1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1:1-5 KJV)
Commentary
Austin (De Civitate Dei, 10.29) says his friend Simplicius told him he had heard a Platonic philosopher say that the opening verses of John’s Gospel deserved to be written in letters of gold. The scholar Francis Junius recounts in his memoir how, in his youth, he held loose religious views but was changed by reading these verses from a Bible his father had intentionally placed in his path. He noted such divinity in the message and such majesty in the language that he trembled and was overwhelmed, not knowing where he was for an entire day. From that moment, he began to live a religious life.
The evangelist sets out to prove the great truth that Jesus Christ is God, one with the Father. He speaks of “the Word” (Greek: ho logos), a term unique to John’s writings (1 John 1:1; 5:7; Revelation 19:13), though some see it used in Acts 20:32 and Hebrews 4:12. The Chaldee paraphrase often calls the Messiah “Memra”—the Word of Jehovah—showing how commonly even ordinary Jews understood the Word of God to be divine. John 1:18 explains why Christ is called the Word: because he is the only begotten Son who reveals the Father.
The Word can be understood in two ways—conceived and spoken. The conceived word is thought, the first and immediate product of the soul, one with it. Christ, the second person of the Trinity, is fittingly called the Word, the eternal Wisdom that was with God in the beginning (Proverbs 8:22). We know that we think, but we cannot fully explain how. If human thought is a mystery, how much more the generation of the eternal Word?
The spoken word is speech, which reveals the mind. In this sense, Christ is the Word because through him God has spoken to us (Hebrews 1:2), and we are told to listen to him (Matthew 17:5). Christ makes known the mind of God, as words make known thoughts. John the Baptist was the voice; Christ is the Word. Being the Word, he is the Truth, the faithful Witness of God’s will.
John asserts Christ’s eternal existence: “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1). This means he existed before all time and creation. The beginning found the Word already existing. He that was in the beginning had no beginning and is therefore eternal (Psalm 90:2; Proverbs 8:23).
He also states Christ’s co-existence with the Father: “The Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1-2). Christ was not only with God but is God. This shows he is a distinct person, yet one in substance with the Father (Hebrews 1:3). He shared in the Father’s glory and joy before the world was (John 17:5; Proverbs 8:30). The plan of salvation through the incarnate Word was in God from eternity (Ephesians 3:9), and the Father and Son understood this mission perfectly (Zechariah 6:13; Matthew 11:27).
John 1:3 confirms the Word’s role in creation: “All things were made through him.” He was not only aware of divine plans but also active in creation (Proverbs 8:30). God made the world by his Word (Psalm 33:6), and Christ is that Word—an agent equal with God (Hebrews 1:2). Without him, nothing was made. From angels to the lowest creature, all owe their existence to him. This proves he is God (Hebrews 3:4), as only God is Creator (Isaiah 40:12, 28; Jeremiah 10:11-12).
This highlights the excellence of Christianity: its founder is the Creator of the world. The One we worship as Savior is the One to whom the patriarchs gave honor as Creator. He who made us is the one appointed to save us.
“In him was life” (John 1:4). This proves again that Christ is God and fully qualified for his mission. He has life in himself, the source of all life. All living beings derive life from him and are sustained by him (Acts 17:25; Genesis 1:20). He is also the giver of rational life—“the life was the light of men.” Human life is not just physical but rational and spiritual. The human soul is a lamp lit by God, and it was Christ, the eternal Word, who lit it.
This makes him perfectly suited to redeem fallen humanity, who lives in spiritual death and darkness. From him we receive both spiritual light and eternal life. If our natural life was in his Son, we should readily believe that eternal life is also in his Son.
But if this eternal Word was so central in creation, why is he so little known? John 1:5 answers: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Even before Christ came in the flesh, he was shining as the light in the darkness of the fallen world.
The eternal Word shone in human conscience. Though fallen, people still had some awareness of God within them (Romans 1:19-20). This inner light prevented the world from becoming total darkness. God be thanked that it has not. The Word also shone through the types and prophecies of the Old Testament. The gospel was veiled, but present (2 Corinthians 3:13). The light was there, but it was dim to most eyes.
Still, “the darkness did not comprehend it.” The world failed to understand even the natural light of reason and became vain in its thoughts about God and the Word (Romans 1:21,28). The Jews, too, failed to recognize Christ in their Scriptures. As a veil was on Moses’ face, so it was on their hearts. Thus, Christ came not only to correct Gentile errors but also to fulfill and clarify the truths the Jews had misunderstood.