Logos (Christianity)
Logos, derived from the Greek word for "word," holds significant theological meaning in Christianity, particularly relating to the nature of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that Jesus is the incarnation of Logos, representing the divine Word of God and one of the three persons of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. This concept is prominently featured in the Gospel of John, particularly in its prologue, which states, "In the beginning was the Word." The historical roots of Logos extend back to Greek philosophy, where thinkers like Heraclitus and the Stoics used the term to describe a universal reason or divine intelligence guiding the cosmos.
Early Christians adopted and transformed these philosophical ideas, viewing Logos as a mediator between God and humanity. The Gospel of John articulates this belief, asserting that Jesus existed alongside God from the beginning and is, in fact, divine. This dual nature of Jesus—both fully human and fully divine—has been a point of contention throughout Christian history, leading to debates and schisms. Key church councils, such as the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Chalcedon, have sought to clarify these theological issues, ultimately affirming the Trinity and Jesus's dual nature. Understanding Logos is essential for grasping the Christian view of God's relationship with humanity and the mysteries surrounding the nature of Jesus Christ.
Logos (Christianity)
Logos is Greek for "word." In the Christian context, Logos refers to Jesus Christ, the Son of God who became incarnate—meaning he took on human form—and is the embodiment of the Word of God. Christians believe that God has three equal parts: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. This concept is known as the Trinity. The identification of Jesus as Logos is most closely associated with the prologue to the Gospel of John in which it represents the most definitive reference to Jesus's incarnation in the New Testament.
Background
The idea of Logos as the Word of God did not begin with John's Gospel. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus (535 – 475 BCE) is believed to have been the first to use Logos to refer to a concept. Heraclitus believed that his philosophical thoughts and theories existed separately from him and were part of an overall intelligence that did not belong to any one person.
Stoic philosophers in the Hellenistic age (323 – 30 BCE) then associated Heraclitus's definition of Logos with a divine intelligence. They referred to the organized reason God used in designing and shaping the world—God's thoughts and mind—as Logos. The Stoics believed that society would be just, moral, and peaceful and an individual's life would be more fulfilling when it was aligned with the purpose and plan of God's Logos.
The Jewish Greek philosopher Philo (30 BCE – 50 CE) used the word Logos to refer to an entity that served as a liaison between God and humankind. He considered Logos to be like the firstborn child of God.
Johannine Concept of Logos
Early Christians adopted the idea of Logos as God's mind and an intermediary or communicator between God and humankind. This concept is especially prevalent in the New Testament Gospel of John, which was written for a predominantly Greek audience around the year 90 CE. Those in this original audience would have been familiar with the Stoic's idea of Logos as God's mind and reason. The Gospel took this a step farther and directly associated the idea of Logos with the second person of the Trinity, Jesus.
In the original Greek, "Logos" was used for each appearance of "Word." With this, the Gospel reflects the Johannine viewpoint that Jesus (the Word, Logos) existed from the beginning with God and is God. In other words, Jesus and God are two parts of the same divine being. Although the Gospel will go on to relate Jesus's actions in his human form while on Earth, the Johannine viewpoint that Jesus is God and remained God is established and emphasized from the start.
This was important to those holding the Johannine viewpoint and other Christians because it conveys the idea that God desires a personal relationship with humankind. Logos—God's mind and plan for the world—became incarnate. Jesus, while still maintaining his divine nature according to Christian belief, takes on a human form and lives among humans. According to Johannine thought, although Jesus is God in every way, he was also subjected to all the limitations of the human form. He was born as an infant and grew as all children do, he ate and slept and moved around on foot as all people do, and according to John's Gospel and the other three Gospels of the New Testament, he died a painful and very human death. John's Gospel also includes a telling of Jesus's resurrection or rising from the dead on the third day after his death, once again directing attention to a divine nature. The Gospel then follows that with an account of the resurrected Jesus eating with his disciples, a human act. According to the Christian concept of Logos, Jesus's ability to embody God and walk among humans serves as a direct connection between God and humankind and a way to overcome the limitations of the human form.
The idea of God being both fully divine while contained in a human body was not always universally accepted. Throughout the early centuries of the Christian faith, some challenged the dual nature of Jesus. For example, the Gnostic Christians as well as the Laodicean bishop Apollinaris (c.310 – c.390 CE) believed that Jesus was fully divine and never had a human form, while Arius (250 – 336 CE), a bishop of Alexandria, said that Jesus was created by God. These viewpoints caused debate and even schisms, or splits, in the Christian Church for centuries and were in direct conflict with the Johannine concept of Logos.
The conflicts of the early centuries were resolved to some degree through the proclamation of various church councils between 325 CE and 451 CE. The Council of Nicaea in 325 CE affirmed the belief in the Trinity and Jesus's divinity, while the Council of Chalcedon established as Christian belief that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. However, the concept of Logos remains a difficult one for scholars and everyday Christians. The idea of Jesus being both God and with God is a paradox that cannot be resolved with logic and is debated by scholars. It must be a matter of faith for Christian believers.
Bibliography
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