Good News According to John [ a translation from the Greek ] The Logos In the beginning was the logos, and the logos was with God, and the logos was God John 1:1, inadequately translated as "Word" in most modern bibles. While it is true that the "word of the Lord" or the word of God is an aspect (or part) of God, this by no means describes everything that God is. Thus, "the word" doesn't even begin to describe what the author of John most likely intended. John later in the same narrative quotes Jesus as saying "I am the way, the truth and the life. . .", which is perhaps a better description of what the logos most likely means in the context used by John. To the ancient Greeks, "logos" did mean "word", but "the logos" referred to the divine reason, order, plan and purpose in the cosmos, ordering it and giving it form and meaning; or, the "mind" and intention of God; it also meant Creator. "The logos" represents God's understanding and universal and beyond view, which at best is only very partially understood by anyone living on earth. As Paul writes, for now we understand "in part" 1 Corinthians 13:12. Translating the Greek "the logos" as "the word" is inadequate and misleading. Based on its use in "John", the meaning of the logos, though lost in translation to most people today, may have been somewhat commonly in usage in the First Century world of Jesus and his followers, in particular among Greeks. "The logos" when applied, is perhaps best commonly understood to mean roughly, that which is really true, as opposed to what human beings think, believe or otherwise assume to be true. Rather than being an easily definable term, "the logos" represents what is far beyond human understanding and ability to adequately either define or comprehend. This is reflected in the letters of Paul, who teaches us that both God's love and God's peace are beyond all understanding. Paul also says: "And if anyone thinks that they know anything, they know nothing yet as they ought to know" I Corinthians 8:2. Many scientists today agree that we know almost nothing, compared to what yet needs to be learned. As already mentioned, later in John , Jesus says to his followers: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me" John 14:6. According to the Bible, there is only one true God, with various aspects like grace, mercy, love and peace; God's "word" is another aspect of God by which God created the universe Psalm 33:6. These aspects cannot be separated, any more than we can separate our physical beings from our inward heart, mind, soul and conscious awareness. Rather, like "the word of the Lord" as mentioned in the Old Testament several times, these are all different aspects of the same one God; Jesus is love, Jesus is truth and, Jesus is the true God and eternal life. Even we humans can feel and emanate more than one thing, like compassion, hatred, sorrow and anger, yet these are all aspects of our singular beings. And, unlike many are taught in great error, God's grace, mercy, love and peace cannot be separated from freedom, any more than water can be separated from what we need to survive. If we don't want to be free, we cannot follow the true God, who is far more free than anyone on earth can even begin to imagine. Like the New Testament says, Jesus came "to set at liberty those who are oppressed" Luke 4:18 and if you listen to Jesus, "you will know the truth and, the truth will make you free" John 8:32. Sin chains, enslaves and oppresses us all. Unlike Christianity and other religions, Jesus is about becoming more and more free, not less free; for "where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" II Corinthians 3:17 and there is love; "for God is love" I John 4:8; see also I Corinthians chapter 13. Jesus is God and Creator of all things; calling Jesus "the word" greatly diminishes who in fact Jesus is, something most likely not intended by John, because "the word" is only one aspect of God. The use of "the logos" by John strongly indicates that this narrative of Jesus was written for a Greek audience. This of course, doesn't mean we can't learn from John today. Jesus speaks for God and his words are God's words for all time. open copyright; may be reproduced and distributed as desired