In the Beginning was the Word

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

- John 1:1-18

In these first verses of John's gospel we have volumes and volumes of Christian theology. Unfortunately, I cannot do these verses justice with my format, time frame, and skills, for which I apologize in advance! It is known as the "prologue" to his gospel, and proclaims Christ as God.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In the beginning "was" the Word ("Logos," Λογος), the subject of the gospel, "was" before the beginning. We recall Genesis and creation; the Word is spiritual Creator, without Him nothing was made. "Logos," my study bible notes, "signifies wisdom and reason as well as word: the Creator." ('Creation' is therefore Gr. logikos, participating in the Divine "Word," Logos.) "With God" signifies the Person of the Son and that He is in communion with the Father; "Was God," coequal, coeternal, of the same essence, one in Divinity with the Father. Jesus will state later in this gospel, "I and my Father are One." My study bible says that the Old Testament prophets saw the Word of God as the presence of the Lord.

All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. This spiritual story of creation continues from the first book of the Old Testament, the "Light from Light, true God from true God" was always God, acting in concert with the Father and the Spirit. Life is in God, and this life is light. We, too, participate in the light as believers; light and grace have the same properties, they are shared and spread, as is Mercy (and fire, so often associated with His Presence). This is a creation story of spiritual birth, and how we are reborn in Spirit through this light and its "enlightenment." Through this Word human beings become children of light. The Church has always taught that this light was beheld by Moses in the burning bush, by Isaiah in his heavenly vision (Is. 6:1-5), and by Peter, James and John at the Transfiguration. The Word has acted from the beginning. The Light shines in the darkness, in a world that doesn't necessarily see it nor accept it, in which there are forces that actively oppose it, but do not overcome the light. The original King James translation uses the word "comprehend" which I think is a better fit: this word in Greek means both to "take in" (as in understand) and to overcome, as in the idea that the darkness fails to take this light into itself, to overwhelm or "comprehend" it in that sense.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. John the Forerunner, or Baptist, is the last and greatest of the prophets, who testifies to the light. The light which enlightens everyone was coming into the world, to share our lives in the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. The Co-Creator of all things came to His own, but his own did not know Him and did not accept Him. The incarnate Word offers us a choice to share in his light; we also have the freedom to reject. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. But those who accept this light can be filled, illuminated, transformed. By adoption, not lineage or inheritance, we are all given power to become children of God. To "believe in his name" is to put our trust in all that the incarnate Logos bears in Himself and all that bears the stamp or seal of God, and therefore, of the Father as well, and all that is in that family of relatedness conveyed by grace through the incarnate Son. This is an active relationship created by faith, which in the Greek is synonymous with trust. John is introducing us to all that is "in the name" of Christ through this gospel about Him, and telling us that it is through a relationship of trust to "all that is in His name" that we bear the power to become children of God. My study bible points out that this grace makes us not servants, but friends.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’). This gospel is the story of Christ, incarnate as Jesus, full of grace and truth. "We have seen his glory:" as apostle and witness, John is among those who shared life with the living Christ. My study bible says that " 'we' are the disciples, the people of God, pilgrims in this transient world." In the Old Testament the glory of God "dwelt" ("tabernacled" or "tented") in the temple; here the glory or light dwells as one of us ("among us") as human being, sharing everything of human life. From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. This is the fullness of Life itself; grace upon grace is given through God, through the fullness of who Jesus was, all of "his name." Through relationship, we participate in this grace and all that it offers, "grace upon grace." "Grace upon grace" is a Semitic expression that means an abundance of grace; should we apply it to ourselves, an "unlimitable" grace. This grace gives us relationship and all the gifts of spiritual life. It transforms our humanity, just as Jesus did through His incarnation for us. My study bible uses a classic comparison of a metal rod thrust into fire (another symbol for the Light in the OT): the metal doesn't lose its nature, but it becomes heated and "enlightened" in the fire. So, too, we are to become "godlike" without ceasing to be human. The theological term for this transformation is "theosis." The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. All that he is, grace and truth, gifts of the Divine, of God, are the gifts to us of Jesus Christ, incarnate Son. Grace and truth are the properties of this Word and his glory, which are offered to us. My study bible notes: "Grace is Jesus' uncreated energy manifested to us through His lovingkindness and redeeming love. Truth is his faithfulness to His promises and covenants, and the abiding reality of His gifts. By His grace and truth we enjoy a life in union and communion with God through Christ." No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. We turn from "grace," the mercy and "energies" of God that we receive and experience, and "truth" that we receive, to God's essence. Only the Son has experienced God in His own Being, or a direct vision of the nature of God, as my study bible puts it. Moses saw the "back" of God, Isaiah saw God's glory. But it is the Son who beholds God as equal and therefore declares God to us. My study bible notes: "He is one with the Father, and He (together with the Holy Spirit) sees the Father in His essence. As 'Light of Light,' Jesus reveals the Father: when we see Jesus Christ we see the Father."

John's prologue, in 18 verses, sums up for us what will become the entire foundation of Christian theology. The Son "was" in the beginning, "with" the Father, One with the Father. He has come to us fully incarnate as human, full of grace and truth, in order to reveal God's nature and share it with us that we too may become children of God through His grace and truth, and through faith in His name, and all that means for us as we live our lives in faith. Only He has seen the Father, is of the same essence and beholds God "face to face." But His life is a gift to us. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. And through Him God is revealed to us, and all that this may mean as we come through the centuries to explore all that this may mean as life in faith evolves in the world. Today, at the beginning of 2010, what does it mean to you? In the least detail of your life, in the challenges and decision you meet and make today, how does this revelation help you to see your way through your life? From the most powerful and awesome mysteries which are carried in these sentences, right down to the slightest detail of your life, grace is there, waiting, to share itself with you now.