NOVEMBER, 1898

NOVEMBER, 1898

Mr. E. L. Bevir.

As to the point in the other letter, I will quote what I recently wrote to a brother, ‘The point as to the Word resolves itself in my mind entirely into a question of standpoint of the speaker, (i.e., in the gospel) for as to what is substantial, I am sure that we should find no difference of thought’. My impression is that in John 1 the apostle is speaking by the Spirit of One who had been commonly known and designated among them as “the Word” (see Luke 1:1), and that the point was to identify as God the Person so known and designated. The same kind of thought is found in Philippians 2, which speaks of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, etc., the Person so designated existed in that form before taking the servant’s form. I hardly understand the idea of ‘Word’ save as ‘expression’ though the thought or mind to be expressed may have been long there. Hence it is when Christ comes into the place of testimony that He is apprehended as the ‘Word’ though personally divine and ever existent. A prophet had the word, He is it (see Hebrews 1:1, 2) but, of course, I may be mistaken and am in no way disposed to press the matter.