John 1:1

October 24, 2006

Lar,

I seem to remember that when we started this blog, one of your first posts was in regards to the Trinity. Now you want to ‘blog through’ the Gospel of John. I love it and count myself thankful! I do hope our words can serve to stir up the whole of Blog Nation, however, I am quite sure that no one will profit more than we will. May the Lord give us insight and diligence to think and meditate and write so as to point to Jesus Christ and stir up the affections of our own souls and all those who listen in on this conversation! I trust He will grant such grace. So here I start with John 1:1.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Let’s take note of a few glorious things….

1) “In the beginning was the Word…” Note particularly the first three words. It is surely no coincidence that the gospel of John begins with the same words as the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. John writes with a view to commending Jesus Christ, so he wastes no time with pleasantries. He jumps right into things and points to the eternal deity of the Son of God. For what else can commend Him as much as His deity–His place as the Most High God? In the very first sentence, John makes it plain that we are not dealing with some human messiah, but the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who alone dwells in immorality and unapproachable light. This first phrase alone should make us tremble.

Before the earth was brought forth, before even the angels of heaven were created, indeed, an eternity before all these things took place, Jesus Christ was there. He was with God in the beginning. “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17). He is eternal, self-sufficient. Time is in His hands.

2) And not only was He there in the beginning, but He “was the Word, and the Word was with God.”

a) First note John’s use of the word “Word”, or in the Greek (what little I know at this point) ‘logos’–word, utterance, meaning. Jesus Christ is the expression of the deity in prime as it were. “Word” points to speech and is it not true that we are especially revealed by what we say? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. Well, God the Father ’speaks’ that which is perfect, that which is eternal, that which is an exact expression of the infinite riches and glory of His Person and Deity. As the writer of Hebrews tells us, “He [Jesus Christ] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (1:3). Jesus Christ is the eternal Word, the perfect expression of infinite perfection.

b) Second note that Jesus Christ is not merely an expression of God the Father, but in fellowship with God the Father–”the Word was with God.” From all eternity, God the Father and God the Son have not merely co-existed, but enjoyed perfect and intimate and infinite joy in fellowship with one another. God the Father loves and delights in God the Son with a awesome, infinite passion. As the most beautiful of Beings–indeed the Essence and Source of Being–God can do no less than delight fully in the riches of His Image or Expression or Word. The Father and Son have never been, are not now, nor ever will be lukewarm in their affections for one another. Never will their fellowship wax and wane, never has their been a dull moment in the Trinity. Never have they become bored with one another, and never will they be bored with one another. Before the foundations of the earth were laid, the Word was with God–and their fellowship was sweet and rich and intimate and infinite and deep. And so it is now. And so it will forever be. O let us marvel at our great God!

3) “The Word was God.” Jesus Christ, it must be emphasized again, did not merely enjoy fellowship with God as we one day we, as creatures, will through Him. No. Jesus Christ enjoyed fellowship with God the way God enjoys fellowship with God–because that is exactly who He is. Paul says, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation (Colossians 1:15). By firstborn, He does not mean first among the creatures, but first and preeminent over all creatures–for in the whole context, Paul is pointing to the Deity of the Son. Jesus Christ was there in the beginning not simply as a spectator to the glory of God as revealed in creation, but as the glory of God Himself–as the Creator Himself. “Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (1 Corinthians 8:6).

At this very moment, we breathe because Jesus Christ gives us breath. We see because Jesus Christ gives us sight. We live because He lives. He is the Source. It is through Him–the Image and Expression of God the Father–that the Triune God Himself created all things. And it is through Him that He sustains all things. O let us beware of thinking small thoughts of Jesus Christ! Let us embrace Him and bow before Him now for how He is revealed! He is the eternal Son of God, the perfect expression of Deity–for in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (Colossians 1:19)–the infinite, holy, Most High Messiah.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” So it was then and so it is now, for as God, Jesus Christ does not change. He is immutable. “Jesus Christ if the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). All that He ever was in eternity past, He is now in eternity present and He will forever be in eternity future. Therefore our hope is secure and our joy can forever be full. If we trust in Jesus, we can forever enjoy gazing upon the fullness of glory that we find in the perfect fellowship of the Father and Son. Never will we tire. Never will we become bored. Forever we will search out His riches with eager expectation. Day by day we will live and long to behold the glory found in Jesus Christ–the Word of God.

Lar, rejoice with me brother. I thank you for making this suggestion (or one might say ‘demand’?). This time itself has been well worth the effort. But isn’t this always the case when we think of God? Surely I have never regretted meditating upon His Word (yes, there is a double meaning there!). I suppose we are wise to take note of that which we never regret in order to order our lives with true wisdom.

Beholding the eternal glory of the Son with you,

Joe

Posted by Joe | Filed Under Gospel of John 

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