When I studied the Gospel of John in Bible college, what stood out to me was how differently it was written compared to the other three Gospels. And for those who enjoy philosophy and deep theology, John starts with some heavy philosophy at the beginning of the book. Unfortunately—or fortunately—depending on your tolerance for the topic, I was never any good at philosophy. But what I appreciate about John is his sense of the dramatic. In fact, John echoes the dramatic story of Genesis 1 by starting with the same first words:
“In the beginning.”
Now when Jewish readers or listeners heard the words, they were brought back to a story they’d heard over and over and over from childhood.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1).
In fact, they could probably recite the story backwards and forwards. It’s a foundational childhood story—one that tells of the greatness of the God, who created them, who created everything in this world and beyond, and John knew that using these words would evoke this memory, so he begins, “In the beginning.”
“Nothing Comes from Nothing”
Now, in addition to not being great with philosophy, I was never very good at science. But there are a few things I remember. First, nothing comes from nothing.
That should probably be my second point—but we’ll get back to that in a second. For now, let’s just consider the logic of this. I actually Googled this phrase to make sure I was getting the science right, and I learned that this actually comes from Greek philosophy. So, good news—I’m better at philosophy than I thought. Yay.
But anyway, whether it’s a scientific or philosophical principle, nothing comes from nothing. Something must have always existed—something that either moved, exerted force on, or created something else. And when we consider all the different theories of how the world began, we have to admit that something had to have started the movement.
For Christians, this is quite simple. We proclaim that God has always existed, which is the very definition who God is—the Eternal One. Regardless of the origin theory you subscribe to, if something must have always existed, God makes the most sense.
The Word at the Beginning
Now, instead of continuing with the words of the first Hebrew book, John introduces something new:
“In the beginning was the word” (John 1:1).
With the introduction of “the word” John introduces Greek philosophy into the Hebrew story. And since I was just very philosophical about the idea that “nothing comes from nothing,” I decided to apply my newfound philosophical confidence to look into what this word means and explain it. According to my commentary, logos (the Greek form of the word) means something like the soul of the world, the rational principle of the universe, a creative energy, the ultimate reality, the stabilizing principle of the universe.
So, hopefully, that is now completely clear. If not, I did initially warn you that I was never any good at philosophy.
That said, I do love words. And the way this word is used points to something unique of God: The word of God is synonymous with power.
When God spoke, “Let there be light,” light came into being.
In Isaiah 55:11, God says “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
The word of God is the act of God.
The Creator
Moving away from philosophy—for real this time—let’s look at the next part of the passage. We’re reminded that through God “all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3).
This goes back to my previous point: everything has come from something. Even if you believe the Big Bang is the best explanation for the creation of the world, you still have to ask. What set off the bang? What exploded? What created that thing that became all of this?
While I personally believe that God plays a huge role in the story, at bare minimum, we all have to accept there was an initiator. I believe the philosophers referred to this as the First or Unmoved Mover. Nothing can come from nothing.
But let me throw something new at you. In Genesis 1, the Hebrew word used for create actually means “created from nothing.” This is different from the word used to describe someone making clothes or cooking dinner, although those are also forms of creation. Those acts both involve making something new out of already existing materials. But God alone can create something from nothing.
Light and Life
About this Creator God, who creates from nothing, John writes:
“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind” (John 1:4).
It’s interesting to me the way life comes directly from God. And you see this in the creation story as well, where God spoke and this was created, and God spoke and that was created. Everything is created from the word—God speaking—until you get to the creation of humans. Then, instead of speaking, God breathes into them the breath of life (Gen 2:7). Life comes from God and God alone.
A friend of mine who studied medicine once told me that it’s a miracle anyone ever gets pregnant, because so many things could go wrong in a human body. And yet, I exist—and everyone reading this exists—because of that miracle. Science has within it many, many miracles. Life comes from God.
John also introduces the theme of light. And he will pick up both of these themes throughout his Gospel. Jesus later declares, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35), offering abundant life to those who believe. He also says, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). And we are called to be the light of the world as we reflect his light.
But this is more than just physical light. In the creation story, God said, “Let there be light,” marking the beginnings of physical and spiritual illumination. Light is how we see truth and reality. Darkness, night, and dark alleys are physically and metaphorically places where bad things happen. But when light enters—even the darkest places—it brings good and drives away evil.
Two Types of Revelation
When I was in Bible college, I learned how God revealed himself to the world first through natural revelation—“The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psa 19:1). If you look at creation and marvel at how things can be so good, you are pointed you to a God who is good, beautiful, and creative.
But God also revealed himself through special revelation. And we start to get glimpses of this through the prophets. John writes:
“There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe” (John 1:6-7).
While John the Baptist might have been the greatest of the prophets, He was not the first. Many other prophets before him bore witness to God’s light, truth, and revelation, proclaiming who God is so that all people would see him and know him and believe.
Pastors—along with the priesthood of all believers—continue in this prophetic tradition, bearing witness to the truth of who God is.
The Need for Discernment
But with this tremendous responsibility comes a warning. A pastor friend of mine recently posted this on Facebook:
“Christians are called to listen to the voice of Jesus and tune out everything else. That includes my messages. If I say something that doesn’t sound very Christlike, tune me out. And turn to the one God appointed, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.’”
This is such a good reminder. As people who point to Jesus, we don’t always do it as well as we ought to. Even those among us with the best intentions don’t reflect the light and life of God as faithfully as we ought. Our words, unlike the word of God, fall short. Even John the Baptist expressed doubt at one point (Matt 11:2-3).
We need to hold each other accountable and remember that when our leaders or fellow Christians let us down, we can still look to God. God never falls short of the life and light that he has declared himself to be.
God’s Desire for Relationship
But even special, prophetic revelation through people who have encountered God isn’t enough. God wants people to know him—to meet him personally.
This creates a tension throughout the Old Testament. When people like Moses—the greatest prophet before John the Baptist—asked to see God’s glory, God responded:
“No one can see my face and live” (Ex 33:20).
Even Moses wasn’t allowed to look upon the face of God. And yet, throughout the Old Testament, we do have glimpses of God appearing to people.
He appeared to Abraham and Sarah, promising them that Sarah would have a child, even though she was 90 and Abraham was 100 (Gen 18:1-15).
He appeared to Joshua as the commander of the Lord’s armies, who Joshua then worships (Josh 5:13-15). We know that angels don’t allow worship—this was clearly God.
And he appeared to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as the fourth man in the fiery furnace (Dan 3:25).
These were all brief glimpses of God in the flesh. But they weren’t enough. God wanted something more. He desired to come and live among his people.
The Word Became Flesh
So he did.
“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).
I love that verse so much. And it’s the focal point of John’s little drama.
The word of God is Jesus.
Jesus comes not to give us another glimpse of God, but to give us a complete picture of who God is. Through the Gospel of John and the other Gospels, we get to see how Jesus lived as a human for thirty plus years.
Even in Eden, when God came every day to walk and talk with Adam and Eve, he didn’t stay. But in Jesus, God’s physical presence lived among us on earth for thirty years. That’s something different, something new, something incredible.
It wasn’t something that God needed to do in order to understand us. It was something we needed. We needed to know that God understands us, that he loves us, and that he desires for us to know him.
The Greatness of God
But John doesn’t stop there. He reminds us how much greater God is than we are.
This is really important, because while initially, it might be hard to feel known or seen by God, once we realize how much God wants us to know him, there’s a danger of making him too familiar. We can start thinking of God as our buddy, as if we’re peers. But we’re not. It’s not even close.
God is so much greater, so much better, so much more than we could ever imagine.
And still, through his grace, he invites us into his family as his children. He has chosen us in grace. He has given us blessing upon blessing. And even though Moses gave us the law, we receive grace and truth through Jesus.
“No one has ever seen God [apart from these glimpses], but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father has made him known” (John 1:18).
I hope you’ll forgive John all the drama. But he’s just so excited to introduce Jesus to all of us. In the coming weeks of Lent, I hope you’ll keep reading and find the same thing: a deeper knowledge of who Jesus is, how much God loves us, and what it means to be his children.
Watch the sermon video on YouTube.
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