"In the Beginning Was the Word"
By Adam Litmer

In John 1:1, we read, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." This is such a profound statement, in very simple language. Doubtless, the beginning to which John alludes is the very one of which Moses wrote, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) The creation moment can be called the beginning, for at that moment time began. Time began with the creation of the world. Yet the mighty Word preceded all of this. In fact, the Word was not created at all. We see this, both logically and grammatically, from John 1:1. Since the Word, who was there at the beginning, did not Himself actually begin in the beginning, then the Word, who was there at the beginning, must be eternal in nature. In John 8, the Word Himself, Jesus, very powerfully affirmed this fact. Our Lord and the Jews were in the midst of a discussion concerning Abraham. In verses 56-58, we read, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad. Then the Jews said to Him, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.'"

Clearly, Jesus is, in fact, the One John 1:1 referred to as the Word; for when we look to verses 14 and 18 of chapter 1, we read, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth ... No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He declared Him." There can be no doubt that these verses refer to Christ. Jesus is called the Word because a word is both a revelation and an expression of an idea. In our Lord's case, He completely revealed the divine nature to the world. "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." (Colossians 2:9).

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir to all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." (Hebrews 1:1-3) Before our Lord came to this earth, to sinful men it would have seemed that God was basically unknowable. They could not directly approach Him and, for that matter, they could not even see Him. This is no longer true. Our Lord possessed every characteristic of deity. Thus, He could in all honesty and accuracy affirm, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:9)

Yet, John 1:1 says much more. The verse also points out to us that, "The Word was with God." I read a written debate between two individuals in which they examined this verse. One of the two claimed that the Word was simply one particular attribute of God and with Him only in that sense. It does not take much more than a cursory glance at this verse to see that this is clearly not what it says. In this narrative, we witness the Word's personality. In just a moment, we are able to see the complete association between the Word and the Father. The Word's association with the Father existed before the beginning, and they enjoyed full equality.

"And the Word was God." The actual Greek phrase translation is, "And God was the Word." There are some who prefer to translate this phrase, "And the Word was a god." The Jehovah's Witness group for one prefers this translation. However, there is no support for such a rendering in the original language itself or anywhere else in the Scriptures.

Such a translation is absolutely false, unscholarly, and denies the Word's eternality. This is yet another example of what happens when uninspired men approach the Scriptures with preconceived ideas and notions. Rather then bending their will to conform to God's, they force and manipulate the Scriptures to make them say what they want them to say. Equally objectionable is the translation, "And the Word was divine." This translation confuses the words for deity (theos) and divinity theios). This rendering relegates the Lord to a position inferior to true divinity; thus it is entirely unacceptable.

Instead of all of this, let us stick with John's plain and awe-inspiring statement, "And the Word was God." This means that the Word possessed God's nature and easily refutes a couple of misconceptions that may have arisen.

I'd be less than honest if I said I completely understand this. However, I know it to be true because the Scriptures teach it. Since we are not divinity, we will never be able to fully understand God. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8, 9) What we can do is obey Him and be thankful that "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us," for if He had not, you and I would be without hope.

The Bible clearly teaches that God's Son was both FULLY man and FULLY God. His Incarnation is one of the most wonderful miracles ever known. I believe it, but explaining it-that's a different story. But that doesn't make it any less true?


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