(6) John Takes the Witness Stand

(Note: This post is part of a series on proof of the deity of Jesus in the New Testament.)

The Apostle John was Jesus’ closest friend. He knew Jesus better than anyone. When it comes to witnesses who knew Jesus up close and personal, John has to be one of the top go-to guys. 

What did John have to say about his friend Jesus? Under the direction of the Spirit of God, John gives us what is some of the most striking description of the deity of Jesus.

We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true. And we are in Him whois true - even in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20)

What is John’s view of Jesus? Jesus is “true God.” The word translated “true” is the Greek word that has the idea of “real” or “genuine.” John says Jesus is real, genuine God.

But this statement by John seems almost trivial when you hear him fully explain his understanding of Jesus. In John’s gospel, he begins, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1-2)

John refers to Jesus here as “The Word.” When we look at the Greek behind this text, we find that “Word” is the Greek word logos.  What we also discover is that logos is really far more than a simple word.  It is actually more of a concept, well-known and common in Greek and Hebrew thought.

While the concept of logos was well known in Greek thought, it is clear that John is thinking in Hebrew terms, going back to creation and the Word of God that creates.

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. (Psalm 33:6 ESV)

When John says “In the beginning” he looks back to the time of creation. John is declaring that in the beginning, when all was created, Jesus already existed. This statement speaks of the eternal, self-existence of Jesus. Jesus existed before anything was created, therefore He is not created and is eternally self-existent.

John continues, saying that “the Word was with God.” John Phillips explains the importance of the Greek here.

The imperfect tense is used. It refers to a mode of existence that transcends time. Time is a device to help finite beings relate to their mode of existence. The verb John uses takes us into the sphere of the timeless. In other words, the one John calls the Word belongs to a realm where time does not matter. The Word did not have a beginning. The Word will never have an ending. The Word belongs to eternity.

In the Moody Handbook of Theology, Paul Enns explains:

The word "was" is the Greek word hen is in the imperfect tense that stresses continual existence in past time. The phrase could thus be translated "In the beginning the Word was continually existing." John's beginning probably goes [refers] back to the origin of the universe; John indicates that however far back one goes, the Word was continuously existing.

The Word was eternally existing, face to face in the very presence of God as a distinct and separate personal being. And the Word was God. Jesus eternally existed face to face in the presence of God . . . as God.

The Greek text is clear. It leaves no room for any other translation: the Word was, before anything was created, God. It is NOT the Word was a God. This is a clear declaration of the deity of Christ. The Word was a distinct personality but also God. This statement also affirms the existence of two of the distinct persons of the triune Godhead.
 
Next:  (7)  John Continues His Testimony