The Word of God (Part One)

John 1:1-4 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

This introduction to the Gospel of John is one of the most powerful sections in the Bible.  It starts with the obvious reference to Genesis 1:1 but with an apparent sharp turn.  There are, however, two hidden gems to understand this passage better.  First, in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning” can mean “the first thing to know” or “the first thing that happened” - or it can mean “by the first” or “through the first-born”.  That is, literally Jesus was there in the beginning, co-creator with God the Father.  John did not invent this idea.  He merely restated what Moses wrote.  If you go to the very next verse in Genesis 1, the Holy Spirit is also there in the beginning: “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”  

Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Without him nothing was made that has been made.  The verb tense here is the imperfect, meaning an action that began in the past and continues.  The Alpha and the Omega, who was and is and is to come.  Creator of everything that has ever been, is now and everything that ever will be.

Stay tuned for part two!