“In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
No other verse in Scripture has caused so much controversy, or at least difference of interpretation, as the opening verse of the Fourth Gospel. To some Bible students this verse provides irrefutable evidence of the personal pre-existence of Jesus Christ and of his full divinity. Other Bible students interpret the verse in accordance with their own understanding of Old Testament theology, and reject the idea that John 1:1 supports the Doctrine of the Trinity. We cannot in these brief notes attempt an exhaustive exposition of this difficult verse, but some comment seems to be called for in view of the fact that we have recently encountered it in our Daily Bible Readings.
It is evident from the direct, and rather abrupt, manner in which the Apostle John introduces the Logos idea that his purpose was to declare the truth about the Logos for the benefit of those of his readers who had been in contact with the various non-Christian theories then current among 1st Century intellectuals.
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Author: P. H. Adams
Keywords: The Word, The Word made flesh, Logos, Jesus the Logos, Trinity, Three in one, Jesus is God, Jesus is the word, Incarnate word, Incarnation, Word was God, Jesus the word, Trinitarian, Trinitarianism, beginning was the word, Philo, Philo's Logos
Bible reference(s): John 1:1-5
Source: “Difficulties in the Daily Readings,” The Testimony, Vol. 21, No. 244, April 1951, pp. 121-2.
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