John 1:2

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - John 1:1-5

Austin says (de Civitate Dei, lib. 10, cap. 29) that his friend Simplicius told him he had heard a Platonic philosopher say that these first verses of St. John's gospel were worthy to be written in letters of gold. The learned Francis Junius, in the account he gives of his own life, tells how he was in his youth infected with loose notions in religion, and by the grace of God was wonderfully recovered by reading accidentally these verses in a bible which his father had designedly laid in his... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 1:1-18

1:1-18 When the world had its beginning, the Word was already there; and the Word was with God; and the Word was God. This Word was in the beginning with God. He was the agent through whom all things were made; and there is not a single thing which exists in this world which came into being without him. In him was life and the life was the light of men; and the light shines in the darkness, because the darkness has never been able to conquer it. There emerged a man sent from God whose name... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 1:2

The same was in the beginning with God. This is a repetition of what is before said, and is made to show the importance of the truths before delivered; namely, the eternity of Christ, his distinct personality, and proper deity; and that the phrase, in the beginning, is to be joined to each of the above sentences; and so proves, not only his eternal existence, but his eternal existence with the Father, and also his eternal deity; and is also made to carry on the thread of the discourse,... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - John 1:2

Verse 2 2.He was in the beginning. In order to impress more deeply on our minds what had been already said, the Evangelist condenses the two preceding clauses into a brief summary, that the Speech always was, and that he was with God; so that it may be understood that the beginning was before all time. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 1:1-2

Prologue of the Gospel. The prologue is in harmony with the design of a biographic history which is to set forth Jesus Christ as the Son of God. The Fourth Gospel is thus a distinct advance, dogmatically, upon the other Gospels, for Matthew exhibits him in his Messianic royalty; Mark, as the Son of man and the Servant of God; Luke, as the Son of man and Saviour of the race of man, without distinction of Jew or Gentile. The Apostle John exhibits him in the glorious activity of his Divine... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 1:1-18

1. The hypothesis framed by the evangelist to account for the series of facts which he is about to narrate is seen especially in John 1:14 ; but before asserting this great fact that the Word was made flesh, he proceeds to show read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 1:1-51

The phrase, "according to," has been thought by some to suggest a type of doctrine or teaching with which the document might be supposed to harmonize, and therefore to set aside the idea of personal authenticity by its very form. This interpretation, seeing it applies to Mark and Luke as well as to John and Matthew, would lose its meaning; for Mark and Luke, by numerous traditionary notices, have been continuously credited, not with having personally set any special type of doctrine before... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 1:2

The same Logos whom the writer has just affirmed to have been God himself, was , though it might seem at first reading to be incompatible with the first or third clause of the first verse, nevertheless in the beginning with God —"in the beginning," and therefore, as we have seen, eternally in relation with God. The previous statements are thus stringently enforced, and, notwithstanding their tendency to diverge, are once more bound into a new, unified, and emphatic utterance. Thus the ... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - John 1:2

The same - The Word, or the λόγος Logos.Was in the beginning with God - This seems to be a repetition of what was said in the first verse; but it is stated over again to “guard the doctrine,” and to prevent the possibility of a mistake. John had said that he existed before the creation, and that he was “with God;” but he had not said in the first verse “that the union with God existed in the beginning.” He now expresses that idea, and assures us that that union was not one which was commenced... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - John 1:1-2

John 1:1-2. In the beginning Namely, of the creation, (for the evangelist evidently refers to the first word of the book of Genesis, בראשׁית , bereshith, rendered by the LXX. εν αρχη , the expression here used,) was the Word That is, The Word existed at the beginning of the creation, and consequently from eternity. He was when all things began to be; whatsoever had a beginning. And the Word was with God Namely, before any created being had existed. This is probably spoken in... read more

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