John 1:3

My Notes

What Does John 1:3 Mean?

"All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." John declares the totality of the Word's creative activity: ALL things through him. And then, as if "all" weren't comprehensive enough, adds the negative: WITHOUT him, NOTHING was made. The double statement eliminates any exception. The positive: everything was made through him. The negative: nothing was made without him. The universe contains nothing — not a molecule, not a galaxy, not a concept, not a creature — that exists independently of the Word.

The theological claim is staggering: the baby in the manger, the man on the cross, the teacher by the sea — he made everything. The hands that break bread created matter. The voice that teaches parables spoke the cosmos into existence.

Reflection Questions

• 1.How does knowing the baby in the manger made the universe change how you read the rest of John's Gospel?
• 2.What does the 'nothing without him' claim mean for how you view every created thing?
• 3.How does the Creator entering his own creation (and being rejected) define the nature of the incarnation?
• 4.Where do you need to recognize the Word's involvement in things you've been treating as independent of him?

Devotional

All things. By him. Without him: nothing. John says it twice from opposite directions to make sure there's no escape from the claim. Everything that exists was made through the Word. Nothing that exists was made without him. The positive and the negative cover the same truth from both sides. There are no exceptions.

All things were made by him. Every atom. Every star. Every species. Every law of physics. Every color in every sunset. Every mathematical constant. Every dimension of reality — visible and invisible, physical and spiritual, known and undiscovered. All of it. Made through the one who is about to be introduced as the man who walked beside the Sea of Galilee.

Without him was not any thing made that was made. The negative confirms what the positive declared: nothing in the created order exists independently of him. Not anything. The double construction ("any thing made that was made") closes every possible loophole. You can't point to any created thing and say: that one was made without him. The Word's creative involvement is total.

The claim transforms how you see Jesus throughout the rest of the Gospel. The man who touches a leper made the skin he's touching. The man who walks on water made the water he's walking on. The man who dies on a cross made the wood he's dying on. The hands that are nailed to the crossbeam are the hands that made the iron in the nails. Nothing in the crucifixion scene exists apart from the one being crucified.

This is the incarnation's deepest irony: the Creator enters his creation and the creation doesn't recognize him (v. 10). The universe that was made by him doesn't know him when he walks through it. The hands that made the atoms are made of atoms. The voice that called matter into existence is a voice made of matter. And the creatures who owe their existence to him will put him to death on the very material he created.

All things by him. Nothing without him. And the world that was made through him will reject him when he shows up in person.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture