In the Beginning: No Idea Higher than God
“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 nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:1-5)
“Could there be a more profound opening to a book than the one to John’s Gospel?” asks author and pastor Jim Hamilton in his commentary, What Did John Mean When He Called Jesus the “Word”? (John 1).
Hamilton continues, “One could search the great ideas of mankind and probe the ponderings of the philosophers and the poetry of the artists and find no idea higher than God, nor a more concise—yet expressive—statement about him, than the one John makes at the beginning of his Gospel. John profoundly links his Gospel to the creation account in Genesis 1 with the words “In the beginning” (John 1:1a) before launching into the world’s most economical articulation of the everlasting relationship between God the Father and God the Son.”
Why was “the Word” used concisely to describe Jesus? Could it be that it was used by the Apostle John to prompt us to not let go of our Bibles? Since the Word was with God and was God shouldn’t we be inclined to read Scripture — the Gospel — and the truth even more so? The Bible itself has also been called “the Word.”
“If we want to understand what John means by referring to Jesus as ‘the Word,’ we should not allow our thoughts to be controlled by Greek philosophy or Jewish tradition but by the Old Testament and John’s own Gospel,” Hamilton states.
It’s a revelation to learn not only that the Word is God, but that all things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made. (John 1:3) It is a call for us to worship Him above all else. His Word translates to life because as John writes, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:4)
As God reveals himself more and more to His followers, they begin to more fully understand that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:5) We see the spiritual battle side of existence and know who and what wins.
All our hope is in Jesus, God the Son, and the One who is the Word.
“The Word is the communication of the Father. He is the rational force of Fatherly fulsomeness overflowing in infinite goodness,” Hamilton states. “That Word was no impersonal force but a full person, alongside the Father at the principal moment of all things.”
The communication of the Father, the Word of God, and infinite goodness—we are victorious in His Light. In Him, darkness disappears. In Him, darkness cannot overcome. That is His glorious Word!
Lord, Hallelujah! Thank you for loving us! Thank you for using John to share Jesus—to introduce many to the Word. May we come to know the Word more so every day and moment of our lives. We are grateful for your grace and mercy. We are grateful for your boundless love. May we seek your face now! Amen
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Alex Murashko is a journalist and writing team leader for Think Eternity, a site for powerful faith content to help you live the fulfilled life in Jesus. He is also founder of Media on Mission.
Connect on X: @AlexMurashko.
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