I. Greek Culture
- Greeks used this term not only for spoken words, but also
of the unspoken words still in the mind (wisdom/reason)
- According to Stoic philosophy, word is the ordering principle
of the universe
II. Old Testament
- Creative (Gen. 1:3,6,9,11,14,20,24,26; Palsm 33:6; Isa 55:10-11)
- Commanding (Amos 3:1)
III. New Testament in general
- Revelation--word is no longer an impersonal and abstract principle,
but a person that was seen and touched by humans (I John 1:1-2)
- Power--(Rev. 19:13)
IV. Gospel of John (1:1-14)
- Eternity (v.1--In the beginning was the Word)
- Personality (v.1--and the Word was with God)
- Deity (v.1--and the Word was God)
- Creating (v.3--Through him all things were made) c.f. Col.
1:16.
- Animating/life living (v.4--In Him was life): The term "life"
is found 36 times in John, while no other NT books uses it more
than 17 times.
- Revealing (v.4--and that light was the light of men): Life
was created before all others (Gen. 1:3). In Biblical sense life
and light are together. An authentic and meaningful life must
be with truth (Palsm 36:9).
- Incarnate (v.14--The Word become flesh and made his dwelling
among us)
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