**let me clarify, I do believe he is that word, but I don't think logos is accurate, but just the greek translation of another word or idea... and not a good one
Of course we agree that the Logos is Christ. But I have to disagree that it is a translation of another word or idea. And that it is not a good word.
First, St. John wrote in greek. And the phrasing he used to open his gospel is indeed carefully chosen. "In the beginning..." clearly ties the text with Genesis. So, God formed the earth. St. John takes it deeper: The Logos made everything, He is God, and further down he says these profound words: "and the Logos became flesh". So, we are clearly talking about Christ. And Christ is God. So what about the word Logos?
Logos, does not mean "written word" as you state in your opening post. The greek for that is "γραφή/graphi" (singular) or "γραφαί/graphe" (plural). Logos actually means a lot of things. And it can be translated in many ways, and as a personal comment "Word" is one of the least successful ones. Here is what Logos means:
1. Reason
This should be imho, the more accurate translation. Logos means first and foremost two things: The reason (as to why something has happened) and reason as intelligence, as we say reasoning capabilities of the mind. Logos is the root word of "logic" (and logic in ancient greek doesn't mean mathematics but employing the unique to human reasoning capabilities).
2. Speech
As in the words uttered by someone.
3. Word. As in the meaning of the words (but also tied to his reasoning, see 1), but also as in the phrase "he kept his word".
4. Wisdom or scholarship. Which is used even today: Theo-logy, cosmo-logy, astro-logy etc (that -logy is from the word "Logos"). The original meaning of the ancient greeks about that -logia was acquiring wisdom about the subject, or using our intelligence about it, or talking about it. (see how it all connects?)
St. John choses this word to use for Christ. And why? Because the Logos has become flesh and he is now preaching to the nations. And he is using now a language that has the sufficient vocabulary to convey the awesome mysteries of God and His incarnation. In the hellenistic culture of the time, which was *the* culture of the mediterrenean and middle-east, after Alexander the Great, the word "Logos" is not a mystery at all. It is a word heavily loaded and with very rich meaning, thanks to all the great ancient greek philosophers, like Heraclitus, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. They ALL used "Logos" as the defining principle of the cosmos. The reason for everything or the intelligence that started it all. Not everyone agreed about the Logos, but the word is that: Nothing short of the Prime Reason, Aristotle's immovable mover.
And St. John comes and says: The Logos is with God, and the Logos is God. The light of the world. Through him everything was made. And He became flesh. Because God so loved the world.
This awesomely profound declaration of St. John, which came AFTER the first three gospels were written, to explain, to speak deeper about God, is the definition of THEOLOGY. Because, in Orthodoxy a theologian is one who has achieved theosis, and has filled his nous (the core of the heart) with the Holy Spirit "that leads to all Truth". Theo-logy is wisdom about God, so by its very definition, it can only come from God, by revelation. And here is the gospel of St John (whom the Orthodox Church calls the Theologian, an extremely rare title) that gives a much broader and deeper insight of "...the beginning" and completes the picture of Genesis.
And then we begin the journey of true theology, guided by those who have the Holy Spirit in them to lead us away from errors: Who IS Christ? Eternally born from the Father, before Creation, God's Logos. You and I have also the Logos, our mind, our Reason, we are made in His image. And our minds cannot contain that what to us is one and the same thing, ourself, my mind, my thoughts, they are me, in God, the Logos is a separate person, and one who took on our nature as well.
O-USA, said it well: You are diving deep. These matters are profound mysteries because they deal with God's nature, which is uncreated, and thus alien to us, who are created. The only way we know God is through Christ, because He became like us, took on the created nature, so we may understand, so we may be reconciled, so we may be lifted again, amen.
Rest assured, that the word "Logos" is extremely well chosen. I have never come across something better.
