1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 [a]He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him [b]not even one thing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. 5 And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [c]grasp it.
The Witness John the Baptist
6 A man [d]came, one sent from God, and his name was John. 7 [e]He came [f]as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 [g]He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
9 [h]This was the true Light [i]that, coming into the world, enlightens every person. 10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and yet the world did not [j]know Him. 11 He came to His [k]own, and His own people did not [l]accept Him. 12 But [m]as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who [n]believe in His name, 13 who were [o]born, not of [p]blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.
The Word Made Flesh
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John *testified about Him and called out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who is coming after me has proved to be [q]my superior, because He existed before me.’” 16 For of His fullness [r]we have all received, and [s]grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth [t]were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; God the only Son, who is in the [u]arms of the Father, He has [v]explained Him.
This passage is hard to translate in my brain that this is Jesus. I can understand and accept that Jesus is the true Light that has come into the world but I don’t understand how the world came into being through Him.
To understand it I think I have to back up a little.
A Trip Back To Genesis
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 [a]He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him [b]not even one thing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind.
So what is John trying to say by referring to Jesus as “the Word”? Perhaps understanding that is what will help me have a better understanding of how “the world came into being through Him”.
So when John says “In the beginning was “the Word” and “the Word” was with God and “the Word” was God.” he is definitely not talking about “the bible” as we know it. Yet the Hebrew Scriptures are the means to reveal what Greek philosophy attempts to explain as natural laws that exist as part of the human experience that guide us.
It’s All Greek To Me
John is calling Jesus “the Word” and to understand this term outside of the scriptures Greek philosophy is where to find its roots. It’s meaning didn’t come from Greeks asking the question, “Who is God?”. It’s meaning for them more came from asking the question, “What is the meaning of life?”.
Heraclitus maybe the father of Logos. His famous line, “You cannot step into the same river twice.” comes from the observation that the world is always changing and yet there is a constant about it. Change does not come randomly but there is a pattern. If change is a result of chaos, it’s because chaos is actually built into the process. There is an order governing our world. We can only see the effects of it. It is a choice that we make to live in harmony with it or against it.
Plato the expanded the idea that our world reflects deeper truths to us and “logic” is how our minds help us align our lives with those deeper truths. Aristotle furthered the idea by positing that reality is intelligible because it is ordered. Rather than at the whims of the Gods.
A Stoic Stance
By John’s day, Stoic philosophy was driving Logos further. They spoke of the Logos spermatikos, the “seed of reason” planted throughout reality.
Stoic Logos is impersonal. It is more like a cosmic law. It affects relationships but its not specifically purposed for relationships.
Greeks believed that the universe is rational and because of that, truth can be discovered, reason and logic matter, and order exists. But they had no answer for why. The questions remained as to whether this order existed in love, kindness and human relationships. In other words, you could and should align yourself with this order, but did it result in what really matters, Love.
So when John is saying, In the beginning was “the Logos he is not borrowing Greek philosophy or trying to import it into Christianity. My guess is that he is saying, “the questions that you could not answer about Logos, I am about to answer for you.” Logos has a face and a name: Jesus. And he cannot be killed.
From the beginning our world was created with, by and for Logos. Not just to keep things orderly. Order for the sake of order kills life. Order as the pattern of love gives life. The order, the Logos is there to serve humanity not the other way around. Loving neighbor cannot happen outside of Logos. All love can only exist within Logos…God…Jesus. And it has always been this way from the beginning of time