For an Informed Love of God
Bill Mounce
You are here
λόγος
λόγος means “word, Word; statement, message.”
“In the beginning was the λόγος, and the λόγος was with God, and the λόγος was God” (John 1:1).
“Whatever you do, whether in λόγος or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord” (Col 3:17).
Mounce's Expository Dictionary (abridged):
λόγος (logos), GK G3364 (S G3056), 330x. λόγος means “word, message, report” and sometimes even “deed.” It has similar meanings as dābār in the OT. (1) The NT uses λόγος to express many forms of communication, both verbal and physical. (2) It is not surprising to find that the NT uses λόγος to mean Jesus himself. The Synoptic Gospels identify Jesus’ preaching as the proclamation of the “logos of God,” reminiscent of the OT use of the prophetic “word” (“word of the kingdom,” Mt. 13:19; “word of God,” Lk. 5:1). But in Jn. 1:1, the λόγος is not only from God, but is God. (3) Paul calls the “message” that is to be proclaimed in the churches the “λόγος of God” (1 Cor. 14:36; 1 Thess. 2:13). (4) It common for modern Christians to use the term “word” as a synonym for the Bible.