of the stupendous claim made by the Lord in John 8:58, `Before

Abraham was (genesthai, "came into being") I AM (Ego eimi)'. As

`the Word' He is the `I AM' absolute and transcendent. As the Word

made flesh, He can say, `I am the Bread of life', `I am the good

Shepherd'. In all such cases, the absolute `I AM' has become relative

and immanent.

If we endeavour to think of God as He is, we are attempting the

impossible. `No man hath seen God at any time'. Both John and Paul

reveal the fact that God in His essence is `invisible'; He is `spirit' and

no man has seen His `shape' or heard His `voice'. Yet this same God

is revealed as essentially `love' and we know that He `created' heaven

and earth and finally, man in His Own image. It is clear that He

purposed to reveal Himself and, being love, He must inevitably reveal

this love in revealing Himself.  He therefore takes a step which

involves self-limitation. He, the invisible One, becomes visible; so

that Paul can speak of the `Image of the Invisible God'. He Whose

voice no man has ever heard, becomes audible; and we further read

that He Who cannot be approached (1 Tim. 6:16) has been `handled'

by men and women like ourselves (1 John 1:1,2).

The name whereby John is inspired to set forth this glorious

self-limitation and mediation of the Most High is that of the Logos, or

`the Word'. In writing to the Philippians Paul uses the word morphe,

`form'; to the Colossians he uses eikon, `image'; to the Hebrews,

charakter, `express image'; while in 1 Timothy 3:16, at the centre of

an epistle which begins and ends with the thought of the invisibility of

God (1 Tim. 1:17 and 6:16), he speaks of the Mystery of Godliness;

`God was manifest in the flesh'. In all these cases we must be most

careful not to use any of these revealed titles out of their context. Each

has its own setting, and taken together they provide a wonderfully

complete presentation of the truth. The examination of these various

passages cannot, however, be undertaken until we have first examined

with some care the opening section of John's prologue (1-5).

We have already given some indication of the growing conception

of the Logos in the minds of thinking men from early days. Unaided

human reason discovered the need for the Logos, but was entirely

unable to supply the need. The Logos was a felt necessity, but beyond

the wit or power of man to provide. The words of Professor Burton on

this point are suggestive: