In the Beginning . . . John 1:1 and Genesis 1:1

The Apostle John opens his Gospel with the words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).1 The words “In the beginning . . .” echo Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”2 The major difference between John 1:1 and Genesis 1:1 is that John refers to the Word (logos). John describes the Word as eternally existing (John 1:1a), having an eternal relationship with God (John 1:1b), and as being God (John 1:1c). John also states that the Word is the Creator of all things (John 1:3). But does the Old Testament teach that God has an eternal personal Word, and is that Word involved in the events of Genesis 1?

Orthodox Jewish people (Talmudic3 Judaism), who reject Jesus as the promised Messiah, would argue that Genesis 1 makes no reference to the Word and that it doesn’t identify that Word as being God. Furthermore, Unitarians, who deny the deity of Jesus, believe that the Apostle John’s reference to the Word (logos) is speaking of an abstract plan or the wisdom of God existing before creation (cf. Proverbs 8). The question is whether John 1:1 is at variance with Genesis 1 and the rest of the Old Testament.

John 1 and Genesis 1

John 1:1 follows the Greek translation (Septuagint, LXX) of Genesis 1:1. But it is not only the words “in the beginning” (ἐν ἀρχῇ, en archē) that John 1 and Genesis 1 have in common. Both John 1 and Genesis 1 also refer to God (θεὸς, theos), light (φῶς, phōs), darkness (σκοτία, skotia), and becoming (γίνομαι, ginomai).4 These intertextual links show that there is no question that the Apostle John has the creation account in Genesis 1 in mind when he writes John 1.5

Genesis 1 begins with the creation of the world; John 1 refers to a type of new creation that has come in Jesus (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17).

John 1:1 speaks of the eternality of the Word (logos) (cf. John 1:15, 8:58, 17:5). The Word “was” (ēn)6 already there in the beginning, but not as something that came into being. This not only indicates the eternality of the Word, but there is a pointed contrast between the Word, that precedes everything, and everything else that comes into existence. The Word “was” (John 1:1), but everything else “became” (ginomai) (John 1:3).7 This is clear in Genesis 1: “And God said, let there be light, and light became” (Genesis 1:3—author’s translation of LXX). Again, there is a pointed contrast between God speaking (his Word) and light coming into being. In John 1:1–3, the Word’s preexistence and continuous being is contrasted against the becoming of all created things.

Is God’s Word Involved in Creation?

The Word (logos) in the Old Testament is closely associated with the God who creates, reveals, and redeems by his Word (Isaiah 55:11; Psalm 107:20). Although technically Genesis 1 does not use the term “Word” (logos, LXX), it says “and God said” (καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεός, LXX),8 and his powerful Word creates (cf. Genesis 1:6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 29). However, elsewhere in the Old Testament, it shows that this is a natural conclusion. Psalm 33:6 states, “By the word [logos, LXX] of the Lord the heavens were made” (cf. Psalm105:19, 107:20).9 The Word (logos) is not just the One who brought the world into existence but is the One who guides the very course of history.

The Apostle John’s belief that the Word is God and is the Creator of all things is similar to what could be read in the Jewish Targums (expansive Aramaic translations of the Old Testament).10 Commenting on Genesis 1:27, the Jerusalem Targum states, “And the Word of the Lord created man in His likeness, in the likeness of the presence of the Lord He created him, the male and his yoke-fellow He created them.”

Is God’s Word Personal?

The Word is not only distinct from God, but he is God and is identified as the only Son from the Father (John 1:14)—Jesus, who has eternally been with the Father (John 1:17–18).13

God’s Word at various places in the Old Testament is used not merely as a personification (Psalm 147:15; Isaiah 38:4; Jeremiah 1:4), but as an actual person. After disobeying God’s command, Adam and Eve hear “the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden” (Genesis 3:8). Commenting on Genesis 3:8, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan states: “And they heard the voice of the Word [memra] of the Lord God strolling in the garden in the repose of the day.”11 Adam and Eve did not hear the voice of the Lord God (qôl yhwh ʾĕlōhîm) speaking or calling, but the sound of him walking (cf. Leviticus 26:11–12; Deuteronomy 23:14).12 This is why they hid themselves amongst the trees (if it was God speaking to them then they would not be able to hide from him as he is omnipresent). This was not the first time the Lord God appeared to Adam, as he previously brought the animals to him (Genesis 2:19, 22). God’s coming to earth to meet with man is not uncommon in the book of Genesis (Genesis 16:7–13, 18–19, 32:24–30). The Lord God’s appearing to Adam in human form in the garden would be a theophany (Greek: theos = “God” + phaino = “appear”), a preincarnate appearance of the second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God (Jesus).

The identity of the Word (logos) is clear in John’s prologue (John 1:1–18). The Word is not only distinct from God, but he is God and is identified as the only Son from the Father (John 1:14)—Jesus, who has eternally been with the Father (John 1:17–18).13