THE PROLOGUE
OUTLINE
27
IN
`In the beginning was the Word' (En arche en ho logos). Every
student of the Greek New Testament can call to mind the opening
sentences of this Gospel. They represent, so far as mere words are
concerned, perhaps the acme of simplicity. But what a difference there
can be between `form' (the actual words used) and `content' (the truth
that those words are designed to teach), for who among us can ever
hope to plumb the depths or scale the heights of such a revelation?
Nevertheless, just as one may be impressed with the serene majesty of
the Jungfrau, without ever having set foot upon its frozen slopes, so we
may contemplate the majesty of this first verse without pretending that
such infinitude has been comprehended. We can believe what God has
told us, even though the subject matter transcends our experience.
En arche. - First of all, let us note the four occurrences of this
phrase in the New Testament.
`In the beginning was the Word' (1:1).
`The same was in the beginning with God' (1:2).
`And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at
the beginning' (Acts 11:15).
`Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel
... no church communicated with me ... but ye only' (Phil. 4:15).
It will be seen that in each case something must be understood, if
we are to grasp the writer's full meaning. For example, in Acts 11:15
the reference is to the beginning of the apostle's ministry, and looks
back to Acts 2:4. In Philippians 4:15 the apostle supplies the necessary
explanation, which we purposely omitted in the quotation above, for,
immediately after the words `in the beginning of the gospel', he adds
`when I departed from Macedonia'. It would appear then, that after
each occurrence of the phrase `in the beginning' we must add an
explanatory term commencing with the word `when' - and we must
now consider the question of what should be added to this first verse.
Bloomfield says `at en arche, understand ton panton ("of all
things") from the subsequent context at verse 3, panta egeneto ("all
things were made by Him")'. However, if we pay regard to Colossians
1:16-18, we shall remember that there, where Christ is described as the
Creator of all things visible and invisible, He is said to be `before all
things', both as to time and pre-eminence. The Companion Bible