Over the last few days, I have revisited John chapter one. I have gone back through two thousand years of debate, as well as my own publications. And I have determined that my translation is the only answer for me. The main focus of verses 1-4 is on what and who. The who is the Word-Life-Light, He is all three in these verses. The what is that He was/existed and caused to become. There were two leading translations over these last two millennia. --- "What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of men." "In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind." --- In the first case, one separates the Word from the life; wherein verse four reads life is the light, in that of the Word. In the second case, life again is separated from the personage of the Word by stating instead life comes from Him or that He is the source of life; however, verse four tells us He is the life-light. All things became through Him; however, He was the life, the light before mankind. It would be redundant and mistaken to say, "In Him was Him." I have rendered verse four as "Life was" because that is the focus of the entirety of verses 1-3. The Word-Life-Light who caused to become, was/existed. The Word = The Life = The Light ------- "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with the God. Through Him, all things became, and without Him, not even one thing became that has become in Him. Life was, and the life was the light of mankind." (Joshuastone7) All love... Joshua
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it." Jhn 1:1,2 "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jhn 8:12 "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life." Jhn 14:6 "Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live." Jhn 11:25
An interesting cause and effect of John saying the Word is the Life is the fact that Jesus admits He is created. "For as the Father has life in himself, also to the Son, He gave life to have in himself." Jhn 5:26 Since John says Jesus was the Life from the beginning, that means through our Lord's own words, He became the Life the moment He was given it from His Father. Life was in the beggening with God. It was only after He became the Son of man that He was given authority to judge. "And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man." Jhn 5:27 Joshua
John 1:3–4 — “Life Was” John 1:3–4 is usually punctuated in one of two ways: “In him was life, and that life was the light of mankind.” or: “What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of mankind.” But the earliest Greek manuscripts did not contain the modern punctuation used in our translations. The continuous text permits another reading: “Through Him all things became, and without Him not even one thing became that has become through Him. Life was, and the Life was the Light of mankind.” This reading preserves the central contrast running through John 1:1–4. John repeatedly uses ἦν — “was/existed” of the Word: The Word was. The Word was with God. The Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Then John changes verbs: All things became through Him. The distinction is between the one who was and the things that became through Him. Then the text returns to the same verb: ζωὴ ἦν — “Life was.” This continues the identification of the same personal subject. The progression is: The Word = The Life = The Light That identification is confirmed throughout John’s writings. Jesus says: “I am the light of the world.” — John 8:12 “I am the resurrection and the life.” — John 11:25 “I am the way and the truth and the life.” — John 14:6 And 1 John 1:1–2 gives a particularly strong parallel: “the Word of life… the Life appeared… the Life… was with the Father.” Compare: “The Word was with God.” — John 1:1 with: “The Life… was with the Father.” — 1 John 1:2 John is using Word and Life as personal designations of the same one. This also affects the scope of John 1:3. The text does not have to mean: “Everything that has ever come into existence, without qualification, was created by the Word.” Rather, the clause can be read as defining the things whose coming-to-be was mediated through Him: “not even one thing became that has become through Him.” The Word is therefore grammatically distinguished from the class of things whose becoming He mediates. That means John 1:3 does not by itself prove that the Word could not have received life or existence from the Father. John addresses the origin of the Son’s life elsewhere: “For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.” — John 5:26 The Son is called the Life, yet His possession of life in Himself is explicitly said to have been given by the Father. So the opening of John can be read as a tightly structured progression: The Word was. He was with God. Through Him all things became. Life was. The Life was the Light of mankind. That reading preserves the distinction between the one who was and the things that became, while allowing John’s own later language to identify the Word, the Life, and the Light as the same person.