe was predicated on the fact that Jesus Christ would come. And you can put this together: when God created the world, he created humans; he knew that Adam and Eve would fall into sin, and that sin would thwart or distort his original plan. So why did he proceed? Because he also knew — to quote 1 Peter 1 — the lamb was from the foundation of the world (the delivered text hears 'the land'). So even though Jesus Christ did not come, in the sense he was not born, he did not die — but yet the whole creation was predicated on the fact that one day a savior would be born and redeem the fallen creation. So in a sense, God created the whole universe — and particularly humans — with the sun in view (as the word is heard), depending on the future incarnation and atonement. And that's what I think Hebrews 1 means when it says the worlds were created through the sun (as the word is heard throughout this part) — literally, the ages were created through the sun. Not as if the sun (as heard) was a second person sitting there saying: I'll do all the work for you, Dad; don't worry about it. But no: God, looking forward, saying: no matter what humans do, I'm going to have a plan of redemption that will fulfill my original purpose in creation. And so from that perspective: yes, this universe is not an accident — you're right. Yes, there is a divine mind, there is a divine plan, there is a grand scheme. But that is revealed as Jesus Christ. So John 1, in essence, is saying to both Jews and Gentiles of the first century: yes, there's a good point in your reasoning — but when you think it all through, it points to Jesus. He is the revelation of the one God; he's the word of God made flesh.

Scriptures: Deuteronomy 6:4; Exodus 3; 1 Peter 1; Hebrews 1

'With God' answered — and the conclusion he began with

• Now let me just pause to say: a Trinitarian explanation says, well, there's got to be two persons, because the word was with God. But 'with' doesn't have to mean sitting alongside, as a person. There's another passage that uses the same Greek phrase: Hebrews — I think it's 2:17 (entered with his hedge) — it talks about things with God; in the King James it says: things pertaining to God. So you could say the word was with God in the sense of: pertain to God — not another person sitting side by side — but God's mind, God's reason, God's plan. Not just a thought, but God's total mind — which is God. Just as we — who are we? We are our inner being; you know, what we think is what we really are. So by saying 'with God', it's not trying to diminish it, or separate the concept. It's saying 'with' in the sense: pertain to, belong to, of God's substance. And but then it comes right along and says: was God. So it's equivalent — not a portion or derivation, but the true God himself. The word was with God; the Word was God. So it's simply a way of saying: the mind revealed in Jesus Christ is the mind of God; Jesus himself is the revelation of the one God in human identity.
• A Trinitarian explanation of two persons really wouldn't work — because what it would have to say: in the beginning was the word — and so they're kind of assuming that means second person. Well, let's follow this out: the word was with God — they're assuming that's the first person. But then, when it says the Word was God, they want to say the second person is the first person. So they have to change the definition of God in the middle of the verse. They would have to say: in the beginning was the word; the word was with God — i.e., we mean the first person; and the Word was God — i.e., we mean the second person. So the only way it makes sense for them is to change the definition of God in the middle of the verse. But that's not reasonable in itself — and how could John expect the readers would make this mental substitution, that the word 'God' means two different things in the same verse? Now, another way to look at it: if you say, well, God — what's the basic definition of God, according to the Trinity (the delivered text hears the lead word of that phrase as 'tarianism')? Well, the word was with the Trinity — you have somebody else — and the Word was the Trinity. So it's really confusing when you try to impose a Trinitarian solution. On the surface it might sound like: well, there's two, so it must be leading to the Trinity. But when you actually try to interpret it as such, it quickly gets tangled up and confused. But the Oneness explanation: simply, in the beginning was the word — God's mind. The word was with God — so, in other words, God's plan for the incarnation and atonement is not an accident, not an afterthought, not a later development, but from the very beginning this was God's plan all along — but not to make a separation, and impersonal. Not only was the word with God: the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh. So it was not just a thought, or a plan, that was made flesh — but the personal God himself came in human identity. And so I end the way I begin: the word of John 1 is God in self-revelation.

Scriptures: Hebrews 2:17

Scripture index: Psalm (book-only); Isaiah (book-only); John 1:1; John 1:14; Deuteronomy 6:4; Exodus 3; 1 Peter 1; Hebrews 1; Hebrews 2:17.