In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. – John 1:1
John does not begin his Gospel with Jesus entering the world, but with the Word already there in the beginning. Before Bethlehem, before His earthly ministry, before anyone heard Him teach or watched Him heal, the Word was with God and was God.
The Word was there in the beginning
Those opening words reach farther back than we can imagine. John takes us beyond the beginning of creation itself and points us to Christ. Jesus did not begin when Mary gave birth to Him. He did not become the Son of God at some point in history. The Word already was.
That truth gives us a different way to look at Jesus. He is not simply someone who came to tell us about God. He is the Word who was with God and who is God. When we come to Christ, we are not merely learning religious ideas. We are coming to the One who was there from the beginning, the One through whom God has made Himself known.
God has not left us guessing
We cannot fully grasp what John means when he tells us that the Word was with God and the Word was God. Our minds reach a boundary here. The mystery is greater than our ability to explain it, and humility is appropriate when we stand before something so deep.
But mystery does not mean God has remained distant. The remarkable thing is that the eternal Word came near. The God we cannot fully comprehend chose to make Himself known in a way we could see, hear, and follow. What is beyond our understanding has not been beyond God’s desire to reveal Himself.
Look to Jesus when you want to know God
That is where John 1:1 becomes deeply personal. If we want to know what God is like, we look to Jesus. His compassion, His patience, His holiness, His willingness to forgive, and His love for people were not departures from God’s character. They revealed it.
Jesus shows us that God’s heart is not hidden behind an unreachable mystery. The Word came near. He entered our world and made the Father known. We may never understand everything about God, but we can know the One who has revealed Him.
Let the Word shape what you trust
So much competes for our attention. Voices around us tell us what matters, what to fear, what to pursue, and where to place our hope. John quietly brings us back to the beginning: the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
We do not have to build our lives on every voice that speaks with confidence. We can return to Christ. We can listen to His words, watch His life, and trust the God He reveals. Like sheep following a shepherd, we do not need to understand every turn of the road before taking the next step. We need to know whose voice we are following.
John begins his Gospel by giving us a foundation that will not shift. Jesus is not merely one voice among many. He is the eternal Word. And when we draw near to Him, we are drawing near to the God who has chosen to make His heart known.