What about the word?

What about the "Word" or "Logos"?

by Harley Pinon

Many serious discussions about the Trinity and who Jesus is, quickly turn to a study of John 1:1-14. It is a troublesome passage to be sure. As we study the Bible, we think we have all that we need in a good version of the Bible, but then sometimes we realize that even Translations can be influenced by the beliefs of the translators. The concept of the Trinity has been around for a long time, and I believe it has influenced even the most respected translations. It’s a little difficult to read, but let me share a few of these verses from an older translation. Joh 1:1 In the begynnyng was the worde, & the worde was with God: and that worde was God. Joh 1:2 The same was in the begynnyng with God. Joh 1:3 All thynges were made by it: and without it, was made nothyng that was made. Joh 1:4 In it was lyfe, and the lyfe was the lyght of men, (from Bishops Bible 1568) I know that doesn’t change everything, but I think it changes things a little. The Greek wordautoucan be translated as masculine or neuter. I have heard that the translations before the King James Version were more like the Bishops Bible I quoted above. A second consideration is the real meaning oflogos (logos)

Thayer gives this as part of his definition. 2) its use as respect to the MIND alone 2a) reason, the mental faculty of thinking, meditating, reasoning, calculating 2b) account, i.e. regard, consideration 2c) account, i.e. reckoning, score 2d) account, i.e. answer or explanation in reference to judgment 2e) relation, i.e. with whom as judge we stand in relation Along these lines, some have suggested that this includes the ability of the mind to plan. Along that line, let me suggest something that happens to us in our business on a regular basis. When someone comes into our model to look for a home, one of the first things we do is take them to our plan book. Once they have expressed interest in one of the plans, we say, “Would you like to see this one? This one is the Scottsdale” They are looking at the plan, but we take them to see the house. Either as we drive up, or we enter the house, I will say, "This is the Scottsdale." No one has ever said, “Wow, this house is nothing like the piece of paper I was looking at,” nor has anyone ever said, "Oh, I thought the Scottsdale was just the plan in the book." Instead, we here other comments like, "Oh, yeah, I really like this. Yeah, I can see where we could put the TV, etc." We have three phases to our showing homes. The line drawings, actual photos of constructed houses, and those who come to see our homes, we take them to see the houses. Long before we build a house, Jonathan spends many hours working on the plans. He gets input from me, his mother, and his friends before we build the house. The house and the plans are never confused. In our business, we do a lot of converting plans to reality. It’s always interesting. As many years as I’ve been in this business, it's always interesting to see a plan become a reality. The plan is always first, and then comes the reality. I believe the same is true with God. The plans are from before the foundation of the world, but that doesn't mean that Jesus was. I think in terms of the "word" as being God's plan. Just as we transform a plan into a house, God made a plan into flesh. "And the (plan) became flesh and dwelt among us." Is that a difficult concept? I don’t know if you’ll agree, but we must decide which is correct. Are there three Gods in One, or is there only One God. If there is only One God, then we have to look at ways of understanding the other passages. I'm not suggesting that we twist any of them, but look at ways of understanding the more difficult ones in light of those that are easy to understand. This is by no means an exhaustive article, but I know that many want to make the word, "thelogos (logos)" just another name for Jesus. Once we accept that idea, all kinds of different ideas appear. Among those is the idea that Jesus is God, "and the word was God." From this, it is reasoned that "word" is just another name for God. How about this, "God is love"? Does that mean that love is just another word for God? I've never heard that argument. As we interpret scripture, I believe we need to begin with the passages that are clear and them try to understand the ones that are more poetic, or symbolic in nature rather than the other way around. It was Jesus Who said,

(John 17:3 NKJV) "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. What do we accept? Jesus statement that God is the only true God, or are we going to insist that Jesus and the word are the same; therefore, Jesus must be God? Does that deny what Jesus said when He addressed the Father as the only true God?

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