GOSPEL OF JOHN
A Study on the Deity of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The phrase EN ARCH, ?in the beginning?, has reference to the dateless past.  The LOGOS, ?Word?, is a Persona and He is the Lord Jesus Christ.  The verb EIMI, ?was?, is in the imperfect and it has reference to the Eternal Self-existence of the LOGOS.  As far as the human mind could conceive of any reference in the past, or of a beginning, the LOGOS always existed.  The LOGOS was also PROS TON QEON, ?face to face with God?.  He was always in a close relationship with God in the dateless past.  The LOGOS is QEOS.  This is a simple statement with a dogmatic assertion emphasizing the Deity of the LOGOS, who is the Lord Jesus Christ.

To John, who is a Jew, there is only one God.  This monotheistic belief is enshrined in the TORAH, or the Mosaic Law, taught to all Jewish children.  His assertion means only one thing: the LOGOS is Deity.  Many have raised issues about the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Others have reinterpreted the Greek of this verse.  But to John, that is not the case, since he has no other notion of the nature of God from a non-Jewish perspective. 

The coming of Jesus had posed many problems to the Jews of his day.  They were taught in the monotheistic belief of only one God.  His statements that He is equal with God raised issues in the mind of the Jews.  How could He be God when there is only one God?  Abundant Scriptures though point to the Deity of the Messiah.  The Psalms mention phrases regarding the relationship of YHWH, ?the LORD?, to YHWH, ?the LORD?.  Jesus used the same passages to show the relationship of the Son of David, YHWH, ?the LORD?, to YHWH, ?the LORD?. 

With the coming of Christianity, revelation crystallized the concept of the Triune God.  The doctrine of the Trinity was established in the course of time to settle the debate on the issue.  Specific New Testament passages show the definite relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Each Person asserts His Deity and the writers of Scripture also assert their Deity.  While there are Three Persons in the Godhead, there is only one God, not Three.  Throughout the ages, Christians and others debated on the validity of this teaching.  The issue raised is logical.  One who is in earnest should therefore exercise understanding from the revelation of Scripture through a thorough comparison of Scriptures:  Scripture interprets Scripture. 

The first verse of the gospel of John asserts the Deity of Jesus Christ.  How would we then proceed from his statement?  Take what he said as true and proceed from that statement.  Then compare other Scripture on the Persons of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  We can conclude then that there are Three Persons in One God or, One God subsisting in Three Persons.  There is no human logic that could bridge this chasm.  It is beyond human understanding.  We have to accept the doctrine of the Trinity by faith.               

He was in the beginning with God.

?This [same one]?, hOUTOS, that is, the LOGOS, ?was?, once again the imperfect of EIMI was used, EN ARCH, ?in the beginning?, PROS TON QEON, ?face to face?, with God.

John wants the reader to understand the truth about the LOGOS in a very emphatic way hence, the repetition.  It is certain that John was correcting the false concept that a Creator was an emanation from Absolute Godhead after several eons or ages, who became only existent after a long passage of time.  The LOGOS was always in perpetual existence and in close proximity with God in the dateless past, not God?s emanation. 

This concept of emanations is called Gnosticism.  In the succeeding eras after the death of the Apostles, many Christians succumbed to this false teaching.  False teachers who reinterpreted the Gospels through allegories deceived many rich Christian women.  The Church Fathers occupied their time in combating this pernicious twisting of the Scriptures.   While it is doubted that Gnosticism was in full development at this time when John wrote his Gospel, incipient Gnosticism would not be remote since it is only a few decades till the end of the 1st century when the earliest records of patristic writing exposed this false doctrine.

John?s view of the dateless past was therefore different from Gnostic teaching.  He views the LOGOS as eternally pre-existing before He became the God-man in time.  The LOGOS was also present in creation and John endeavored to show that this is the case in the succeeding verses.  He was not alone nor was God alone in the eternal past.  They were both there, each a Person, eternally coexisting.

Through Him all things became, and apart from Him nothing became, the one becoming.

Jesus Christ is the Agent of creation.  He is the Creator.  DI? AUTOU, ?through Him?, means that He is the cause and the means for the creation of the universe.  John is explicit in his statement.  Not only was He the cause of creation, by means of Him, God carried His plan for the creation of a universe.  God is the Author of creation and the means He did it was Christ.  At the same time, Christ also caused creation.  He is therefore the instrument and the cause.  God did not create the world independent of the LOGOS.  He made the world through Him. 

This is in direct opposition to what the Gnostics teach.  They teach that the LOGOS was the Creator but that the Absolute had nothing to do with creation or matter.  There are arguments that the LOGOS was not the Creator in Gnosticism.  But the point John is making is that the LOGOS is not an emanation from the Absolute but was with God for all eternity in proximity, and the means by whom He created the universe.    

PANTA, ?all things?, refers to the total created entity, which is the universe.  In its simplest meaning, this word means ?all?.  There are no Greek words that describe everything and all things like what we have today.  When speaking of the details of what constitutes the universe as we termed it today, New Testament writers speak of the hierarchy of creation and the phenomenal nature of things created. 

Consider what Paul also said in Colossians 1: 15-17:

?And He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, For in Him all things were created, in the heavens and upon the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, lordships, or principalities, or powers.  Through Him and for Him all things were created.  Moreover, He is before all things and all things are sustained in Him.?

Paul used the same phrase as John.  DI? AUTOU, ?through Him?, are their exact phraseologies.  While John used the imperfect tense of EIMI in describing the existence of the LOGOS, Paul used the present tense of EIMI to describe His existence before the creation of the world. 

No mean statements these.  They are both dogmatic in their testimony, as Jews, that Jesus, who is the LOGOS, is God. 
Through Him, all things ?became?, the aorist of GINOMAI, means that Jesus was directly involved in creation.  He is the Creator.  He had a direct hand in the creation of the universe.  CWRIS AUTOU, ?without Him?, is a negative argument.  OUDE hEN, ?not a thing?, that is, nothing, ?became?, the same aorist as mentioned before.  hO GEGONEN, ?the ones occurring? stands as a separate description of every thing created. 

Now, let?s take this slowly.  John likes to play with words.  He has a style that is quite semantic for an author.  He carries puns and he has a tendency to be climatic.  We might even consider his writing style as oratorical for purposes of emphasis.  What does he mean here? 
Since all things exist, because we perceive all these through our senses, then it means that nothing of what we observe now would have been here were it not for the Lord Jesus Christ!  If He was not, then all these are not!  That is, the one that is now, continuing to exist, the creation, would not have existed without Jesus. 
His use of a separate phrase above, ?the ones occurring?, has a perfect Hebrew tone in a Greek statement.  Nothing could be more Hebrew than that.  He places the stamp of his authorship, of who he is, in saying that Jesus is the Creator.  That is, ?Hey, I am a Jew, and I am telling you that Jesus is the Creator!?