How is Jesus the Word?
How is Jesus the Word?
John 1:1;14 “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us; and we saw His glory, glory as belongs to the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
The opening of the Gospel of John stands as one of the most profound passages in ancient literature. By declaring that "In the beginning was the Word," John employs a concept that acted as a universal bridge between two very different worlds: the Hebrew tradition of a speaking God and the Greek pursuit of universal reason.
The Power of the Logos
To understand why Jesus is called the Word, we must look at the actual term used in the book of John that we translate Word. This term is the Greek word, Logos. In the philosophical climate of the first century, the Logos was seen as the underlying blueprint of reality. It was the "reason" that kept the stars in their courses and the seasons in their cycle.
When John identifies Jesus as this Logos, he is making a staggering claim. He suggests that the logic behind the entire universe is not a cold, mathematical formula or an abstract force. Instead, the logic that holds existence together is a Person.
A word is the outward expression of an inward thought. Without words, our intentions and character remain locked away, inaccessible to anyone else. John 1 presents Jesus as the "speech" of God.
While nature might whisper about God’s power, and the law might dictate God’s requirements, John argues that Jesus is God finally speaking clearly. He is the full disclosure of the Father’s heart and plan.
The most revolutionary claim in John’s prologue is the transition from the cosmic to the concrete. The "Word" did not remain a distant philosophical ideal. John 1:14 states that this Word became "flesh" and "lived among us”.
This was a scandal to the Greek mind, which viewed matter as inferior to spirit. It was equally shocking to the Jewish mind, which guarded the holiness and transcendence of God.
John intentionally mirrors the opening of Genesis. Just as God spoke the world into being in the beginning, John identifies Jesus as the agent of that creation. This positions Jesus not as a later addition to the story of the universe, but as the one who was there when the first light broke the darkness. This corresponds with Pauls teachings in the book of Colossians.
Colossians 1: 15-19 15 He is the exact living image of the unseen God, the firstborn [the preeminent one, the sovereign, and the originator] of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him and for Him. 17 And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will occupy the first place in everything. 19 For it pleased the Father for all the fullness of deity to dwell in Him.
Summary of the Logos Identity
Role
Significance
The Architect
The one through whom all things were created.
The Revealer
The perfect communication of God's nature to humanity.
The Sustainer
The rational principle that gives life and light to all people.
By calling Jesus the Word, John invites his readers to see that the meaning of life is not something we have to guess at or find through complex meditation. The meaning of life has a name, a history, and a face and it is Jesus the Christ.