Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a tract, month, or collection:
The opening words of the Gospel of John in the King James Version are as well known as any in the Bible: "In the beginning was the Word . . . ." It is difficult to convey in translation, but the sense of John 1:1 is not merely that "in the beginning was the Word" but that when everything began, the Word was already there. A few translations of the New Testament dare to translate John's original words exactly that way, or something close to it (as I did in my translation), but it is risky; such translations border on interpretation rather than a translation of what the apostle John wrote. Nevertheless, John's message is best communicated, in my judgment, by implying the pre-creation existence of the Son of God. That is why I translated John 1:1 thus:
This revelation of the existence of the Son of God before the beginning of creation is beautifully conveyed to us in Proverbs 8:22-31, where the Word himself speaks through David, giving us what is perhaps the most touching description anywhere in the Bible of the relationship of the Father and the Son before they began the work of creation. Here is my translation of those deeply moving verses:
So, it is true that "in the beginning, the Word was already there", and even if that is not exactly what John wrote in the beginning verse of his gospel, it is precisely what John would have hoped we would gather from his words.