"The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory" (John 1:14). Thus John tells us of what he knew, saw, and loved; and he presents it in his particular style, a style which is unique in its economical use of words, but which conveys the awe of the wonderful things he has to say (1:1): "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
It may be assumed that in speaking thus of the Word, John was using an expression of thought already familiar to those he addressed. They would understand at least of what he was speaking and were in a measure prepared for that which it was his mission to reveal. John employed the term Logos, which had already been used and accepted by Greeks and Jews and had given rise to vast theories in such theological and philosophical speculations as the Stoic, Platonic, and Hebraic, always, however, remaining uncertain and hesitating between accepting the meaning of the Word as divine will or as divine reason.
It remained for John, that beloved disciple who had known and loved Jesus, to define the incarnation as the Word become flesh. This revolutionary statement broke right away from any former teaching, giving a complete and final answer to speculative theories on the subject of the Word. While John gave to the followers of Christ Jesus in his day as clear a definition as the world could then accept of the Saviour's work and mission, his teaching was evidently not fully understood, because after a time Christians ceased to do healing works and Christianity became more of a moral and religious doctrine than a vital and living power among men, accompanied by visible signs.
