It is right that we have a true apprehension of the meaning of the phrase, “In the beginning.” We take it to be a relative term. That is, an expression whose meaning is to be understood by the object to which it is related. As an instance take Genesis 1:1: “ln the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth.” That was the first state, or commencement of that constitution. The heaven and the earth were the objects to which the first movements were made. The first approaches toward an accomplishment of any given project, or purpose, are the beginning. The objective in this particular was the heaven and earth. The same will apply to the subject in hand. “In the beginning was the word.” It matters not, in point of time, when that was. Suffice it to say the first approach toward the great object of Divine manifestation was the beginning.
The purpose, or objective, in the case was the manifestation of “the word” in the earth. When the time bad arrived for that purpose to be achieved, the “word” existed, and was with God. The translation we have in the Authorised Version, beclouds the meaning of this very important part of the Divine testimony; in fact, as it stands, it cannot be rightly understood. For instance, the name “God” is not sufficiently comprehensive, and it is no translation of the Greek word. It simply means “good,” “good one,” or “goodness.” Perhaps it will be best to give the correct translation of the original text, and thereupon weave the construction of the ideas lying behind.
“In the beginning was the Logos,1 and the Logos was with the Theos, or the Deity: and the Logos was Deity. The same was in the beginning with the Deity.”
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Author: J. E. Jarvis
Keywords: The Word, The Word made flesh, Logos, Jesus the Logos
Bible reference(s): John 1:1-5
Source: “In the Beginning Was the Word,” The Testimony, Vol. 13, No. 147, March 1943, pp. 69-73.
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