The Word Study

The Logos
THE WORD STUDY

Strongs Greek Lexicon 3056. logos log'-os from 3004; something said (including the thought); by implication, a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty) or motive; by extension, a computation; specially, (with the article in John) the Divine Expression (i.e. Christ):--account, cause, communication, X concerning, doctrine, fame, X have to do, intent, matter, mouth, preaching, question, reason, + reckon, remove, say(-ing), shew, X speaker, speech, talk, thing, + none of these things move me, tidings, treatise, utterance, word, work.

In ordinary, non-technical Greek, logos had two overlapping meanings.

Logos referred to an instance of speaking: "sentence, saying, oration"; the other meaning was the antithesis of ergon (ἔργον) or energeia (ἐνέργεια), meaning "action" or "work", which was commonplace.
Logos also means the inward intention underlying the speech act: "hypothesis, thought, grounds for belief or action."
(A Greek-English Lexicon, Revised By H.S. Jones And R. Mckenzie Ninth Edition, With Revised Supplement Oxford: Clarendon Press)
This LOGOS holds always but humans always prove unable to understand it, both before hearing it and when they have first heard it. For though all things come to be in accordance with this LOGOS, humans are like the inexperienced when they experience such words and deeds as I set out, distinguishing each in accordance with its nature and saying how it is. But other people fail to notice what they do when awake, just as they forget what they do while asleep. (Diels-Kranz 22B1)
For this reason it is necessary to follow what is common. But although the LOGOS is common, most people live as if they had their own private understanding. (Diels-Kranz 22B2)
Listening not to me but to the LOGOS it is wise to agree that all things are one. (Diels-Kranz 22B50)

*See Stoics
The Stoics
In Stoic philosophy, which began with Zeno of Citium c. 300 BCE, the logos was/is the active reason pervading the universe and animating it. It was conceived of as material, and is usually identified with God or Nature. The Stoics also referred to the seminal logos, ("logos spermatikos") or the law of generation in the universe, which was the principle of the active reason working in inanimate matter. Humans, too, each possess a portion of the divine logos.

Philo of Alexandria
Philo (20 BC - 50 AD), a Hellenized Jew, used the term logos to mean the creative principle. Philo followed the Platonic distinction between imperfect matter and perfect idea. The logos was/is necessary, he taught, because God cannot come into contact with matter. He sometimes identified logos as divine wisdom. He taught that the Logos was the image of God, after which the human mind was made. He calls the Logos the "archangel of many names," "taxiarch" (corps-commander), the "name of God," also the "heavenly Adam", the "man, the word of the eternal God." The Logos is also designated as "high priest," in reference to the exalted position which the high priest occupied after the Exile as the real center of the Jewish state. The Logos, like the high priest, is the expiator of sins, and the mediator and advocate for men: “The Logos is the first-born and the eldest and chief of the angels.”

*See John’s gospel.

John 1:1
Main article: John 1:1
The author of John adapted Philo's concept of the Logos, identifying Jesus as an incarnation of the divine Logos that formed the universe. (Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "John" p. 302-310) (cf. Proverbs 8:22-36) The Gospel of John begins with a Hymn to the Word, which identifies Jesus as the Logos and the Logos as divine. The first verse has been translated as declaring the Logos to be God. Various contemporary (Mormon & Jehovah’s Witness') translations make the Logos out to be "a god" or divine. John's placement of the Word at creation reflects Genesis, in which God (Elohim) speaks the world into being, beginning with words "Let there be light."

John sees “the Light” as The Wisdom/understanding (Sophia) (Sophia- Greek, means Wisdom and understanding). It is interesting to note that understanding and then the gift of wisdom is what God gave King Solomon to judge the people. 1 Kings 3:5-15 This judgment gave King Solomon his wealth and success.
Sophia in Hebrew texts:
Further information: Chokhmah
Sophia is adopted as the term in the Septuagint for Hebrew חכמות Ḥokmot. In Judaism, Chokhmah appears alongside the Shekhinah, 'the Glory of God', a figure who plays a key role in the cosmology of the Kabbalists as an expression of the feminine aspect of God. It is a central topic in the "sapiential" books (i.e., the Book of Wisdom, Sirach (both in the Deuterocanon), Proverbs, Psalms, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes. A key passage which personifies Wisdom/Sophia in the Hebrew Bible is Proverbs 8:22-31.

Chokhmah also sometimes transliterated chochma or hokhmah (חכמה) is the Hebrew word for "wisdom"

Shekhinah (alternative transliterations Shekinah, Shechinah, Shekina, Shechina, Schechinah, שכינה) is the English spelling of a grammatically feminine Hebrew language word that means the dwelling or settling, and is used to denote the dwelling or settling presence of God (cf. divine presence), especially in the Temple in Jerusalem.

Philo and the Logos

Further information: Logos

Philo, a Hellenized Jew writing in Alexandria, attempted to harmonize Platonic philosophy and Jewish scripture. Also influenced by Stoic philosophical concepts, he used the term Logos for the role and function of Wisdom, a concept later adapted by the author of the Gospel of John in the opening verses and applied to Jesus Christ as the eternal Word (Logos) of God the Father.
In Christian theology, "wisdom" (Hebrew: Chokhmah, Greek: Sophia, Latin: Sapientia) describes an aspect of God, or the theological concept regarding the wisdom of God.
In the New Testament
Paul refers to the concept, notably in 1 Corinthians, but obscurely, deconstructing worldly wisdom: "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?"

Paul sets worldly wisdom against a higher wisdom of God:

(1 Corinthians 2:7)
"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory."

The Epistle of James (James 3:13-18; cf. James 1:5) distinguishes between two kinds of wisdom. One is a false wisdom, which is characterized as "earthly, sensual, devilish" and is associated with strife and contention. The other is the 'wisdom that comes from above':

(James 3:17)
"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, [and] easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy."



Solomon’s Wisdom
Solomon was the son of David, title given to the Logos made flesh. Also worth noting is that the name Solomon – Hebrew, means prince of peace (wholeness), another title given to Jesus Christ the Logos of God.
Solomon became king at the age of 12. God then appeared to him in a nighttime dream.
1 Kings 3:5-15 (King James Version)
5In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 6And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. 8And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. 9Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? 10And the speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; 12Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 13And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. 14And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. 15And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.

King Solomon "excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom" according to the Bible. The son of King David and Bathsheba, Solomon (in Hebrew, Shlomo) ruled Israel from about 960 to 922 B.C. and built a magnificent temple in Jerusalem which housed the Ark of the Covenant. Solomon reportedly had hundreds of wives and concubines, including the daughter of the pharaoh of Egypt. He also had a famous meeting with the Queen of Sheba who, after observing his wealth and wisdom, showered him with gifts. Solomon is historically credited with authoring the Bible's Song of Songs and book of Ecclesiastes, though many scholars believe the latter was written after his death.

Solomon's wisdom is usually recalled in a famous incident in which two women came before him with a baby, each claiming to be the mother. Solomon ordered the child be cut in half, and by observing each woman's reaction determined the true mother.



The Logos in Proverbs 8:22-36 (Young's Literal Translation)
This is the logos known in Christian Doctrine as the Christ or the Anointing of the Spirit of Wisdom. And believed to be one of The Gospel of Johns’ sources of doctrine.

22Jehovah possessed me -- the beginning of His way, Before His works since then.
23From the age I was anointed, from the first, From former states of the earth.
24In there being no depths, I was brought forth, In there being no fountains heavy [with] waters,
25Before mountains were sunk, Before heights, I was brought forth.
26While He had not made the earth, and out-places, And the top of the dusts of the world.
27In His preparing the heavens I [am] there, In His decreeing a circle on the face of the deep,
28In His strengthening clouds above, In His making strong fountains of the deep,
29In His setting for the sea its limit, And the waters transgress not His command, In His decreeing the foundations of earth,
30Then I am near Him, a workman, And I am a delight -- day by day. Rejoicing before Him at all times,
31Rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth, And my delights [are] with the sons of men.
32And now, ye sons, hearken to me, Yea, happy are they who keep my ways.
33Hear instruction, and be wise, and slight not.
34O the happiness of the man hearkening to me, To watch at my doors day by day, To watch at the door-posts of my entrance.
35For whoso is finding me, hath found life, And bringeth out good-will from Jehovah.
36And whoso is missing me, is wronging his soul, All hating me have loved death!

The Creative Principle
Demiurge in philosophical and religious language is a term for a creator deity, responsible for the creation of the Universe. In the sense of a divine creative principle as expressed in ergon or en-erg-y, the word was first introduced by Plato in Timaeus, 41a (ca. 360 BC).
In physics, energy (from the Greek ἐνέργεια - energeia, "activity, operation", from ἐνεργός - energos, "active, working") (Harper, Douglas. "Energy". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved May 1 2007.) is a scalar physical quantity that describes the amount of work that can be performed by a force, an attribute of objects and systems that is subject to a conservation law. Different forms of energy include kinetic, potential, thermal, gravitational, sound, light, elastic, and electromagnetic energy. The forms of energy are often named after a related force. Any form of energy can be transformed into another form, but the total energy always remains the same.

The Absolute
The Absolute is the concept of an unconditional reality which transcends limited, conditional, everyday existence. It is often used as an alternate term for a "God" or "the Divine", especially, but by no means exclusively, by those who feel that the term "God" lends itself too easily to anthropomorphic presumptions. The concept of The Absolute possess discrete will, intelligence, awareness or even a personal nature. It is sometimes conceived of as the source through which all being emanates i.e., The Image/Will/Plan of God the Christ. It contrasts with finite things, considered individually, and known collectively as the relative.

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts. In religion and mythology, anthropomorphism refers to the perception of a divine being or beings in human form, or the recognition of human qualities in these beings.

The Relative Truth
The term often refers to “truth relativism”, which is the doctrine that there are no absolute truths, i.e., that truth is always relative to some particular frame of reference, such as a language or a culture. The concept of Judgments based on good or evil is an example of relative truth. Good and evil are terms requiring experience by the user. In the bible Judgments based on experience of the senses is considers to spiritual death. Relativism is a temporal way of judgment, in contrast the logos “is the absolute truth”. John 17:17 (King James Version) 17Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word (logos) is truth. –Jesus Christ.