THE PROLOGUE
OUTLINE
29
IN
Greek language, could not use the word arche, in the sense of
`beginning', without having at the back of his mind the various shades
of meaning that elsewhere attach to it. It will therefore be of service to
the reader if he becomes acquainted with the various meanings of
arche in the New Testament:
A beginning, in order of time, as in John 1:1.
A first or original state `the angels which kept not their first estate'
(Jude 6).
Authority, whether human or angelic.
Human: `Be subject to principalities' (Tit. 3:1).
Angelic: `Far above all principality' (Eph. 1:21).
The `Chief', `Head' or `Beginning' as title of Christ.
`These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the
Beginning of the creation of God' (Rev. 3:14).
`Behold, I make all things new ... I am Alpha and Omega, the
Beginning and the End' (Rev. 21:5,6).
In combination with other words, we find the following:
Archegos. Leader, Captain, Author (Heb. 2:10; 12:2).
Archiereus. High Priest (Heb. 2:17).
Architekton. Architect (1 Cor. 3:10).
Christ's title as `the Beginning of the creation of God' is suggestive
of great depths. There is a Rabbinical note to the first verse of Genesis
in which the words `In the beginning' (B'reshith) are taken to refer to
the Messiah, for rosh means `head' as well as `beginning' (compare
the Greek equivalent arche, meaning `chief' as well as `beginning').
The Logos created all things `in the beginning' and He Himself is `the
Beginning of the creation of God'.
Returning to John's Gospel we notice how this beginning of all
things is related to Him Who is the Word. `In the beginning WAS the
Word'. We draw particular attention here to the word `was', which is
part of the verb eimi, `to be'. In contrast to this we read in the third
verse that `all things were made by Him', the verb being egeneto, `to
come into being'. We must therefore repudiate the slightest suggestion
that John tells us that the Word came into being in the beginning. We