Devotional: May the Word be with You (John 1:1-3)

It is a staggering idea to contemplate God choosing self-sacrifice in order to create the opportunity for reconciliation between Himself and his rebellious creation. In fact, Paul would word the matter in the following way:

“God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)

The agent through whom this is accomplished is Jesus Christ. The means by which this occurs is His death, so that we (humanity – “us” 5:19) may potentially experience the reconciliation of God (2 Corinthians 5:14–21).

The Gospel of John provides a fuller detail as to how God was reconciling the world to himself. The record of John is, however, unlike Matthew’s Gospel which begins with the Hebrew genealogical table which emphasizes the Lord’s lineage from David and Abraham (Matthew 1:1–17). It is unlike Mark’s abrupt mention of “the beginning” of the gospel, which is marked by Jesus’ ministry inaugurated by the baptism by John (Mark 1:1–14).

It is even unlike Luke’s historically grounded retelling, beginning from Jesus’ birth announcements to the unfolding of the universal gospel call as seen in Luke’s second volume Acts (Luke 1:1–4; Acts 1:1–9). John begins the narration of his Gospel Account from the very beginning. In this way John stands upon unique footing.

Although not being distinct in message and general outline, John’s Gospel Account is a maverick of sorts, focusing upon the cosmic drama mentioned above which grounds the gospel message. To provide his readers the needed perspective in order to appreciate all that proceeds, John pens the first line of his account with the following words:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1–3)

This eternal “Word” is explicitly identified as the Father’s son– Jesus – who indeed “became flesh and dwelt among us” (1:14).

John further affirms, “and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14; the term “Father,” Grk. pater, is used approximately 107 times as the name for “God” in John’s Gospel). This is a profound truth regarding Jesus’ nature and ought to inform our understanding of the Gospel message as well. Let us consider a few ideas from John 1:1, as expressed in three clauses:

(a) “In the beginning was the Word”

(b) “the Word was with God”

The rich language of the first verse of John’s Gospel conveys the divine nature of “the Word” (Grk. logos), who in fact is the pre-incarnate Jesus (i.e. before he put on his human identity). Many times the “beginnings” of Jesus of Nazareth are only considered from the standpoint of his birth and baptism; however, the implications of John 1:1 demonstrate that His beginnings are from eternity (Micah 5:2).

In order to truly appreciate the gospel proclamation, it is a vital matter to understand that Jesus had an existence before he walked the rocky soil of Palestine in the 1st Century A.D. In fact, Jesus was/is an eternal divine being, namely God. This truth becomes more profound when we see that the Word abides with his people who abide in Him (John 8:31–32).