Scripture References

The opening line of John's gospel states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). John further declared, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

Many irrefutable proofs within John chapter one verify Jesus Christ was the Word John spoke of in these verses—invalidating any other possible interpretation or meaning. The first proof is found in verse one.

John began his gospel by stating the Word was “in the beginning” with God. He also declared that the Word was God. This initial description is crucial in discerning the identity of the Word because it does not depict an attribute of God or an act of His divinity. Rather, John equated the Word to God Himself (“Theos” in Greek). When this word is used of God Almighty in the New Testament, it never describes His attributes or spoken words but Him—God Almighty. Yet, remarkably, it is the same word God the Father used of His Son, Jesus Christ, in Hebrews 1:8, which reads, “But to the Son He says: ‘Your throne, O God (Theos), is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.’”

John’s description in verse one also specified the Word was at the beginning of timeless eternity and was with God before anything existed. This truth conveyed the Word’s eternal nature ("in the beginning") yet distinction from God the Father ("with God"). This fact points to Jesus Christ, who said before His crucifixion, “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:5), and of whom Paul declared, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).

The next evidence that denotes Jesus was the Word is found in John 1:3. John stated, “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” In this passage, John used a pronoun to identify the Word and proclaimed He was responsible for creating all things. This evidence points to Jesus Christ because God the Father declared of Him, “You Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands” (Hebrews 1:10). Paul also affirmed of Jesus, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16).

The next proof signifying Jesus was the Word is found in John 1:4. This passage reads, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.” John’s declaration of life existing in the Word also denotes Jesus Christ because Jesus Himself declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). Furthermore, John’s description of the Word as “the Light of men” (v.4) and “the Light” (v.7) also points to Jesus, who professed, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12), and “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world” (John 9:5).

Another piece of evidence pointing to Jesus as the Word is in John 1:10-11. John penned, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.” This verse is key because John directly linked the Word (who created the world) to the one who came to His own and was rejected (Jesus Christ).

Jesus Christ's rejection by His own people is described and proclaimed in multiple Bible passages. One is in Luke 17:25, where Jesus declared He “must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.” Another is in Luke 4:28-29, where the Jews rejected Jesus after He spoke in their synagogue. The verse reads, “So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.” Once more, Mark 6:2b-3 records the response of many in the synagogue after Jesus taught them, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?’ So they were offended at Him.” Additional passages confirming Jesus’ rejection include Mark 6:4, 12:10; Matthew 21:42; Luke 23:18, Acts 4:11, and John 5:43.

The final proof that irrefutably confirmed Jesus as the Word and excluded all other interpretations, meanings, or usages of this phrase in its context is John 1:14. John stated, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). John’s decree directly, definitively, and indisputably linked the Word’s identity to Jesus Christ by ascribing the Word as “the only begotten of the Father” who was made flesh and dwelt among them. Only one Person fits these criteria, and His name is Jesus Christ.

Scripture confirms Jesus was God’s only begotten Son in John 3:16, stating, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” 1 John 4:9 also declares, “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.” John also testified that Jesus was God’s son in John 1:34, saying, “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

Likewise, Scripture proclaims that Jesus was God who came in the flesh and dwelt among His people. 1 Timothy 3:16 says, “God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.” Colossians 2:9 states, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” 1 John 4:2-3a reads, “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.” 2 John 1:7 also acknowledges this fact, stating, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the Antichrist.”

Through John’s explicit unveiling of Jesus Christ as the Word in John 1:1-14 and further confirming this fact in Revelation 19:13 by plainly identifying Jesus as “The Word of God,” John pronounced and verified several truths that are essential to the Christian faith:

He confirmed Jesus was and is God (John 1:1)
He validated that Jesus and the Father are distinct Persons, but both God (John 1:1-2)
He affirmed Jesus was eternal and with the Father at the beginning (John 1:1-2)
He certified Jesus created all things (John 1:3, 10)
He authenticated Jesus’ incarnation (John 1:9-11, 14)