INTRODUCTION
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Lord God, the true Source of life, through Whom all else must be
derived. And so John, surrounded at Ephesus with a blend of Greek
and Philonic philosophy and the Hebrew Apocryphal Wisdom, takes
up the central theme of this philosophy, the Logos, and stripping it of
its heathen and Hebrew accretions and adding to it that which
revelation alone could give, leads his readers to see that the elusive and
abstract Logos of human philosophy found its full and perfect
significance in the Living Person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. No
explanation of John 1:1 can compare with that written by the same
writer in his first epistle:
`That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which
we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our
hands have handled, of the Word of life; (for the life was
manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto
you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was
manifested unto us); that which we have seen and heard declare we
unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our
fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. And
these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full' (1 John
1:1-4).
Just as the first eighteen verses of John form a sort of prologue to
the Gospel, so the first four verses here form a prologue to the epistle.
In both we observe, as Westcott notes, a similar sequence of thought:
`In each, the main subject is described first (John 1:1-5; 1 John
1:1).
Then the historical manifestation of it (John 1:6-13; 1 John 1:2).
Then its personal apprehension (John 1:14-18; 1 John 1:3)'.
Each book, however, has its own distinctive point of view. The
Gospel is concerned with demonstrating that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God, so that, believing this, life may come through His name.
The epistle, on the other hand, takes up the practical working out of
this truth.
The references to the Logos in John's writings are as follows:
A John 1:1-5.
In the beginning. With God (pros).
B John 1:14.
Made flesh. The Lamb (in context).
A 1 John 1:1-4.
From the beginning. With the Father (pros).