The Seventy's Course in Theology, Fourth Year: The AtonementRoberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Religion
The Seventy's Course in Theology, Fourth Year: The Atonement
Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Latter Day Saint churches -- Doctrines
_SPECIAL TEXT: "Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence,
or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be."
(Doc. & Cov., Sec. 93:29.)_
DISCUSSION.
_1. Eternity of Intelligence:_ In the preface of St. John's Gospel
it is written: "I. 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 anything made that was
made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. * * And the
Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth"
(John 1:1-4, 14). This is in plain allusion to the Christ, and bears
witness, as all are agreed,[A] to the co-eternity of the Word of Christ
with God, the Father.
[Footnote A: See "Commentary," Jamieson,--Fauset-Brown on St. John
1:1-4. Also "International Revision Commentary," Schaff--on St.
John 1:1-4. The latter contrasting Gen. 1:1 with St. John's "in the
beginning," says that the sacred historian (Moses) starts from the
beginning and comes downwards, thus keeping us in the course of time.
John starts from the same point, but goes upwards, thus taking us into
the eternity preceding time. In Gen. 1:1, we are told that God "in the
beginning created,"--an act done in time. Here (John 1:1) we are told
that "in the beginning the Word was," a very strongly antithetical
to "come into being" (verses 3, 14, comp. 8:58), and implying an
absolute existence preceding, the point referred to. As that which is
absolute self-existent, not created--that which is--is eternal, so
the predication of eternity is involved in the clause before us taken
as a whole. He who thus "was in the beginning," who, as we afterwards
read, "was with God," and "was God," here bears the name of the "Word,"
Logos, which means both reason--[intelligence?] and word [expression?]
For justification of the interpolated words in brackets, I refer to
Dummelow's Commentary on the same passage: "Logos has two meanings in
Greek: (1) Reason or intelligence as it exists inwardly in the mind;
and (2) reason or intelligence as it is expressed outwardly in speech
and both these meanings are to be understood when Christ is called the
"Word of God." Commentary on John 1:1-4.]
In the Doctrine and Covenants this doctrine of the co-eternity of the
"Word" with God is reaffirmed, and also is expressed more explicitly.
"John," the Christ is represented as saying, "saw and bore record of
the fullness of my glory. * * * And he bore record saying, 'I saw his
glory that he was in the beginning before the world was. Therefore in
the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of
salvation, the light and the Redeemer of the World'" (Doc. & Cov. Sec.
93:6-9).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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