The Logos

John 1:1-5 - "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

The "Word": Greek - "Logos"
Logos - Definition: "Originally a word meaning Word, Speech, Account or Reason.

It became a technical word in philosophy by Heraclitus who used the term for the principle of order and knowledge." Heraclitus stressed that man cannot, and will never, understand Logos which is always present.

Aristotle applied the term to mean "reasoned discourse" in the field of rhetoric. He used Logos as one of the 3 modes of persuasion. The other 2 are Pathos and Ethos. Ethos is persuading the audience by making them trust the speaker and believe him by connecting with them personally. Pathos is  persuading the audience by sparking their emotions. And Logos is persuading the audience using Logic and fact. (Get it?... Logos = Logic)

The Stoic Philosophers identified the term with the "divine animating principle pervading the Universe and animating it." It was conceived of as material and is usually identified with God or Nature.

Philo, a Hellenized Jew, used the term Logos to mean "an intermediary divine being." Philo followed the Platonic distinction between imperfect matter and perfect idea, and therefore intermediary beings were necessary to bridge the enormous gap between God and the material world. The Logos was the highest of the intermediary beings and was called by Philo "The first born of God." Philo also wrote that "the Logos of the living God is the bond of everything, holding all things together and binding all the parts, and prevents them from being dissolved and separated." The Logos also acted on behalf of God in the physical world. In particular, the "Angel of the Lord" in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) was identified with the Logos by Philo, who also said that the Logos was God's instrument in the creation of the universe.

So what is the Logos? Is it God? Is it Jesus? Why translate it as Word?
The book of John was written to gentiles, probably mostly Greeks. Greeks would have been considered the intelectuals of the day. They were all about logic and knowledge. I Corinthians 1:22 says, "For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom..." Matthew and Luke were written to Jews who "demand a sign", so they have accounts like the Virgin Birth, as well as many miricles, because those accounts are signs that would point to and prove that Jesus is the Christ. But since "Greeks seek wisdom", the book of John doesnt focus as much on the miricles themselves but on different conversations, and on who Jesus was much more than what He did. John has many accounts of Jesus speaking with the Jews or the Pharisees and proving Himself to be Christ by constantly claiming to be one with God, to have come from God, and that He is God. (i.e. John 3:11-18; 5:17-39; 6:32-38; 7:16-18, 28-29; 8:12, 28-29, 48-59; 9:5, 35-39; 10:7-18, 24-38; 11:25-26; 12:44-50; 13:3, 31-32; etc...)
So instead of starting the book with the Birth of Jesus, John starts out with the true origin of Jesus as the Logos. The Logos is a term and idea that the Greeks would have not only been familiar with, but also would have been very fascinated with. From what I understand, the Logos is intelegence itself as well as the creator of inteligence, it is the very order of the Universe. For the Theist it is equated with God and for Naturalists, it would be considered to be the origin and means of existance and nature. So John starts his book by saying that the Logos is the very wisdom of God as well as the very essence of God. It is distinguished from God, and yet one with God, not just in unity but also in function. John says that the Logos was the ganet that formed the Universe. Nothing was made by anything else but the Logos of God, who is God himself.
So basically the Logos, is the Wisdom (Logic) of God. With that being said, John 1:1-5 may better be understood like this: "In the begining was the Wisdom of God, and the Wisdom of God was with God, and the Wisdom of God was God. He was in the beginning with God. ALl things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In the Wisdom of God was life, and the life was the light of ment. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." Verse 14 goes on to say, "And the Wisdom of God 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."

I have always heard of the Logos, (probable becuase it is translated "Word), to be the written Word of God... AKA the Bible. But the Logos is far more than that. The Logos is Jesus Christ! He is the Wisdom of God who was God's Master Craftsman during the creation of the World (John 1:3; Colosians 1:16-17; Proverbs 8:22-31), and is the Gospel, or Good News that freely offers us Salvation from sin and from the wrath of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18-24) It was not just a man who died on the cross for us, it was the Wisdom of God; God himself!