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John 1:1
The Eternal Word
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
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Why it is worth knowing
- “In the beginning” echoes Genesis 1: the Word pre-existed creation
- The Word was “with God”: distinction within the Godhead
- The Word “was God”: full divinity of Jesus asserted from the first verse
- This verse is foundational to the doctrine of the Trinity
Where it sits: John 1:1-4
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
Hear the passage it sits in, sung word for word, on BibleDo's John page.
Background
John opens his Gospel with a deliberate echo of Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning.” While Genesis begins with God creating, John begins before creation with the eternal Word already present. The Greek word “Logos” (Word) carried deep meaning both in Jewish thought (God’s creative and revelatory speech) and Greek philosophy (the rational principle underlying the universe). John claims that this Logos is a person, and in verse 14, that this person became flesh in Jesus. This prologue is one of the most theologically dense passages in Scripture.