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John 1:1-18 (John's Prologue)

Introduction. The term logos in John's prologue (John 1:1-18) is almost universally accepted to mean Jesus Christ throughout the passage. However, this interpretation overlooks the fact that the term logos in John's day (and in the centuries prior) was understood by the Jews and early Christians to mean an attribute of God, not a person. To them it meant either the literal word of God, or His power, or His wisdom and reason.

If we accept this to be the correct, original meaning of the logos, that it is referring to the literal word of God or an attribute of God, then do the verses that follow support this idea? In order to determine this we have to delve into the Greek text itself. This is what we do in the following. To be right up front: Our conclusion is that indeed it does—that at least through verse 11, this text is literally referring to the word of God and not to the person of Jesus Christ. A transition then occurs in verse 12, at the heart of the chiasm, where the Son is introduced as the word incarnate. We believe this was the intent of the apostle John where this theme carries forward to the rest of the gospel. It is this interplay between the word of Father and its proclamation in the words and life of the Son that the apostle John intended to portray.

The logos

Usage. The term logos [G3056] is used 331 times in the New Testament, and the wide range of meanings come down along two basic lines of thought. One is the mind and products of the mind like “reason,” and the other is the expression of that reason as a “word,” “saying,” “command,” etc. Given the wide range of meanings, a careful study of the context will give the proper interpretation. However, even given its wide range of meanings, from a lexical definition, logos does not refer to a person. It does not mean "Jesus". You cannot translate this verse to say, "In the beginning was Jesus." Nor can you imply that it means Jesus by capitalizing the word. To do so would suggest you are no longer translating but interpreting the passage.

Jewish readers understood the term "logos". Long before the gospel of John was written, the word logos had a rich tradition in Greek and Jewish thought. It was understood by Jewish readers along the lines of the Aramaic term memra which means "word."

  • Memra. "The Word," in the sense of the creative or directive word or speech of God manifesting His power in the world of matter or mind; a term used especially in the Targum as a substitute for "the Lord" when an anthropomorphic expression is to be avoided. ... In the ancient Church liturgy, adopted from the Synagogue, it is especially interesting to notice how often the term "Logos," in the sense of "the Word by which God made the world, or made His Law or Himself known to man," was changed into "Christ". —Jewish Encyclopedia, 1906, on "MEMRA"

The original idea of logos to the Jewish mind was "the Word by which God made the world, or made His Law or Himself known to man." There were other philosophical ideas as well which included the Wisdom and Reason, the Mind, the Intellect of God. One scholar postulates perhaps "the Disposing Power of God" would be a good translation for logos.

This suggests a number of possible ways a Jewish reader would have understood the term, all of which would have been correct, including:

  • In the beginning was the logos—the literal word of God
  • In the beginning was the logos—the disposing power of God
  • In the beginning was the logos—the wisdom and reason of God

You will note that none of the above refer to an actual person or personality. This is true in both ancient Greek and Hebrew thought. Among the Greeks, for example, Aristotle applied the term logos to "reasoned discourse" or "the argument" in the field of rhetoric. For other similar Greek philosopher views on the term, see logos in Wikipedia.

The master theme

The master theme in the gospel of John is this:

  • Jesus proclaimed the word of God.

Understand that the historical meaning of the logos of God is "the word of God"—it is His Wisdom, His Reason, His Disposing Power. Every word in the Gospel of John was to express and to proclaim the words and works of the Father. This is what Jesus declared:

  • These are my Father's words (John 14:24).
  • These are my Father's works (John 14:10).

The Father spoke through the Son; the Father did His works through the Son. Effectively, the word was about God—it was the Father whom Jesus came to reveal. A deeply paraphrased version of John 1:1 (that is explained in more detail in the following section) could read:

  • John 1:1 (paraphrased): In the continuum of time (from Creation to Prophecy to the Present) was God's word (the logos) proclaimed, and the word (the logos) belonged to God (pros God: He possessed it; it is an integral part of who He is), and the word (the logos) had divine attributes (theos in a qualitative sense).

Jesus accomplished what God sent him to do. Jesus himself declared that his mission was accomplished in his final prayer in Gethsemane where he said:

  • John 17:3-17: And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. . . . 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me . . . 14 I have given them your word . . . 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Before Pilate, Jesus gave a similar message, when he declared his mission was "to bear witness to the truth" which is by implication the word of God.

  • John 18:37: Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

Again, this thought is echoed in Hebrews,

  • Hebrews 1:1-2: Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

Jesus gave us the logos of God. Jesus gave us the words and works of God. In the past, God communicated the logos by the prophets, but in our time He gave us the logos by His Son. The logos (i.e. God's word) became incarnate in His Son because he gave it so effectively. Jesus is the logos of God because he was a perfect representation of the word of God. What Jesus accomplished in his life by perfectly living by "every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4) is the pattern for every Christian. We are to speak the word of God and we are to do the works of God.

Greek analysis of John 1:1

The most important verse of John's gospel is the first verse. If you get this wrong, you get the prologue (John 1:1-18) wrong; and, if you get prologue wrong, you get the rest of the gospel wrong. Here's how this verse reads in the KJV and most modern English translations:

  • John 1:1 (KJV): In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Here is how it is in the Greek:

  • John 1:1 (Greek): Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος
  • (Transliterated): en arche en ho logos kai ho logos en pros ton theon kai theos en ho logos

"the Word." The Greek term for "the Word" is ho logos and is almost universally understood to refer to Jesus Christ. This is why it is capitalized—although it should be understood that capitalization or "casing" is a translator's interpretation, since the original Greek did not have casing. Some translators are so confident that ho logos refers to Jesus Christ that they even put "Christ" instead of "the Word" in this verse. Transliterating a few of the Greek words gives us the following version:

  • John 1:1 (partial transliteration): In the beginning was the logos, and the logos was pros [the] God, and the logos was God [theos in a qualitative sense].

"In the beginning was the logos." The term "was" is an imperfect indicative verb. This imperfect verb suggests that a time period is in view, since imperfect verbs indicate something was in the process of occurring in the past. Thus, "In the beginning" would not amount to ground zero of time, or a point in time, or eternity, since things are not in the process of occurring before time begins nor at a point in time but only along a time continuum.

The word in Creation. The phrase, "In the beginning" in John 1:1 parallels the wording found in Genesis 1:1. In the Genesis creation account, all things were made by the word of God. God spoke everything into existence.

  • Psalm 33:6: By the word of Yahweh the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

The word in Prophecy. The word of God was spoken by the prophets throughout the Old Testament with phrases like, "Hear the word of Yahweh" or "this is the word of Yahweh," etc.This thought is repeated in Hebrews,

  • Hebrews 1:1-2: Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

Thus, putting these ideas together, the logos "was" in operation through a time continuum—from Creation to Prophecy and now at the time when John wrote the gospel.

"pros God." The Greek term pros [G4314] is usually translated as "with" as in "with God" in this verse. It has other meanings as well (see G4314 in the Lexicon), but the phrase "with God" seems the most appropriate translation. However, our understanding of "with God" is not the intent of the original Greek. The phrase, "with" a person, was not strange to the Jews. For wisdom to be "with" a person, it meant that this person had or possessed wisdom (e.g. Proverbs 11:2; 13:10). An English equivalent would be if Robert performed a task with understanding, you could say, "understanding was with Robert." It sounds awkward in English but not in Greek. Thus, for the logos to be "with God" meant that God very much possessed the logos and that it was a prominent attribute of His. In the beginning the logos was with God just as wisdom and reason was with God.

Theon and theos. Greek is an inflected language where case endings change depending on how the word is used in the sentence, whether its the subject (nominative) or object (accusative) of a sentence. For example, "God' is mentioned twice in this verse, the first is in the accusative or as the object ("the logos was with theon") and the second is in the nominative or as the subject ("the logos was theos"). It's the same word (G2316) with two different case endings.

"the word was God [theos in a qualitative sense]." That is, the word had the character (or attributes) of God, or "the word was fully expressive of God." Most translators translate this as, "the word was God." However, it should not be translated this way, since the use of theos in this case is without the definite article and is, therefore, referring to a quality or attribute of the word (of God). Some translations, like the NEB, translate it in this qualitative sense using the phrase "and what God was, the word was." Others translate it as, "and the word was divine." Effectively, the logos had divine attributes. See Your Gospel of John Says “the Word Was God,” But that Translation Is Really Quite Odd for further study.

101 Translations of John 1:1. You will note that most of the translations of John 1:1 take the KJV wording. However, a few translations take liberties in the translation. For example,

  • New English Bible: “When all things began, the Word already was. The Word dwelt with God, and what God was, the Word was.”
  • Phillips: “At the beginning God expressed himself. That personal expression, that word, was with God, and was God”
  • Scholars Version: “In the beginning there was the divine word and wisdom. The divine word and wisdom was there with God, and it was what God was.”
  • The Orthodox Jewish Brit Chadasha: “Bereshis (In the Beginning) was the Dvar Hashem [Yeshayah 55:11; Bereshis 1:1], and the Dvar Hashem was agav (along with) Hashem [Mishle 8:30; 30:4], and the Dvar Hashem was nothing less, by nature, than Elohim! [Tehillim 56:11(10); Yochanan 17:5; Rev. 19:13].” [Translation: "Dvar Hashem" = Word of Yahweh; Yeshayah = Isaiah; Bereshis = Genesis; Mishle = Proverbs; Tehillim = Psalms; Yochanan = John]

References

Greek analysis of 1:2-11

John 1:2-5 is here quoted with some embedded Greek words so as to arrive at an accurate "literal" meaning.

  • John 1:2-5 (Embedded Greek): Houtos was in the beginning with God; 3 all things came into being through autou, and apart from autou nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In auto was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

houtos and autou. The Greek words houtos and autou are not equivalent to the English words "he" and "him." This can be shown in the same gospel (in John 6:60) where logos, houtos and autou are found together. The translators chose to translate John 6:60 as follows,

  • John 6:60: This [houtos] is a hard saying [logos]; who can listen to it [autou]?

Houtos [G3778] as well as autou [G846] can be he, she, or it; depending on the context. The context of this passage (John 1:2-5) is that it is referring to "the word" (ho logos) of the previous verse which we have already determined to mean the word of God, not a he or she, but an "it." (See REV Bible on John 1:2 and REV Bible on John 1:3 for further study on houtos and autou.) Thus, a paraphrased English translation of this passage can read as follows:

  • John 1:2-5 (English paraphrase): This word was in the beginning with God; 3 all things came into being through it (i.e. the word of God), and apart from it (i.e. the word of God) nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In it (i.e. the word of God) was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

It is noteworthy that the "breath of God" is the breath of life.

  • Genesis 2:7: then Yahweh Elohim formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
  • Job 33:4: The spirit [ruach; spirit, wind] of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
  • Psalm 33:6: By the word of Yahweh the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

"light shines in the darkness." This phrase echoes Isaiah 60:1, "Arise! Shine! Your light has come, and the glory of Yahweh has dawned." And, Revelation 21:23, "The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp." It was the glory of God that was to be revealed through His Son.

"and the darkness did not overcome it." The Greek suggests simultaneously that the darkness neither understood nor overcame (quenched) the light. See REV Bible on John 1:5.

John the Baptist (John 1:6-8).

  • John 1:6-8: There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness [G3141, marturia, noun], to bear witness [G3140, martureō, verb] to the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness [G3140, martureo, verb] to the light.

John was a light (John 5:33-35) and came to testify to the light of truth. 1 John 1:5, "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." To see Jesus who shined light into the world was to see the Father who was that light—"He who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).

  • John 1:9-11 (Embedded Greek): It was the alethinos [G228] light—that enlightens every man—which was coming into the world. 10 Eimi [G1510] was in the world, and the world was made through autou, yet the world knew autou not. 11 To ta [G3588] own erchomai [G2064], and hoi [G3588] own people received autou not.

The Greek meaning of the above instances are as follows:

  • G228: alethinos; true, real, genuine.
  • G1510: eimi; existence; "to be".
  • G3588: ha, hoi; article pertaining to the subject of discourse, by implication, the light.
  • G2064: erchomai; to come; of persons or things; by implication, the light came.

Thus, an English paraphrase would read as follows:

  • John 1:9-11 (English paraphrase): It was the true light (the light of God; His glory)—that enlightens every man—which was always coming into the world. 10 It was in the world, and the world was made through it, yet the world knew it not. 11 To its own it came, and its own people received it not.

"It was the true light." This is in contrast to John the Baptist who was a lesser light (or lamp) pointing to the greater light. That is, "He (John the Baptist) was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light" (verse 8).

"To its own it came." This is in reference to the light of the Father. Israel was Yahweh's own possession, but the light of Yahweh, His own people did not receive. The world did not know God. John 17:25, "O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me."

Commentary on John 1:1-11

The following commentary is based on ho logos ("the word") in John 1:1-11 being understood to mean "the word of God" and not Jesus Christ.

Question: Did God create by His spoken word or did God create by a person? Answer: By His word. References: Psalm 33:6, "By the word of Yahweh the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host." Genesis 1:3, "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." Verse 3 can also be translated as, "Everything came to pass through the word, and apart from the word nothing came to pass that has come to pass." In Genesis, God created by his spoken word. Now, God creates through the word that became flesh, the word a man of flesh proclaimed in his words and works.

The key distinction with this (versus the traditional) interpretation is that it is speaking of the word itself and only later in John's Prologue does John "embody" this word in the person of Jesus. Thus, the word is the word about God and only later does John declare that this word comes through the Son of God.

The word of God and bread. The "word" in question is the word proclaimed by Jesus during his ministry, the word Jesus says he kept, his food, his bread, to do the will of the Father and finish His work, the good news of the kingdom of God, the word which Jesus proclaimed. The word proclaimed was the word the Father declared by His Son, and the word proclaimed was God himself, making himself known, the word was God. God made His name known, that is, His light, life, truth, love, who He was. These are the Father's divine qualities which He made known to us through His Son.

Jesus declares the Father. "In the beginning was the word and the word was pros (with) God and the word was divine" (John 1:1) is concluded in John 1:18 which reads, "No one has ever seen God; the only begotten in the bosom of the Father, he declares him." That is, the word of God, the voice of God, effectively became the word of Jesus, since Jesus came to declare the Father. The word Jesus proclaimed was the word of the Father. You will note that this revelation continues even with Jesus in heaven, as the Book of Revelation tells us:

  • Revelation 1:1-2: The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

Throughout the gospel of John, Jesus tells us over and over that his will, his words, his teaching, and his works are not his own but the Father's. As Peter preached at Pentecost (Acts 2:22), "Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him..." Effectively, the gospel of John is about the Son proclaiming the Father. Jesus was the word of God incarnate.

"the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ." This phrasing in Revelation 1:2 has similar meaning to Revelation 14:12, "here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." The commandments of God were spoken by God so it is "the word of God," and the "testimony of Jesus" was made evident in the faith of Jesus toward his Father. Thus, we have duality here. We have "the word (logos) of God" and we have the incarnate logos (Jesus) testifying to the Source (i.e. God).

John 1:12-13 - transition text and central theme

John 1:12-13 is at the center of this chiastic passage (i.e. John 1:1-18) and becomes the transition text where autou now becomes "he" and "him" and no longer "it." It is made evident from the context. This is because autou is context dependent. If you get the context right, you get the correct translation of autou.

  • John 1:12-13: But to as many as received him [G846: autou], he-gave [G1325: edoken] power [G1849: exousia; right, permission, authority] to become children of God, to those who believe in his [G846: autou] name. 13 who were born [alt. who was born], not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of a man [G435: aner], but of God.

"become children of God." In the Genesis creation account, Adam became a son of God and, now, through Jesus Christ we can become children of God anew. Jesus is the new kind of humanity; the last Adam or the second man (1 Corinthians 15:45, 47). Becoming a child of God is not a process, but an event. The Greek word for "become is in the aorist tense, indicating a one-time action.

"believe in his name." Jesus said he came in the name of His Father. Therefore, the name is the name of the Father. But then, it can also be understood to be the name of Jesus since Jesus bears the Father's name. John 17:11, "keep them in your name, which you gave me."

"who were born." It is noteworthy that there are some textual variants and some Church Fathers who quote this phrase in the singular—i.e. "who was born"—meaning that it is referring to the Son.

"In the beginning" (John 1:1) is then the beginning of a New Creation, the beginning of Christianity, which is authored by Jesus Christ.

The word became flesh - John 1:14-18

This section reads as follows:

  • John 1:14-18: And the word became flesh and eskenosen [G4637: dwelt, tabernacled] among us, and we gazed at his glory, glory as of the monogenous [G3439, only begotten] from the Father. full of grace and truth.15 (John bore witness [G3140, martureo, verb] to him, and cried, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.' ") 16 And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son [Greek, ho monogenēs huios], who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.

"the word became flesh." Jesus was the word in the flesh. The Word of God (the Bible) is also the word, but is is the word in writing. As the word in writing had a beginning, so also the word in the flesh had a beginning. As Matthew 1:18 tells us, "Now the birth (Greek: genesis; beginning) of Jesus Christ happened this way..." Jesus "flesh" is the bread of Heaven. Jesus' food, Jesus' bread, was the Father's word.

  • 1 John 5:20: "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life."
  • John 3:34: “For he whom God has SENT speaks the WORDS of God; for God GIVES THE SPIRIT without measure.”

"we gazed at his glory." As the Israelites in the wilderness journey gazed at the glory of God in the tabernacle, so also the disciples gazed at God's glory as it was revealed to them in Jesus Christ when he "tabernacled" (Greek: eskenosen) among them..

"for he was before me." The word "before" is protos in Greek and can mean "first" in time which would be translated "before" or it can mean "first" in rank and would be translated "greater," "best," "surpassing," etc. Thus, this passage can also be translated, "He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was superior to me."

"grace upon grace." The grace Jesus offered was grace of greater magnitude than the grace that came from the law.

"the only begotten Son." A full discussion of this phrase is covered here: John 1:18.

Chiastic form

John 1:1-18 in its chiastic form. This paraphrased version attempts a more literal interpretation of the passage.

John 1:1 In the beginning was ho logos [G3056: the word—the sayings of God, His wisdom, His disposing power], and the word was pros God [—the word was an advantageous attribute of God], and the word was fully expressive of God [theos in a qualitative sense]. 2 This-word [G3778: houtos] was in the beginning with God; 3 all things came into being through it [G846: autou], and apart from it [G846: autou] nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In it [G846: auto] was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
  6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness [G3141, marturia, noun], to bear witness [G3140, martureō, verb] to the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness [G3140, martureo, verb] to the light.
   

9 It was the true light (the light of God; His glory)—that enlightens every man—which was always coming into the world. 10 It was in the world, and the world was made through it, yet the world knew it not. 11 To its own it came, and its own people received it not.
     

12 But to as many as received him [G846: autou, i.e. the Son], he-gave [G1325: edoken] power [G1849: exousia; right, permission, authority] to become children of God, to those who believe in his [G846: autou, i.e. the Son's] name. 13 who were born [alt. who was born], not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of a man [G435: aner], but of God.;

    14 And the word became flesh and eskenosen [G4637: dwelt, tabernacled] among us, and we gazed at his glory, glory as of the monogenous [G3439, only begotten] from the Father. full of grace and truth.
  15 (John bore witness [G3140, martureo, verb] to him, and cried, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.' ")
16 And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son [Greek, ho monogenēs huios], who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.

Appendix

Notes