How does John 1 parallel with Genesis 1? Who is the Son of God?

In the Father and Son, the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.

Welcome to Coptic Orthodox Answers Deep Dive where we aim to dive deeper into certain fundamental subjects. And why not start this new segment with you by studying the Gospel of John? Because truly, we find that there's no better place to start if you want to dive deeper into Christ and understanding His words. Because the Gospel of John is very spiritual; it's very theological and it has much of the Old Testament integrated into it. So, we truly hope that we all benefit together in this segment. And without further ado, let us start with the first few verses...

So, John doesn't wanna waste any time. From the get-go, he says:

'' 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'' (John 1:1)

The first three words, in the beginning, should remind us of Genesis 1, like, I have the verse here as well:

'' 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.'' (Genesis 1:1)

John 1 is a parallel to Genesis 1 where in Genesis 1, there were seven days, the seven days that God created the world, right? Obviously, these not... are not seven literal days. They're not twenty-four-hour days, but that's a different subject. So, John here imitates Moses, right? We have, in Genesis, seven days of creation; in John 1, we have seven days of recreation. God was incarnate to recreate humanity, restore humanity to the first estate.

As well, in Genesis 1, God, Elohim 1 , He proclaims His deity. He says who He is. He is the one God, the only God, the Creator of the heavens and earth, the sun and the moon, and so on and so forth. So, it's a week of witness in Genesis 1. Elohim is witnessing to Himself, declaring Himself as God.

In John 1, it's very much the same. Here, John wants to say Christ is the Son of God and he wants to proclaim this witness. So, he starts with a week, these seven days where we find that many events happening, they are witnessing to the divinity of Christ Himself.

1 Elohim is a name that is frequently used in the Hebrew Bible to refer to God and His majesty in a true and honorific sense, whereas Yahweh (YWHW) is God's true personal name.

So, after making this parallel, John says that in that beginning was the Word, which is the word λόγος (lógos) in Greek. So, the word logos is very meaningful, because in the 3 rd

century B.C., there's a group of philosopher got called the stoic philosophers. They thought of God as immortal, as intelligent, and so on and so forth. And He's the Creator and He was the principal being and the principal reason behind all of the creation, and He managed the creation. And they used the word logos in that sense.

So, John borrowed from them this word logos, this Greek word, and said: Hey guys, now the real Logos has declared Himself, right? So here, John is witnessing that Christ is the Messiah, is the Son of God: He is the real Logos. So, he's declaring the divinity of Christ to all of humanity, whether Christians, whether Jews, whether philosophers, you name it, right? That is his objective from the get-go.

John's also connecting the words in the beginning with the words the Word, right? In the beginning was the Word. So, what he wants to say here is that this Logos, this reason, He is eternal; He is from the beginning. Or, in that sense, what he means, He is above time. He always has existed. He's the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, like he says in the book of Revelation 2 , right? So, John here wants to emphasize and put these two sets of words together to declare who is the Messiah.

But as the Church Fathers taught us, when we come and read the Bible, there's always a literal understanding, which I just explained, but there's also a more deep understanding, right? That deeper understanding could be messianic, could be allegorical, could be typological, regardless, right? In this case, St. Cyril provides for us a beautiful, deep understanding. I'll share with you this quotation.

Prior to understanding what St. Cyril wants to tell us, we have to understand that the word beginning in English means αρχή (archí) in Greek. So, in the beginning was the Word means in the archi was the Word, right? And that's the play on the words that St. Cyril's using here. So, he says:

''In this Αρχή then that is above all and over all was the Word...'' (St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on John, book 1, chapter 1)

What does he mean by that? So, he thinks of the word archi here as meaning father. So, in the Father was the Word. In the Father was the Logos. In the Father was the Son. So, they are one God, right?

'' (...) not, with all things, under its feet, but apart from all things, in it by Nature as Its Co-Eternal Fruit, having the Nature of Him Who begat Him as it were a place the most ancient of all.'' (St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on John, book 1, chapter 1)

2 This is a reference to Revelation 22:13

What he's saying here is that this Logos is co-Creator. He is co-eternal with the Father. He's co-essential. He has the same essence as the Father. He's not part of the creation, but He is co-Creator. That's the mystical or deeper meaning here that St. Cyril wants to let us know about what St. John is trying to say. Then St. John continues:

'' 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God...'' (John 1:1)

It's very specific: the Word was with God. So, we say that the Word is in God, so, the Father and the Son are one. He says: yes, yes, they are one, they are one God and they are within each other. However, they are not one person; they are two persons, right?, talkin' 'bout the Father and the Son here. Obviously we believe in the Holy Trinity, so we have three persons total. But here, we have two persons. They are in each other. They are linked in that sense. They are one God, but they are not the same persons.

'' 1 (...) and the Word was with God...'' (John 1:1)

And the Son was with the Father. They are two different persons. They are not one. See how beautiful this is? But then, someone could come and say: Well, you know, okay, we have the Father, okay, nice. We have the Son, okay, nice, but is the Father equal to the Son? Although he mentioned before, but now I'm still unclear, like, I... I... I'm bit confused now. So, St. John reclarifies and he says:

'' 1 (...) and the Word was with God [but don't forget], and the Word was God.'' (John 1:1)

So, the Son is also God. Again, He's co-essential with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. Of course, we can dig much deeper into the subject of the Holy Trinity, but it's not specifically the purpose of this deep dive. So, what I'll do is I'll put a link to the playlist on the Holy Trinity done by Father Anthony Mourad. It's a very insightful one and I definitely encourage you to watch it if you want more information on the Holy Trinity.

Then St. John continues and he reemphasizes that same understanding. He says in verse 2:

'' 2 He was in the beginning with God. » (John 1:2)

Again, God the Son is in the beginning with God the Father, right?, so he's co-Creator. He's not a demi-God or a lower form of God as the Gnostics, at the time, believed or Jehovah's Witnesses today believe. He says: no, no, no, it's not... that's not how it is; the Father is, again equal to the Son. And he says, in verse 3:

'' 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.'' (John 1:3)

He's saying everything is done through Him. Again, He is the Creator. Like, in liturgy, we say that God is the Being. He's not a being. He's the Being, meaning He is the source of life. Everything is contained within Him. It's that same message that John wants to say. For the re... same reason that I can... I'm breathing today. I'm a human being, but I have source in life inside the Being, right? That's why St. Luke says in Acts 17:28:

'' 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' '' (Acts 17:28)

Here, the Father is the source of life and also the Son is the source of life. Both of them are considered the source of life as well as the Holy Spirit, of course. So, the one Trinitarian God, He is the Being, right?, and we owe our lives and everything that we do to Him. So, St. John continues and he says, in verse 4:

'' 4 In Him was life [again, He is the source of life], and the life was the light of men.'' (John 1:4)

So, where sin is, there's darkness, but now, we have the solution. We have the light that was incarnate. So, this light became the light of men to whomever will accept Him.

'' 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.'' (John 1:5)

Or better, the darkness did not grasp it, grasp it here meaning that the darkness did not overcome the light. The darkness could not overtake the light. It does not have power over the light. The light is too powerful to be grasped by this darkness, because this light is the source of light. He is the source of life. He is Christ Himself.

So, St. John here, he wants to send a message, again, and you can see the relationship between John 1 and Genesis 1 where in Genesis 1, there was darkness over the land or over the entire cosmos, right? And then, the light appeared, right?, and that was the beginning of the creation and the beginning of the witness of Elohim. Here again, there's the beginning of the witness that Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God and He's coming to recreate us, to restore us once again.

So, the first five verses of the Gospel of John had, as a purpose, the demonstration that Christ is the Son of God and He's truly divine, co-eternal, co-Creator. And I hope that I was able to make this clear in this summary. Starting verse 6, John discusses St. John the Baptist and he has reasons to do so, which we'll see next time, but for now...

Remember: Know your faith, live your faith, and teach your faith. And glory be to God forever and ever. Amen.

To watch some of our contents, subscribe to our channel and enable the notifications by clicking on the bell icon. If you still have questions on this video or want an answer on a specific topic, leave a comment.

Remember: Know your faith, live your faith, and teach your faith.