Romans--The Gospel Personified

A prerogative belonging only to Deity is that the Divine, eternal Word became something He was not; yet He remained what He was. Christ, the Divine Logos, could not be seen. Flesh, as such, could not be heard. Nevertheless, when the Word was made flesh, the Divine Logos could be seen and heard. The Logos was not converted into flesh. Deity cannot be changed into anything; neither can anything be changed into Deity.

The Lord Jesus Christ assumed a tabernacle of flesh. In it, He tabernacled among men thirty-three and one-half years and went to the cross of Calvary. Jesus Christ is not God mutilated by the flesh but God manifest in the flesh. He did not suffer His tabernacle of flesh to come to naught. It was raised out from among the dead (Rom. 1:3-4). His resurrection proves the declaration that He is the Son of God.

Christ’s resurrection assures Christians that they can rest in hope. Their bodies of humiliation shall be transformed into bodies like the Lord Jesus Christ (I John 3:2). Job asserted that this hope sustained him in Job 19:25-27—“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes will see and not another….”

The two natures of the Lord Jesus Christ are discussed in Romans 1:3-4. Further explanation may be given from John 1:1-14. Some object to detailed study of theological subjects, saying they should be simplified so that everyone may understand. However, as in other areas of study, theological subjects must be explained, and pupils must understand. Biblical terminology deserves no apology.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). In this verse, three classes of heretics are exposed—(1) Arians are condemned for regarding Jesus Christ as being inferior to God. This same heresy thrives today under different titles. (2) Sebellians are disapproved for denying distinction of the Persons in the Godhead. They believe God sometimes manifests Himself as the Father, sometimes as the Son, and sometimes as the Holy Spirit. A number of denominational groups retain this belief. (3) Socinians are condemned for teaching that Jesus Christ was only man, not God. Unitarians and others continue to sanction that belief.

The context of John 1:1-14 may be summarized as follows: (1) Deity is asserted (vv. 1-2) and proved before the incarnation is recorded. (2) Christ’s subsistence, which means the independent existence of the second Person of the Godhead, is proved to the world (vv. 3-5). (3) John, the forerunner, prepared for the manifestation of God in the flesh (vv. 6-7). (4) The excellency and dignity of Christ are recorded (vv. 8-13). (5) His incarnation is described (v. 14).

The prologue is recorded in the first eighteen verses of John. It shows who the Word is, what He became, and what He does. Every Christian should examine his experience in the light of the order presented in the prologue. The Word is God (v. 1). The Word precedes life (v. 4). The Divine Word gives light (v. 5). Light proceeds from the life bestowed by the Word. In a sense, light enlightens every person who comes into the world. Romans 1:19 says, “…that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.” Moreover, to every person who has life, the Holy Spirit gives light beyond that of nature. They are enabled to behold the glory of the incarnate Christ full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

John bore witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. The only begotten Son has explained God (v. 18). The word “explained” comes from the Greek word meaning “exegesis.” Christians are witnesses of this exegesis given them through men chosen by God. Conclusively, the Divine order in the prologue is Word, life, light, beholding the glory of Christ, and bearing witness to the Light.

Both Genesis and the Gospel According to John begin with the statement “In the beginning.” Genesis works down from the beginning of God’s creative acts to a point in history. Moses began with God creating; whereas, John reversed the order and worked up from a point in history to eternity. He stated, “In the beginning was the Word….” He showed that the Person existed before the beginning.

John began with a fresh genesis, presenting not only creation but the Creator. The Creator is the One in whom is life. That life was marked by light which reveals the state of darkness into which light entered. The first chapter of Genesis records material darkness; whereas, the first chapter of John records moral darkness which resulted from sin. The first chapter of John’s epistle records spiritual darkness.

The controversy and misunderstanding of I John 1:1 have risen from failure to compare Scripture with Scripture. The debate concerns the neuter gender used in the verse. The statement in I John 1:1, “What was from the beginning,” is not synonymous with the statement in John 1:1, “In the beginning.” Some object to referring to Jesus Christ as “What was.” Nevertheless, this is correct. John was referring to the human nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Greek translation of Luke 1:35, similar attention is directed to the human nature that Christ assumed. It is called “that holy thing.” Christ’s human nature is not a person. A mere nature is not a person.

Difficulty has been added to the explanation of I John 1:1 by making “from the beginning” synonymous with “in the beginning.” In I John 1:1, “From the beginning” indicates from the beginning of Christ’s tabernacling in human flesh. The last part of the verse proves that. John said, “…what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands….” The four verbs—heard, seen, looked at, and touched—show Christ approaching nearer and nearer in clearer manifestation. A person may be heard from a distance without being seen. To be seen he must be nearer. To be looked at is more than a glance; it indicates to gaze. Touching signifies the most intimate relationship. With ever increasing intimacy, Jesus Christ is manifested to His own.

Three facts about the Word appear in John 1:1—(1) when the Word was, (2) where the Word was, and (3) who the Word was. The Word was before the beginning, therefore eternal. This denotes when the Word was. In the original, there is no definite article preceding beginning. It reads, “in beginning.” The prepositional phrase was not needed in the original because it is qualitative in character. One would not say, “in a beginning.” The statement, “in beginning,” as it is in the original, is used relative to creation. It has the same meaning as Genesis 1:1 and Proverbs 8:23.

The statement, “In the beginning was the Word…” proves that the Word did not have His beginning at creation. The Divine Logos not only was in the beginning but He was Creator of all things in the beginning. Verse 3 says, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

“In the beginning” does not refer to the Man, Jesus Christ. It refers to the second Person of the Godhead who became the God-Man. John was not speaking of the God-Man at this point. That follows in verse 14—“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us….” Thus, the eternality of Jesus Christ is proved. The Word is not an attribute of God. His existence is eternal; His nature is Divine; His Person is distinct. The eternal Word reveals, expresses, and explains. He gives the exegesis of the Father.

The Word was “with God,” therefore personal. The statement “with God” signifies distinction within the Godhead. A person would not say that he who is with him is himself. To be “with God” does not mean that the Son is the whole substance of the Godhead. There is an eternal relation between God the Father and the Son as is seen in John 17:5—“Now Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” The Son, the second Person of the Godhead, declares the Father, the first Person of the Godhead.

The Greek preposition translated “with,” as it is used here, implies not merely existence alongside but personal intercourse. He was not “in God” but “with God” as Person with Person eternally. The Word was united with God the Father in close, intimate union before creation. This is the foundation of the doctrine of the Trinity. The Word was a distinct Person within the Godhead. It literally means that Jesus Christ is God, and He intimately fellowshipped God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

No definite article precedes the word “God” in the original. This signifies that the Divine Logos alone does not make up the Godhead. He is one of the members of the Godhead.

The Word was God, therefore Divine. This manifests Who He is. The presence of the article before the word Logos identifies one particular Person. Jesus Christ is not merely a concept of Deity—one among many. He is the unique concept of Deity. He is Deity told out. The Greek words for “with God” cannot be translated “the God.” That would make Jesus Christ something other than God. The same Deity that belongs to the other Persons of the Godhead belongs to Jesus Christ.

The Word is distinguishable from other Persons of the Godhead, yet the Word was God. In the original it reads, “God was the Word.” This exposes the three classes of heretics mentioned earlier in this message: Arians, Sebellians, and Socinians.

The three clauses of verse 1—“In the beginning was the Word,” “the Word was with God,” and “the Word was God”—answer to the three moments of the incarnation declared in verse 14. He who was in the beginning was made flesh in time. He who was with God tabernacled among men. He who was God became veiled in human nature.

The connecting link between verses one and three is found in the words in verse two—“He was in the beginning with God.” Likewise, Romans 1:3 is the connecting link between the gospel and Jesus Christ. The second verse of Chapter 1 forms the transition from the discussion of the personal Being of the Word to His manifestation in creation. The verse is not repetitious of the first verse.

“The Word” was in the beginning with God. John showed that the union between God the Father and the Word did not begin in time. It existed in eternity. The union was not one of feeling but nature. This same Word was not only co-eternal with God in respect of Deity but eternally was in active communion with God. The Word existed before the world was created. Had John stated, “before the beginning,” he would have presented eternity under the laws of time. That would be as great a mistake as describing the infinite under conditions of the finite.

The Word was before the beginning. He is eternal. The Word was with God. He is Divine. Jesus Christ is not merely a manifestation of God. One manifestation did not send another manifestation. The Divine Father sent the Divine Son who assumed a tabernacle of flesh, walked among the sons of men, went to the cross of Calvary, and was raised from the dead. His resurrection proves the declaration in Romans 1:4—“who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

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The NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE—UPDATED EDITION is the source of all Scripture quotations in this message, unless otherwise noted.