In The Beginning Was the Word...
Introduction
The first two verses of John's Gospel are among the most famous in all of the Bible: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God."
We know now what John had in mind by referring to Jesus as "the Word" or "Logos." Logos was the title Greek philosophers gave to the eternal, unchanging, impersonal principle that governs the world of people and everything else. As it turns out, the Logos is not a principle but a person. Nevertheless, John was pointing to Jesus as the fulfillment of all the searching and thinking of hundreds of years of Greek philosophy.
But in these opening verses, John also sought to clearly establish the link between Jesus and OT prophecies, going all the way back to the earliest chapters of the Bible.
The Promised Deliverer and the Two Sides
Keep in mind, as the Old Testament unfolds, it has much to say about the seed of the woman and his side. In Exodus 19:1-5, for example, we learn that the promised seed of the woman will be a priest, since he will come from the family line of Israel, which God formed into “a kingdom of priests.” In Deuteronomy 18:15-22, we learn that the promised seed of the woman will be a prophet “like” Moses. And in 2 Samuel 7:13, if it were not already clear enough, God indicates in unmistakable terms that the promised seed of the woman will also be a king.
Those early chapters are where we humanity divided into two sides after the Fall—the side of the serpent vs. the side of the seed of the woman. Even today, everyone is on one of those two sides or the other.
Keep in mind also, as the Old Testament unfolds, especially in the early chapters of Genesis, we discover that God spoke light and life into the heavens and the earth he created. So by means of his word, God sent light into the world. And by means of his word, he populated the earth with life.
The Text
Take a closer look now at 1:1-5: “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.” Let’s break this down, phrase by phrase:
"In the beginning was the Word"
The language John uses here is a very precise way to say that the Word is eternal. In substance, John asserts that the Word (the Logos) is present at every beginning, including the beginning of creation.
"and the Word was with God"
Literally, the Logos was "before" God. The word before suggests the Word’s existence both separate from God and yet in close, even intimate communication with him, as though the Word was face to face with God.
These first two descriptions of the Logos factor very heavily into the Word’s ability to fully represent God as “the prophet.” If the Word were not “in the beginning”; if the Word were not eternal; if the Word were not face-to-face with God, there would be significant limits on his ability to represent the Father with direct, first-hand information.
In John 7:28-29, Jesus responded to people questioning his authority to speak for God by contrasting their experience with his: “He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” In the context, Jesus is saying: My teaching about God and his will is authoritative. I know him as no one else knows him. I was in the beginning. I was face-to-face with God.
"and the Word was God"
In spite of the separation just mentioned, the Word is nothing less than God. Greek philosophers had speculated about the God-ness of the Logos. It turns out they were right. Though face-to-face and thus separate from God; nevertheless, the Logos is God.
By the way, don’t forget, given the promise God made in Genesis 3:15 that the promised one would be “the seed of the woman”, meaning that he would be born of a virgin without the usual agency of a man. The clear implication is that God would be his father and thus that he would have both a human and divine nature; in other words, that he would be both man and God. It’s no wonder John writes: “...and the Word was God.”
"He was in the beginning with God"
This last statement does more than just summarize what has already been stated. It adds significantly. Without it some might suggest that the Word became God, as though the first three statements contain some kind of progression; in other words, that the Logos was in the beginning, but then some time later came to be with the God, and then eventually became God. This line of thinking is not all that different from the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” cult. John clears away all such speculation and argument by saying, “He [this one, the very one just described in the previous three statements, including that he was God] was in the beginning with God.”
"all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made"
Earlier we noted the agency of God’s word in the creation account of Genesis. Here we discover how close Greek philosophy had come to figuring out what really is behind the order and governing of this world. However, John takes the philosophers beyond the limits of what they could discover through reason. He says, in effect, the Logos isn’t merely what gives the world energy, direction, and organization. The Logos also made the world and everything in it.
John’s declaration is very similar to what Paul wrote in Colossians 1:16: “For by him [Jesus] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” John obviously was aware of what Paul wrote. He practically quotes him. Otherwise, the two of them were on the same page independently of each other, which is just as remarkable.
"in him was life"
As I noted earlier, Genesis 1 teaches us that God populated the world with life. I love how the Psalmist expresses this in the first part of Psalm 36:9: “For with you [God] is the fountain of life....” John now states in the clearest possible way the Word is this fountain. The logos is the source of life.
"and the life was the light of men"
To understand this statement, we must keep in mind that, for human beings, there is more to “life” than mere physical existence. Among other things, life for human beings also takes in our capacity to know God and to fellowship with him, our capacity to form relationships with others, relationships that are not fundamentally self-centered and self-serving, and our capacity to do God’s will and to receive the blessings he alone gives.
In both this sense and the sense of mere physical life, there has always been a very close association of life with light throughout the Bible. For example, the rest of Psalm 36:9 goes on to say: “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.”
John’s pairing of life and light in our text points to light as something that makes it possible for life (as just described) to be noticed, and to continue and thrive. Take away all light, and life would go unnoticed and eventually cease to exist.
This reality, the necessity of light for spiritual life to continue and thrive, becomes all the more relevant due to the power of spiritual darkness.
Which takes us to the last phrase...
"the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it"
This last statement sets up a contrast between the two sides: the side of the serpent vs. the side of the seed of the woman. The side of the serpent is the side of spiritual darkness. The side of the seed of the woman is the side of spiritual light.
Following the rebellion in Genesis 3, this world became a world of spiritual darkness. Darkness, by the way, as I will share with you next week, is closely associated with judgment and death, two other features of the side of the serpent.
John indicates that the light of the seed of the woman and his side shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The word translated shines is straightforward enough. It simply means to bring forth light. The word translated overcome is a little trickier. It means to lay hold of, to lay hold of so as to make one’s own. A good illustration of this word’s meaning is found in what we know about black holes. A black hole is a place where gravity is so strong no other force is able to work against it. It pulls everything in to itself, into its darkness.
Spiritual darkness can seem at times like a black hole. A black hole by definition contains such a strong gravitational pull, that even light gets pulled in and absorbed into the darkness. John is saying, in the case of spiritual darkness, as much of a “black hole” as it may be, it hasn’t been strong enough to pull “the light” into itself and thus extinguish it. The light continues to shine, which means though we live in this dark world, there is always light we can turn to, light we can run to, light we can follow, light we can pursue, and trust with our eternal destinies. And that light is the Word, who is Jesus. Later in John’s gospel, Jesus himself says in the clearest way possible: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (8:12).
Applications
I want to finish out our time this morning by sharing a few applications with you based on the descriptions of Jesus we have just studied. I want to share these with you in the form of attitudes and actions connected specifically to each of the statements John writes. For example, here is what we have learned about Jesus so far:
He is present at every beginning, so honor him from the beginning at every beginning of your life.
He is “before” God, “face-to-face” with God, so rely on him to represent God to you and you to God.
He is God, so worship and adore him.
All things were made through him, so rely on his wisdom and power.
In him was life, the life that is the light of men, so collaborate exclusively with him, rather than with death or any other form of spiritual darkness.
The light in him is still shining, the darkness has not overcome it, so look for this light no matter how dark the darkness around you may be just now; look for this light, turn to it, run to it, live in it, and reflect it to others in this dark world.
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