Jesus Christ, The Logos of God: An Inquiry Into The Johannine Prologue And Its Significance -- By: Paul Martin Henebury

Journal: Conservative Theological Journal
Volume: CTJ 08:23 (Mar 2004)
Article: Jesus Christ, The Logos of God: An Inquiry Into The Johannine Prologue And Its Significance
Author: Paul Martin Henebury


Jesus Christ, The Logos of God:
An Inquiry Into The Johannine Prologue And Its Significance

Paul Martin Henebury

Graduate Studies
Tyndale Seminary

The focal point of all Scripture is the Person and Work of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is He Who is the Architect of man’s salvation (Heb. 12:1), and His Passion the fulcrum of history (cf. Gal. 4:4). But He is yet more. The Lord Jesus is the Instrument of creation (Heb. 1:2), and, as the Instrument of providence, He is the Grand Sustainer of that creation (Heb. 1:3). There is no writer in the Bible who brings these tremendous truths together as does the Apostle John. And he accomplishes it in the Prologue to his Gospel (John 1:1–18). It has been said that, “If John has been described as the pearl of great price among the NT writings, then one may say that the Prologue is the pearl within this Gospel.”1 The man whose sublime genius, moved by the Spirit, gave us a Gospel so simple yet so profound, outdid himself when he chose to introduce his account of Christ in this way. He begins with a portrait of our Lord as the Logos of God.2

In this paper we shall try to discover what John means by this term. Our procedure will be first to establish the basic meaning of logos before surveying the various uses of the term in the ancient world. We shall then ask why the Apostle chose this particular term for the Prologue, and then how he intended it to function in

his work. Finally, we shall attempt to find the significance of the Logos concept for Christology by examining the roles ascribed to “It.”

A. The Meaning of the Term Logos

The basic meaning of logos in Greek may be summarized as, “the expression of thought - not the mere name of an object - (a) as embodying a conception or idea, (b) a saying or statement, (c) discourse, speech, of instruction etc.”3 Thus, the idea of rationality, of a reasoned message of some sort, is central to the term.4 Yet, at first glance it seems far from clear why the Apostle chose to use this designation.

It is clear that the concept of the Divine Logos that one encounters in the opening verses of John’s Gospel is of great importance to the doctrine of Christ. The main verses a...

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