The Prologue to John's Gospel (Jn 1:1-18) introduces the reader to one referred to as "the Word" or logoV (logos). While John's reference to this character is restricted to the Prologue, an understanding the theology of the logos established in the Prologue is essential to understanding the Gospel as a whole.

The Evangelist tells us that the logos existed from the beginning, that the logos was with God and that God was the logos (qeoV hn o logoV) (1:1). Thus, the logos and God are separate, yet in inextricable unity. The logos is the essence and action of creation (1:3), yet becomes flesh (1:14). While the remainder of the gospel never again mentions the personified logos, the author implies that the logos is to be equated with Jesus. However, the reader, along with the other characters in the Gospel, are left to hear the "testimony" provided by the author and come to their own conclusions about Jesus and his identity.

Logos in the Old Testament

Scholars have long speculated about the source for the Evangelist's use of the logos in his introduction of the gospel. In all probability the logos is a symbol that would evoke imagery familiar to both Jewish and Greek audiences. Given that the context of the Prologue is the creation account of Genesis (Jn 1:1), it is not difficult to suppose that there is a significant Old Testament influence in the author's thinking. In the Prologue, the logos seems to function in a way similar to wisdom in the wisdom literature found in the Hebrew Scriptures. Wisdom (sofia) is present at creation and has independent existence (Prov 8:22-23, Sir. 24:9), is the source of life (Prov 8:35), and of immortality (Wis 8:26). The Creator also assigns Wisdom a tent to dwell with Israel (Sir 24:8,10). The word eskhnwsen, translated as: "The Word became flesh and lived among us" (Jn 1:14) can also be translated "tabernacled"; alluding to the tent where the Hebrews worshipped God in the desert (see ABD IV, 354, Barrett, 153 and Talbert, Reading John, 68-69).

Logos in Greek Culture

In Greek, logoV has many meanings, most of which can be grouped into two broad categories: 1. references to inward thought or 2. the outward expression of thought in speech (see Barrett, 152). In Greek Stoic philosophy, logos had become an important concept as early as the Sixth Century B.C.E. In Stoicism, logos functions as the principle or pattern that holds the world together and gives it its coherence (HCBD, 619). Philo, the First Century Jewish philosopher, utilized logos as a specific term to reconcile Greek cosmology with the Jewish understanding of creation as the active work of God, through the speaking of God's word. In Philo's thought, logos becomes an identifiable entity, mediating between God and the world and becoming the means of divine revelation (HCBD, 619). Even if the Evangelist is not referring to any philosophic principle, logoV is an appropriate designation that personifies self-expression (see Barrett, 152.)

While it is difficult to determine if the author is employing a popular stream of Jewish-Greek philosophy, the Old Testament, or some other source (Qumram has been suggested, see Brown, lxii-lxiv), it is quite likely that John's audience would have had some pre-understanding of the logos as an active-creative force of God, bringing God's revelation into the world.

The Descending and Ascending Logos

Another concept closely related to the author's use of the logos is his dualistic construction of the universe. God dwells "above"(14:2-6) and humanity dwells in "the world" (17:6-11, for example). The action of God through the logos has been characterized by a "descent-ascent" model. The logos in the person of Jesus descends to "live among us,"(1:14) but then "returns to the Father" (17:11). Other similar images of "laying down," "raising up," "lifting" and " from above" evoke an understanding of this cyclical way of viewing the incarnational action of God in Jesus.

Again, scholars have posited a number of sources for this descent-ascent pattern. In his article entitled "The Myth of a Descending-Ascending Redeemer in Mediterranean Antiquity," Talbert notes the connection with wisdom as personified in the Old Testament and other Jewish literature and concludes that these are the most likely source for this motif. Sirach speaks of a wisdom that "comes down from heaven, appears on earth among men, and tablernacles in Jacob as the law" (Talbert, 421). I Enoch speaks of wisdom "coming down from heaven, but, finding no dwelling place, returns to heaven and takes her seat among the angels"(Talbert,421) Angels on specific missions are also seen as ascending and descending in their activity on earth (Talbert, 423-424).

Ultimately, the disciples (and implicitly, the reader) are invited to share in the incarnation and the descent-ascent pattern. In 14:3, Jesus tells his disciples that he is coming "again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." Jesus washes his disciple's feet (a type of descent and exemplified by the removal of his robe in 13:4) and invites his disciples to do the same (13:15). Just as Jesus lays down his life, so are his disciples to do likewise (15:12-15).

The events narrated by the Evangelist are only coherent if the reader recognizes that the primary character, Jesus Christ, is the eternal logos described in the Prologue (see Barrett, 155-156). Thus, the words and deeds of Jesus are, in their essence, the words and deeds of God. God's self-communication enters natural existence to bring us life eternal by celebrating with us, eating with us, mourning with us, and ultimately dying with us. In this action, God is "glorified" and we too are invited to enter into God's life through our imitation of God's laying down of life.