John 1:3

‘All things were made by (or through) Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.'

Note the continual twofold repetition. ‘In the beginning was the Word -- the Word was in the beginning with God', followed by ‘All things were made by (or through) Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.' The repetition in the two statements in both cases stresses the importance of the subject matter. Here what is being emphasised was His total control in creation, firstly positively and then negatively. These words link the Word spoken of in John directly with the creation of all things, and therefore with the creative Word of Genesis 1. They indicate that that was John's intention. In Genesis 1 creation took place through the powerful command of God, and the Word is thus powerfully linked with God's creative power (‘by the word of the Lord the heavens were made' - Psalms 33:6). So, by equating Jesus with the Word, John is directly linking Jesus with God's act of creating. He is saying that when, for example, God said, by His word, ‘Let there be light', and light resulted, it was through Jesus Christ Himself that He was acting. God's Word went forth in creating. In other words Jesus Christ, Who had now walked this earth as a man, is portrayed as being Himself the Creator of all things by His divine power, the Creator of light and the Creator of all that is, to such an extent that nothing that was made was made without Him.

We should note here the significance of this for our doctrine of God. In Genesis 1:2 we have God's Word going forth, a very part of Himself, and God's Spirit ready to bring about His will. The triune God is in action.