In the beginning was the Word.
John's opening statement — and why he calls Jesus 'the Word.'
The episode in a glance.
- 01'The Word' means more than speech — it means divine self-expression.
- 02The Word was with God and was God — both distinct and one.
- 03All things were made through him.
- 04This reframes Genesis 1:1 — the Creator is also the Word.
Read along.
John 1:1 — 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' This is how John opens his Gospel. Not with a birth narrative. With a theological explosion.
'The Word' is logos in Greek — a loaded term that means speech, reason, expression, and communication. But John isn't talking about abstract philosophy. He's talking about a person. The person who is God's self-expression.
'In the beginning' echoes Genesis. John is saying: the same one who was there at creation is the one I'm about to tell you about. He was with God. He was God. Both. Distinct and one. That's the mystery.
'All things were made through him.' So the Creator of Genesis 1 is the Word of John 1. The one who spoke the universe into existence is the one who became flesh and dwelt among us. That's the claim.
By verse 14, John makes it explicit: 'the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.' That's Jesus. The eternal Word. The divine self-expression. The one who was with God and was God, now walking around in a human body. That's how John introduces him.