Thursday, May 10, 2012
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory ...
IN HIM WAS LIFE: THE SOURCE OF LIFE
A Greek philosopher by the name of Heraclitus seems to have been the first to use the term "logos" (word) in a philosophical context. Heraclitus lived around 500 BC in Ephesus. There is some debate as to the exact meaning he gave to the term "logos." He used the term as the ordering power behind all creation and life. His logos was never a god or even conscience. His idea of the logos was closer to the way Solomon uses "wisdom" in the Proverbs.
It is hard to believe that John living in Ephesus, the city of Heraclitus, was unaware of this connection or that he ignored it. It seems much more likely that John purposely uses this term to reach out to the Greek of the city, much as Paul did in Athens with the "unknown" God. John in essence says to them, "You speak of this 'source of life,' well let me tell you of the real source of life."
By the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he takes an empty word of man's thought and fills it with the fullness of Christ, and the life of Christ. Assuming that this is what John had in mind, we can see that from the very first sentence of his Gospel he is foreshadowing and looking forward to that one moment "early on the first day of the week."
