s***u
发帖数: 1911 | 1 John 1:1-3
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; an
d without him was not any thing made that was made."
Problem:
This passage is usually the chief reference on which the pre-existence and d
eity of Christ are argued.
Solution:
Christ was not literally the Word. He was the word "made flesh". (vs. 14). T
he Greek word "logos" translated "Word" expresses the divine intention, mind
, or purpose.1 Young defines "logos" as "a word, speech, matter, reason."2 I
n the A.V. "logos" is translated by more than 20 different English words and
is used for utterances of men (e.g., John 17:20) as well as those of God (J
ohn 5:38).
"In the beginning was the Word . . . all things were made by him."3 "Logos"
does not in itself denote personality. It is personified by the masculine ge
nder in the A.V., The Diaglott avoids confusion by translating the pronouns
in the neuter - "through it every thing was done."4 An Old Testament paralle
l to the personification of logos is the personification of wisdom: "The LOR
D possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was s
et up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was." (Prov. 8
"All things were made by him" - John is apparently alluding to the creation
recorded in Genesis. God spoke, and it was done (e.g. "And God said, Let the
re be light: and there was light." Gen. 1:3. Notice another allusion - John
1:7, 8). But this creation was not accompanied by Christ, but by the "logos"
of God. This is indicated by several passages:
"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by
the breath of his mouth." "For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and
it stood fast." (Psa. 33:6, 9). See also Psa. 107:20; 147:15, 18, 19; Isa. 5
5:11.
" . . . by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing o
ut of the water and in the water . . . But the heavens and the earth, which
are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the
day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." (2 Peter 3:5, 7).
See also Hebrews 11:3 cf. Jeremiah 10:12, 13.5
Angels, prophets and Christ have been vehicles by which God has expressed hi
s logos. Christ is the complete manifestation of the logos - "in him dwellet
h all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." (Col. 2:9). It was the "logos" wh
ich was in the beginning with God, not Christ. When the "word was made flesh
" (John 1:14) then, and then only, Christ became the "Word". Christ is calle
d the Word (Rev. 19:13 cf. 1 John 1:1; Luke 1:2) since his doctrine and word
s came from his Father (John 7:16; 17:14). He was the logos lived out in spe
ech and action, not merely written on scrolls.
Footnotes:
This can be supported by evaluating all references to "logos" in the New Tes
tament and the Septuagint. Return
Robert Young, Analytical Concordance to the Holy Bible, (London: Lutterworth
Press, 1965). Return
It is sometimes argued that the "beginning" referred to in John 1:1 is the b
eginning of Christ's ministry. 1 John 1:1 is offered in support of this inte
rpretation. It should be noted, however, that John's allusions in John 1 are
drawn from Genesis 1 as point 3 outlines, thereby implying that the beginni
ng refers to the same narrative and not to the ministry of Christ. Return
Benjamin Wilson, The Emphatic Diaglott, (Brooklyn: International Bible Stude
nts Ass., Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1942). Return
It is also noteworthy that although the writer to the Hebrews speaks in exal
ted terms of Christ (e.g. "express image of his {God's} person" - Hebrews 1:
3), "logos" is used of God's message, and not of Christ himself. See Hebrews
2:2; 4:2, 12; 7:28; 12:19 and 13:7, 22. Return | s***u
发帖数: 1911 | | f********7
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【在 s***u 的大作中提到】
: John 1:1-3
: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
: God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; an
: d without him was not any thing made that was made."
: Problem:
: This passage is usually the chief reference on which the pre-existence and d
: eity of Christ are argued.
: Solution:
: Christ was not literally the Word. He was the word "made flesh". (vs. 14). T
: he Greek word "logos" translated "Word" expresses the divine intention, mind
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