The opening chapter of John has long been regarded as a cornerstone of the doctrine of the preexistence of Christ, a belief that asserts Jesus had a personal, sentient existence before His conception and birth. Careful study of the text, however, shows that John 1:1–10 is not about the creation of the cosmos or the preexistence of Christ, but rather about the **new creation in Christ**, a spiritual reality inaugurated through His life, ministry, and redemptive work.
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## Logos: The Word of God
John opens:
> “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him” (John 1:1–4, 9–10).
The Greek Logos, translated “Word,” does not indicate that Jesus existed personally before His birth. In Greek thought, logos can mean abstract reason or wisdom, but in Hebrew thought it signifies divine expression. In John, “the Word” represents the Gospel message of God, the divine promise revealed in the Law and the Prophets, pointing to the Messiah. Jesus, born of David’s seed (Romans 1:3), under the law (Galatians 4:4), made “sin” for humanity (2 Corinthians 5:21), and like His brethren (Hebrews 2:17), fully embodied God’s promises. The Logos became flesh at His baptism and public ministry, demonstrating God’s covenant and making the new spiritual creation possible (1 Timothy 3:16).*.
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## Beginning: Archee and the New Creation
The Greek word for “beginning,” *archee*, denotes “first in order” and is closely related to *archon*, a ruler. In John, the “beginning” refers not to Genesis 1 or the creation of the material universe but to the **beginning of the new spiritual creation in Christ**. This is consistent with passages such as John 15:27, 16:4, 8:25, 6:64, 1 John 1:1, 2:7, 13, 14, 24, and 2 John 1:6.
John intentionally mirrors the Genesis account: as God spoke, “Let there be light,” in the original creation, so in the beginning of the new creation, God initiated **spiritual light through His Son** (2 Corinthians 4:6; Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:1; Luke 1:1–2; Acts 10:37). Jesus Christ is described as the “beginning” and the first cause of the new spiritual creation (Revelation 3:14).
The Greek *ktisis*, often translated as “creation,” frequently denotes **regeneration and spiritual renewal** rather than material creation. Believers in Christ are thus part of a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), the realization of God’s covenant promises (Colossians 1:15–20).
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## The Word Made Flesh
Jesus, a man (Acts 2:22; 1 Timothy 2:5; Romans 8:3; Hebrews 2:14), **embodied the Word of God**. He spoke God’s words (John 7:16; 8:28), showing through His life and mission the divine expression of God’s promises. The Word made flesh demonstrates God’s covenant and the power of salvation available to all who believe.
John writes,
> “The Word was made flesh, and we beheld His glory” (John 1:14).
The “flesh” refers to the **human manifestation of God’s promises**, the medium through which the new creation is revealed. Jesus’ humanity was central: He was born under the law, of sinful flesh, in the likeness of men, of no reputation (Philippians 2:7), yet He perfectly embodied the message of the Kingdom.
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## All Things Were Made Through Him
John 1:3 reads:
> “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
Here, “all things” refers to the **new spiritual creation**, the transformed lives of believers, not the material universe. This is evident when we compare passages such as Colossians 1:16, Ephesians 3:9, and 1 Corinthians 8:6. The life and light spoken of in John 1:4 are spiritual, illuminating men and women and producing regeneration. Without the Word—the Gospel manifested in Jesus—spiritual creation would be impossible.
> “That which has been made was life in Him, and that life was the light of men.”
The light of God’s Word, revealed in Jesus, penetrates darkness (2 Corinthians 4:6) and brings moral and spiritual transformation. Those who reject the Word fail to “understand” or “comprehend” it (Greek *katalambano*), and thus remain in darkness (John 1:5).
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## John the Baptist: Witness to the Light
John the Baptist came as a messenger, sent from God, to testify about the coming Son:
> “There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that Light” (John 1:6–7).
John’s role was to prepare the way for the new creation, analogous to Isaiah’s prophecy:
> “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God … and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed” (Isaiah 40:3).
Through the testimony of John and the work of Jesus, **all kinds of men**—Jews and Gentiles alike—can partake in the new creation, receiving spiritual enlightenment (John 1:7, 9).
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The World Made Through Him
John 1:10 states:
“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.”
Here, “made through Him” should be understood spiritually rather than physically. Jesus did not literally create the material universe; rather, through His life, ministry, and redemptive work, God brought spiritual life and renewal to humanity, including those in Old Testament times (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 9:15). The “world” here is understood as humanity and God’s covenant people, who are renewed through the Gospel of Christ.
The Gospel of Philip reinforces this understanding:
“Since Christ came, the world has been created, the cities adorned, the dead carried out.”
This passage illustrates that the coming of Christ initiates a new creation, bringing spiritual life, illumination, and transformation. In John 1:10, when it says “the world was made through Him,” it aligns with Philip’s imagery: the “creation” is the renewed spiritual order established through Christ. The dead being “carried out” refers to the restoration and enlightenment of those in sin or spiritual death, while the “cities adorned” symbolizes the building up of God’s people as a new, spiritual society.
In other words, John 1:10 and the Gospel of Philip both describe the spiritual re-creation and illumination of the world through Christ, showing that the “making” of the world is God’s work in humanity, accomplished through Jesus as the Word made flesh.
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## Jesus’ Death and Resurrection: True Beginning
The real beginning of the new creation is not Jesus’ conception, but His **death and resurrection**, which reconcile humanity to God and inaugurate the promised kingdom (Colossians 1:15–20; Ecclesiastes 7:1). Through His resurrection, life and light are imparted to believers, marking the dawn of a new spiritual order.
Christ’s obedience, sacrifice, and victory over death are the foundation of spiritual creation. Those who are “in Christ” are transformed, becoming the sons and daughters of God (John 1:12), partaking in the eternal life and spiritual enlightenment that define the new creation.
Paul’s Perspective on the New Creation
The apostle Paul echoes this theme, emphasizing the believer’s participation in Christ’s work of renewal. In 1 Corinthians 12:27 he states:
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a part of it.”
Believers are the living components of the new creation, formed into a coherent body under the headship of Christ. Just as John speaks of the Word bringing life to humanity, Paul describes the Church as the tangible manifestation of that life, the ongoing creation in which Christ dwells and through which His light extends into the world
Similarly, in 2 Corinthians 5:17:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and the new has come.”
This verse is a direct affirmation that the coming of Christ inaugurates a new order, a renewed humanity and society. It is not simply the renewal of individual morality, but the establishment of a transformed world. The “new creation” is the fulfillment of the prophetic vision that John saw in the Logos: life, light, and moral and spiritual order spreading among men.
## The Future Fulfillment: Prophecies of the New Heaven and Earth
John’s vision must also be understood in eschatological terms. Isaiah prophesied:
> “Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17–25).
This prophecy describes the final realization of the new creation that John had in mind when he wrote of the Word bringing life and light. The new creation is cosmic, social, and spiritual: oppression and violence are removed, longevity and peace prevail, and all human and natural structures are aligned with divine justice. The righteous administration is restored; the “cities adorned” in the Gospel of Philip are a foreshadowing of this reality.
Peter also confirms this vision in 2 Peter 3:13:
> “But according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
The new creation is not a metaphorical event limited to spiritual regeneration but a **concrete renewal of the cosmos** in which God’s righteousness, law, and life permeate every aspect of existence. The Word, the Logos, is the agent through whom this renewal is enacted.
Matthew 19:28 also points to the future administration of the renewed creation:
> “And when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
This illustrates the establishment of a new governance system under Christ’s authority, reflecting the ultimate fulfillment of John’s vision: the Light ruling in the renewed world. The resurrection life that believers receive now is a participation in this governance, a preparation for the fully realized new creation.
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## Revelation’s Vision of the New Creation
The ultimate expression of John’s vision is given in Revelation 21:1–5:
> “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’”
John’s opening statements about the Word taking part in the creation of life and light are thus prophetic of this future reality. The Word that “was in the world” is the same Word through whom all things will be reconciled and renewed. Life and light, present now in the Church and in the believer, will extend to all creation when the new heavens and new earth are fully revealed.
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## Integration of John 1 with the New Creation
Reading John 1 in the light of the Gospel of Philip, Paul, Peter, Isaiah, Matthew, and Revelation reveals a coherent narrative:
1. **Christ initiates the new creation** at His coming.
2. **Believers participate** in the new creation, receiving life and light, and becoming members of His body (1 Corinthians 12:27).
3. **The current world remains unrecognized** by many, as John notes: “the world did not know Him.” Humanity still resists the divine order and is not yet fully aligned with Christ’s reign.
4. **Prophetic fulfillment is eschatological**, culminating in the new heavens, new earth, and the holy city (Revelation 21).
5. **The work of redemption through the cross** is central: reconciliation and forgiveness provide the moral and spiritual foundation of the new creation (Colossians 1:20; John 1:9).
Thus, John 1 does not merely describe a preexistent Christ creating matter in the past; it unveils the **eternal, transformative, and prophetic role of the Word** in renewing all things. Every act of light, life, and revelation in history — from Christ’s ministry to the resurrection — is part of the ongoing creation of the new heavens and the new earth.
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## Conclusion
John 1 presents the Logos not as a static preexistent being but as the **dynamic agent of new creation**, active in history, present in the Church, and preparing the final renewal of the cosmos. The Gospel of Philip notes that since Christ came, the world has been created, cities adorned, and the dead carried out — a testimony to the ongoing transformative work of the Word. Paul, Peter, Isaiah, Matthew, and John in Revelation all affirm that this new creation is both **present and prophetic**: present in the Church and the redeemed, prophetic in the full realization of the new heavens and earth to come.
The new creation in John 1 is therefore a **living, ongoing, and future reality**, a work of life and light, order and righteousness, which begins now and will culminate at the Second Coming of Christ. Believers are participants, witnesses, and stewards of this creation, called to align their lives with the Word who brings the old world to an end and inaugurates the eternal kingdom of the Father.
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