The “Logos Chain” within the Gospel of John

David E. Cox, PhD

There is a LOGOS CHAIN developed from what I have gleaned from John 1, but also identify running within the theology of John’s gospel account.  I share these with you now as a means to consider the progression of thought, and the rationale for a Theology of the Cross, as well as a progressional theology tied to understanding the Gospel of John.

These thoughts are not necessarily original to me, but are helpful in coming to an understanding of internalizing the theology of John from the I am statements of Jesus to the you are statements of discipleship and evangelism.

**God in the 1^st Chapter of John is indelibly tied to the Word, who is in the beginning, though whom all things are made, and who becomes incarnate.

**God becomes human by choice, not by mistake. It is an intentional action on behalf of God for the sake of the world. And the power of choice resides in the activity and sphere of God’s choosing the baptized, God’s choosing to make us children of God

**God’s choice in interacting with the world comes not as instructing us like a walking Torah (this being more of a Matthian concept). God comes as flesh— This in itself is a reality of paradox, in that this incarnate Word appears in the midst of us, “pitching tent” within the reality of life, fully recognizable as human, and yet hidden as God. Thus, this one who is fully God and fully Human is one who hides under an opposite of what the world would expect, and reveals God in a manner not of omnipotence, but of one divested and invested, one who comes as truly one of us.

**The God/Human Jesus of Nazareth is then identified by John the baptizer as “the Lamb of God, come to take away the sin of the cosmos.” Jesus comes not to make “'bad' people 'good',” but to make the dead alive—taking away the sin of the cosmos, being the I AM in whom life is known.

**As the Incarnate Logos, both God and Human, Jesus revolutionizes the understanding of God, humanity, and the cosmos. This becomes revealed through the signs and the I AM statements, but most specifically the glorification of Jesus is most clearly seen at the cross.  Thus the “crucified incarnate one” is the glory of God, the definition of God, and the locus of God, hidden from the world and also revealed in a manner different from worldly powers and expectations.

**This God/Human Jesus is one who comes to reveal grace upon grace, over against Moses, as well as superceding the Law of Moses. The patriarchal concept of being bound to the past, as written and performed Torah (albeit without perfection by humans) is shattered by the cross, where the previously hidden God is revealed in the crucified Jesus, the logos of all things.

**As God chooses to enter the experience of pain, suffering and death, this occurs not as a means for humanity to escape the brokenness of the world or be delivered from same, but to engage with its reality, just as Jesus is the glorification of God upon the cross. Liberation comes from engagement in the negation and confliction of human life, rather than denial of these realities. The God who saves is the God who has fully engaged in life.

**A Theology of the Cross develops, then, which is inundated with life in all of its experiences and interactions. Christ Jesus is the center of this theology, and then binds us to life through baptism into this experience and reality.

**Theology of the Cross is a radical movement from God to be with us in any and all situations, the mundane and the unique. God is always present—in our suffering, in our joy, in our very being within the world, and with the world in its existence. A theology of the cross is not about overpowering others, or mastery of the circumstances of life in this world, but an identification of God with us in all things.

**The theology of the cross is about liberation, not victimization: it is about freedom from dominance, rather than triumphalism and a denial of life. This liberation is to life, justice, and mercy, rather than supporting worldly power, imposition and injustice. There is liberation in, with, and under Christ to struggle against sin, death, and the devil: this struggle is one which intentionally enters into the community of brokenness within the world. Concepts, people, powers, and attitudes based on power over others, patriarchal attitudes, or idolatry which supports sexism, racism, bigotry or chauvinistic attitudes are challenged and exposed because of the cross.

**The Theology of the Cross, found in, with and under the incarnational logos, gives way to a different type of evangelism.  The proclamation of the gospel is not to be found in triumphalism, or in the exaltation of what the world takes as success, or having “made it.” The gospel takes into account not the sense of basking in the glory of the world, but understanding the Johannine concept of God, being revealed and known the glory of Christ’s Cross. It is in this that the Theology of the Cross finds its context, its purpose, and its raison d'être.

**Incarnate Evangelism is allowing the Word to once again take on flesh and blood, being one who lives, breathes, and identifies with the Incarnate Word. In this, incarnate evangelism is when the Christian, by the call of Christ, becomes the living word—the viva voce of God—within the world God so loves. Christ becomes alive within the church by the power of the Holy Spirit, breathed upon the disciples by Christ, so that the peace which is from God becomes present, shared, and incarnate within the world.