A Letter to My Trinitarian Friend (Part 3 of 0)

John 1 – Part three

This continues Bro. Joe Cooper's letter to his Trinitarian friend. Previous installments of his letter were in the August ,'94, pp. 333-35 and September '94, pp. 373-74 issues of "Tidings." The explanation of John 1:1 presented is not the one many of us may have heard in the past. We present it for your thoughtful consideration and would invite presentations of an alternative explanation which take into account Bro. Joe's points.

Most of the verses quoted to support the trinity come from the gospel of John. I suppose the one that comes first to mind is:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (Jn. 1:1).

I agree with you that “the Word” in this case has reference to Jesus. Where I disagree with you is in regard to “the beginning” that is in mind. To see my point, come with me to the opening verses of the first epistle of John.

The beginning in John’s writings

John opens his first epistle with the following words:

“That which was from the begin­ning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life” (I John 1:1).

In this passage, I think it is clear that John is not speaking of the begin­ning as being creation, but the begin­ning as being Christ’s ministry. John was writing to individuals, some of whom had seen Jesus, had touched him and had been with Christ from the beginning.

Several examples in I John

There are a number of passages in I John which speak of the beginning in this way. For example:

“Brethren, I write no new com­mandment unto you, but an old com­mandment which ye had from the be­ginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the  beginning” (I Jn. 2:7).

The “beginning” spoken of here is obviously the ministry of Christ when the brethren heard the “old” com­mandment. At that time, Jesus declared:

“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (Jn. 14:21).

The same idea is repeated in I John 2:24 and II John 5,6 where the breth­ren are again exhorted to walk after Christ’s commandments which they had heard from the beginning. Note also I John 2:13:

“I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning…”

The words in italics are not in the original Greek but were added by the translators. Take them out and we see that John is speaking to the elders that knew Christ from the beginning. The “fathers” saw him with their eyes and handled him with their hands. Thus the “beginning” is again referring to the life and ministry of our Lord.

And compare I John 1:1, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard…” with 2:24, “That which ye have heard from the begin­ning.” These two verses are saying the same thing in a slightly different sequence. Both use the “beginning” in reference to the ministry of Christ.

The same usage in the gospel of John

John uses the word “beginning” in this same way in the Gospel of John. In John 15:27, Jesus tells his disciples:

“And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from  the beginning.”

Why does John refer to Christ’s ministry as the beginning? Jesus was a new beginning with his ministry be­cause he spoke as one having author­ity, and not as the scribes. He was the beginning of a new way of life, by instructing the Jews to walk in faith, not by the outward appearance of the law. He was the beginning of the new cove­nant, in which he was to be sacrificed for the sin of the world once, unlike the repetitive sacrifices of the law. And Christ is referred to as the first­born of the dead (Col. 1:18). He is the beginning of the new creation, of the new life of which we can be part, if we choose to follow his commandments.

Considering John 1:1

In John 1:1,2 we read:

“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.”

We agree that Jesus is referred to as the “Word of Life” in I John 1:1 and “the Word of God” in Revelation 19:13. (Of course you realize that the capitalization of “Word” is the translator’s discretion.) Where we disagree is in our understanding of what John is conveying to us in John 1:1. Was he explaining that Jesus was God the Son in the beginning of creation and that he stood co-equal with God the Father as co-creator of the world? Or was John introducing Jesus in the same manner as he introduced him in I John, as the Word in the beginning, not the beginning of creation but the new be­ginning which began with his minis­try?

I believe that the first two verses in the gospel of John provide an intro­duction of Christ’s character and rela­tionship with his Father during his ministry. Please consider the follow­ing points.

Jesus – the Word

As we agree, Jesus is called the “Word.” The Word (Jesus) was with God in that the Father was with the Son throughout his life, directing and protecting him in all that he did. We read of this in John 16:32:

“Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”

The Word (Jesus) was God because Christ and God were in unity in char­acter and purpose, as we read in John 17:21:

“That they [believers] all may be one; as thou. Father. art in me. and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”

Continuing in John 1

John continues in his gospel:

“All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men…He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not” (Jn. 1:3,4,10).

If Christ created the world, as you suggest, what does it mean in verse 10 when it speaks of the world which he created as not knowing him? Did the original creation, the animals and vegetation not know Jesus? Or is the “all things” speaking of the covenant, commands, sacrifices and leadership of the Jewish world? All of these things were made wholly new by Je­sus. Is this a similar idea to the “principalities and powers” of Colossians 1:16 which refers, not to the earth and seas, but to existing people and na­tions?

The use of “in” and “by”

This passage uses “in” and “by” when speaking of Christ’s relationship with the world for the same reason they are used in Colossians 1:15-16. It does not state that Christ was the one who made all things, or that all things were made from him or that from him came life. Rather, he was the one through whom things were made and in him was life. He was the means for the bringing of life and change. I Corinthians 8:6 is a good summary of the point:

“But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.”

Thus as John 1:1,2 introduce Christ’s character and relationship with God, verses 3 and 4 summarize his purpose with the world and verse 10 tells us what the world’s response was to him.

Also consider the Greek word that is here rendered “made.” It does not always mean to create something alto­gether new but often means “to come to pass, to become” (see Strong’ s and Young’s concordances). It is through Christ that all things have their present relationship to one another, whether they be “thrones, dominions, principalities or powers” (Col. 1:16).

First in importance

The idea of relationships is carried forward in John 1. Consider John 1:15:

“John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, this was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is pre­ferred before me: for he was before me.”

We might think this is saying Jesus was preferred before John the Baptist because he existed before John until we notice the Greek word translated “before.” It is protos and is almost always used to refer to the chief or first in importance. A good example is Matthew 20:27,28:

“And whosoever will be chief (prows) among you, let him be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

The idea of Jesus as the most important person of all the human race is exactly the same as the idea of the “firstborn” of all creation which we saw in Colossians 1:14 (8/94, pg. 334­-335).

The word made flesh

Christ is spoken of as “the Word of life” and “the Word of God” be­cause his teaching came exclusively from God. Furthermore, as a mighty prophet, God was revealing His words through Jesus. As he said:

“My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me” (Jn. 7:16).

In addition, and unlike any other man, Jesus was also a perfect living manifestation of the commands of God in practice. All the words of instruction and commandment that had gone before came alive in Jesus:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14).

He was the beginning of the new creation. And today, we can receive him in truth and can join with those who received him during his ministry:

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (Jn. 1:12).