Day #72 - Jesus is the Word
Day #72 - Jesus is the Word
The Presence - A Devotional for Living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1:1 NKJV
What is the greatest idea of all time?
Philosophers use words and phrases to try and get us to think of the meta-idea that is above all other ideas or by which all other ideas exist. What is the telos? What is the raison d’etre? What is the summum bonum? Or in other words, what is the greatest good? The greatest idea or good is not a thought but a Person.
In John 1:1, we see a clear parallel with Genesis 1:1. Genesis 1 is about the creation of all things and John 1 adds to our understanding of “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” We learn that in God’s oneness there is also a complexity to who he is. God the Father was not only the Creator all by himself, but God the Word was actively involved in creation.
John is teaching us that the Son of God is the Word, existent from the start and creator of all things. We learn:
Verse 1 then is a foundational confession (1) that the Logos has an origin that supersedes the created order of time and space, (2) that this Logos has an identity distinct from the previously understood designations for God, and (3) that the Logos must also be understood as part of the unity of God. Community and unity are in Christian theology two compatible sides of the eternal God. Here then are the beginnings of Christian reflection on the mind-stretching concept that became known as the doctrine of the Trinity. (1)
Genesis is the beginning of the world in creation and John is the new beginning for the world in the person of Jesus, the Word.
The Greek word for “Word” in this passage is “logos.” Logos was an important word to the Greek culture. It represented to Greek philosophers the idea or truth that all of the universe is governed. To the Hebrews the word is rooted in God’s spoken promises of His covenant (2).
Jesus is the Word, the Son of God. He is before everything and He made everything. Everything is governed by him. He represents the highest ideal of the universe but he is more than that because he is the ultimate reality. He is also the embodiment of all God’s spoken promises to his people Israel.
To be in the presence of Jesus is to be in the presence of God’s eternal Son, His Word, the One who governs all of the universe. Before anything existed there was the presence of the Word. And the eternal Word has entered the world he created to be with us.
Jesus, Word of God, I marvel at the greatness of who you are. You created me and all that exists. I was made for you and by you. You have come into the world you made as the fulfillment of all that you have spoken. You are the highest and the greatest. There is no one like you. You are above all things. I worship you. Be the center of my life. In your name Jesus, amen.
"The greatest idea or good is not a thought but a Person." John was a witness to the miracles, to the Transfiguration - He was fully convinced that Jesus is God, yet laid his head on His chest at the Last Supper - a picture of how He loves us, too.