“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 The Gospel of John, Chapter 1, demonstrates probably more than any book in the bible that Jesus, is the I AM. In contrast to the usage in 1 John 1:1, where John employed a similar expression "from the beginning" to denote the commencement of Jesus' ministry and the preaching of the gospel, this phrase draws a parallel to Genesis 1:1, where the same terminology is used. John utilized the phrase in a definitive manner to signify the inception of the time and space of the physical universe. The verb "was" emphasizes the eternal pre-existence of the Word, that is, Jesus Christ. Prior to the creation of the universe, the Second Person of the Trinity (Jesus) had always existed, signifying His eternal existence. This term is contrasted with the verb "came into being" in verse 3, which indicates a temporal beginning. Due to John's emphasis on the eternal divinity of Jesus Christ as the Second Person of the Trinity, he omitted a genealogy, unlike Matthew and Luke. While Jesus had a human genealogy in terms of His humanity, in His divine nature, He is without a genealogy.
John adopted the term “the Word” not only from the Old Testament vocabulary but also from Greek philosophy, where it represented the rational principle of “divine reason,” “mind,” or “wisdom” in an impersonal manner. However, John infused the term with Old Testament and Christian significance, linking it to the creation of the world by God’s Word and ultimately attributing it to Jesus Christ as a person.John's thought is not solely based on Greek philosophical usage.Intentionally, the term "Word" acts as a connecting point to engage not only Jews but also the unconverted Greeks. John opted for this idea because it was recognizable to both Jews and Greeks.
John explains to us that, there are two types of Word. One is the written Word, which is the Bible. This written Word is inspired by God. John was not the author of John; it was God. John was the scribe, guided by the Holy Spirit of God. The entire Bible was authored by God. Each book had a scribe guided by the Holy Spirit of God. I believe the written Word (the Bible) is the representation of Jesus that we are seeking. Jesus is the Word. In John 1:14, we learn that this Word was Jesus, “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” In the first Book of the Bible, Genesis 1:3, we encounter the spoken Word, “And God said …”. God's spoken Word is powerful. It holds the power of life and death. The Word of God gave everything the power to exist. This Word is the one we recognize as Jesus. What existed before the beginning? Nothing.
The Word, who later became known as Jesus, existed from the very beginning of the world's creation. The term "Word" in the phrase "In the beginning was the Word..." refers to the concept of Logos, signifying divine expression, divine thought, and divine work. This Word embodied divine intelligence and was in close association with God, who represents the supreme Divinity or ultimate God. The Logos, being not only with God but also identified as God, is described as Wisdom in Proverbs 8:23. While the eternal nature of this Divine Intelligence may be challenging for humans to fully grasp, it remains a fundamental truth that God is the origin of all things. The Word's relationship with God as the Second Person of the Trinity reflects an eternal fellowship with God the Father. Despite enjoying the heavenly glory and eternity with the Father, the Word willingly relinquished His divine status to take on human form and ultimately experience death on the cross. The Greek language emphasizes that the Word possessed all the essential attributes of deity, confirming that Jesus the Messiah was indeed fully God. Even in His earthly incarnation, though He humbled Himself, He never ceased to be God; instead, He assumed a genuine human nature and willingly refrained from independently exercising His divine attributes.
The plainest reason why the Son of God is called the Word, seems to be, that as our words explain our minds to others, so was the Son of God sent in order to reveal his Father's mind to the world.
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