The Word is a divine title given to Jesus in John 1:1. It refers to Jesus as the eternal God who became flesh and lived among us.
Jesus is the Word because the title continues from the Old Testament, where a divine person called the Word of the Lord appeared to select people in bodily form.
Thus, John’s Gospel does not refer to any philosophical term “Logos” or to the Scriptures but to the incarnated God-man Jesus Christ, who fully reveals God to humanity.
Let’s unpack the key verses in the New and Old Testaments!
Contents
The Word in John 1:1
John 1:1, the verse that introduces the title, the Word, also presents Jesus as eternal God distinct from the Father.
The phrase “In the beginning was the Word” is in the past tense, “was.” This means that Jesus existed before creation. He is eternal, beyond time and matter.
The opening reminds us of Genesis 1:1, where “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This is especially true when we combine John 1:1 with John 1:3, which mentions creation.
John 1:3
All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made.
John 1:3 also emphasizes Jesus’ eternal nature because everything was created through Him, and He existed before anything was made.
“The Word was with God” refers to Jesus’ eternal relationship with the Father. The word “with” in Greek can also mean “towards.” John, by selecting this word, communicates distinction and intimate relationship since eternity between Jesus and the Father.
To leave no ambiguity about who Jesus is, John concludes his opening verse by declaring that Jesus is God.
The Word became flesh
John 1:14 testifies that Jesus incarnated as fully human and lived among us. People saw Jesus, and He showed them the glory of God in His grace and truth.
What the Word does not refer to
The Word does not refer to the Greek philosophical term Logos, which means reason that in ancient Greek philosophy was the controlling principle in the universe. (Source)
The Word does not refer to the Father’s speech. There are multiple occasions (e.g. Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5) in the New Testament where Jesus is present while the Father speaks simultaneously. So, Jesus can not be the Father’s speech when He speaks.
The Word does not refer to the Scriptures either. In his book The Religion of the Apostles, Stephen De Young explains the Word of the Lord in the Old Testament as follows.
When we read in the Old Testament that “the Word of the Lord came to” a particular prophet, we make certain assumptions about what this means. In modern Christian discourse, the phrases “the Word of God” and “the Word of the Lord” are commonly used to refer to the Scriptures. However, in the Scriptures themselves, these phrases are never straightforwardly used this way. Other than a handful of debatable instances, the hundreds of times these terms appear in Scripture unambiguously refer to something, or rather, someone else. The Scriptures, in contrast, are referred to as “that which is written,” from which the word scripture derives.
The Word in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament, the Word of the Lord was perceived as a divine person who appeared to select people and spoke to them bodily. The person was distinguished from and identified as Yahweh, God of Israel.
Let’s see the key passages.
The Word of the Lord in Genesis 15
Genesis 15:1-7
1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
In Genesis 15:1-7, the Word of the Lord appears to Abraham. In the verses, the Word of the Lord is referred to as “I” and “he.” He comes to Abraham, tells him, “I am your shield,” and brings Abraham outside to look at the stars.
The text uses the Word of the Lord interchangeably with the Lord God and the Lord. In verse 1, the Word of the Lord came to Abraham, and in verse 2, Abraham answered, “O Lord God.” In verses 4, 5, and 6, the Word of the Lord came, brought him outside, and spoke, but in verse 6, Abraham believed the LORD.
In every verse before verse 7, the speaker is the Word of the Lord until, in verse 7, he says, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur.”
Seems like the Word of the Lord is the LORD, don’t you think?
The Word of the Lord in 1 Samuel 3
1 Samuel 3:1, 3-4, 6-7, 10, 21 (ESV)
1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.
3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!”
6 And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”
21 And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
1 Samuel 3:1 says that the Word of the Lord was rare and that there were not many visions then. So, the Word of the Lord appeared in Israel in visions.
In 1 Samuel 3:4 and 6, the Lord called Samuel. Samuel thought it was Eli who called him. According to verse 7, Samuel didn’t yet know the Lord because the Word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Word of the Lord in verse 7 can not mean the Scriptures because, according to verse 1, Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. It is impossible that Eli wouldn’t explain the Scriptures to the boy when mentoring him.
Verse 10 says that the Lord stood next to Samuel’s bed. In the following verses, the Lord tells Samuel a prophecy against Eli.
Verse 21 summarizes the above events and concludes that Yahweh has started to appear again in Israel: “Yahweh appeared again in Shiloh; for Yahweh revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by Yahweh’s word.”
In summary, the Lord appeared to Samuel in the form of the Word of the Lord, who was identified as the Lord. The Word spoke to Samuel and stood next to his bed.
The Word of the Lord in Jeremiah
Jeremiah 1:4-9 (ESV)
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”
9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
The Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah and spoke to him, saying He formed Jeremiah in the womb.
Jeremiah recognizes Him as the Lord. In verse 7, the Lord speaks; in verse 9, the Lord stretches His arm and touches Jeremiah’s mouth.
In verses 11-14, on two occasions, the Word of the Lord speaks first and then the Lord, meaning the text handles them both as the Lord.
Jeremiah 1:11-14
11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”
13 The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” 14 Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land.
Zechariah 4:8-9
The Word of the Lord is mentioned also in Zechariah 4:8-9, where the Word of the Lord says that the Lord of hosts has sent “Me” (personal pronoun) to the Israelites. According to this verse, the Word of the Lord is a person distinct from the Father.
Zechariah 4:8-9
Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
“The hands of Zerubbabel
Have laid the foundation of this temple;
His hands shall also finish it.
Then you will know
That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.
The Word of the Lord in 1 Kings 19
In 1 Kings 19, you encounter the Angel of the LORD, the Word of the Lord, and the Voice of the Lord, who are all manifestations of God on earth.
Let’s read and unpack the key verses.
- In verses 5 and 7, the Angel of the LORD appears to Elijah, after which he makes a 40-day and night journey to Mt Horeb (Mt Sinai), God’s Mountain.
- In verse 9, the Word of the Lord comes to Elijah, who is in a cave, and HE asks him, “What doest thou here, Elijah?”
- In verse 10, Elijah answers, “I have been very jealous…”
- In verse 11, the Word of the Lord speaks to Elijah again, and then the LORD passes by him.
- In verse 13, a voice comes to Elijah, who is in a cave, and asks him, “What doest thou here, Elijah?” These are the exact same words as the Word of the LORD used in verse 9.
- In verse 14, Elijah answers, “I have been very jealous…” These are the exact same words as in verse 10. In both of these answers, Elijah says, “Israel has forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars.” It seems like Elijah is talking to God in both verses 10 and 14.
- In verse 15, the LORD speaks to Elijah.
The structure of these two moments with the Word of the LORD and the voice in the cave at Mt Horeb are almost identical. After both moments, the text handles the Word of the Lord and the Voice of the Lord as the Lord.
Considering all of the above, John’s Gospel’s first chapter does not refer to some philosophical term, Logos, but to this second person in the Old Testament, reminding readers of Psalm 33:6: “By the Word of the Lord, the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.”