What is the meaning of John 1:1?

[ChrAug]

{ “In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God.” -Jn 1:1 New Jerusalem Bible }

{ "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life - " -Jn 1:1 New American Bible }

How does the Word exist prior man or speech?

.

 

[bilop]

{ “In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God.” -Jn 1:1 New Jerusalem Bible }

{ "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life - " -Jn 1:1 New American Bible }

How does the Word exist prior man or speech?

.

Not the spoken word, but “the Word”. Christ is “the Word”.

God Bless

 

[ChrAug]

Bilop;

What is the connection between the Word and Jesus Christ?

i.e.

Why does John use the designation “the Word” and not simply “Jesus Christ” to begin his gospel?

.

 

[SonCatcher]

Bilop;

What is the connection between the Word and Jesus Christ?

i.e.

Why does John use the designation “the Word” and not simply “Jesus Christ” to begin his gospel?

.

Welcome to CAF!

I think it is a reference to the Son being begotten. In the opening chapter of Genesis, God spoke the world and all its creatures into existence. In the epistles we learn that everything was created through and for the Son. Since all was spoken into existence, the Word that was spoken is the Son.

 

[Safia]

This should help out a bit:

Was the Word - Greek, “was the λόγος Logos.” This name is given to him who afterward became “flesh,” or was incarnate (John 1:14 - that is, to the Messiah. Whatever is meant by it, therefore, is applicable to the Lord Jesus Christ. There have been many opinions about the reason why this name was given to the Son of God. It is unnecessary to repeat those opinions. The opinion which seems most plausible may be expressed as follows:

1. A “word” is that by which we communicate our will; by which we convey our thoughts; or by which we issue commands the medium of communication with others.

1. The Son of God may be called “the Word,” because he is the medium by which God promulgates His will and issues His commandments. See Hebrews 1:1-3.

1. This term was in use before the time of John.

(a) It was used in the Aramaic translation of the Old Testament, as, “e. g.,” Isaiah 45:12; “I have made the earth, and created man upon it.” In the Aramaic it is, “I, ‘by my word,’ have made,” etc. Isaiah 48:13; “mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth.” In the Aramaic, “‘By my word’ I have founded the earth.” And so in many other places.

(b) This term was used by the Jews as applicable to the Messiah. In their writings he was commonly known by the term “Mimra” - that is, “Word;” and no small part of the interpositions of God in defense of the Jewish nation were declared to be by “the Word of God.” Thus, in their Targum on Deuteronomy 26:17-18, it is said, “Ye have appointed the word of God a king over you this day, that he may be your God.”

(c) The term was used by the Jews who were scattered among the Gentiles, and especially those who were conversant with the Greek philosophy.

(d) The term was used by the followers of Plato among the Greeks, to denote the Second Person of the Trinity. The Greek term νοῦς nous or “mind,” was commonly given to this second person, but it was said that this nous was “the word” or “reason” of the First Person of the Trinity. The term was therefore extensively in use among the Jews and Gentiles before John wrote his Gospel, and it was certain that it would be applied to the Second Person of the Trinity by Christians. whether converted from Judaism or Paganism. It was important, therefore, that the meaning of the term should be settled by an inspired man, and accordingly John, in the commencement of his Gospel, is at much pains to state clearly what is the true doctrine respecting the λόγος Logos, or Word. It is possible, also, that the doctrines of the Gnostics had begun to spread in the time of John. They were an Oriental sect, and held that the λόγος Logos or “Word” was one of the “Aeones” that had been created, and that this one had been united to the man Jesus. If that doctrine had begun then to prevail, it was of the more importance for John to settle the truth in regard to the rank of the Logos or Word. This he has done in such a way that there need be no doubt about its meaning. (source)

 

[AlexPetrosPio]

Because the pagan Greeks were searching for “the Logos,” the Word, the Unknown God, prime mover, prime causer, the Monotheistic God Socrates died for. As most early Christians spoke Greek and opening the Church to the Gentiles, he played on the pagan Greeks search by claiming that the Logos, the Word, they were searching for is truly Our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

[AlltheRoses]

The Word is Jesus Christ, who existed before the world was created and before man was.

 

[Jesus_123]

+When considering the meaning of the :bible1: Biblical passage John 1:1 . . . it is normally companioned with **John 1:2 and John 1:14 **. . . which reveals . . . Jesus . . . ***the Blessed Christ ***. . . ***God Incarnate ***. . . ***God the Son ***. . . Second Person of the Holy Trinity . . .

. . . :coffeeread: . . .
The Holy :bible1: Bible
John 1:1-2, 14

[1] In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
[2] The same was in the beginning with God. …
[14] And the
Word
was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as it were of the **only begotten **of the Father,
full of grace and truth.

. . . all for Jesus+
. . . thank You Sweet Spirit of our Holy God+
. . . thank you Blessed Virgin Mary our Mother+
. . . thank you Blessed Holy Mother Church+
. . . thank you Blessed Holy St. Jerome+​

 

[ChrAug]

Here is what I have gathered from you:

“The Word” is God the Creator’s instrument of will.

God’s instrument on earth is also the Eternal Son sent to us.

The Son of Man has used the Spoken Word to build his church and set the world on fire.

.

 

[Crumpy]

{ “In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God.” -Jn 1:1 New Jerusalem Bible }

{ "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life - " -Jn 1:1 New American Bible }

How does the Word exist prior man or speech?.

This is a good question and a reasonable one.

The Bible was written by believers in God, people of faith. It speaks of things that are not available directly to our senses, like God himself. It also speaks in symbolic words, but often, like “Word,” are more than symbolic.

The previous posts help a lot in explaining this.

Jewish commentaries (limited of course to discussing only the Hebrew scriptures that is, the Old Testament) have concluded that, for sure, the Torah (first five books of the Bible) existed within God for thousands of years (if you can picture that) before creation. There is a phrase somewhere in the Psalms that directly suggests this.

Yes, as a previous post indicates, Jesus who is the second Person of the Blessed Trinity (of one God) existed before the creation described in Genesis. He is the Word made flesh.

Yes, this is a metaphysical fact, a theological fact, and a biblical fact.

 

[thistle]

{ “In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God.” -Jn 1:1 New Jerusalem Bible }

{ "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life - " -Jn 1:1 New American Bible }

How does the Word exist prior man or speech?

.

D-R Bible, Haydock Commentary:

Ver. 1. In the beginning was the word:[1] or rather, the word was in the beginning. The eternal word, the increated[uncreated?] wisdom, the second Person of the blessed Trinity, the only begotten Son of the Father, as he is here called (ver. 14.) of the same nature and substance, and the same God, with the Father and Holy Ghost. This word was always; so that it was never true to say, he was not, as the Arians blasphemed. This word was in the beginning. Some, by the beginning, expound the Father himself, in whom he was always. Others give this plain and obvious sense, that the word, or the Son of God, was, when all other things began to have a being; he never began, but was from all eternity. — And the word was with God; i.e. was with the Father; and as it is said, (ver. 18) in the bosom of the Father; which implies, that he is indeed a distinct person, but the same in nature and substance with the Father and the Holy Ghost. This is repeated again in the second verse, as repetitions are very frequent in St. John. — And the word was God. This without question is the construction; where, according to the letter we read, and God was the word. (Witham) — The Greek for the word is Logos, which signifies not only the exterior word, but also the interior word, or thought; and in this latter sense it is taken here. (Bible de Vence) — Philo Judæus, in the apostolic age, uses the word Logos, p. 823, to personify the wisdom and the power of God. Logos estin eikon Theou di ou sumpas o Kosmos edemiourgeito. By a similar metonymy, Jesus Christ is called the way, the truth, the life, the resurrection. — And the word was God. Here the eternity and the divinity of the second Person are incontrovertibly established; or, we must say that language has no longer a fixed meaning, and that it is impossible to establish any point whatever from the words of Scripture. (Haydock)

 

[puzzleannie]

{ “In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God.” -Jn 1:1 New Jerusalem Bible }

{ "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life - " -Jn 1:1 New American Bible }

.

where did you get the second quote, my NAB reads almost identical to the first quote, except there is an “and” where you have a colon

 

[Jesus_123]

+The holy Angelus Prayer below . . . which has constantly been prayed by millions over the centuries three times a day . . . *at dawn *. . . midday . . . *and at close of day *. . . also specifically addresses the original post question . . .

+
**The Angelus **

The Angel of the Lord ****declared to Mary and she conceived of the **Holy Spirit **. . .

Hail Mary, full of grace, the* Lord ***is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the* Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.And the Word was made Flesh*: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the* Lord ***is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

**Let us pray: ** Pour forth, we beseech **Thee, O Lord, Thy **grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by **His **Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

"And the angel being come in, said unto her:
Hail, full of grace, the
Lord
is with thee:
blessed art thou among women."
Luke 1:28
:bible1:

***"And she cried out with a loud voice, and said:
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the
**Fruit *****
of thy womb."Luke 1:42:bible1:

. . . all for Jesus+
. . . thank You Sweet Lord our God+
​

 

[bmullins]

When God spoke in Genesis 1, the world came into existence. The Word that he spoke is the Logos. Everything is created through the Logos, and everything that exists came through it. The word(Logos) was with God, and the word(Logos) was God. That very word that was spoken, is Jesus Christ. That’s what the verse means. It ties in when John says:

[bibledrb]John 1:14[/bibledrb]

 

[Gorgias]

Note that, if John had said, “In the beginning was Jesus”, then that would easily have been misunderstood to mean that “the human person Jesus” always existed – that the Incarnation wasn’t really an incarnation after all! So, from the very beginning, the 2nd person of the Trinity – the Logos, the Word – existed. In the incarnation, the person Jesus Christ came into being.

 

[NotWorthy]

When God spoke in Genesis 1, the world came into existence. The Word that he spoke is the Logos. Everything is created through the Logos, and everything that exists came through it. The word(Logos) was with God, and the word(Logos) was God. That very word that was spoken, is Jesus Christ. That’s what the verse means. It ties in when John says:

[bibledrb]John 1:14[/bibledrb]

Absolutely!

John’s Gospel begins just like the Creation account at the beginning of Genesis. Throughout the first 18 verses of John (The “Overture”), we see themes that echo Genesis’ Creation Account - Light, Life, Darkness, etc. And John’s 2nd chapter continues the creation account, where on the 7th day, there is a wedding. Weren’t Adam and Eve wedded on the 7th day?

But to your point, “And God said, Let there be…” is further clarified when John’s Gospel says, “In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. It continues, “All things were made through him, and through him all things came to be”.

 

[perro_sarnoso]

Bilop;

What is the connection between the Word and Jesus Christ?

i.e.

Why does John use the designation “the Word” and not simply “Jesus Christ” to begin his gospel?

.

The second person of the Most Holy Trinity is the Logos - the creating word in action, of God. Contrary to our words, God’s word is alive and active - it is life-giving.

in the beginning was the Word] The son of God has always been. [and the word was with God] The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - one God. [and the word was God].

The next lines of this passage talk about “that word” in action - creating.

 

[perro_sarnoso]

{ “In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God.” -Jn 1:1 New Jerusalem Bible }

{ "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life - " -Jn 1:1 New American Bible }

How does the Word exist prior man or speech?

.

What amazes me rather negatively is that the the “New American Version” is so " american". Be that as it may…

If you take the Jerusalem version and replace the word “word” with Jesus…it will take on a clearer expression of who the Word is.

 

[Filii_Dei]

{ “In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God.” -Jn 1:1 New Jerusalem Bible }

{ "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life - " -Jn 1:1 New American Bible }

How does the Word exist prior man or speech?

.

where did you get the second quote, my NAB reads almost identical to the first quote, except there is an “and” where you have a colon

What amazes me rather negatively is that the the “New American Version” is so " american". Be that as it may…

If you take the Jerusalem version and replace the word “word” with Jesus…it will take on a clearer expression of who the Word is.

Please note:

I think ChrAng may have confused John 1:1 with 1 John 1:1. It’s a common mistake. It actually doesn’t vary so much between the NJB and NAB.

[BIBLEDRB]John 1:1[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]1 John 1:1[/BIBLEDRB]

As an aside, I love the Last Gospel.

 

[Dave_Noonan]

{ “In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God.” -Jn 1:1 New Jerusalem Bible }

{ "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life - " -Jn 1:1 New American Bible }

How does the Word exist prior man or speech?

.

It’s a midrash (a Jewish form of biblical interpretation) of Gen. 1:1 and Proverbs 8, particularly Prov. 8:30.