John's use of "the Word" in John 1:1 is representing God's self-expression and creative power. The "Word" (Greek: Logos) is God's divine plan and purpose (The Incarnation existed in the mind of God before the world began. Indeed, in the mind of God the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world (I Peter 1:19-20; Revelation 13:8).), fully expressed in creation and ultimately in the incarnation. When John ties the "Word" to creation, he emphasizes that the same God who spoke the world into existence is the one who was made manifest in the flesh as Jesus Christ (John 1:14).
John 1:3 and 1:10 affirm that all things were made through this divine Word, not as an independent agent but as the direct expression of God's will. In The Son is not an eternal, pre-existent person separate from the Father. Rather, the Son refers to the incarnation—God (the self Expressive Word) manifesting Himself in human form as Son of God. The Sonship began at the incarnation, when the Word became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. This means that the Son is God’s redemptive plan realized in time, not a distinct and eternal person. The fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ (Colossians 2:9), revealing that the same God who created all things is the one who walked among us as Jesus, uniting divinity and humanity to reconcile the world to Himself. This understanding highlights the singularity of God's nature and His direct involvement in the redemption of mankind as Jesus Christ.
There are some significant difficulties with such an interpretation of John 1:1.
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (ESV)
Looking at the first clause, "In the beginning" is clearly a reference to
Gen 1:1. The word "was" is the Greek,
en, which is a form of
eimi (I Am), and speaks of continuous action in the past; that is, absolute preexistence before any creation. What that means is that when the beginning began, the Word was
already in existence, and hence, there was never a time when the Word did not exist. The very same applies to the Father, who has absolute preexistence.
In the second clause, "and the Word was with God," it is the Greek
pros that is translated as "with." But it isn't merely speaking of being together or near. It is in the accusative and expresses “direction towards,” as in relationship and communion, implying intimacy. It is important to note here that in the Greek the article is present, so it literally reads, "the Word was with [the] God." So, God is a reference to someone other than the Word, at a minimum it is a reference to the Father.
When it comes to the last clause, "the Word was God," it is significant that "God"
doesn't have the article in the Greek, as it did in the preceding clause. If the article had been present then "Word" and "God" become interchangeable— they would be one and the same—which is the error of Modalism/Oneness theology. But this whole passage is about the
Logos, who the
Logos is, not who God is, so John purposely doesn't use the article to avoid equating the two words. Therefore, it can only have a qualitative meaning, that is, that the Word was divine in nature, or deity. However, since there is only one God, it is rightly translated as "the Word was God."
Verse 2 then repeats all of that with verse 3 providing the evidence that the Word is God in nature. Verse 10 is worth noting since it is clearly speaking of Jesus, as the Son, having created the world.
It's also worth noting that it is exceedingly difficult to see how God could be in an intimate, interpersonal relationship with a "divine plan and purpose." Persons are in relationships with other persons. That the Son preexisted in relationship with the Father is supported by:
Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is
he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
…
Joh 6:38 For
I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but
the will of him who sent me.
…
Joh 6:50 This is the bread
that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
Joh 6:51 I am the living bread
that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
...
Joh 6:62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man
ascending to where he was before?
Joh 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Joh 13:3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that
he had come from God and was going back to God,
Joh 16:27 for
the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed
that I came from God.
Joh 16:28
I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
Joh 16:29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech!
Joh 16:30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe
that you came from God.”
Joh 17:5 And now,
Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
...
Joh 17:24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. (ESV)
Php 2:5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
Php 2:6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
Php 2:7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Php 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (ESV)
And the writer of Hebrews has the Father saying of the Son:
Heb 1:10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;
Heb 1:11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment,
Heb 1:12 like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.” (ESV)
But, that is a quote of Psalms 102:25-27, which is written of Yahweh:
Psa 102:25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
Psa 102:26 They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
Psa 102:27 but you are the same, and your years have no end. (ESV)
All these passages and more attest to the fact that the Son has always been distinct from the Father, preexisting in a loving relationship for all "eternity past." Just being the agent of creation means the Son preexisted eternally. Of course, there is more that can be said about the love between the Father and the Son as well as their shared glory, which I have given elsewhere.
