Essay On Logos By John R.

Neal Introduction The gospels of Matthew and Luke record the genealogy, birth, and adolescence of Jesus, but John is the only gospel writer who deals with Christ before He comes to earth in the form of man. John covers the pre-existence of Christ in John 1:1-5 (what some refer to as the Prologue to the Fourth Gospel). Sadly, there are people who genuinely think that Jesus birth in

Bethlehem is His real beginning, not realizing that He exists long before He becomes the babe in a manger. Thankfully, John clears that matter up for preachers, teachers, and Bible students. John pushes Jesus existence back prior to His physical birth, even before the foundations of this universe.

John begins the Fourth Gospel by saying, In the beginning was the word [Logos], and the Word was with God, and the Words was God. This One was in the beginning with God (John 1:1-2, authors translation). John carries his readers back to the opening pages of the Bible, to Genesis 1:1. The phrase, in the beginning, is an exact quote to that of Genesis 1:1 from the LXX (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), which is the equivalent to the opening line of the Hebrew Bible, bereshith. Thus, John is placing Jesus back to the beginning of creation. This is not the only place in Johns gospel that speaks of Christs pre-fleshly or preincarnate state. In Jesus discussion with the crowd at the temple during the Feast of Booths (going back to John chapter 7) in John 8:56-58, Jesus claims to pre-exist the patriarch Abraham. The crowd is ready to stone Jesus because they understand the ramifications of this statement.

In the first five verses of John chapter one, the inspired writer deals with the Words, the Logos, relationship with God the Father (vs. 1-2), His taking part in the creation (vs. 3-4), and
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His opposition to darkness (vs. 5).1 Jesus is a distinct Divine Personality. His relationship with the Godhead is one of closeness. John uses the word pros, with, not to refer to mere company, but with the most intimate communion.2 This close relationship within the

Godhead is evident in Genesis 1:27, where God the Father says, Let us make man in our own image Yet why does John use this term, logos, to refer to our Lord? John uses the Greek word, logos, in John 1:1, 14, and also in 1 John 1:1 to refer to the pre-incarnate state of Christ (in heaven), to His spiritual and divine nature. Christ, being the Word and second person in the Godhead, is both the eternal expression of the divine intelligence and the disclosure of divine essence. God chose to reveal Himself to man through the Word, according to John 1:14.3 The apostle John also describes our Lord as the Word of God in Revelation 19:13 (if the apostle did indeed pen the Book of Revelation).

This term logos is rich in history and usage in both Greek philosophy and the Jewish scriptures. The word, logos, from the verb, lego, originally means to collect, to pick up, to recount, to speak word, discourse account. The idea is that of the mind selecting our words or speech, to speak or talk intelligently.4 Thus we have three main sources of literature (which we will examine briefly) that help contribute to the concept of logos: First, Greek literature and philosophy, second, the Hebrew scripture, and third, the New Testament writers.5

Greek Literature and Philosophy: Around 500 B.C., this Greek word takes on a broader meaning or usage among the Greeks (that of reason, thought, even teaching and reputation),
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William E. Hull, The Broadman Bible Commentary, vol. 9, Luke-John, Clifton J. Allen, Gen. Ed. (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1970), 212-14. 2 W.E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1985), 683. 3 Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1992), 925. 4 Colin Brown, Ed. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, vol. 3, Regency Reference Library (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), S.v. Logos, by G. Fries: 1081. 5 Hull, 211.

especially by the philosopher Heraclitus.

This man comes to identify logos as the basic

component of order and continuity in a world of constant change.6 Then around the middle of the fifth century B.C., the Greek philosophical school, the Sophists, begin to view logos as a method of argumentation between individuals. The Sophists are able to use this reasoning process, or logos, to develop a system of argumentation. Every argument (or logos) has a counter-logos, thus this type of antithetical argumentation becomes the basic principal of debate.7 The Stoics, on the other hand, interpret this logos as the principle of order and reason (the mind of God) which underlies the whole universe.8 The Platonistic Jewish philosopher, Philo of Alexandria, takes up this notion that logos is the embodiment and personification of Jewish wisdom literature. For the standpoint of the Old Testament, wisdom is portrayed as the agent of Gods creative power, present at the creation of the universe, and brings order out of chaos.9 Yet Carson points out that Philos use of logos does not have a distinct personality, and does not become flesh and blood.10 This term can also refer to inner thought, such as reason or science. The word can also refer to outward expression, hence speech or message, which is perhaps why the old standard translation of Word is still the most appropriate term, so long as we understand the true meaning being like the English word message.11

The Hebrew Scripture: With all of these various ways the Greek schools of thought (and even Jewish writers) utilize logos, how does John use this term? Perhaps John is using this term
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Brown, 1081; Hull, 211. Brown, 1082. Socrates is famous for his dialectic method, the way of getting to the truth by way of questions and answers. 8 Christian E. Hayer and William A. Young, An Introduction To The Bible. A Journey Into Three Worlds. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 1986), 247. 9 Ibid. 10 D.A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicster, England: Apollos; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 115. 11 Ibid.

from a Hebrew or Jewish standpoint, for their understanding of logos is rooted in the Old Testament concept of the word of the LORD.12 This Greek term is the equivalent of the Hebrew, dabar, meaning word, thing, or matter, and this word is viewed as Gods sovereign energy that could speak the created universe into existence (Genesis 1; Psalm 33:6, 9), that could burn like fire or shatter like a hammer (Jer. 23:29), or even accomplish His Divine will (Isaiah 55:11). The revealed word of the LORD is His instruction (Psalm 119; Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 6:1-9), and failure to obey is foolishness (the book of Proverbs describes the one who gives heed to the word as being wise, but the one who disregards as foolish). Even in the New Testament period, the idea of word/law/wisdom are all interrelated with each other, and represents how God is still active and works in and through the lives of men.13 The Old Testament Wisdom literature may also play a part in our understanding of Jesus as the logos. Gods wisdom is highly personified in some passages (especially Pr. 8:22ff.), becoming the agent of creation and a wonderful gift. One can also find this personification of wisdom in the later Jewish (uninspired) writings (such as Wisdom 7:22 and Ecclus. 24).14

New Testament Writers: The early church and authors of the New Testament scripture view the preaching and teaching of the gospel as a ministry of the word (see Acts 6:4). The content of their message is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:1ff.; Luke 1:2; Acts 2:22ff.), who also proclaim this good news during His earthly ministry (Mark 2:2). Yet Jesus is more than a mere teacher or rabbi. His entire life on earth speaks of His Divinity. In Revelation 19:13, the writer of Revelation (if he be the same author of the Fourth

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Hull, 211; Brown, 1087. Ibid. 14 Carson, 115.

Gospel) calls the Messiah The Word of God. John even claims there are many who could indeed testify to the Word of Life (with their ears, eyes, and hands, 1 John 1:1-2).15

Thus whether a person is a Greek, Jew (as Carson argues in his text that John is trying to reach out to Jews about Jesus being the Messiah), or Christian, they would be able to understand what John means when he refers to Christ as the Word. The Greek would view Jesus as the substance that holds all things together (see Pauls description of Jesus creative work and power in Colossians 1:17), the ultimate reality and unchanging truth. The Jew would see Jesus as being the embodiment of the creative power of the Divine Wisdom of the word. The Christian would view the power of the Word of Life, just as he would view that power that lies in the risen Lord and the gospel (Romans 1:16-17). The Word can then be viewed as Divine power, as a rational and logical principle, and as the redemptive proclamation.16

Conclusion

From the seminar lectures and materials read for the course, this student believes the concept of Logos in Johns gospel is rooted in Old Testament imagery. Johns idea of Jesus being the Word is clear when we look at the power and might of God speaking the world into existence. As we read through the gospel of John, we find where Jesus speaks a sign (or wonder) to take place by just saying the word. Just creates everything by His spoken word, so mankind comes to know about the Word by both the spoken and written word of God. Jesus is the Divine Creator, Teacher, and Savior. What better term to describe Jesus than the Word of God?

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Hull, 211-12. Ibid.