By His Word
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” — John 1:1–2
Before you opened your eyes this morning, before the concerns of the day began gathering in your mind, Jesus was already Lord. That sounds simple, but it changes how we approach everything waiting for us. We often begin our mornings by measuring our resources: How much energy do I have? How much time is available? Can I manage what lies ahead? John invites us to begin somewhere else. Before considering what we possess, we need to remember who Christ is. His Gospel opens with no description of Jesus’ appearance, no account of His childhood, and no introduction to His hometown. Instead, John takes us to the beginning of everything and tells us that the Word was already there. The One we follow today did not emerge somewhere along the way as an unusually wise teacher. He is the eternal Son, present before creation, sharing the divine nature of the Father. Our faith rests upon someone whose existence and authority do not depend on the circumstances that unsettle us.
John’s opening deliberately echoes Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” The Hebrew phrase bereshit, “in the beginning,” introduces the creation account; John’s Greek phrase en archē draws our attention back to that beginning. Yet John makes a remarkable distinction. When creation began, the Word already existed. The Greek verb ēn, translated “was,” describes His existence at the beginning, while John 1:3 explains that created things came into being through Him. Jesus belongs on the Creator’s side of the relationship between God and His creation. Bethlehem marks His entrance into human life, not the beginning of His existence. The infant Mary held was the eternal Son who had taken on our humanity. When I remember that, the familiar scenes of Jesus’ earthly life become richer. The hands that reached toward suffering people belonged to the One through whom those people had received life.
John calls Him the Logos, the “Word.” A word makes something known: it brings what is within someone into an expression another person can receive. In a far greater way, Jesus makes God known. John 1:18 explains that the Son reveals the Father. We therefore learn what God is like by attending closely to Jesus—His compassion, His holiness, His patience, His truthfulness, and His willingness to seek the lost. We must also keep both parts of John’s statement together. The Word “was with God,” revealing a personal distinction between the Son and the Father, and the Word “was God,” affirming His deity. John does not ask us to choose between these truths. He gives us both because both are essential to knowing the Savior. Jesus’ fellowship with the Father is eternal, and His divine nature is eternal. The Gospel that follows shows this eternal Son living among us, speaking words that reveal God and performing works that display His glory.
This matters when we open Scripture seeking guidance. We sometimes approach the Bible as though it were a drawer filled with useful sayings, hoping to find one that fits the problem immediately before us. Scripture certainly gives wisdom for daily decisions, but it also brings us into a clearer understanding of the Lord Himself. God’s personal application of His Word grows from the meaning He has given the passage. John 1:1–2 first tells us who Jesus is; then that truth begins reshaping how we live. If He is the eternal Word, His wisdom deserves more confidence than my hurried judgment. If He is God, His commands carry authority even when obedience is inconvenient. If He reveals the Father, I can bring my fears to Him knowing that His compassion expresses God’s own heart. Hearing God through Scripture includes receiving encouragement, but it also includes allowing His truth to correct the assumptions by which I have been living.
Perhaps today you face a conversation you would rather avoid, a responsibility that feels beyond your strength, or a disappointment that has diminished your desire to pray. Knowing Christ’s deity does not make these experiences painless. It gives you someone trustworthy to follow through them. Think of a child crossing an unfamiliar place while holding a parent’s hand. The child may still have questions about the path, but knowing the person beside him changes his willingness to take the next step. Christian trust grows as we become better acquainted with Jesus. The supplied study quotes Bruce Milne’s call to “worship him without cessation, obey him without hesitation, love him without reservation, and serve him without interruption.” Those responses grow from recognizing His worth. Worship becomes more than a duty when we remember whose presence we enter. Obedience becomes an expression of confidence in the One who sees more clearly than we do.
Before moving into your next task, read John 1:1–18 slowly. Notice what the passage says about Jesus before asking what it requires of you. Then bring one specific concern before Him: “Lord Jesus, You were there before this situation began. Help me receive Your truth and follow You faithfully within it.” Allow that prayer to shape something concrete today—an honest answer, a patient response, a needed apology, or a quiet act of service. The eternal Word has made Himself known so that our ordinary lives can be lived in fellowship with Him.
Thought for the Day: Begin with who Jesus is and let that truth guide your next faithful step.
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