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. John 1:14
The apostle John is unique among the gospel writers in his application of the term ‘Word’ (‘Logos’ in the Greek) for Jesus. What did John mean to teach by using this simple yet extraordinary term for our Saviour? Because Greek philosophers who pre-dated John used the term Logos in their postulations, it has been argued that John was influenced by Greek philosophy. And further, that John taught that the Greek Logos became incarnate in Jesus Christ. Yet nothing could be further from the truth.
The Logos of the Greeks was an impersonal and abstract concept which may be defined as ‘the rational underlying structure of the universe’. The common pagan thought held by the Greeks was that the physical world was entirely corrupt and evil. The spiritual realm, by contrast, was so pure that it held itself aloof, and would in no way manifest in the physical. The Chaldeans of Nebuchadnezzar's court used this argument in defence of their failure to interpret the king’s dream:
And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. Daniel 2:11
It was therefore unthinkable to the Greeks for the Logos to become incarnate.
While John would have been well aware of the Greek Logos, his conception and teaching of the word comes not from Greek culture, but from his understanding of the sanctuary. The Hebrew equivalent of the ‘Word’ (Logos) is ‘Dabar’, and appears in many places:
Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: Jeremiah 2:4
In our Bible, this word has occasionally been translated as ‘oracle’ when the translators recognised its association with the sanctuary:
And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had enquired at the oracle of God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom. 2 Samuel 16:23
In the Hebrew sanctuary, God dwelt and communicated from the Shekinah – the place of the divine presence that dwelt within the most holy place of the temple. This was also called ‘the oracle of the house’:
And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.
1 Kings 8:6
Ultimately, John was teaching that He who was made flesh in Bethlehem was the same One who had previously spoken to them as the oracle of God.
To the believing Jew, such a revelation would have been instantly recognised. To the cultured Greek convert, John’s use of the word Logos would have opened their eyes to the true conception of Divinity.
To both the Jew and Greek, therefore, that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us was an incredible revelation regarding the personality of God. That He who had dwelt from eternity in the bosom of the Father – the Word – would pitch His tent alongside a poor and sinful humanity is a precious thought. In beholding the glory of the man Christ Jesus, the idea of an aloof, abstract, or uncaring deity is instantly dispelled.
Christopher Sparks