The Word

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."
John 1:1-5

The writer of these words is John. The same John who was an apostle, the brother of James, early on referred to as the "Sons of Thunder." This is the same John who wrote not only this gospel, but also the books of 1, 2, and 3 John, as well as the Book of Revelation. Some people say, "I can't read John. He writes to cryptically." I don't believe so. Even in this passage, we can know what he means, and what the Holy Spirit through him is trying to teach us.

If we break this passage down into phrases, I think we can logically extract what God is revealing to us about Himself in these verses. First of all, "In the beginning was the Word...." If we take the Bible at face value, it is so much easier for us to understand. God didn't write this book to keep it hidden from us. No. He wants us to understand Him. He wants us to know Him. So, whoever or whatever the Word is, it was around int he beginning. That means at the beginning of time; at the very origin of all things. Whenever all of everything was being created, the Word was there. We know this by the next phrase, "...And the Word was with God." But here is the kicker: "...And the Word was God." Now, there is a group out there whose inaccurate translation of the Bible translates this incorrectly to say "...and the word was a god." That translation has been proven in a court of law to be inaccurate and not true to the original texts and manuscripts that we have, that translators use when translating the Bible. Anyway, don't get caught up in all of that. The accurate translation is "...And the Word was God." So what does that mean? I'm glad you asked. It means that whoever or whatever "the Word" is, it is equal or has the same essence as God; that whoever or whatever the Word is, is the same as God...in fact, IS God. "The Word" is Jesus Christ. A few verses later, v. 14, it says "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...." Jesus Christ. So from v. 1 and 2, and v. 14 we can see that Jesus Christ is God, and was at the beginning...before Genesis 1:1 and was there at the creation of all things. But wait. It gets a little more interesting.

In verse 3, we see something else about Jesus. "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." Okay....So, if Jesus is the Word, and the Word is God, that means Jesus is God. And if Jesus is the Word (and He is) then He was there at the creation of the worlds and the universe(s). But get this: this verse says that all things were made through Him. What does that mean? It means that He, Jesus Christ, created all things, because it goes on to say, "without Him nothing was made that was made." All things were made by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So let's summarize for a moment. Jesus is the Word. He was with God the Father there at the creation of all things in the beginning of time. In fact, He too, is God. God the Father and God the Son there at creation, and, it tells us in Genesis, the first book of the entire Bible, that the Holy Spirit was also there. The Trinity was there creating all things, in the beginning.

In verses 4 and 5 we read: "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." Eternal life is found in the person of Jesus Christ. In these two verses we have two things that we take for granted a lot. We see that there is life in Jesus Christ, and there is light in Jesus Christ. Life and light. We have life on this planet, but we can still be in the darkness of our sin. Our sin brings darkness upon our soul so that we cannot see God. We cannot know God because of the darkness of our soul. But in Jesus Christ is light. Light that dispels the darkness. Eternal life and eternal light. Light that emanates from within our souls, and breaks the bondage of sin in our lives, the sin that keeps us from truly knowing God. We can know Him. Yes we can. Through Jesus Christ, because, remember, He is God. And the light of Jesus Christ shines into the darkness of a sinful world, and the darkness is not able to take it in. Physically, light and darkness cannot coexist. If a room is dark and you flip the light on, the darkness is gone immediately. But with spiritually, light and darkness can exist side by side. Like two people working side by side, and one says "What do you mean by all this being a Christian stuff? I am a good person. Am I not a Christian?" That is an example of light and darkness side by side, and the darkness just cannot take it in. Beloved, if you are a believer, be a witness. Sow the seeds of the gospel to those around you. If you are not yet a believer in Jesus Christ, if you have not asked Him in your life to be the Savior of your soul and the Lord of your life, you can do that right now. Just say this simple prayer: "Jesus, I am a sinner. I repent of my sins. Please forgive me of my sins. I ask you into my life right now, to be the Savior of my soul and the Lord of my life. Teach me to love You. Amen." It is that simple. God doesn't make it hard to come to Him. If you said that prayer, there are two things you should do to help you in your new life in Jesus Christ. First, get a Bible that you can understand, and read it. I suggest the New King James Version, the New International Version, or the New Living Translation. The second thing is this: find a church that teaches the Bible, and attend there. Unfortunately, there are a lot of churches out there, so you will need to ask Jesus to show you which one to attend. You might have to just visit them until He reveals to you which one is yours. I have a booklet I will send you if you would like some tips on how to draw closer to God. Know that you are loved, and welcome to the family! Shalom.