Greek
λόγος
logos
Word, reason, divine speech
The Greek word for 'word' or 'rational speech' — used by John's Gospel to name Jesus Christ as God's eternal self-expression.
Logos (λόγος) is one of the most theologically dense words in the Greek language. Its basic meaning is 'word' — an utterance, a saying. But it carries a much wider semantic range than the English 'word': it includes meaning, reason, account, argument, and rational discourse. The English derivatives 'logic,' 'biology,' 'theology,' 'psychology' — all incorporate logos in the sense of 'the study of' or 'the rational account of.' Logos has two major streams of background. (1) Greek philosophy: from Heraclitus (6th century BC) through the Stoics and Philo, logos was used for the divine reason or rational principle ordering the cosmos — the universal logic by which the universe operates. (2) Hebrew Scripture (in Greek translation): the Septuagint uses logos to translate the Hebrew dabar — the 'word of the LORD' that comes to prophets, the spoken word that accomplishes God's purposes (Isaiah 55:11 — 'so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void'). When John opens his Gospel 'In the beginning was the Word (logos)' (John 1:1), he is drawing on both streams. To Greek philosophical readers, he is claiming that the divine reason ordering the cosmos has taken on human nature. To Jewish readers, he is claiming that the creative speech of Genesis 1 ('And God said, Let there be light') is the same Word who became flesh.
Logos appears about 330 times in the New Testament — but in only a few places carries the specifically theological 'Word of God' sense John uses. In the prologue of John (John 1:1-18), logos appears four times in the first 14 verses, identifying Christ as the eternal Word who was with God, was God, was the agent of creation, and became flesh. 1 John 1:1 echoes the same language: 'That which was from the beginning... of the Word of life.' Revelation 19:13 — at Christ's return in glory — 'His name is called The Word of God (Logos tou Theou).' Beyond these key passages, logos is used more generally for 'word,' 'message,' 'account,' or 'reason.' Acts 6:7 — 'the word of God increased' refers to the message of the gospel. Romans 10:17 — 'faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God' uses logos for the gospel message. Hebrews 4:12 — 'the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword' applies the term to Scripture itself. The double usage is theologically significant. Christ is the Word of God; Scripture is the word of God; the gospel is the word of God. All three are connected: Scripture testifies to Christ; the gospel proclaims Christ; Christ is the personal Word who fulfills both.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Christ as Logos
“The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword.”
Scripture as the word
“That which was from the beginning... of the Word of life.”
To call Christ the Logos is to confess that God has expressed himself fully in him. The deepest truths of God are not abstract — they are personal. The reason ordering the universe is not impersonal logic but a Person who walked dusty roads. To follow Christ is to follow not just teachings but the Word himself. And to read Scripture is to encounter the Word about the Word — the written word testifying to the personal Word incarnate.
Logos (Greek: λόγος) means 'word' — but with a much wider sense than the English 'word.' It includes meaning, reason, account, argument, and rational speech. In Greek philosophy, logos was the divine reason ordering the cosmos. In Hebrew Scripture (Greek translation), logos translated the Hebrew dabar — the 'word of the LORD' that comes to prophets and accomplishes God's purposes. John's Gospel uses logos to name Jesus Christ as God's eternal self-expression.
John calls Jesus the Logos (John 1:1) to claim that Christ is God's full self-expression — what God 'says' about himself in a person. The choice of word is brilliant: it speaks both to Greek philosophical readers (Christ is the divine reason behind the universe) and to Jewish readers (Christ is the creative Word who spoke creation into being). The Incarnation is then the moment 'the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us' (John 1:14) — the eternal divine speech took on human nature.
Both Greek words mean 'word,' but with different shades. Logos (λόγος) is the broader term — word as meaning, message, rational expression. Rhema (ῥῆμα) is more specifically the spoken word or utterance — a particular saying. Some Christian traditions emphasize the distinction (logos = the whole written word; rhema = a specific word the Spirit speaks to you), but in the New Testament the two words are often used interchangeably. Ephesians 6:17 calls 'the sword of the Spirit' the rhema of God, not logos. Both refer to God's revelation.