“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."

Key Point:
Jesus is the Word: John 1:1 states that "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Jesus is the Word
Jesus is the Word:
If you were to ask people who Jesus is, you would hear statements like "He is the Son of God, Savior of the world, or that he was a good man who lived a long time ago, a prophet, a wise teacher, a miracle worker, and a holy man.”
Question
Would a good man make the claims that Jesus made if He was not in fact God?
Would he be a good man if he were lying?
It’s important to really think about who Jesus is because He made some really big claims. He could not be a “good/wise/holy man” and a liar at the same time. If Jesus claimed to the be the Son of God by making claims like this,
“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30, then He is either a liar, lunatic, or truly Lord, as C.S. Lewis stated.
“What about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Matthew 16:15
If Jesus were to ask YOU who you thought He was, how would you answer?
How can this verse help us have a better understanding of what the Word is and who Jesus claimed to be?
In John 1:1 it reads, “In the beginning was the Word...”
Why does John not just say Jesus instead?
John knew his audience that he was addressing when he wrote the “Word.”
In Greek “logos:” means “Word.” Logos was used by the Jews and Greeks.
For the Jew – The “Word” pointed to their God who they knew to be incredibly powerful, creative, and a personal God who had communicated to His people throughout time.
For the Greek philosophers – The “Word” gave reason to concepts pointing out reasoning, thinking, or a mind of divine authority since words are used to explain how one is thinking and how best to use those words.
For John to use, the “Word”, in this manner made perfect sense to them.
For us then, when we read John 1:1 we can read it with a fuller sense of both,
“In the beginning was the Word/Jesus, and the Word/Jesus was with God, and the Word/Jesus was God.”
If Jesus has been with God since the beginning and is the Word of God, than we can better understanding that:
Jesus is the Divine who came in human flesh.
Jesus is the Intelligence and Rational to life itself.
Jesus is the Truth – the “Word” in flesh.
Who not only came to speak God’s words to us - but who is the living Word.
In Genesis 1, the Creation account, we read how God spoke all things into existence.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth….”
Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host.”
Creation was brought about through the Word of God, just like John describes Jesus as the Word –
John 1:3 “Through Him (Jesus, The Word = God) all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”
Reflect:
Libraries around the world are filled with books, that are filled with pages, that are filled with words – written by thousands of authors all trying to understand who the Real Jesus is. The Bible is a library as well, filled with books and pages and words pointing to the person of Jesus and who He is.
IF Jesus was with God in the beginning -
and If Jesus is the Word -
then Jesus is God -
Thus Jesus is ultimate Author of life itself.
Have you ever read a book and disagreed with what the author wrote?
Either by how they chose to write in a character, how they depicted a character, how the story line took an unexpected twist, or how the book ended?
Does it matter if you agree or disagree with the author?
Why or why not?
It does not really matter what you think or feel about the book, because you did not write it - The words on the pages are not yours – You are not the author - they are the words of the author.
1 John 1:1, also begins his letter by using the similar phrasing,
“We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning,[a] whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.”
The “Word of life” refers to Jesus, and can also refer to the gospel, which is the message of salvation and reconciliation made possible by the Son of God
…”continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. 14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life.”
Whether we choose to believe or put our trust in the words written on the pages in the Bible or not -
God is ultimately The author and God spoke these words for us to know Him.
God is revealing to us whom Jesus truly is – God who came to earth in human flesh and lived as a human.
Jesus is the “Word” of life.