John 1:1 is the first verse in the Gospel of John. The King James Version of the verse reads, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God". The phrase "the Word" (a translation of the Greek word "Logos") is widely interpreted as referring to Jesus, as indicated in other verses later in the same chapter. This verse and others throughout Johannine literature connect the Christian understanding of Jesus to the philosophical idea of the Logos and the Hebrew Wisdom literature. They also set the stage for later understanding development of Trinitarian theology early in the post-biblical era.
According to Matthew Henry (1662–1714) in his commentary, Jesus is called "the Word" in this opening verse because he was the Son of God sent to earth to reveal his Father's mind to the world. A plain reading of the verse has John the Evangelist to be understanding the verse as proof that Jesus is God; that Jesus has coexisted with God the Father from the very beginning, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The proper rendering into English from the original Koine Greek text continues to be a source of vigorous debate among Bible translators.
Read more about John 1:1: Source Text and Translations, Logos, Christology
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