DIVINITY OF CHRIST part 1
John's Prologue (John 1:1-3,14,18)
One of the major themes in the Book of John is the deity of God’s only Son. By deity, we mean divinity. From the beginning up to the end, in the book’s prologue and embedded in dialogues, John wrote about Christ’s divine nature, even though in physical (human) stature.[1] The author claimed to be an eyewitness who personally knew other witnesses. This showed credibility in all that he confessed. He began with the Word as God, and near the book's end, Thomas said, “My Lord and My God.” In John’s prologue, one could see the pre-existent nature of the Word of God, the incarnation, and the Word as God who revealed the Father. It is difficult not to see in John’s writings that the Lord Jesus Christ is both God and the expression of the Father’s grace.[2]
The Word
John begins with “In the beginning,” similar to Genesis. Both accounts deal with creation. However, in John’s account, he introduces the Word who was with God and was God. The author intended to make the reader understand that the Word, who is God, created the world.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:1-3, ESV).
The writer explained that nothing was made without the Word. Before creation, the Word existed.[3] The apostle did not say that God created the Word, but that the Word was there, giving the reader a glimpse of the Word’s eternal nature. The Word was not a created being; He was there in the beginning.[4] Moreover, the Word brought the world into existence.
Some cults claim that the first verse should be translated as “the Word was a god.” They imply that Jesus was a lesser being than the Father. However, grammatically, this translation is incorrect.[5] Reformed and evangelical scholars do not affirm the cultic translation. Plus, the idea of a little god does not support the context of John. Thus, it should be rejected.
Gems in the text
1. The Word existed before the creation of the World.
2. The dual reality that the Word was with God and was God.
3. The Word created all things; nothing was created without the Word; the Word is the Creator.
4. The author makes a parallel to the Genesis creation account.
The Incarnation
The author narrates that the Word became man, known as the incarnation. The Creator, the Word who was with God and was God, took on our flesh except our sin.[6] Note that the Word did not transition to be a human, but remained God in human form as revealed in the context.[7]
John further narrates that the Word dwelt among us. This references the tabernacle where God dwelt among His people and engaged them ( the word dwell is tabernacled, pitch a tent, ἐσκήνωσεν, eskēnōsen).[8] On many occasions, ancient Israel saw the glory of God in the tabernacle.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
John made another parallel. Aside from the creation account, which started with the phrase, “in the beginning,” there is another similarity. God dwelt with Israel through the tabernacle made through Moses, so the Word as a human dwelt (tabernacled) with His people. The apostle said that they saw His glory.
When John mentioned full of grace and truth, he was directly referencing the dialogue in Exodus, between God and Moses where Moses asked to see His glory but the LORD replied by saying that He would cause His goodness to pass through Him.[9] Furthermore, the LORD said, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”[10]
Gems in the text
1. The Word became flesh, the incarnation, is the Word dwelling with His people, similar to the tabernacle in the wilderness. Who is the incarnate Word? The Lord Jesus Christ.
2. In the wilderness, Israel saw the glory of God in the tabernacle. The apostle claims that they saw the glory of the Word in the flesh.
3. The author wrote that He was full of grace and truth. Because of the immediate context, the reader would be led to the encounter of Moses with the LORD. The LORD would be gracious to whom He would be gracious.
4. John supports his first line that the Word was God. In effect, the author is saying that Jesus is God.
Only God
The Jewish people reading John’s Gospel account would quickly agree that no one has ever seen God. At the end of his prologue, the author restates the first verse. No one else, except God, has seen God face to face. And God was at the Father’s side.
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known (John 1:18, ESV).
In a metaphorical sense, Moses spoke to YHWH face to face, which meant directly, not literally.[11] God allowed Moses only to see the backside because Moses would not have survived if he had seen God’s face.[12] Isaiah may have seen God’s glory most terrifyingly, but Isaiah was never as close as the Word.[13]
God is the most qualified to reveal God. According to the apostle, it is the Word who became flesh. Only He, God, could reveal God to mankind. No one else because no one has ever seen God. There are no subtleties in John's writings about the divinity of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is God.
John wrote that God (the Word) has made the Father known. YHWH said to Moses, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name.”[14] God proclaimed His name to Moses; God revealed Himself to Moses. But the Word, who is God, made the Father known. It is not at the same level.
Gems in the text
1. No one has ever seen the Father. No one has ever been with God side by side. Only God has been with God.
2. Although the Father is God and the Word is God, there is only one God. John does not mention that there are two Gods.
3. Only the Word is qualified to make God known because He is at the Father’s side, which signifies intimacy.
4. The Word is God; He is above Moses and Isaiah.
Application
1. Believe in the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Proclaim the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. Defend the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Study Guide
1. What do the first three verses reveal about the Word?
2. Why did Jesus dwell/tabernacle with His people?
3. How can we grow in knowing God through the teachings of Jesus and His apostles?
An expanded study guide is in the attached English manuscript, which you can download below.
Poem
DEITY ON DISPLAY by Ed Pilapil Jr The beginning of history The origin and mystery He is the Word of creation Remember that information Without the Word, nothing was made That is divinity on display Uncreated but knowable He made all, which is notable The Word of God took human form That’s definitely not the norm He’s fully God and fully man Hard to grasp, but such was the plan John and the others did perceive They believed in grace to receive Which was to believe in His name The Father’s children they became No one has seen God except God The Word is God, that’s no façade Only one by the Father’s side In Christ, we will always abide
[1] John 1:1-18
[2] Edward W. Klink III, John (Zondervan Academic, 2017), 122.
[3] Donald A. Carson, The Gospel According to John. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 114.
[4] Frank Bartleman, The Deity of Christ (Ontario: Devoted Publishing, 2017), 7.
[5] Klink III, John, 91-92.
[6] Carson, The Gospel According to John, 126.
[7] Klink III, John, 107-108.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ex 33-34.
[10] Ex 33:19.
[11] Ex 3:11.
[12] Ex 3:18-23.
[13] Isa 6:1-7.
[14] Ex 3:19.
Bibliography
Bartleman, Frank. The Deity of Christ. Ontario: Devoted Publishing, 2017.
Carson, Donald A. The Gospel According to John. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991.
Klink III, Edward W. John. Zondervan Academic, 2016.
