A scripture which can tell us a bit about the answer to this question is found at John 1:14-15 "So the Word became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory, a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father; and he was full of undeserved kindness and truth. (John bore witness about him, yes, he actually cried out—this was the one who said [it]—saying: “The one coming behind me has advanced in front of me, because he existed before me.”)" The first phrase, "the Word became flesh", can be said to be personification, that the writer is saying that the commandment of God was fulfilled or disemminated to men, or it could be a literal meaning, that the Word was actually a physical entity, a messenger from God which took the form of a man. Let's also consider the next verse, then: (John 1:16-18) 16 "For we all received from out of his fullness, even undeserved kindness upon undeserved kindness. 17 Because the Law was given through Moses, the undeserved kindness and the truth came to be through Jesus Christ. 18 No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god who is in the bosom [position] with the Father is the one that has explained him." Notice it says that the truth came forth through Jesus Christ, so Gods word was spoken by Jesus, so it may seem here, too, that the Word may indeed be symbolic of Gods message, and not the messenger, but again the phrasing is ambiguous, it could also be interpreted to mean that Jesus was actually the Word, and does not adequately distinguish for us which is true. So we should look at still more scriptural evidence. A couple verses further in John the baptizer gives a witness regarding Jesus, saying “See, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world! This is the one about whom I said, Behind me there comes a man who has advanced in front of me, because he existed before me."(John 1:29-30) It is very clear in this text that John refers to Jesus as having a prehuman existence, and not "the Words" ancient origins. This clearly makes it possible that Jesus existed before the creation of man and was actually "the Word" spoken of in John 1:1. Yet, this is not enough conclusive evidence, since it does not here refer to Jesus as "the Word". But if you compare this to the first cited verse, where it says the Word came to reside among us, and had glory due only to the only son of God, and verses where it says Jesus is the only son of God, then the evidence begins to weigh in the favour of "the Word" being, not the personification of Gods commands, but an actual person who existed before man along with God. ((John 1:33-34) . . .Whoever it is upon whom you see the spirit coming down and remaining, this is the one that baptizes in holy spirit.’ 34 And I have seen [it], and I have borne witness that this one is the Son of God.”) Consider the opening of Genesis, and John 1:1. It says in Genesis "Let us create man in our image". Was God alone, then? And in John, it says the word was "with" God, not that it "is His word", or the "Wprd of God" or any other such statement which might imply it is a part of or emenating from God, but is a seperate entity altogether. For those who believe "the Word" is actually a part of a trinity of Gods, because of the prehuman existence and being at the beginning, consider that the original text does not even say "the" beginning. It says beginning, and implies the indefinite article, a beginning. It could signify, not the very first, earliest times, but a second beginning, the start of the creation of later creations. In "the" beginning, God creates His word, Jesus, then they begin a new creation, with Jesus as master worker, making all of the things that exist now, at the command of God, doing the will of God. (James 1:17-18) 17 Every good gift and every perfect present is from above, for it comes down from the Father of the [celestial] lights, and with him there is not a variation of the turning of the shadow. 18 Because he willed it, he brought us forth by the word of truth,. . . (John 1:9-10) 9 The true light that gives light to every sort of man was about to come into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world came into existence through him. . . (John 8:58) . . .Jesus said to them: “Most truly I say to YOU, Before Abraham came into existence, I have been.. . . (or "I was" or "I am") It is reasonable to assume, then, that: 1)Jesus is the only son of God and had a prehuman existence 2)The Word became flesh and had a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father (John 14:6) . . .“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.. . . (Philippians 2:7) No, but he emptied himself and took a slave’s form and came to be in the likeness of men. (1 Timothy 3:16) Indeed, the sacred secret of this godly devotion is admittedly great: ‘He was made manifest in flesh, was declared righteous in spirit, appeared to angels, was preached about among nations, was believed upon in [the] world, was received up in glory.’ (Hebrews 2:14) Therefore, since the “young children” are sharers of blood and flesh, he also similarly partook of the same things, that through his death he might bring to nothing the one having the means to cause death, that is, the Devil; (1 John 4:2) YOU gain the knowledge of the inspired expression from God by this: Every inspired expression that confesses Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh originates with God, (2 John 7) For many deceivers have gone forth into the world, persons not confessing Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Consider once again the verses that say God sent forth His Word: John 1:14-15 "So the Word became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory, a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father; and he was full of undeserved kindness and truth." (John 8:42-43) . . .“If God were YOUR Father, YOU would love me, for from God I came forth and am here. Neither have I come of my own initiative at all, but that One sent me forth. 43 Why is it YOU do not know what I am speaking? Because YOU cannot listen to my word. Then compare them to these verses: (John 14:6) . . .“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.. . . (John 17:3) This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ. Who is it that God sent forth? While the Bible does use metaphors and personification in many places, those are not the only poetic devices it uses. In this instance it also users hyperbole. It approaches a statement from many different aspects, yet never says it outright, in obtuse manner it implies meaning without a clear statement of that subject which it approaches. It says the word was with god, it says he sent forth his word, and the word had glory due the only son of God, it says Jesus is the only son of God. It says Jesus existed before Abraham. It also says that nothing came into existence except through him, implying he was present before creation. Many more verses approach this, yet none actually say outright, "Jesus is the Word." This form of poetic verse was used in one of Shakespeares monologues, while addressing a hostile audience. The speaker spoke well of a man, a very popular political figure, and after many statements of the individuals good character the audience began to realize that the tone was sarcastic, that the man portrayed did not have any of these qualities, and he enraged the mob against him in a very convincing manner. Likewise the writers of the Bible were in a very hostile environment, and had to avoid outright statements of fact because it would offend people and lead them to rejecting the word of truth. They had to develop themes gradually and let the reader come to their own conclusions so that the message would actually take hold in their hearts and be accepted. While preaching the truth, they did so in a progressive manner, not giving too much information which might stifle a persons learning and understanding. That gradual increase in understanding should likewise continue today, as we continue to gain knowledge and understanding of the scriptures, as more prophecies are fulfiled and the meanings become clearer, and new tools are developed for researching the books of the Bible. Edited March 10. Just an afterthought, found another scripture in (Revelation 19:11-13) 11 And I saw the heaven opened, and, look! a white horse. And the one seated upon it is called Faithful and True, and he judges and carries on war in righteousness. 12 His eyes are a fiery flame, and upon his head are many diadems. He has a name written that no one knows but he himself, 13 and he is arrayed with an outer garment sprinkled with blood, and the name he is called is The Word of God. Here it identifies an individual, then says that person is the Word of God. This seems to be fatal to the theory that the Word is metaphorical, for it clearly says this is a person, not an an abstract thought, idea or will, and this person is to be called the Word of God, and from other scriptures we know that Jesus is the one who is called Faithful and True, because he is the only man who ever remained faithful to God, never doing anything bad, even so far as to death.

Dagnabbit! Somebody beat me to my own question... But since somebody asked it, I guess I can put in my two cents worth. In this issue there are three main possible viewpoints: 1. Trinitarian: Jesus is/was the Word in the flesh, and the Word is part of the Trinity. 2. Jesus is/was the Word in the flesh, but the Word is a separate entity to Father God. 3. Jesus was a man, created by God's divine intervention, who lived a sinless life. I am willing to investigate 1 & 3, but not 2. The reason is that there can be no other god than God himself. He vehemently denies this with his own voice. Therefore, in my mind this narrows the field down to two. Even if Jesus was a created being, he cannot be another god. So you are left with two choices. Either Jesus Christ was the 'logos' or revealed Word of God poured into a human body - God in the flesh, or he was just a man with God for a father, and a sinless nature. There are many passages that can be interpreted to support either view, and since there is no 'black and white' passage that says 'Jesus is God', then we'll be arguing this point until judgment day - we'll find out pretty quickly after that! Jesus talked about himself as a man subjected and reliant on God. This is circumstantial evidence that he was just a man. Yet the apostles say things like "the fullness of God was pleased to live in him" (or similar translations), "the image of the Invisible God", and other things. The Israelites called him "Emmanuel", which means 'God with us'. What are we meant to draw from that? There are many questions about Jesus being divine - many of them being asked here in these topics: how could God die? If God can't be tempted, how was Jesus tempted? How could God suffer? These are things we do not and, in our current human mind, cannot understand. Is it really the 'Mystery of the Godhead'? I don't know. Nobody knows. All we can do is focus our eyes on our Savior, and live as he commanded until the day comes when we are taken up to be with him. We'll find out then.

The Christian Bible answer ....yes. God is the Word. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God John 1:1 Jesus is the Word. ...the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...John 1:14 God is the first and the last. I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he. Isaiah 41:4 Jesus is the first and the last. Jesus said, "Fear not; I am the first and the last:" Revelation 1:17 God is 'I am'. And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. Exodus 3:14 Jesus is 'I am'. Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:58 "if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." JESUS CHRIST, JOHN 8:24

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1