THE PROLOGUE
OUTLINE
45
IN
the truth of spiritual things. That this is so is confirmed by the
structure of the passage which is here set out.
C 1:3. All things were made by Him (egeneto dia).
C 1:17. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (egeneto dia).
Christ is the Originator in both realms. He is the Spring and
Source, both of physical life and light, and of spiritual grace and truth.
While we have this outline before us, let us notice further that verse
4: `In Him was life; and the life was the light of men', is balanced by
verse 16: `Out of His fulness have all we received'. The latter verse is
really an expansion of the spiritual principle of the earlier one. With
the prologue concluded, John returns once more to the witness of John
the Baptist and this time deals with it in detail (19-36), focussing our
attention on the great purpose for which he came - namely, that the
Messiah should be made manifest to Israel (31). In the prologue itself,
instead of referring to the Lamb of God, or the Messiah of Israel, John
keeps to the Logos theme and speaks of `life' and `light'. He tells us in
verse 7 that John the Baptist was sent `to bear witness of that Light,
that all men through him (i.e. John the Baptist's witness) might
believe'. The same scrupulous care that differentiated between the
Word Who `was', and all creation that `became', is evident again in
verse 8, where our attention is drawn to the fact that John `was not that
Light'. Later on in this Gospel we read of John the Baptist that `he
was a burning and a shining light'(5:35), but the word `light' here is
not phos, `light itself,' but luchnos, `a lamp'. The distinction is similar
to that found in Genesis, where `light' in verse 3 is or, while the word
for `lights' in verse 14 (referring to the sun and moon) is maor, `a
lightholder'.
Another very beautiful illustration of the character of John's
service is found in 1:23. Christ Himself is described as `the Word';
John on the other hand, describes himself as `a voice'. What greater
service can one render than that which is expressed in this verse? To
be a voice to make the Word known, a lamp through which His light
may shine, a finger raised to point out the Lamb of God. Such a
ministry would lead those who came under its influence to leave the
testifier and follow the One testified to. As we read in 3:30: `He must
increase, but I must decrease'.