"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
If you're anything like me you have probably wondered why John uses this strange term to describe Jesus. Also, if you're anything like me this is one of only a few Greek words you have picked up on simply because preachers like to use it a lot (the other word they use a lot is "dulas" or "slave") The word John uses here is Logos. This word, however, does not merely mean "word" in the sense of letters arranged in a particular order. It refers to the transcendent meaning to which those letters point (See definition in the Enhanced Strong's Lexicon).
I have heard preachers refer to the Bible as "Jesus Christ on paper" and that always confused me. Certainly there are ways that you can make that statement sound less like transubstantiation than it did to me but what we should do instead is look at what John really means.
D. A. Carson provides us with his conclusion:
I hope this is helpful.
In short, God’s ‘Word’ in the Old Testament is his powerful self-expression in creation, revelation and salvation, and the personification of that ‘Word’ makes it suitable for John to apply it as a title to God’s ultimate self-disclosure, the person of his own Son. (Pillar New Testament Commentary: Gospel According to John, 116)
The incarnate Word is the true [glory], the ultimate manifestation of the presence of God amongst human beings, for this Word became a man. (Ibid, 128)
Grace and Peace,
Stephen
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