BBI II-A: #6 The Grammar proves that Jesus existed as Logos (Jn. 1:10-12)
In the context of John 1:10-12, the pronouns (“Him” / “His”) refer to Jesus, the one we must “receive” and “believe in His name.” Yet, these pronouns require an antecedent noun as a referent which is the same gender and number (masculine, singular) as the pronouns. The only possible singular, masculine noun which can be the antecedent for these pronouns is the noun “Logos” (Word) in verse 1. This requires that “Logos” was a personal being, that He has a name, and that name is Jesus, the one who “became flesh” in vs. 14.
Also, John wrote of Logos, that “everything through Him originated“ (δι᾽ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο) in John 1:3, and in vs. 10 he wrote of Jesus, “the world through Him originated” (δι᾽ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο). The identical language concerning the role of Agent in both is the same. Verse 10 simply summarizes “everything” as “the world.”
Please post questions or comments under the video on the YouTube Channel.
Go to: BBI II-A: #7 The One “Begotten out of God” later “Became Flesh” (Jn. 1:12-14)
2 thoughts on “BBI II-A: #6 The Grammar proves that Jesus existed as Logos (Jn. 1:10-12)”
Tim,
I noticed that your Last Generation Version translation of John 1:9 has changed slightly over the last couple of years.
The 10/23/21 pdf of John 1:9 says “that was the true light which enlightens every man coming into the world”.
The 04/26/23 blog & YouTube video of John 1:9 for BBI II-A: #6 says “The true LIGHT, which enlightens each man, was coming into the world”.
The 12/29/23 pdf version of John 1:9 says “He was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens each man”.
Do the differences reflect a change in your understanding of John 1:9?
Sam,
Yes, the change reflects a change of opinion about that verse concerning a grammatical ambiguity.
Several translations including the NKJV punctuate the sentence as though the word “coming” refers to “every man.” Most modern versions punctuate the sentence as though “coming” refers to “the true light.”
The grammatical problem is that the word “coming” is a present participle. But in this case it is spelled exactly the same whether it is nominative case and neuter gender, OR accusative case, masculine gender. If it is the former (nominative neuter) then it refers to “the true light” which is also nominative neuter. But if it is the latter (accusative masculine) then it refers to “each man” which is also accusative masculine. In such cases sometimes the proximity of the referent helps (closest referent is to be preferred). But this is merely a stylistic “hint” not a rule.
So why did I change my opinion? I noticed that the present participle (coming) is in the middle voice, which generally means the subject is both performing and receiving the action of the verb. That is, he/it is bringing Himself “into the world.” While that was true of “the True Light” it is not true of “each man.” I probably should add a footnote to that effect.
Thanks for asking.
Grace & Peace, Tim