Jesus lived, breathed, walked, and talked on this earth. According to Scripture, Jesus was a man.
Scripture also tells us that Jesus is God.
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
1:2 He was in the beginning with God.
1:3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:1-5 (ESV)
Can we be sure that the “Word” referenced here is Jesus? Of course! Look at verses 14-15.
1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
1:15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'”)
John 1:14-15 (ESV)
Check out our article which goes into much greater depth.
I wished to post a comment about the first few verses in the book of John. If this is the wrong place to do so, feel free to move it or zap it out of existance.
John starts out, “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 were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
Every sermon I have ever heard preached on this passage of scripture has focused on the idea that this means Jesus was with God from the beginning. They all agree that “the Word” is a reference to Jesus. I don’t disagree with that point, however, I think that an important point related to this scripture passage is often overlooked.
In many parts of scripture, there are both literal and figurative meanings to be found within a given phrase or collection of sentences. There are, if you will, multiple layers to the depth of His truth. In this particular case, it seems to me the focus is put almost entirely on the figurative interpretation and little to none is placed on the literal interpretation. Perhaps that can be explained by the fact that “Word” is capatialized throughout this passage.
I think we need to see also that the word of God is what brought everything into existance. We far too often fail to even remotely grasp the awesome power of the word of God. He speaks and it is so. He speaks and a universe comes into existance from nothingness. He speaks and the human race is created from the dust that He created with His word.
It is also important for us to understand that all that we know, see, experience, all that is, as we precieve reality, exists only because the word of God has caused it to be so, and that in a flash it could all cease to exist should He say it to be so. That is the awesome power of Gods word, or at least a glimpse of its power!
In Issah 55:11 we read; “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
Here “word” is not capitalized and the focus tends to be on the spoken word of God, rather than being on Jesus as “the Word”. Yet if one looks closely, can it not be reasoned that this also may be a refernce to the Savior that was yet to come at the time this scripture was written?
There are concepts here that lie beyond the ability of my mind to grap. But I do think that we need to pay special attention to and give great reverence to the Word, be it literal or figurative in its meaning. There is power in Gods Word. There is power isn Gods word. He is and awesome God!
Certainly, God has magnified His word above His name, as Psalm 138:2 tells us. And the Apostle Paul attributes to the word the ability to be glorified, a term usually reserved for God and His people (2 Thessalonians 3:1). The close interrelationship between the written word and God Himself may be seen throughout Scripture. Those who say they honor the word but not the Son honor neither. And those who say they honor the Son but have low esteem for the word are also in error. We cannot lightly esteem one’s speech and highly esteem one’s person (except in those situations where someone is afflicted by some physical or mental infirmity). When God speaks, it is an expression of His character and will. To think little of such communication is to think little of the One who gave it utterance. And with God, such utterance is life-giving.
I have long appreciated the creative genius God used in calling His Son “the Word.” As I have pointed out previously, the word “word” is, I believe, unique among all words. Words express concepts. For instance, the word “apple” brings to mind the red, green, or yellow fruit that grows on apple trees. But the word “apple” is not an apple. It cannot be handled as an apple. It cannot itself be eaten. We only eat what it represents. So it is with words generally.
But the word “word” is different. The word “word” represents the basic structure of a sentence and human language. It also is the very thing it represents; that is, the word “word” is a word. It does not merely represent a word, but it is the very thing it represents.
When applied to the Son in John 1:1, the richness of those term in relation to Christ is readily seen. He not only represents God in human flesh, but He is the very God whom He represents. Thus, we might loosely translate this verse, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was face to face with God, and the Word was the God looking back.” He not only was the representation of God to us, but He was the very God He was representing. In the words of the author of Hebrews, He was the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of God’s person (Hebrews 1:3).
There is much more to be said about the written word and the Word who walked with us, and the interrelationship between the two.
We honor the Word when we honor (seek to live out) the written word.