Dr Paul Allen

There are at least two senses in Scripture in which Jesus is the word of God. Though related, one has to do with the idea of revelation, and the other with the Greek word logos. Jesus as God’s revelation One way to understand Jesus as God’s word is simply textual—Hebrews says God “speaks” to us by his Son: Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. (Heb 1:1–3b) When God spoke through the prophets, the formula was consistent: “And the word of the Lord came to . . .” or, the prophet himself would say, “Thus says the Lord” (see 2 Kings 20:4; 2 Sam 7:4; Ezek 3:16). And then the prophet conveyed a message previously hidden. Revelation happened. So what this comparison says...

His Only-begotten Son and the Word of God 1885-1896 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “The Bible is not the Word of God , Jesus is. John says he is the Eternal Logos, the true Word spoken from all eternity, and to put such a focus on the Bible as the Word of God is to take it off their point: Jesus. In fact, it’s tantamount to bibliolatry–elevating the Bible to the 4th person of the Trinity .” Ever heard something like that before? It’s become a truism among many of the Christian internet set, and something like it has been popular in theological circles for some time now. I must admit, when I first heard the slogan myself, I was thrown off a bit. I mean, John does identify Jesus as the Logos , the Word, of God from all of eternity–the truest and deepest reality Father is eternally speaking. What’s more, it’s true that from time to time you can run across someone in a fundamentalist church who treats the Scriptures as if they were dropped from heaven and yet remain utterly oblivious t...

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In the beginning was the Word , and the Word was with God , and the Word was God. [ John 1:1 ] The Greek for word is logos. In the early church, what we call “ Logos Christology” was a frequent subject of discussion: What did it mean for the Logos —the Word—to become flesh? The term logos had a long history in Greek philosophy . Among the philosophers it generally referred to some kind of impersonal principle that held together all the diverse appearances of the world. Throughout church history, this Greek idea has infected theology under the assumption that the apostle John was proclaiming the Greek view of logos in his Gospel. Actually, however, John has to be understood against the background of the Old Testament , not against the background of Greek philosophy. John wrote in Greek, of course, and so he used Greek words ; but he filled those words with Old Testament content, not Greek philosophy. For instance, in P...

The famous Greek word logos — “word, speech, argument, ratio, etc.” Deutsch: Das berühmte griechische Wort logos — „Wort, Rede, Argument, Berechnung usw.“ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In Greek philosophy , the  logos  remains an impersonal force, a lifeless and abstract philosophical concept that is a necessary postulate for the cause of order and purpose in the universe. In Hebrew thought, the  Logos  is personal. He indeed has the power of unity, coherence, and purpose, but the distinctive point is that the biblical  Logos  is a He, not an it. All attempts to translate the word  Logos  have suffered from some degree of inadequacy. No English word is able to capture the fullness of John's  Logos  when he declared that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Attempts have been made by philosophers to translate Logos  as logic, act, or deed—all of which are inadequate definitions. God 's  Logos  does include ac...

Detail of the third window of the north wall with stained glass depicting Jesus: I am the light of the world (John 8:12). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) THE TITLES OF JESUS reveal something of His identity and they also give us a hint as to the meaning of His activity. Though we may distinguish between person and work, we must never isolate one from the other. Jesus as Savior. No title captures His work more completely than the title Savior. The believers of the early church bore witness to this when they used the sign of the fish as their cryptic signal of recognition. The acrostic formed by the letters of the Greek word for “fish,” ixous, spell out: Jesus Christ , Son of God , Savior. God Himself named Jesus as an infant. Jesus means “the Lord saves” or “the One through whom the Lord saves.” Thus Jesus’ own name carries within it the idea of savior. His titles— Logos , Messiah , Son of Man —all indicate Jesus’ qualifications to be the Savior of men. He alone has the credentials ...

The Resurrection of Christ (Kinnaird Resurrection) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD” (1 Cor. 1:31). The first chapter of 1 Corinthians concludes with a reminder of who you are in Christ and the benefits you have received by His grace alone. “Your conversion or saving union with Christ is not due to yourselves,” Hodge wrote. “He so dispenses His grace as to make men see with regard to others, and to acknowledge with regard to themselves, that the fact that they are in Christ, or true Christians , is due to Him and not themselves.” The saving knowledge of Cod and of divine things that Christians possess comes from the Logos, the Revealer of all truth. They have not gained wisdom on their own, but it is a gift of God . In the same way, they are justified not by their own righteousness but by the righteousness of Christ, earned by His life of obedience and death. Because of Christ’s righteousness, there is no condemnation to those tha...

Image via Wikipedia The titles of Jesus reveal something of His identity and they also give us a hint as to the meaning of His activity. Though we may distinguish between person and work, we must never isolate one from the other. Jesus as Savior.   No title captures His work more completely than the title Savior. The believers of the early church bore witness to this when they used the sign of the fish as their cryptic signal of recognition. The acrostic formed by the letters of the Greek word for “fish,” ixous, spell out: Jesus Christ , Son of God , Savior. God Himself named Jesus as an infant. Jesus means “the Lord saves” or “the One through whom the Lord saves.” Thus Jesus’ own name carries within it the idea of savior. His titles—Logos, Messiah , Son of Man —all indicate Jesus’ qualifications to be the Savior of men. He alone has the credentials to offer atonement, to triumph over death, to reconcile people to God. Here is where the relevance of Jesus crashes into ou...

Image via Wikipedia "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." ( John 1:14 )   This is the great verse of the Incarnation, declaring to us that the Creator of all things, the eternal Word of God ( John 1:1-3 ) actually became a man, being "made flesh" (text).  Since this verse and the following verses unequivocally refer to "Jesus Christ" ( v. 17 ), there is no legitimate escape (though many have tried) from the great truth that the man called Jesus of Nazareth was the great God and Creator, as well as perfect man and redeeming Savior.  Furthermore, He has assumed human flesh forever, while still remaining fully God. He is Immanuel, "God with us" ( Matthew 1:23 ).   He is not part man and part God, or sometimes man and sometimes God, but is now the God-man , fully and eternally true God and perfect man--man as God created and intende...