John 1:1-2
Scripture – “The Word was first, the Word present to God, God present to the Word. The Word was God, in readiness for God from day one.”
Observation – Rain, snow, ice, fog, river, creek, coulee, lake and ocean are a few ways to talk about water. Though water is the common factor, each description brings to mind very different realities of water: falling liquid, loose crystals, compact crystals, suspended vapor, small moving body, large stable body and so on.
Similarly, the term ‘word’ is immensely diverse. In Greek we know it as ‘logos’, which today translates as ‘reason’, ‘study’ or ‘discourse’. Logos is the root of most social science disciplines like psychology, sociology, ecology and anthropology… that is, the study of the psyche, the study of societies, the study of the ecology and so on.
So what was John saying by referring to Jesus as ‘the Word’?
It is like he starts his book with the term ‘water’ and then goes on to describe it as best that he can. However he starts with ‘the Word’ and goes on to describe Jesus as the ‘study of God.’ Jesus is the one who speaks the words of God, is those words in living form, demonstrating their power and revealing God more fully. Through Jesus, God is present, knowable, revealed and at some levels can be understood. At other levels God is too much to be grasped. God is in creation, is revealing the trinity through the discourse of redeeming, reconciling, and renewing creation.
Application – Getting to know Jesus is a discipline of the study of God. Like any social science, the deeper one digs into the material, the more treasures there are to find.
Prayer – The Word made flesh, open my eyes, open my ears, open my mind, and open my heart to your wonder and depth. Reveal another aspect of your goodness today to this student of yours.
Lloyd Letkeman
Lloyd is married to Carol and the two of them are Regional Mission Mobilizers – Prairie Region for Mennonite Bretheren Mission.