The Word Was With God, and Was God
John 1:1-5, 14 Amplified Bible (AMP)
In the beginning [before
all time] was the Word ([a]Christ), and the Word
was with God, and [b]the Word was God
Himself. 2 He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. 3 All
things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him
not even one thing was made that has come into being. 4 In
Him was life [and the power to bestow
life], and the life was the Light
of men. 5 The Light shines on in the [c]darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or
overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].
In the 1st
chapter of John, Jesus was revealed as the “Word”, or in the Greek as “logos”.
Logos actually denotes (I) "the
expression of thought" — not the mere name of an object — (a) as
embodying a conception or idea.
So, for
clarity sake let’s insert " the expression
of thought”, idea” in the place of the “Word” and “Him”, in the above
scripture verses and see how it affects our understanding.
In the beginning [before
all time] was God’s “expression of thought, idea", and
the “expression of thought,
idea”, was with God, and [b]the “expression of thought, idea” was God Himself. [God’s]
“expression of thought,
idea”, was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. All things were
made and came into existence through [God’s] “expression of thought, idea”; and
without [God’s] “expression of thought, idea” not even one thing was
made that has come into being. 4 In [God’s] “expression of thought, idea” was
life [and the power to bestow life],
and the life was the Light of men. 5 The
Light shines on in the [c]darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or
overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].
14 And [God’s]
“expression of thought,
idea” (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we
[actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son
of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is]
full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception).
So, one can
derive from this understanding that Jesus was God’s “divine expression” of His
thought (idea), and was always with God. And, everything in existence was made
by and through this expression. In Genesis, when God spoke the words “light
be”, everything happened through and by Jesus in that creative galactic moment.
It is quite
difficult for us, the created beings, to have any clear understanding of what
took place, since we are finite and quite limited in knowledge, wisdom, and
ability. If you think about it, we just moved from horse and buggy to
automobiles about 130 years ago. Compared to 2000 years, the human life span of
74 years is miniscule. Even most the collective knowledge has been lost since the
great flood. (approximately 4300 years ago). So let’s be careful enough to
admit that we don’t know everything.
Compared to God’s “expression of thought”,
the one who created everything, we are hopeless and hapless outside of His
grace, love, and mercy. I’ll come back
to this a little later, when we discuss the “light” of the world.
John 8:12 : “When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, ‘I am the Light of the
World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but have the light of
life.’”
This interesting study shows many
qualities of light mirror qualities of Christ:
* Light enables us to see, and Christ enables us to discern spiritual things.
* Light is pleasant, promoting peace of mind, and so the work of Christ on the cross, reconciling us to God, gives us peace of mind.
* Light fills completely any void open to it, and so, if we empty our soul to Christ, He who "fills everything in every way" (Eph. 1:23) will fill it.
* Light, especially bright light, is glorious; Christ is "the radiance of God's glory" (Heb. 1:3).
* Light does not mix with darkness, but rather conquers it; Christ has conquered the darkness of this evil world.
* Light warms the body; Christ warms the soul.
* Light makes clear the path; Christ, through His life, also made clear the path we should follow.
* Light exposes; Christ, through His life, exposes the sin in our lives.
* Light enables us to see, and Christ enables us to discern spiritual things.
* Light is pleasant, promoting peace of mind, and so the work of Christ on the cross, reconciling us to God, gives us peace of mind.
* Light fills completely any void open to it, and so, if we empty our soul to Christ, He who "fills everything in every way" (Eph. 1:23) will fill it.
* Light, especially bright light, is glorious; Christ is "the radiance of God's glory" (Heb. 1:3).
* Light does not mix with darkness, but rather conquers it; Christ has conquered the darkness of this evil world.
* Light warms the body; Christ warms the soul.
* Light makes clear the path; Christ, through His life, also made clear the path we should follow.
* Light exposes; Christ, through His life, exposes the sin in our lives.
1 John 1:5
”This is the message we heard from
Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at
all.”
Darkness
affects all our physical senses, and can certainly have a serious impact on our
emotions as well. We are so accustomed to light that being subjected to pure
darkness can be literally frightening. Imagine being taken to a place where
there is absolutely no light, nothing but pitch blackness. Ever heard the term,
groping in the dark? You would have no senses of direction, nothing for your
eyes to see, and the only thing you know for sure is gravity.
When I was
in basic training, one part of our field training was to enter into a cabin
what was completely dark. The only exit was a window that had a black tarp over
it. We had to enter that filled with tear gas with our masks on. Then we were
instructed to take the masks off, hold our breath, and try to find the exit,
and jump or dive out the window. That was my first time in a completely dark
room. Fortunately, as I was groping around, a teammate found the window, dove
out and I saw a crack of light, so holding my breath, I rushed to that opening
and dove through it as well. With watery eyes burning, I made it out of the
darkness! Light never seemed so welcome as it did in that moment.
Today, there
are millions and millions of people who are “walking in darkness”. Their eyes
are burning from the sting of sin, and they are holding their collective
breaths, hoping for a glimmer of light to appear, so they can find a way out.
Yet, they cannot see the truth because the fallen world has all sorts of
glimmering, flashy lights that soon disappear. They offer false promises, false
hope, which leads to destruction. Even the most “worldly wise” soon stumble,
because they have become accustomed to living in spiritual ignorance. Seem
harsh? Not as harsh as what is in store for them.
Revelation 21: 6-8 Expanded Bible (EXB)
6 The One on the throne said to me, “It
is ·finished [done; accomplished]. I am the Alpha and
the Omega [C the first
and last letters of the Greek alphabet; 1:8], the Beginning and the End. I will
give ·free water [L freely] from the spring of
the water of life to anyone who is thirsty [Is. 55:1; John 7:37].7 Those who
·win the victory [conquer] will ·receive [inherit] ·this [L these things; C God’s
promise], and I will be their God, and they will be my children [21:3; 2 Sam. 7:14]. 8 But
cowards, those ·who refuse to believe [without faith], who do ·evil [vile; detestable] things, who kill, who sin sexually,
who do ·evil magic [sorcery], who worship idols, and who tell lies—all these will
have ·a place [L their
part] in the lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death [20:6].”
John 8:12 (NASB)
12 Then Jesus
again spoke to them, saying, “I am the
Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will
have the Light of life.”
The word “darkness” here in the Greek
is “skotos” i.e. “metaphorically, of ignorance
respecting divine things and human duties, and the accompanying ungodliness and
immorality, spiritually blind, together with their consequent misery.”
When light enters in, darkness flees. It opens the lens of vision, for the
eyes to see, the mind to perceive and gain knowledge, but also for the human
spirit to receive the understanding of the truth of God.
The phrase “walk in darkness” literally means living their lives in “ignorance”
of God, which leads to unbelief, ungodliness, immorality, and etc, commonly
known as “sin”.
Jude 6 (New English Translation)
6 You also know that the angels who did not keep within their proper
domain but abandoned their own place of residence, he has kept in eternal
chains in utter darkness,
locked up for the judgment of the great Day. These heavenly beings rebelled against God, and were cast out of heaven.
This word “darkness” is the same Greek word (“skotos”) that Jesus used in John
8:12. So the rebellious angels (Satan’s and his buddies) are actually kept in
the chains of ignorance of God’s light. The only thing they understand and act
on are those characteristics described in “utter darkness”. The only place they
can find us is if we walk in (live in) that same “darkness”, and the only way
out is to follow Jesus, the originator of all light.
Thanks be to God that He sent His only Son (“His divine expression”) to
earth to lead all mankind away from darkness and into the Light of Life, eternal
life.