Where Was Jesus When God Created the World? John 1:1-8

The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

Today we begin our verse by verse study in the gospel of John.  The fourth gospel is much different than the first three.  John's gospel is the most theological of the three gospels.  John's primary purpose is to define who Jesus is, specifically that Jesus is fully God and fully man.  John's gospel was written thirty to forty years after the first three gospels, which are called the "synoptic" gospels.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke are more historical in nature and tell Jesus' story from his birth to his resurrection.  Though each gospel has its unique emphasis, they primarily focus on the life of Jesus and the events that led to his crucifixion on the cross, and his rising from the dead three days later.  

Most people believe the author of the fourth gospel is no other than John, the beloved disciple.  If John's gospel was written toward the end fo the 1st century, John was the only disciple who was purported to live long enough to write it.  The same John also penned the letters of 1,2 and 3 John, and the book of Revelation.  From John's gospel, we get some of the unique stories we find nowhere else like: the raising of Lazarus from the dead, the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman, Jesus' turning water into wine, and His feeding the 5,000.  

In these first verses John writes that Jesus was in the beginning with God creating the world.  Jesus was present with God in what we call the "pre-existent" logos.  "Word" in Greek is "Logos", where we get our word "logic".  This is consistent with his purpose of showing Jesus is truly God.  

"The Greek philosophers saw the logos as the power that puts sense into the world, making the world orderly instead of chaotic. The logos was the power that set the world in perfect order and kept it going in perfect order. They saw the logos as the “Ultimate Reason” that controlled all things." (Dods, Morris, Barclay, Bruce, and others)

When John says, "In him was life" this is not life in a biological sense which is another Greek word, but life itself, or the principle of life. Guzik.  

“That power which creates life and maintains all else in existence was in the Logos.” (Dods)

This life is also the light of all mankind.  In the beginning there was darkness and chaos, but the light separated the light from the darkness to illuminate creation.  In a different way, there are spiritual forces of darkness which prevent us from seeing God.  Jesus is both LIGHT and LIFE.  He shines in the darkness and overcomes death.  Darkness and death bring fear, but Jesus bring us peace. 

Finally, as in the other gospels, we meet the John the Baptist.  Whereas the other gospels specifcally mention John baptizing Jesus with water, this account merely infers it, as we will see later in the chapter.  Most importantly John makes it clear that he was not the light or the life but both were found in Jesus.  Right away John the Baptist is illustrating that Jesus is God and he is only a prophet who came as a forerunner to announce Jesus' arrival. 

Why do you think the word "Word" is capitalized?  Why is important for John to establish that the "Word/Jesus" was with God in the beginning, and all things were created through Him? In what way does what John is teaching have a bearing on the doctrine of the "Trinity"?