John 1:1-2 NIV
[1] “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning.”
If we don’t pause to think, for a minute, we will miss the significance of the little word “with”.
Why did John write, “The Word was with God”?
“With” can have the simple meaning of “in the presence or company of …” or it can mean something more than that.
To be “with” another person can mean that one person is “in full agreement and participation with” another. We have examples of this meaning in Scripture where God gave His full support, with favour and power, to His servants…
Genesis 39:2, 5 NIV
[2] “The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master…
[5] From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.”
God’s presence “with” Joseph had major consequences – favour and blessing on all his endeavours in Potiphar’s household. Likewise, while he languished in prison, Joseph was blessed and elevated to a position of authority because God was “with” him.
Genesis 39:20-22 NIV
[20] “Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, [21] the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. [22] So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.”
David experienced the same favour because of God’s presence “with” him.
1 Samuel 17:37 NIV
[37] “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
1 Samuel 18:14 NIV
[14] “In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him.”
2 Samuel 5:10 NIV
[10] “And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.”
So, of Jesus, Peter could confidently proclaim…
Acts 10:37-38 NIV
[37] “You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— [38] how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.”
In the Godhead, the relationship between Father and Son is reciprocal. As the Father is “with the Son”, so the Son…the Word…is with the Father.
John 10:30 NIV
[30] “I and the Father are one.”
Says Google…
“Yes, the New Testament, particularly the Gospel of John, presents Jesus as being “one with the Father,” a statement understood by theologians to signify unity in essence, purpose, and power, and a core concept within Trinitarian theology. This declaration in John 10:30 led to accusations of blasphemy by the Jewish leaders of the time, who perceived Jesus as claiming equality with God.”
Jesus often claimed oneness with Father as a testimony to His opponents of His identity as the Son of God, challenging them to find anything that would refute this claim.
John 8:29, 42, 46 NIV
[29] The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”…
[42] Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me…
[46] Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?”
For the Word to be with God, as John proclaimed, meant a relationship far closer than mere casual acquaintance or association. This was a declaration of unity so deep that the Father and the Son, as the Word, the visible and spiritual expression of the Father, always acted together in perfect harmony.
Hebrews 1:1, 3 NIV
[1] “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
[3] The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
As the visible representation of the invisible God, Jesus was simultaneously in the presence of the Father and in the world, representing Him by word and action so that the people in the world would believe in Him and return to the Father through Him.