KJV John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word …”
NASB John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word …”
John’s prologue has been a source of wonder and worship to generations of believers. The One Who was in the beginning and was the Word, became flesh and actually pitched His tent among us (John 1:14). Unpacking this verse reveals to us His deity, eternal relationship with the Father, His eternal Sonship, and the communion of divine persons from eternity past.
Ask yourself this question: “If I were writing the Gospel of John and my assignment was to present the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, how would I have begun chapter 1?” I think that most of us would have begun by saying something similar to this: “In the beginning was the Son of God, and He was God. ” Yet the Spirit of God does not begin in this manner.
In the beginning was “the Word.” Why is He addressed as the Word here? Perhaps another question is in order. What is the purpose of a word? Words are used to express thoughts—to reveal the mind. The deeper and more honest the words, the greater the revelation of the person speaking.
Now apply this to the title given to our Lord Jesus Christ in John 1:1. He was the Word, God’s self-revealing message to humankind. Accurately, fully, and authoritatively, He revealed God’s thoughts toward us, and since His thoughts were of such depth, so the Father’s heart must be as well.
However, there is another dimension of this verse we fail to consider to our own loss. When did He become the Word? When did the Father first intend to reveal Himself to us? It was not at the incarnation. He was the Word “in the beginning.” In other words, it has been the Father’s intention to reveal Himself to us from past eternity. He brought us into being that He might reveal Himself to us and that we might know Him. Thus John climaxes His account with John 17:3: “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee.”
Consider:
1. In Hebrews 1, the Lord Jesus is the language of God. In Revelation, He is the Alpha and Omega, or the alphabet of God. In John 1, He is the Word or the message of God. Does God have anything “to say” to humanity outside of Christ?
2. Is verse 2 a mere repetition of part of verse 1, or does it add another nuance to the truths of verse 1?
3. Notice the use of the expression “beginning” or “generation” (similar word) in the introduction of each Gospel record (Matt 1:1; Mark 1:1; Luke 1:2; John 1:1), and how each actually marks a different “beginning,” consistent with the theme of each Gospel.