Fully Devoted: CreationSample

In the Beginning Was the Word

The first words of John’s Gospel are an intentional callback to the first words of Genesis 1. Why does John open up his account of Jesus’ life in this way? He’s making the argument that Jesus isn’t just another prophet, priest, or king—Jesus isn’t even just the Messiah, the chosen one of God—but Jesus is God. 

John’s radical claim is that Jesus is the living Word of God, the second person of the Trinity, the promised Deliverer, and the rightful King of creation. And he communicates that by referencing the first page of the Bible. 

This introduction is structured in a way that would have conveyed clearly to both Jewish and Greek readers the reality of who Jesus is.

John starts out:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 NIV

This verse would have made both his Jewish and Greek readers nod their heads in agreement. The Jewish people would have heard “Word” and assumed John was talking about the Torah and the wisdom of God. His Greek audience would have thought he was referring to the “soul of the universe.” 

It wouldn’t be until verse two that they would start asking questions. 

He was with God in the beginning. John 1:2 NIV

In verse two, John makes a switch and calls the Word “he.” Both groups would have likely scratched their heads in confusion. According to their worldviews, the Word wasn’t a he, the Word was a thing—a very powerful thing, but certainly not a person. 

And John keeps going. In verse 14, he says:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 NIV

The Word that was with God in the beginning, the Word that is God, the Word through whom all things were made, the Word in whom is life and light and hope and grace and truth—that Word put on skin and bones, and became a person. 

That person is Jesus, who willingly died on a cross to rescue humanity from sin and make a way for creation to be restored. 

So we can have confidence and hope knowing that the One we follow isn’t just a wise teacher or a good person. Instead, He is the God of all creation. 

Journaling Questions  

• Write one of the verses from today’s reading in your journal. How does this impact your perspective of Jesus? 
• How does knowing that the Word of God is not a “what” but a “who,” change how you engage with this study? 
• Explain the difference between knowing about someone versus actually knowing them.

Memory Verse

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 NIV