#1456 John 1 Part 2 Elohim

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. John 1: 1-5 LSB

John 1: 1b Word was with God

John MacArthur on Logos - John borrowed the use of the term “Word” not only from the vocabulary of the OT but also from Gr. philosophy, in which the term was essentially impersonal, signifying the rational principle of “divine reason,” “mind,” or even “wisdom.” John, however, imbued the term entirely with OT and Christian meaning (e.g., Ge 1:3 where God’s Word brought the world into being; Pss 33:6; 107:20; Pr 8:27 where God’s Word is His powerful self-expression in creation, wisdom, revelation, and salvation) and made it refer to a person, i.e., Jesus Christ. Greek philosophical usage, therefore, is not the exclusive background of John’s thought. Strategically, the term “Word” serves as a bridge-word to reach not only Jews but also the unsaved Greeks. John chose this concept because both Jews and Greeks were familiar with it. - Precept Austin

1b - And the Word was with God - The first 3 verses here could stand alone as both the doctrinal statement of a Trinitarian view and the clarifying statements. Nevertheless, we are given even more to support this, from Old Testament to New, so let's start within this close context and then take a trip backwards in time to acknowledge someone who existed outside of time. Even when referring to time, we often say before time, but that is the language of time and space, even when we say preexisting, so who can exhaustively describe God? We know from verse 1 that He, the Word, was there at the beginning, and in 1b. that He was with God, v. 2 reemphasizes both statements, and verse 3 removes the rabbit trails. This is a very specific, logical, almost mathematical clarifier. "All things came into being through Him", so everything that was brought into existence was through Him, meaning He would have to preexist all created things, be uncreated. "And apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being", even further clarification of this great truth, everything that was made was through Him, so 1, He couldn't have made Himself because that would put Him into the everything, negating the statement. And 2, who is the Creator? That would be God, so this is the way He was with God in the beginning, as the Word, as God the Son.

The Word was with God (logos he pros ton theon) - One could accurately paraphrase this as "the Word was [being] intimately before God." In other words John is saying there is more than one person in the Godhead! And picture is of the Word facing God. The Son was continually "inclined toward" the Father. The Son was forever face to face with the Father. The picture simply, but profoundly paints the picture that the Father and the Son enjoyed intimate fellowship with each other throughout eternity, being continually "face-to-face" as it were! The implication is clear that the Father had fellowship with a Person, not a philosophical principle (given that Logos could have a very abstract sense in Greek). This pre-existent Word was distinct from the Father, not in essence, but in Person. - Precept Austin

1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.… Genesis 1: 1-3

John Phillips comments on the plurality of God that John introduces - The Old Testament writers caught glimpses of this. In the great Jewish credal statement found in Deuteronomy 6:4, the Hebrews expressed the unity of God: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord." But the very first sentence in the Bible expressed the idea of plurality in the godhead: "In the beginning God [Elohim, a plural noun] created [a singular verb] the heaven and the earth." This usage is consistent throughout the Old Testament; God is referred to in a plural form accompanied by a singular verb. Thus, embedded in the Old Testament is the idea of the trinity: one God, three persons. Expressed mathematically this would not be 1 + 1 + 1 (which equals three), but 1 x 1 x 1 (which equals one). From both Old and New Testaments we arrive at the concept of God existing as three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). Three persons, one God." (Exploring the Gospel of John) - Precept Austin

I have had Jehovah's witnesses and Mormons get upset with me for saying that the word Elohim, the word used for God in the very first verse of the Bible, is a singular plural, but I can easily demonstrate the plurality of the Godhead as we move through the Creation story. The Bible gives us words but also word pictures.

…25God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.” 27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.… Genesis 1: 25-27

So, very simple sentence structures here, almost as though God somehow anticipated the debate. Gen 1:26, "let Us make man in Our image", plural, but is He talking to angels, who is He, God, talking to? V. 27 clarifies it and other things that have become an issue in our day, "God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." The Us and Our of v. 26 is defined by the His own image and image of God in v. 27. An angel is a created being, and so not God, and so one can't add anything to the "image of God", very simply clarified, but lets look at another instance. 

Yahweh says to my Lord:

“Sit at My right hand

Until I put Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet.”

2 Yahweh will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,

“Have dominion in the midst of Your enemies.”

3 Your people will offer themselves freely in the day of Your power;

In the splendor of holiness, from the womb of the dawn,

The dew of Your youthfulness will be Yours.

4 Yahweh has sworn and will not change His mind,

“You are a priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek.”

5 The Lord is at Your right hand;

He will crush kings in the day of His anger.

6 He will render justice among the nations,

He will fill them with corpses,

He will crush the head that is over the wide earth.

7 He will drink from the brook by the wayside;

Therefore He will lift up His head. Psalm 110: 1-7

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at My right hand,

Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”’?

45 Therefore, if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. Matthew 22: 41-46

Yahweh to Adonai

There is a great sense of community in the Persons of the Godhead, different Persons but the same in substance. I have had those of cult background insist that God made Jesus, and then made Jesus into a god. That is really no God at all that has to be made, the God of scripture is not called into being. It is a beyond difficult concept, you can just as easily measure eternity as you can draw a picture of the Triune God. Listen to the way God (Elohim) describes Himself.

…9All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses to vindicate them, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.” 10“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may consider and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, and after Me none will come. 11I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no Savior but Me.… Isaiah 43: 9-11

…17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known. 19And this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”… John 1: 17-19

…5For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many so-called gods and lords), 6yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist. 7But not everyone has this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that they eat such food as if it were sacrificed to an idol. And since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.… 1 Corinthians 8: 5-7

…6“I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations, 7to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house. 8I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols.… Isaiah 42: 6-8

It is interesting that we are made in God's image, to reflect the character and glory of the One Who made us, and God has all along been, eternally, in community. My understanding of this is sophomoric at best, and I dare not stray or dream too far from what God has said plainly in Scripture, acknowledging also that while I am made in His image, it is marred and stained by our fall into sin. Even my understanding is corrupted so I must proceed with great care and trepidation so as not to confuse myself or any reader. Think about that though in your fellow human being, even the worst you know is still made in God's image, so there is no room for hatred, no room for the silliness of racism, and our desire in each person that we meet should be to see the image of God restored.  

Fortner - John is declaring the eternal existence of the Word with the Father, his relation and nearness to him, his equality with him, and particularly the distinction of the Word from the Father. He was always with him, and is with him, and ever will be with him. From all eternity there was an intimate and ineffable union between the first and second Persons in the blessed Trinity, — between Christ the Word, and God the Father. John seems to be emphasizing, not just the eternality of the Word and the eternal union of the Father and the Son, but the eternal communion of the Divine Persons. The preposition “with,” is a preposition of direction and means “toward,” or “face to face with,” suggesting both equality and agreement. The phrase might be translated, “and the Word was toward God.” It expresses the idea of motion. (Sermon on Jn 1:1)

John Bunyan penned the following rapturous words "O Thou Son of the Blessed! Grace stripped Thee of thy glory. Grace brought Thee down from heaven. Grace made Thee bear such burdens of sin, such burdens of curse as are unspeakable. Grace was in Thy heart. Grace came bubbling up from Thy bleeding side. Grace was in Thy tears. Grace was in Thy prayers. Grace streamed from Thy thorn-crowned brow! Grace came forth with the nails that pierced Thee, with the thorns that pricked Thee! Oh, here are unsearchable riches of grace! Grace to make sinners happy! Grace to make angels wonder! Grace to make devils astonished!” - Precept Austin