John 1:1 (ESV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The first eighteen verses of the first chapter of the Book of John serve as a prologue to the entire book. Theologian D.A. Carson describes this opening as “the foyer” of John’s Gospel. Have you ever been in a house with a magnificent foyer? Ours is simple but nice, but I’ve been in some homes where the double entrance doors open to reveal a magnificent 2-story foyer with an elaborate staircase, beautiful furniture, and spectacular works of art. You immediately recognize that the foyer is only the tip of the iceberg and that the rest of the house will only add layer upon layer to that opening majesty.
If the first eighteen verses serve as the prologue, then certainly the very first verse serves as perhaps the most impressive entrance doors on planet earth and echo the first words of the Bible itself. Most bible versions label the prologue with the phrase “The Word Became Flesh” taken from verse 14. The first six words establish the testimony on which the Pharisees will seek to kill Jesus—His claim that he and the Father are one in the same (Jn. 10:30). The Apostle John wants his reader to know that he is not writing about some great prophet, but about God Himself…in the flesh…come down from Heaven to establish His Kingdom on Earth.
In Greek, the word for “Word” is “logos.” Logos is oftentimes translated simply as “truth,” but its meaning is far deeper. The Logos is God active in creation, revelation, and redemption. Jesus Christ not only gives God’s Word to us humans; he is the Word. The Logos is God, begotten and therefore distinguishable from the Father, but being God, of the same substance (essence). On a simpler level, think of it as the words that give revelation to God’s thoughts. You can’t know what I’m thinking until I use words. The words that I say (or write) reveal to you what I am actually thinking. Do you want to know what God thinks? Then read His Word. Watch His Word. Listen to His Word. Learn from His Word.
Jesus was there at the beginning of creation. Jesus has always been with God. Jesus was, is, and forever will be God. “And the Word was God,” Pastor Alistair Begg has said, “is not theological lumber. This is not post-graduate theology for eggheads. This is the heart of historic Christianity.” As we travel through John’s Gospel together, let us not lose track of this staggering truth. Yes, there are aspects of God that will remain a mystery, but the most important ones for us to know have been made manifest—spoken out—through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. He is our eyewitness on the things of God because He IS God. To know Christ better is to know God better, and which one of us will not benefit now—and eternally—from that?
