The term “Logos” is an important concept in Christianity that refers to Jesus Christ as the divine Word of God. The Greek word Logos (λόγος) has a rich history in ancient Greek philosophy and Jewish-Hellenistic thought before being used in the opening verses of the Gospel of John. Here is an overview of the meaning and significance of the Logos in the Bible:
Logos in Ancient Greek Philosophy
The word Logos had a long history of use in ancient Greek philosophy before the writing of the Gospel of John. The ancient Greek philosophers used Logos to refer to the rational principle that governs the universe. It could mean word, thought, logic, reason, speech, or reckoning.
For the Stoics, the Logos was the active reason pervading and animating the creation. It was the divine will that structured matter and gave order to the cosmos. The first century Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria was influenced by Stoic thought and described the Logos as the intermediary through which God’s will acts on the universe.
So in Greek philosophical thought, the Logos took on the metaphysical meaning of the rational, ordering principle of the universe. This conceptual background was significant context for the use of Logos in the Gospel of John.
Logos in Judaism
Within Judaism, the concept of God’s Word took on personified attributes and creative functions. The Wisdom literature described Wisdom as present with God before creation and having an active role in creation (Proverbs 8:22-31). There was development of the idea of personified divine Wisdom through whom God communicated with humans.
The Logos also took on a mediating role between God and the world. In Jewish thought, the Logos could refer to God’s word, law, plan or rationality which plays an intermediating role in creation and revelation. The Logos concept bridged the infinite divine transcendence of God with His dynamic immanence in creation and human affairs.
This understanding was passed on in parts of Hellenistic Judaism, as we see in the writings of Philo of Alexandria who described the Logos as God’s agent of creation and revelation. The stage was set for the author of John to apply the term Logos to Jesus in a uniquely Christian way.
Logos in the Gospel of John
The prologue of John’s Gospel declares, “In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). This verse identifies the Logos with God while also distinguishing the Logos from God.
John goes on to say the Logos was the agent of creation “through him all things were made” (John 1:3) and the giver of life and light to humanity (John 1:4-5, 9). The Logos took on flesh and became incarnate as Jesus Christ (John 1:14). So John took the existing Logos concept and applied it specifically to reveal the divine nature of Jesus Christ.
By calling Jesus the Logos, John is making several key theological claims about Christ:
– Jesus has eternally existed with God and is God (John 1:1-2)
– Jesus is the mediator of creation, revelation and salvation from God to the world (John 1:3-13)
– Jesus is the embodiment of God’s communication/revelation to humanity (John 1:14, 18)
– Jesus reveals and explains God to us (John 1:18)
So in summary, the Logos refers to Jesus Christ as:
– Eternal God
– Agent of Creation
– Source of all Life and Light
– The perfect embodiment/fullness of God’s communication and revelation to mankind.
The use of Logos grounds John’s high Christology of Jesus’ full divinity uniquely in the context of first century thought but also transformed and fulfilled the concept to reveal the glory of God in Christ (John 1:14-18).
The Significance of the Logos for Our Understanding of Jesus
Calling Jesus the Logos has several profound implications for our understanding of Christ’s identity and significance:
Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God
Jesus as the Logos reveals the heart, character, purposes and nature of God to humanity in a complete and perfect way (John 1:18, 14:9). The Logos embodies the communication and message from God to us.
Jesus is the divinely ordained mediator
The Logos bridges the gap between the transcendent God and His creation. Jesus as the Logos is the divine Word, wisdom and communication that goes forth from God by which all things are made and sustained (Hebrews 1:3).
Jesus makes God understandable
The infinitely profound depths of the uncreated God is concealed to finite human minds. The Logos provides the intelligibility of God’s revelation to our limited minds and makes God accessible and knowable to us.
Jesus uniquely reveals God’s character
The character and nature of the invisible God is perfectly reflected in the person and work of Jesus Christ, the God-man. God’s holiness, love, mercy etc are revealed to us through Christ.
Jesus is the fullness of God in bodily form
In Christ, the entirety of God’s nature dwells embodied in bodily form (Colossians 2:9). The Logos allows the limitless God to become approachable and knowable through the incarnation.
So in summary, confessing Jesus as the Logos has profound Christological significance. It means Jesus supremely reveals God to us as Savior and Lord. The divine Logos entered human existence to communicate God’s life and light to the world definitively through Christ.
Connections Between Logos and Other Biblical Themes
The concept of the Logos relates closely to a number of other key biblical and theological themes:
Incarnation
The Logos reveals the divine Son’s incarnation uniquely in Christ as the God-man (John 1:14). The infinite Word became flesh.
Trinity
The oneness and distinction between the Logos and God imply their co-divinity in the Trinity. This supports Trinitarian theology.
Gospel of John’s Christology
The prologue introduces the Gospel’s high Christology of Jesus’ full deity and his mission to reveal God to humankind as the Logos.
Exclusivity of Christ
Jesus as the Logos is the unique, definitive revelation of God that excludes other claimants. The Logos became flesh in Jesus exclusively.
Scripture about Christ
Jesus as the Logos inspires high bibliology regarding the Gospels as authoritative eyewitness accounts of the embodied Logos.
So in conclusion, the concept of the Logos meaningfully relates to core tenets of Christian theology regarding Christ and Scripture. It provides a rich theological foundation for understanding the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Logos Applications for Our Lives
Understanding Jesus as the Logos impacts how Christians can apply their Christology in practice:
Worship the Revealer
The Logos elucidates Jesus’ divine glory as the image of the invisible God to be worshiped and adored (Colossians 1:15).
Fix our eyes on Christ
Believers can direct their gaze to Jesus in order to see, hear and know God most clearly through Him who is the definitive self-disclosure of God.
Listen to the Word
We can listen to the words of Christ conveyed in Scripture with reverence and obedience, knowing they communicate divine truth.
Grow in knowing God
Knowing Jesus as the Logos allows us to grow in our knowledge of God’s character, purposes, and the salvation He offers.
Rely on Christ our Mediator
We can have confidence to approach God through Christ our mediator who bridges the gap between Creator and creation as the Logos.
So in summary, the Logos identity of Jesus impacts how we worship, study Scripture, grow in theology, and live in relationship to God. Knowing Jesus as the divine Logos allows us to know and commune with God through His perfect self-revelation in Christ.