In the beginning was the Word — John's stunning opening line.
John opens his gospel with an echo of Genesis. Jesus didn't start at Bethlehem; he was there at the beginning.
The episode in a glance.
- 01John echoes Genesis 1:1 on purpose — same first three words.
- 02'The Word' is John's title for Jesus, the self-expression of God.
- 03'Was with God' — distinct from the Father.
- 04'Was God' — fully divine, not a lesser being.
Read along.
John opens his gospel with: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' Three short phrases, and each one is a hammer blow.
'In the beginning' — those words come straight from Genesis 1:1. John is signaling: this is a creation story too, but I'm going further back than Genesis did.
'The Word.' In Greek, Logos. It meant something like 'the rational principle behind everything.' John takes that word and says: the Logos isn't a force. He's a person. And his name is Jesus.
'Was with God' — the Word is a distinct person, face to face with God the Father.
'Was God' — and yet, fully God himself. Not a lower-case god. Not a creature. The same divine being. That's what Christians mean when they say Jesus is God.