John 1 - The Power of the Word

In my studies, I have spent a significant amount of time in what is called the "synoptic gospels" - meaning Matthew, Mark, and Luke. I am quite familiar with how these portraits are similar, but differ in the ways they paint Jesus in the subtleties of language and the addition/omission of certain stories for their accounts. However, John, the black sheep of this synoptic gospel family, and I have not spent as much time engaging with this gospel. Many have told me that John is the most powerful gospel, and the book that many non-believers read, and after reading, come to confess Jesus as Lord. It is a shame, then, that I have not spent more time reading this powerful and transformative gospel that stands unique among the accounts of Jesus' life and ministry.

So, I will try to post several days a week about passages of John as I read through this gospel, and reflect on the unique harmony it brings to our understanding of the person of Jesus.

In chapter 1, the story already begins in a more poetic fashion than the other four gospels. We are met with what is titled in some translations, the "Story of the Word". In this prelude that displays the power of God through Hs word, and the character of Jesus and the Holy Spirit through the manifestation of this word, we understand from the beginning that this will be no ordinary tale. This will be a story of a God who has endured through the beginning of time, bound for this moment in history, in this place with this people, to bring the word to life in a way it has never been done before - the person of Jesus.

This passage is incredibly important, and should stand as the cornerstone of any pursuit to seriously study God's word, and should in fact inspire those who find the word of God antecedent or insignificant to reconsider. The following are excerpts from this passage dealing specifically with the word and its importance:

John 1: 1-4,14,17

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The word was with God in the beginning. Everything came into being through the Word, and without the Word, nothing came into being. What came into being through the Word was life, and the life was the light for all people...

The Word became flesh, and made his home among us. We have seen his glory, glory like that of a father's only son, full of grace and truth...

as the law was given through Moses, so grace and truth came into being through Jesus Christ.

John's word-smithing abilities in this prologue are truly inspired, stirring a deep sense of awe and wonder for the divine attributes of God's Word. This passage makes several claims about the Word and its significance in the story of Jesus that will follow: The Word was in the beginning, the Word was with God, the Word was God, the Word created the world, the Word became flesh, and the Word of grace and truth came through Jesus (a new law). Let's take a brief look and what each of these claims means, and how we can understand them in our reading of the Gospel of John.

It is important to note here that, since this language is highly poetic, it is difficult to pull concrete theological truths from these statements. While this prologue clearly seems to support the doctrine of the trinity, it is not itself a doctrinal statement. Rather, it is an image to help us understand the divine nature of God; something that we, in our nature, are not equipped to understand the fullness of. We cannot stretch this metaphor further than it was intended to go, for fear of imposing some new, enlightened meaning on it that was not intended by the original author or the Holy Spirit that inspired this writing. That is not to say there are not divine truths to be gleaned from these first few lines of John (otherwise this exposition would be meaningless), but rather, we must know that any time we approach scripture to interpret it, we must come with the humility that we cannot know everything about the divine nature of God, and we may not get it all right all the time. What is more important, then, is not trying to be right, but to do what we can to learn about God's character, His works on this earth, and His plan for salvation, which we can know.

With that being said, lets explore these statements John makes and glean the spiritual lessons we can from them:

The Word was in the beginning/with God/God

This claim pulls from the image in Genesis 1:2 that says:

the earth was without shape or form, it was dark over the deep sea, and God's wind swept over the waters -

Unlike the genealogies in Luke and Matthew, John is far less concerned with Jesus' human lineage, but rather His divine lineage. This is why he does not look to the fathers of the faith, but the Father of creation itself. John refers us back to the image of the universe before the creation of the world, a concept difficult to comprehend without a divine framework to put it within. Many claims have been made about the origins of the universe, and what it looked life before any creation existed. Genesis tells us it was "without shape or form" and in the likeness of a deep, unending sea. Genesis then tells us that before the existence of creation, God was there before creation. His wind swept over the waters. Most translations say the "Spirit of God", but in many locations in the Bible, God's Spirit is symbolized by wind. The Word that was with God is what we now call the Holy Spirit.

These two claims of the Word (God) being in the beginning, and the Word (Holy Spirit) being with God, but a seemingly contradictory claim is being made that the Word was God. How can the word be with and be at the same time?

The answer: the trinity!

If the Word in the beginning is God, the Word with it is the Holy Spirit, and the Word that also is would be Jesus. As John says later, The word became flesh and dwelt with human beings, which clearly points to Jesus, the Son of Man, fully human and fully divine. What John is saying, overall, is that this story of Jesus was the plan from the beginning of time. It was not an accident or improvisation. It was always God's plan to send a redeemer in human flesh to save sinful humanity from itself.

Everything came into being through the Word

This claim has a much more concrete reference in scripture. In Genesis 1:3 we see that:

God said, "Let there be light." And so light appeared.

It is not worth the debate on whether or not God spoke these exact words, or how we knew He spoke these words. What is important is that God's will, expressed through these spoken words, was done when He first willed light into existence. The use of the Word to do that is important in our understanding of what John is saying here. It was God's eternal will and divine purpose that set the story into motion that we call human history. Without a plan, nothing can exist, a clear rebuttal to more modern humanist and materialistic claims. John says "and without the Word, nothing came into being", using this logic to say that from the beginning of the universe, God had a purpose and a plan for creation, and this prologue points towards Jesus as a centerpiece in that plan and purpose by attributing it to "The Word", which we have defined as the trinity.

The Word became flesh through Jesus

This statement is the main point of John's prologue. He wants the reader to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that Jesus is the divine Son of God, leaving nothing to interpretation or opinion from the outset. By saying the Word became flesh in Jesus, he is saying that God's divine nature was wrapped in human likeness, still completely divine, and a part of God, but separate in function as a human being dwelling among us.

Daniel 7 is the most iconic prophecy of God coming to earth in the flesh. Daniel 7:13-14 says:

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Interestingly enough, one of Jesus' favorite titles for Himself is "Son of Man". This does not mean that He is a son of mere mortal man, because in that sense, we are all technically "sons of men". An important modifier here is that this person in the vision was "one LIKE a son of man". This person who would usher in an eternal kingdom only looked like a human being, but was in fact, divine. Jesus, as the Word of God incarnate, was given authority and glory on this Earth, and will be coming back on the clouds to inaugurate this kingdom in its fullness.

The Word of grace and truth came through Jesus (a new law)

John does not stop at proclaiming the divinity of Jesus, but wants his readers to understand why Jesus came, and what His purpose was. His time on Earth was not a vacation, but an era in which He intentionally brought a new law to His people. This claim shows that Jesus was not simply a reformer, but the divine harbinger of the original plan of God from the beginning of time. This law appeared new, but in reality, Jesus was the fulfillment of the original law, and brought new revelation to an understanding of God that got lost in the legalism of the day that had been slowly drifting downriver for thousands of years. Jesus addresses this point blank, using an Old Testament prophet and the law of Moses to make His point in Mark 7:6-13:

He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

But this is puzzling to the teachers of the law, because they believe Jesus is breaking the law for His actions on the Sabbath, and in the context of this verse, not washing His hands before a meal, but in this harsh word, Jesus points out that what they are practicing is not actually the law, but mangled human tradition. Some people wrongly think that the Old Testament is no longer relevant because Jesus brought a new law and a new covenant, but this is quite the opposite. Jesus Himself says that He has not come to abolish the law but fulfill it in Mathew 5:17-18. In this way, He is still proclaiming grace and truth that is the eternal word of God, but calling people back to the original heart of the law, and removing the traditions and rituals that distracted from the purpose of the law: to love God and love others as ourselves.

This reading of John has already been so enlightening, and if every passage of John's gospel is as rich as this one, I think this will be a very fulfilling book to read! I hope you join me on this journey through John, and come back to visit this blog for thoughts on verses that stick out from each chapter.