3. The word through which God created all things; John 1:1–3

God is the Creator of all things. That honour belongs to Him alone.

He stretcheth out the heavens by Himself…
Job 9:8

… I [am] Jehovah, doing all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself, Spreading out the earth — Who [is] with Me?
Isaiah 44:24

Note that when God attributes creation exclusively to Himself, He speaks in the first person singular: “I [am] Jehovah… I alone.” Not multiple persons, but one Someone.

created by the word

Scripture likewise leaves no doubt that God created all things by His word. In Genesis 1, it resounds like a refrain: “And God said… and it was so.” Or as Psalm 33 expresses it:

By the word of YAHWEH the heavens have been made,
And by the breath of His mouth all their host (…)
For He hath said, and it is, He hath commanded, and it standeth.
Psalm 33:6,9

The word is the means by which God created. God is the Creator, and OUT of His mouth and THROUGH His word He called all things into existence.

in the beginning was the word

It is these simple statements that form the foundation of the famous prologue of John 1. Below is a (fairly) literal translation of the opening verses.

1 In [the] beginning was the word (Gr. LOGOS),
and the word was toward God,
and God was the word.
2 This was in [the] beginning toward God.
3 All things through it became,
and without it not even one thing became
that has become.

John is clearly referring here to Genesis 1, the chapter that likewise begins with the words “in [the] beginning…”. The word sounded from the beginning, and the word pointed to God as the One who spoke. The God of Genesis 1 is not seen (cf. John 1:18 “No one hath ever seen God…”) but heard. “God was the word.” All things became through the word, without a single exception.

Note that the word WAS, while all things BECAME. The LOGOS is not a creation but the expression of God through which He created all things.

not an independent person

There is no reason whatsoever to view the LOGOS in John 1:1–3 as an independent person who, together with God, brought creation into being. Apart from any theology, “the word” (the LOGOS) in this passage is nothing other than the verbal expression of God through which all things came into existence. Only in John 1:14 does the word become flesh and a “He”: the only begotten of the Father.

Delen: