John 1:1-4

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. -John 1:1-4

Matthew begins his gospel account of Jesus with a geneology of Christ and His birth. Mark opens his with John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus of Nazareth. Luke introduces readers to Christ by addressing the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. John, however, takes a different approach.

The phrase "In the beginning", is a mirror image (even in the Greek) of Genesis 1:1. We do well to remember that in Gen 1:1, God existed...and this is what John is picking up on. In fact, John spends the first two verses trying to point the reader in this direction. Not only is God in the beginning, which is implied in the fact that He created the heavens and the earth, but the Word is present as well. The Word, is not a created thing. The Word was with God...in fact...the Word was God! And, just for good measure, in case the reader misses it..."He was with God from the beginning."

Verses 3 & 4 (creation of "things"), places the Word as an agent of creation. In Genesis, we see that God is the Creator but now John is stretching our understanding of who this Creator is. The Word, in some sense, is the Creator. Again, this language points us back to Genesis as we remember the creation event and connect it to the life of Christ.

So, why does John speak this way? Obviously (as you can tell also from other texts within the Gospel of John), John is concerned with the identity of Christ. He is not simply some guy in a long line of people since Abraham. He is not simply the son of Joseph and Mary. And He is not just some man from Nazareth who was baptized by John the Baptist. It is not that these things are untrue, but rather that they do not capture the fullest essence of who Jesus is.

Jesus was with God. He was in a relationship with God. Not only was He in the beginning of time with God, but He was present when the beginning of time began, therefore, He was present before the creation event. Jesus and God were together as co-Creators if you will. Furthermore, Jesus was God! They are one in the same. Now we are getting to some theology. Jesus and God are two different persons...but yet...they are the same. I think that John understood the concept (at least to a certain extent) of the theological construct that we call the Trinity today. As you begin to read the Gospel of John, it is important that you know who Jesus really is. He is divine! He is God! Yet, as we soon find out as we read on, Jesus also become flesh.

I will note as well that God speaks things into creation by speaking (e.g. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. - Gen 1:3). The Greek word is "lego"...which is a verb. The Greek word used to describe Christ as the "Word" is "logos"...which is a noun. I will allow my Greek oriented friends add some commentary to connections here. I simply found it interesting and...possibly...extremely important in seeing how God spoke things into creation and the Word created all things. Maybe...just maybe...finding the relationship between the Greek words allows one to see how these two statements coincide.