The High Christology of John 1:1–18
The Apostle John’s Gospel opens in Genesis-like fashion (Jn 1:1–18). The themes of: God; darkness; light; creation (life); the Word; and the formation of a new group of people (children of God) capture the reader’s attention. This is especially true if the reader is familiar with the Genesis account of the Creation (Gen 1–2).
The divine logos is the subject of the introduction to the Gospel of John. The Word is immediately personified in verse 1 by the clause, “…and the Word was God,” and again, by the pronoun “He” in verse 2. The pronouns He, His, Him then dominate the section (Jn 1:1–18). The person of the pronoun is not named until verse 17. The reader is drawn into the book by this crescendo of attributes describing this mystery Person being unveiled.
John 1:1–18 is high Christology. Jesus Christ is the divine Person being described in familiar terms: word, light, life. The apex of the revelation here, however, is the incarnation of Jesus Christ — the Word made flesh (Jn 1:14). Still more poignantly, God became a Man and dwelt among us. The divine Author entered His own story in very dramatic form, yet incognito.
High Christology is also found in Colossians 1, Hebrews 1, and Revelation 1. There are key features in each witness to Christ that parallel one another. For example, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the creator of all things (Jn 1:3; Col 1:16; Heb 1:2). He is the sustainer of all things — life as we know it (Col 1:17; Heb 1:3). Many people have heard of Jesus, the miracle man, good teacher, and prophet of God. High Christology gives the reader of the Bible a profoundly higher view of Jesus Christ. He is not just a man; He is the one and only God-man.
The Apostle John bears witness of Jesus Messiah with written words, as John the Baptist testified with spoken words in his peculiar wilderness preaching mission. John the Baptist is a bridge from the Old Testament prophets and reaching into the New Testament as the forerunner of every New Testament preacher. Our message is as his message was, “Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming!”
There is a paradox in the revelation of the Apostle John. The Word comes from God and should be believed by men; but most people do not believe in the Jesus of the Bible (Jn 10:26). The Light shines; but the majority are blind (2 Cor 4:4), walking in darkness. Life has come; but death remains prevalent, as it is appointed for a man once to die, and then comes the judgment (Heb 9:27), with its eternal sentence (Rev 20:14–15).
Truth entered a world of lies, a world system dominated by the father of lies (Jn 8:44), and every man remained a liar (Rom 3:4). Further, the Jewish Messiah, long-expected, had come to His own people, Israel. They did not receive Him, apart from a remnant of those who believed in Him.
The whole Gospel of John is written for the purpose of persuading the reader to believe eyewitness testimonies of these historical accounts, revealing the Person and work of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit has given the written Word of God through various human authors at various times (1446 B.C. — A.D. 95). When the cannons of Scripture were closed, the church and the world had what God intended for us to know.
To receive Christ and believe in His name is granted by the will of God (Jn 1:12–13), not the mythical free will of man. He who has the Son of God has the life of God (1 Jn 5:10–12), and only by God the Father dragging a person to God the Son does one come (Jn 6:44, 65). Thus, the paradox of John 1 is solved by the sovereignty of God in salvation.
It is the Word that give life (Jn 6:63; Jas 1:21). It is the Word that causes one to hear and believe the testimony of God through the prophets and apostles (Rom 10:17), and of course through Jesus Himself (Heb 1:1–3). There is far more than one witness. The Apostle John lines them up beginning with John the Baptist.
It is the grace and truth of God that has revealed the grace upon grace afforded us through Jesus’ earthly ministry. The inherent problem of sinful man is the woefully high view he has of himself and the defiantly low view he has of Jesus Christ.
The only medicine available to cure the disease of man-centered theology is the revelation of God, the Bible. Without the Word preached, men remain deceived (2 Tim 3:13; Titus 3:3), darkened (Rom 1:21; Eph 4:18), and dead in their transgressions (Eph 2:5; Col 2:13). Just as both Johns in John 1 beheld the glory of God in human flesh, so we behold the glory of the Son of God, in the Spirit, on the pages of Scripture. We proclaim Him (Col 1:28). May God grant you eyes to see the truth, with the light of His Word that gives life — new, abundant, and eternal.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
February 23, 2024
John 1:1–18
