Chaplain's Corner
Mark Shogren
August 2026
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
John 1:1-3
In today’s world there are many misconceptions about who Jesus really is. For example last week I went to visit a Vietnam veteran in a memory care facility. On the way in I met a lady in a wheelchair outside enjoying the beautiful day. She asked me if that was a Bible in my hand, I said yes it is. She said she believed in God so I took the opportunity to share the Gospel message of salvation with her. To my surprise she proceeded to tell me that she didn’t think Jesus was God, but considered herself a Christian. The unbiblical deceptive heresies about Jesus is widespread in many religions, unfortunately some are even within the Christian professing community spread by false teachers. If you profess to be a Christian and do not read your Bible you can easily be deceived, (Colossians 2:8-9) “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”
John describes Jesus as pre-existent. Jesus is not a created being but the eternal creator Himself. In Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning” Jesus was with God, He was already present when the universe was created. Jesus the only begotten Son of God has always existed, (John 8:58) “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” The Word of God is the living and active Son of God, which existed before creation, and was the means by which God created all.
Jesus Christ is “the Word” that was in the beginning (see John 1:14-18). “Word” comes from the Greek term logos. Logos would have been a familiar thought for both the Jews and the Greeks, (Psalm 33:6) “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.”
John shows that Jesus is the complete revelation of God when he states in (John 1:18) “No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”
God’s Word is truth, (John 17:17) “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John’s Gospel is clear that Jesus is the Messiah the Son of the living God, (John 20:31) “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” In (John 14:6-7) “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” Jesus is the revelation and actual eternal Creator, and Messiah.
The introduction to John’s Gospel message serves as a profound reminder to the eternal nature and divinity of Jesus Christ; and His role as the Creator and source of life. I would encourage you to continue to read through the Gospel of John which reveals and ultimately points to Jesus the Son of God as the promised Messiah, and Savior of the world.
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