John 1:2 Bible Study

John 1:2
"He was in the beginning with God."

Last week, we discussed John 1:1. We discussed the concept of
the Word and touched on to areas dealing with the Word as the
expression of God. Specifically, we discovered that the scriptures say that the
Word is instructive and effective. Psalm 19 further describes God's
Word. Of course, because we cannot separate God's Word from Himself, all
things that apply to the Word apply to God Himself, and thus, Christ as well.

Furthermore, the Word was with God intimately in eternity past.
Contrary to what many teach, Jesus Christ is God. He was pros ton
theon or face-to-face with God in eternity past. Jesus is
therefore no mere man. This is part of the mystery of the trinity.

That was verse one.

In verse two, John reinforces this intimacy by simply saying
the same was in the beginning with God. Again, that is no benign
statement, for again, it uses the phrase that implies face to face intimacy and
equality. There can be no mistake that John's intent is to
underscore the deity of Christ.

In verse 3, in the Modern King James version, John writes
All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing
came into being that has come into being. He thus establishes
Jesus as the source of all things that have come into being, which is
everything but God Himself, for Genesis 1:1 states that In the beginning
God created the heavens and the Earth.
It was Jesus Christ Who brought everything into existence. It was
in the beginning of the 20^th century that science discovered the five
categories in which all things fall: Time, force, energy, space
and matter. He created it all.

This flies in the face of many contemporary so-called scientists
who, in an effort to give credibility to evolution, attempt to claim that
everything came from a simple piece of matter. Life cannot come from non-living things. Only life produces
life. That would seem to be simple enough to believe. But so dedicated
to the denial of God are so many so-called scientists that they make the
non-scientific claim that matter can be eternal. this violates
the second law of thermodynamics, or the law of entropy, which
basically says that everything wears out. Either that is true, or it isn't.
And while none of us could name one thing in our lives that doesn't
break down, need maintenance or blow up, there are those who would say
that at one time, before everything we see came into being, there was a
piece of matter that floated around for eternity. Of course, that assumes that
space even existed...which is contrary to what the Scriptures
tell us.

And while I can't remember the precise argument that says this,
time came into being with the creation of energy and matter.

But such is the silliness of men who seek to rule out God and His
sovereign rule. But remember, it is scripture that tells us that
all things were created. It is the scriptures that tell us that
matter isn't eternal...and that was written long before modern science.

So, Jesus was the One who created energy, space, time and matter.
It has been said that he created all things while standing on nothing.
Try to get your mind around that. Imagine that in the beginning, there
was only God. There was nothing else at all. There was no space. There was
no energy, there was no matter and no time. He created all things.
He even created the space to put it all in. He created it all from
nothing.

Psalm 33:6 says that 6 By the word of the Lord were the
heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

Psalm 102:25 says 25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation
of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.

Isaiah 45:12 says 12 I have made the earth, and created man
upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host
have I commanded.

Colossians 1:16: For by him were all things created, that
are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether
they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things
were created by him, and for him...

Kind of puts everything in perspective, doesn't it? To think that
Jesus Christ has control of all things, for the one who made them
certainly controls them. He even created anything in the spiritual realm.

Paul says in Colossians 1:16 and 17 that ...all things were
created by Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the
visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities
or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him. And He
is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

Did you get that?
...and by Him all things consist.
It is by the word of His power that all things are held together (see Hebrews
1:3
...upholding all things by the word of his
power...).
See, Jesus not only made everything, He holds it all together.

Lee Chestnut, in an out of print book titled The Atom
Speaks, discusses the impossibility of the universe's existence apart
from God.
His argument is that the scientific community cannot explain how
anything continues to exist. This is because every atom
everywhere shouldn't be able to hold together. It has to do with atomic
particles having like charges. And this should result in universal nuclear
fission. But it doesn't. They just can't explain this but
they know that something somehow is holding or forcing
everything to stay together. As those who believe God's Word, we know it is because
Jesus holds all things together by the Word of His Power, just as the
writer of Hebrews tells us.

So Jesus was eternally with God in the beginning. He spoke
everything into existence from absolutely nothing. Not only that, He put it
together in a way that points to His Sovereign control. Not only
that, He continues to hold it all together.

But why does He do this?:

1. His mercy. It is his mercy. How many times have you heard someone
say How is it that a loving God could send anyone to
Hell? They say that as if love was the only attribute of God
while there are many. The better statement is to say that man is sinful and
God is just and there is no reason why God wouldn't be justified
in sending everyone to Hell immediately. It is only His mercy
that keeps him from doing that. But you know what? There is a time
when his mercy will be exhausted. We find this in 2 Peter 3: But
the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which
the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that
are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these
things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be
in all holy conversation and godliness... This is an
allusion to the reversal of God's restraining and upholding of the universe.
Notice the phrase...the elements shall melt with fervent
heat... If you read that to any nuclear scientist, he will
tell you that is a reference to nuclear fission which is when an atom
flies apart. Again, the scientific community is still trying to
figure out why this isn't already happening on a literally
universal scale.

2. His universal grace. It isn't just God's mercy. It is also his
grace. Mercy is where God doesn't give us what we do deserve.
Grace is where God gives us what we don't deserve. So, beyond his
mercy which delays his immediate justice, he also gives us all
things, of which we deserve none. He gave us a stewardship. But I
did say this is just universal grace. In other words,
he does this for all people everywhere, redeemed or not. Rain is a good
thing and He gives it to the just and the unjust. He provides
food for the inhabitants of the Earth, redeemed or not. He provides
for everyone. Then of course is His redemptive grace which is shown
to the elect, to whom He gives the gifts of repentance and faith.

This is the God we worship. The Lord Jesus Christ, Who existed as
co-equal with God in eternity past, Who created all things, Who
instructs us and is effectual. By His Word, he was creator and is
sustainer of all things visible and invisible. He continually
upholds all things.

But one day that will all end. He will withhold his sustaining
grace and let everything come to an end in judgment. Until then, he offers
us repentance and faith in the finished work of his Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ.

In verse one, it is established that the Word or Logos is eternal, with God,
and indeed is God, verse 2 begins with houtos which means this one/man or he.
The gender is masculine. This gives emphasis to the fact that it is not an it, but a He.
Also that the Word is equal to God reinforces this. Then a restatement of verse one is nade,
In Hebrew literature, this is a device that emphasizes a point, much like that is Psalms
or Proverbs.  You restate a phrase, or even change it some, and that makes
it like you shouted on paper. He was in the beginning with God.
From the larger context, we know that this He is Christ Jesus.
(v. 15, 29-34)

(John 1:2 NKJV)  He was in the beginning with God.
Jesus was with God before time existed he is eternal and at no
point in time did he come into existence. This also proves that Jesus
was divine and the second person of the trinity. It is amazing how many
times throughout Gods word the smallest verses speak volumes. For a
Bible believing Christian this is one of those verses that we can use
to prove the trinity as well as his divinity.

John 1:2
"The Same was in the beginning with God."
"Houtos en en arche pros theos"

The very same that we believe in
the same, the Word, or the Logos

It is said again, to guard the doctrine and to prevent the possibility of
a mistake.  John had said that he existed before creation, and that he was
with God and that he was God; but he had not said in the first verse
"that the union with God existed in the beginning."  He now expresses that
idea, and assures us that that union was not one which was commenced "in
time," and which might be, therefore, a mere union of "feeling", or a compact,
like that between other beings, but was one which existed in eternity, and
which was therefore a union of nature in essence.

It also shows His eternal distinctness, in unity, from God -- the Father.

Genesis 1:1
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
Psalm 102:25
"Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and thy heavens are
the work of thy hands."
Acts 17:24
"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of
heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands."
Romans 1:20
"For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly
seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power
and Godhead; so that they are without excuse."
Rev 4:11
"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour and power:  for Thou
hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

This description of God creating heaven and earth is understood to be...
1.) recent, i.e., thousands not millions of years ago.
2.) ex nihilo, i.e., out of nothing; and
3.) special, i.e., in 6 consecutive 24 hour periods called "days" and further
distinguished as such by this phrase, "the evening and the morning."
Scripture does not support a creation date earlier than about 10,000 years
ago.

- in the beginning -
while God exists eternally (Psalm 90:2), this marked the beginning of the
universe in time and space.  In explaining Israels identity and purpose to
her on the plains of Moab, God wanted His people to know about the origin
of the world in which they found themselves.

- the very same that we believe in -
this is the Creator God who set out to redeem His creation -- this is the
One whom we believe in.

The Same was in the beginning with God.  John 1:2