Logos

For other uses, see Logos (disambiguation).

Logos is a Greek word often translated as "the Word" and holds profound significance in Christian theology. It appears prominently in the New Testament, especially in the prologue of the Gospel of John:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." ()

John identifies the Logos with Jesus Christ, emphasizing his divine nature, eternal existence, and role in creation. The Logos is described as existing with God in the beginning and as being God himself, through whom all things were made ().

In Greek philosophy

In Greek philosophy, the term Logos carried a rich background of meaning. It was used by thinkers like Heraclitus to denote the rational principle or order underlying the universe. Later, Stoic philosophers expanded on this idea, viewing the Logos as a divine force or reason that pervades and organizes all of existence.

Philo of Alexandria, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, further developed the concept, blending Greek philosophy with Jewish theology. For Philo, the Logos was an intermediary between God and the material world, embodying divine wisdom and reason.

In Christian theology

The Gospel of John reinterprets and transforms the Greek concept of Logos within a distinctly Christian framework. Rather than being an abstract principle or intermediary, John declares that the Logos is a person, Jesus Christ, who became flesh to dwell among humanity (). In this way, John unites the philosophical idea of Logos with the biblical understanding of God's Word as active in creation, revelation, and redemption (; ; ).

Through the Logos, God is fully revealed to humanity, as states:

"No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known."

Thus, in Christian theology, the Logos signifies both the preexistent Son of God and the incarnate Jesus, the source of life, truth, and salvation.

Use in the Quran

In the Islamic holy text, the Quran, Jesus is described as the "Word from God" (Surah An-Nisa 4:171). This creates a theological inconsistency. In Christian theology, the "Word" (Logos) is divine, eternal, and inseparable from God, as affirmed in : "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." If Jesus is a "Word from God," this implies his divinity and eternal nature, which contradicts the Quran’s denial of Jesus’s divinity.