Why is Jesus called the word of God

1. Whyis Jesuscalled the ‘Word ofGod’ - 17th June 2016
“In the beginningwasthe Word,and the Word waswith God,and the Wordwas God”(John1:1).
The above statedcan be foundinverybeginningof John’sgospel thatmake itclearto the readerwhen
we attemptto understandingthe reasonwhythe apostle Johnwrote hisgospel.We findhispurpose
clearlystatedin John20:30-31. “Jesus performedmany other signsin the presence of his disciples,
whichare not recorded in thisbook. 31
But these are written that youmay believethat Jesusis the
Messiah,the Son ofGod,and that by believingyoumay have lifein hisname.” Once we understand
that John’spurpose wastointroduce the readersof hisgospel toJesusChrist,establishingWhoJesusis
(Godin the flesh) andwhatHe did,all withthe sole aimof leadingthemtoembrace the savingworkof
Christinfaith,we will be betterable tounderstandwhyJohnintroducesJesusas“The Word” as we read
inJohn 1:1, “Inthe beginningwasthe Word,andthe Wordwas with God,andthe Word wasGod.
Whenwe begintoread John’sgospel - “Inthe beginningwasthe Word…” He is introducingJesuswitha
wordor a termthat both hisJewishandGentile readerswouldhave beenfamiliarwith.The Greekword
translated“Word”in this passage isLogos,and it wascommonin bothGreekphilosophyandJewish
thoughtof that day. For example,inthe OldTestamentthe “word”of God isoftenpersonifiedasan
instrumentforthe executionof God’swill aswe can learnfromthe Psalms: “Bythe word ofthe LORD
the heavens were made,their starry hostby the breath ofhis mouth”(Psalm33:6) again fromPsalm
107:20, “He sent out hisword andhealed them; he rescued them fromthe grave” alsofrom Psalm
119:89, “Yourword, LORD, iseternal; it stands firmin the heavens.; and fromPsalm147:15-18, “He
sends hiscommandto the earth; hisword runs swiftly. 16
He spreadsthe snowlike wool and scatters
the frost like ashes. 17
He hurlsdown hishail like pebbles.Whocan withstandhisicy blast? 18
He sends
hisword and melts them; he stirs up hisbreezes, and the waters flow”. All of these passagesare used
for the executionof God’swill.
For the Jewishreaders of John’sgospel,byintroducingJesusasthe “Word,” the apostle isina sense
pointingthembackto the OldTestamentwhere the Logosor“Word” of God is associatedwiththe
personificationof God’srevelation(personificationreferstoapersonwhohas a lotof a particular
qualityandwhois the perfectexampleof someonewhohasthatquality). InGreekphilosophy,the term
Logos(the Wordof God) wasusedto describe the intermediateagencybywhichGodcreatedmaterial
thingsandcommunicatedwiththem.Inthe Greek worldview,the “Wordof God” (Logos) wasthought
of as a bridge betweenthe transcendentGodandthe material universe.Therefore,forhisGreek
readersthe use of the termLogos wouldhave likelybroughtforththe ideaof amediatingprinciple
betweenGodandthe world. We can learnthat it applies well whenwe read 1Timothy2:5, “For there is
one Godand one mediatorbetween Godandmankind,the man ChristJesus…”
Essentially,whatJohn wasdoingbyintroducingJesusasthe Logosis drawingupona familiarwordand
conceptthat bothJewsand Gentilesof hisdaywouldhave beenfamiliarwithandusingthatas the
startingpointfromwhichHe introducesthemtoJesusChrist. ButJohngoesbeyondthe familiar
conceptof Logosthat hisJewishandGentile readerswouldhave hadandpresentsJesusChristnotasa

2. mere mediatingprinciplelikethe Greeksperceived,but more asa personal being,fullydivine,yetfully
human. Furthermore thatChristwasnot simplyapersonificationof God’srevelationasthe Jews
thought,butwas indeedGod’sperfectrevelationof Himself inthe flesh,somuchsothat Johnwould
record Jesus’ownwordstoPhilip: "JesussaiduntoHim,'Have I been so longwith you,and yet you
have not come to know Me, Philip?He who hasseen Me hasseen the Father; how do yousay, "Show
us the Father"?'" (John14:9).
By usingthe termLogos or “Word” in John1:1, the apostle isamplifyingandapplyingaconceptwith
whichhisaudience wasfamiliarandusesthatto introduce hisreaderstothe true Logosof God inJesus
Christ,the LivingWordof God… It isour faithand belief inJesusChristwhois fullyGodandyetfully
man,who came to reveal Godto man and redeemall whobelieveinHim, frometernal deathand
destructionthatiscausedthrough unredeemed sin.