I mentioned this on another thread recently but I think that maybe it could be repeated here .
It made sense, to me , at least to look into what mught be the Jewish interpretation of John 1:1 .John was Jewishafter all. My NIV Bible gives this comment on Word (Logos ),
"Greeks used this term not only of the spoken word , but also of the unspoken word , the word still in the mind -the reason . When they applied it to the universe , they meant the rational principal that governs all things . Jews , on the other hand , used it as a way of refering to God . Thus John used a term that was meaningful to both Jews and Gentiles ."
I found this comment about The Word but I must admit I cannot say where from , I have it written down in a notebook .The Hebrew for Word is Dabar which is the equivalent of the Greek Logos .
" In the O.T ' the word of God ' (dabar ) is used 394 times of a divine communication which comes from God to men in the form of a commandment , prophecy , warning or encouragement . Yaweh's word is an EXTENSION OF THE DIVINE PERSONALITY , INVESTED WITH THE DIVINE AUTHORITY , and it is to be heeded by both men and angels . It stands forever (Is 40 ;8 ) and once uttered it cannot return unfulfilled (Is 55: 11 ) "
So , by using Logos , or dabar to describe who it was who became flesh John surely did not mean Michael or some other independant created creature .
This is a quote from a Rabbi Magonet
"The mysterious opening of Genesis shows this one God merely speaking a word for that word (dabar ) to be transformed into reality ...... .. It requires no more than a simple expulsion of breath For the one God creation was that effortless "
I think that this divine word which translates into reality when spoken is what John had in mind in that verse . An extension of the Divine personality . BTW what was left out from that quote does not alter the meaning , I was just being lazy !
Jan