Chapter 5: Identifying the Creator (Part 2)
With the background of the previous chapter, we can now identify the Creator. He is the one who was eternally with God and who later came to earth as the man named Jesus. We can clearly see this in John chapter 1 when we group John's statements under appropriate headings:
The Word[1], who is later identified as Jesus, is eternal
[1]The Greek word logos which John uses in this passage is appropriately translated into English as Word. Yet, it had very specialized meanings in Greek and was used frequently by such Greek philosophers as Socrates and Plato. (Today we have the English word logo which is taken from this Greek word to mean a symbol or representation of a reality.) The Word could be understood in this passage as meaning God's Spokesperson. John's use of Word in this passage can briefly be described as stating that "the incarnation [coming of Jesus to earth] means the presence of God in the person of Jesus." (Quoted from Word in the Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 3, Zondervan Publishing House, 1971, page 1117.)
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God…1:14 The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:1-2, 14).
The Word is outside of creation because he is the creator of all things
John 1:3 All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made[2]. 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn't recognize him (John 1:3-4, 10).
[2]Notice the statements speaking of Jesus as the Word which say, "All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made." (verse 3) and "...the world was made through him." (verse 10). These verses (along with others such as Colossians 1:15-17) that say that Jesus made all things are not contradicting the Old Testament statement that says, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). In the Old Testament, God was only known as the one in unity. In the New Testament, however, Jesus expands the unity of God to include the Father, Jesus, and the Spirit. Our confusion today comes from using the term God to exclusively mean Father in the misleading sense that "In the beginning the Father created the heaven and the earth." (Review the headings One in number or one in unity? and The expanded view of God in the New Testament in Chapter 4.)
The Word became a man and lived in the world as a man
John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn't recognize him. 1:11 He came to his own, and those who were his own didn't receive him… 1:14 The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:10-11, 14).
The Word was received as God by some and rejected by others
John 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn't overcome it... 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn't recognize him. 1:11 He came to his own, and those who were his own didn't receive him. 1:12 But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God's children, to those who believe in his name: 1:13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:4-5, 10-13).
A second similar passage written by the Apostle Paul
The Apostle Paul made a similar statement about Jesus being the Creator when he said:
Colossians 1:7 Christ… 1:15 who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn[3] of all creation. 1:16 For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him. 1:17 He is before all things, and in him all things are held together (Colossians 1:15-17).
[3]Jesus is identified as the firstborn. In the culture of the day, the firstborn son was the next generation's head of the family. The word firstborn could then mean either the eldest son or the preeminent son. It is used both ways in the Bible. Jesus could not be the first created being because he is identified as the firstborn (preeminent) one OF creation rather than the firstborn (in order) IN creation. Furthermore, the Apostle Paul uses the word firstborn again in the same passage (Colossians 1:18) where Jesus is identified as "the firstborn from the dead." But Jesus was not the first in the order of individuals raised from the dead because Jesus himself raised three individuals from the dead before his own resurrection. (The son of a widow from Nain [Luke 7:11-14], the daughter of Jairus [Mark 5:22-43], and Lazarus [John 11:1-44]) In this instance, therefore, firstborn must mean preeminent. Most importantly, however, the author of Colossians (the Apostle Paul) would not have so eloquently described Jesus as having been outside of creation and then immediately put him inside of creation in the same passage by describing him as being the first created being.
Notice the Apostle Paul's five statements which identify Jesus in both his equality with God and as being the Creator:
- Jesus is the image of the invisible God. (The
English word translated as image comes from the
Greek word eikon, meaning exact likeness,
from which we get the English word icon.)
- He is outside of creation because "…by him all things were
created…"
- He created everything in heaven and on earth.
The Apostle Paul adds an interesting qualification which
includes the visible and invisible things, spiritual
powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. This is a
comprehensive statement that Jesus is creator of
everything that exists outside of the eternal God.
- Jesus is before all things, and in him all things are held together.
A third similar passage from the Apostle John
The Apostle John made another statement about Jesus as the Creator in his book called The Revelation:
The four living creatures…saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come! Worthy are you, our Lord and God, the Holy One, to receive the glory, the honor, and the power, for you created all things, and because of your desire they existed, and were created!" (Revelation 4:8, 11).
Again, notice what John said about Jesus as both God and Creator:
- Jesus was called "Lord God, the
Almighty" which is a New Testament restatement of
an Old Testament title reserved for Yahweh. Yet, it was
clearly used to identify Jesus because it used his title
"Lord." Thus, this statement places Jesus as being equal
with God.
- Jesus was identified as the one "who was and who is and who is to come"
This imagery is used in several places in the book of
Revelation to indicate the eternal nature of God. In this
case, it was clearly used of Jesus, indicating his full
equality with God.
- Jesus was addressed as "our
Lord and God, the Holy One" and as being worthy to
receive glory, honor, and power. Again, this was
terminology reserved in the Old Testament for none other
than Yahweh himself.
- Finally, Jesus was identified as the one who created all things by his will and who gave them existence because of his desire. Thus, Jesus was fully identified as being the God who created the heavens and the earth.
An identity for the Creator
In Chapter 4, Identifying the Creator (Part 1), we saw that the Old Testament presented God as being one in unity. However, we then discovered that the New Testament expanded that view of God as he revealed more of himself. The New Testament shows Jesus as being equal with God because he is also eternal just as he is outside of everything which is created. Thus, we learn that God can be described as "one" at the same time that Jesus can be described as being a person entirely unique from God the Father. Yet Jesus is also eternal and is fully equal to God.
In Chapter 5, Identifying the Creator (Part 2), we looked at three passages in which Jesus is described as being the creator of all things, yet having come to this earth to live a completely human life. Therefore, we have identified Jesus himself as the Creator. In Chapter 7, The Creator Became a Man, we will examine the biblical claim that the man named Jesus, who lived almost 2,000 years ago, was the creator of the universe.
Before we go on to Chapter 7, however, we must stop and discuss the manuscript evidence for the Bible itself in Chapter 6: Manuscript Evidence.
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