Word

John 1:1-3 (ESV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

In English the word “word” has a relatively simple meaning. It is one verbal thought; the most basic part of speech. You are reading several right now; letters together separated from others by a space. Sometimes we give word a metaphorical use, such as a “message,” like “Like what’s the word from the boss?” In the 1980’s urban slang began the expression “word up,” later shortened to “word,” to express agreement with others. Yet all of these pale to what John sought to express in the opening of his Gospel. I believe there are no words to adequately express what John means by “word” (logos in Greek).

To the secular Greek and Roman world of John’s day, logos was loaded with meaning. The great scholar Gerhard Kittel said to the Greeks (and the Romans who, although they controlled the political and military power of the First Century Mediterranean World were dominated by Greek though and culture) the word logos was “symbolic of the Greek understanding of the world and existence.” It represented so much more than just a saying. It encompassed understanding things as they are. It represented the goal of philosophy: the ultimate understanding of existence and its meaning.

John chose this powerful word to personify Christ to connect with the most deeply held values of the secular word of his day, but it also connected deeply into the heart of his Jewish readers. The Hebrew word for “word,” dabar, and its many synonyms, occurs thousands of times in the Old Testament. The Word of the LORD was to be the guide for life, the passionate pursuit of every heart. In the biggest connection with John 1, it was the word of God that created the universe. (“God said, ‘Let there be light, and there was light.’” Genesis 1:3)

Yet as powerful and meaning laden as the Greek logos and Hebrew dabar were, John took logos much farther. The Word was not just the spoken revelation of the deity. The Word was not just philosophical understanding. The Word was a person. The Word became flesh. The Word is and was God. The Word was the agent of creation. The Word existed and exists forever, yet “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14)

The Apostle John, who saw and walked with Jesus, took the most powerful word he could to communicate the unprecedented, preexistent glory of Jesus Christ to open his story of this Word, who alone in all history was creator yet lived among us (John 1:14). He is the ultimate goal of life for everyone, those with religious backgrounds and those with no religion. He encompasses the greatest need of mankind and our greatest joy. He came. He lives. He loves you.