“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.” (John 1:1, NASB95)
This is one of the most profound verses in all of Scripture.
It makes three statements that grow in scope. The first of them was that the
Word was in the beginning. Genesis 1 tells us this, after all God said and
creation happened. We read over and over again, “And God said…” People of faith
know this and stand on this fact that God created. But this is not what the
first part of John 1:1 is saying. It is not saying that God spoke and creation
happened, but that in the beginning was the Word, and this word “Word” is referring
to someone or something that existed not something that was said. The word “was”
tells us that this Word pre-existed the beginning. “Was” tells us that when the
beginning happened that the Word was already existent. So, who or what is “the
Word?”
In Revelation, at the second coming of Christ, we have a
description of Him. “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He
who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and
wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and
He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed
with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.”
(Revelation 19:11–13, NASB95) His name is called “The Word of God.” There are a
number of other passages we could look to, and they all point to the fact, even
as we will see just a few verses later in John 1, that Jesus Christ is the
Word. The next thing we read in John 1:1 is that “the Word was with God.” In
this statement we see the added piece that the Word is somehow separate from
God being with God in the beginning. And the last piece of the verse adds that
the Word who is Christ is God, and will always be God—known as God the Son being
one with God the Father.
Going back to Genesis 1:1-3, knowing Jesus as the Word, we find
the third person of the Trinity also mentioned as being present in the
beginning with God. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep,
and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said,
“Let there be light”; and there was light.” (Genesis 1:1–3, NASB95) In these
verses we read of God being in the beginning as pre-existent without beginning.
Along with God we find His Spirit moving over the surface of the waters,
establishing that the Spirit is also eternally pre-existent, Then we read that
“God said,” and knowing Christ to be the Word, we see Him also pre-existent
there as well, just as we read in John 1:1.
Our God was present as one God in three persons at creation,
and our God is shown to be present in three persons many times throughout
Scripture. One of those notable occasions is at the baptism of Jesus by John
the Baptist. “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was
baptized by John in the Jordan. Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw
the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and a
voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am
well-pleased.”” (Mark 1:9–11, NASB95) At the commissioning of Jesus for the
purpose for which He came again our One God in three persons was present—Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. This time the Son, rather than appearing as the Word was
now being presented as the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the
world. “The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming to him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29,
NASB95)
This is what the gospels are all about, and John
the apostle begins his letter by establishing first and foremost that this Lamb—the
Word—was none other than God the Son become man to fulfill the will of God
the Father.
No comments:
Post a Comment