What Is the Greek Word Logos in John 1? | The Word | New Testament

In Greek philosophy in the time of Jesus and his disciples, logos when used in this context with origins (like it is being used here – arche (origins) and logos –it was referring to a principle - whatever it was - that was the organizing principle of the universe. Think of it as the force and reasoning behind creation—that holds everything together. Logos was used in this manner going back at least to Heraclitus, 500 years BC, who used it to refer to the order and sustaining of the cosmos. Logos continued to be used in this way across the centuries and it was present in writings Philo – a Jewish philosopher – who lived at the same time of Jesus and his disciples. One of the definitions of logos in a more general sense meant the “expression of thought,” and it conveys purposeful, active, organizational thinking and reasoning, and planning.