Jesus Christ is called the Word of God
4.2 - Foundations of the Christian Faith
Jesus is called the Word of God because the fullness of God’s revelation is found in Jesus Christ, who not only fulfills the Scriptures but is himself God’s Word, the living expression of God’s mind. The Scriptures testify about him, “In the beginning was the Word,” and “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” ( John 1:1, 14). Therefore, “ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” (Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah, prologue).
In the original Greek of the New Testament, Jesus is called the Logos, which means “word.” In Christian theology, the Logos (or the Word) is the name given to the pre-existent Christ, the second person of the Trinity. However, when John used this term in the opening chapter of his Gospel, he was primarily addressing a Greek audience. For the Greeks of his day, the term Logos represented one of the central concepts of Greek culture and philosophy. Understanding this Greek concept will provide you with a fuller understanding of why John calls Jesus the Logos. So, let’s explore.
In Greek cosmology (meaning their model of the universe), there were four essences: earth, air, fire, and water. Additionally, there was something called the quintessence (a Latin-based word). The quintessence was the cosmic principle in which the totality of the universe cohered; it was thought to be the substance of the heavenly bodies and was latent in all things. To say this more simply, there were four essences held together by a kind of cosmic glue called the quintessence. The Greek word for quintessence is “logos.” In the simplest of terms, John is telling his Greek reader that Jesus is the glue that holds the universe together.
So, when John declares that “In the beginning was the Logos,” he was telling his Greek reader that this logos with which they were familiar had a name, which was Jesus Christ. He was declaring that Jesus was indeed the very glue that held the universe together, and that He (Jesus) had come down to dwell among men, and that they, too, could know him intimately. We see a similar approach to the Gospel message in the writings of Paul when he borrowed a phrase from a Greek poet named Epimenides to declare the supremacy of Jesus Christ: “In Him we live and move and have our being.” This is an essential expression of the logos in Greek cosmology. No wonder Paul started by pointing out the statue to “the unknown god,” which he then declares, “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything“ (Acts 17:22-28).
The Jews of John’s day also had a concept of a logos, which was interchangeably referred to as logos or wisdom. The Jewish “Book of Wisdom” refers to it in the following fashion: “Wisdom (logo) is a spirit friendly to humanity, though she will not let a blasphemer’s words go unpunished; since God observes the very soul and accurately surveys the heart, listening to every word. For the spirit of the Lord fills the world, and that which holds everything together knows every word said.” Again, you can see here the notion of a divine glue that holds the universe together. So, whether John is addressing the Greeks or the Jews, he is definitely calling out the model of the cosmos common to both.
This should be helpful to you as your grapple with the concept of Jesus as the Logos. The following scriptures will help you find your anchor here, as well.
Your assignment: Read the following scriptures to see what else the Bible says about the Jesus as the Word of God.
John 1:1–18
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
Acts 17:22-31
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. 24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
Genesis 1:26–27
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Colossians 1:15–19
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Psalm 33:1–12
1 Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the Lord with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the people of the world revere him.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.10 The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
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