All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made. — John 1:3, World English Bible translation.
All [Greek, panta, Strong’s #3956] came to be through him, and apart from him none [Greek, oude, Strong’s #3956] came to be that have been made.
The Logos is not being called “the Creator”, but rather the one “through” whom these things were made. In other words, the only true God (John 17:3) used the Logos as an agent in creation. The God and Father of Jesus is the source; the Son of the Most High is the instrument. (Luke 1:32; 1 Corinthians 8:6) The Logos was with the only true God [Mighty One Innate]; the Logos was not the only true God whom he was with.
The Greek form often transliterated as “panta” (a form of “pas“, Strong’s #3956) always looks to context as well as common evidence for what is included. Likewise, the negative oude (Strong’s #3761), especially when used relative to any form of the Greek word pas (Strong’s #3956), also does the same. The word “things” is often supplied by the translator(s) with various usages of “pas,” but the addition of "thing(s)" could be misleading. By noting the context and comparing scriptural spiritual revealing with scriptural spiritual revealing, we can see the that the “all” being spoken of in John 1:3 is relative to the world of mankind, the world that was made through the Logos, and into which the Logos came. (John 1:10) Rather than adding “things” to the Greek word “panta”, it could also be rendered as “all of this” or “all of these”. — See the King James Version in Mark 4:11; Colossians 3:18.
If one would take a New Testament Greek Lexicon and look at how the word “pas” (and the related “hapas”, Strong’s #537) is used all through the scriptures, it will become apparent that forms of this word rarely, if ever, are used of absolutely everything in the universe of existence (which actually would include God), nor even of absolutely everything in the created universe (which would not include God, but would include the angels in the invisible realm). Although it is used in reference to invisible, heavenly dominions (Colossians 1:16, it is most often used in a restricted sense of things pertaining to man, in the world of mankind, and often not even all that is usually thought to make up the world of mankind.
A good illustration of the usage of pas and oude is in Hebrews 2:7,8, where these words are used to refer to the things subjected to mankind as described in Psalm 8:6-8. Please note that both pas and oude are used relative to what is being referred to, and neither one is speaking of absolutely everything in the universe, nor even of the created universe. Psalm 8:6-8 outlines all the things that were subjected to man, of which nothing was left that was not subjected to him. Another good example is Romans 3:10,12, where it is evident that Jesus is excluded, since his flesh was specially prepared by God, and he was not made a sinner due to Adam’s disobedience. — Romans 5:19; Hebrews 10:5.
And then we have Paul’s example of evident exclusion in 1 Corinthians 15:27.
Thus seen, John 1:3 should be taken together in consideration of what is being spoken of. John 1:1 speaks of a “beginning”. The beginning of what?
What was the general thought of the NT writers when they spoke of the beginning of creation, or of the world? We need to examine some scriptures to see, and thereby compare spiritual revealing with spiritual revealing. — 1 Corinthians 2:12,13.
The first scripture we will examine is Matthew 19:4:
He answered, “Haven’t you read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, …”
We can learn from this that Jesus associated “the beginning” with the time of the creation of Adam and Eve. This agrees with Exodus 20:11: “in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them.” This shows that the “beginning” spoken of in Genesis 1:1 is the six days that are described in Genesis 1:3 through Genesis 2:1. Adam and Eve’s creation was on the last of the six days of creation in which God created the heavens and the earth. Thus, the “beginning” spoken of in Genesis 1:1 includes all of the six days of creation.
However, do the six days include the creation of the planet earth, the sun, the moon, the stars and the angels? No. Let us examine why this is so.
Before getting into the creation of the heavens and the earth — the six days — we read: “the earth was formless and empty.” (Genesis 1:2) It should be apparent here that “earth” in this verse is referring to the planet. The planet earth already “was” before the first day of creation, thus before the “beginning” spoken of in Genesis 1:1.
So what was the “earth” that is spoken of that was created in the “beginning”? Genesis 1:9,10 tells us:
God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear,” and it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters he called Seas. God saw that it was good. Later, the entire "beginning", the six days of creation, was summed up as; "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." (Genesis 2:1) This indicates that the beginning included the skies above the earth and all that appears in those skies, and the land and seas upon the earth, and all that is in them.
Notice that is was not the planet that was created on the third day, but dry land. The Hebrew word for "earth" is used for both the planet and/or "land" in general. The "earth," however, that was created on the third day is evidently what is referred to in verse one as "earth". “Earth” in the Bible, however, often designates the society of people who are living on the dry land. We read that “The earth also was corrupt before God.” (Genesis 6:11) Does this mean that the physical planet itself was corrupt? No, it is speaking of mankind and his society upon the earth: “the earth was filled with violence.” Now note this:
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. — Genesis 6:13.
Here God says he will destroy all flesh with the earth. Did he mean that the planet earth would be no more? No, but he did destroy the order of things -- the kosmos (Strong's Greek #2889) -- that man had made upon the earth, which Peter spoke of as the heavens and earth that were in the days of Noah. -- 2 Peter 3:6.
Likewise, Abraham called Jehovah the “Judge of all the earth.” (Genesis 18:25) Did he mean that the planet itself was to be judged by Jehovah? No, he is speaking of mankind upon the planet.
More scriptures could be cited, but these show the point that the “earth” referred to in Genesis 1:1 is not the planet, but rather the things upon the land, especially as related to mankind on the earth.
What about the heavens — what is included in the statement that in the beginning God created the heavens? Very evidently “heavens” does not include the heavens that is God’s throne, and where the angels see the face of God. (Isaiah 66:1; Matthew 5:34; 18:10) As best as we can determine from the Scriptural revealing, the invisible heavens where God throne is has always been. (Psalm 93:2; 103:19; Isaiah 66:1; Acts 7:45) What, then, are the “heavens” that are being referred to?
The word “heaven”, like the word “earth”, is used in different ways in the Bible.
The Hebrew word *Shamayim* (Strong's #8064), usually rendered “heavens” in Genesis 1:1, is precisely the same word that used in Genesis 1:8. Often it is rendered by translators as singular in Genesis 1:8; however, the it is plural in both instances in the Hebrew — it is exactly the same word used in both instances. (Actually, the singular of *Shamayim* is never used in the Bible. It is always plural.) The “heavens” spoken of as being created in Genesis 1:1, is that expanse, or firmament, that is spoken of in Genesis 1:8, but as it involves the full of the six days, “heavens” also includes all that is in these heavens (the skies of the earth, as seen from the surface of the planet.) Nevertheless, other scriptures show that,symbolically, "heavens" can refer to the ruling powers that had been set in place by God through Jesus, which came to corrupted through Satan. Thus these heavens — spiritual ruling powers – are to pass away. — Psalm 102:25; Ezekiel 28:12-15; Hebrews 1:8,10.
We will now turn our attention back to the “beginning” spoken of in John 1:1. As already seen, Jesus elsewhere refers to this beginning as when Adam and Even were created. Like Genesis 1:1, it is speaking of the beginning of the world of mankind and not the creation of the spirit world or even of the stars and planet systems.
Related to the "beginning" of Genesis 1:1, we should take note that there is a single “day” of creation spoken of in Genesis 2:4, which “day” includes all “six days” in which God created the heavens [skies] and the earth [land masses]. — Exodus 20:13; see also Matthew 19:4,5, which refers to the beginning when Adam and Eve were created.) The angels were already in existence in the spirit world at the creation being spoken of. — Job 4:11-17; Mark 10:6.
Related to the "beginning" of Genesis 1:1, we should take note that there is a single “day” of creation spoken of in Genesis 2:4, which “day” includes all “six days” in which God created the heavens [skies] and the earth [land masses]. — Exodus 20:13; see also Matthew 19:4,5, which refers to the beginning when Adam and Eve were created.) The angels were already in existence in the spirit world at the creation being spoken of. — Job 4:11-17; Mark 10:6.
The context shows that the "world" God created through the Logos is the world of mankind. (John 1:10) This "world" does not include the angels, for the angels certainly did recognize him. It should be obvious that world (Greek, kosmos, Strong's #2889) in John 1:10 is referring to the world of mankind that has been corrupted through sin. -- 2 Peter 1:4.
In Matthew 24:21, Jesus speaks of the “beginning of the world [kosmos].”
For then will be great oppression, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be.
Is he here speaking of the beginning of the invisible realm of the angels? No, he is speaking of the world of mankind. The angels were already in existence when the world of mankind was created. — Job 4:11-17; Mark 10:6.
Mark 10:6 makes this even clearer:
But from the beginning of the creation, ‘God made them male and female.’
The beginning of creation here is not the beginning of the creation of living creatures in the spirit realm; the angels — the spirit sons of God — were already in existence at the creation that Jesus spoke of. (Job 38:4-7; see Job 1:6; 2:1) The beginning of creation is referring to the "whole creation" spoken of in Romans 8:22. There Paul was speaking the whole creation and groaning and travailing in pain. In Romans 8:20,21, Paul wrote of the "whole creation" as having been subjected to vanity, futility, and under bondage to corruption. The "whole creation" that Paul wrote about does not include the angels who are always able to see the face of God; not is it referring to the physical universe as a whole, but rather to human creation upon the earth.
Let us notice some other usages of the word “creation” (Greek, ktisis; Strong’s #2937) that show that it usually (although not always) was used in the NT times to refer to human creation, and not angels, sun, moon, stars, etc.
Mark 16:15 – He said to them, “Go into all the world [kosmos], and preach the gospel to the whole creation.
The whole “creation” here does not include the angels, nor the sun, the moon, the stars, etc. Nor does it mean that we are go into the world and preach to spirit beings — angels. The “creation” being spoken of is the human creation. The form in the Greek text that is translated as “whole” is “pasee”, a variation of the word “pas”. “Panta” in John 1:3 is a variation of this same word. (Strong’s # 3956) The usage here further illustrates that “pas” in all its variations does not refer to absolutely everything in the universe. Here it is limited to the human creation, as it is also in John 1:3. It is speaking of the world of mankind into which Jesus came. — John 1:10.
Romans 1:20 – For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world [kosmos] are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse.
It should be obvious here that the “world” being spoken of is the visible world — the world of mankind here on earth, and not the invisible realm of the angels, etc. Indeed, the "invisible things" are spoken of something separate from the world.
Romans 8:20-22 - For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope [21] that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. [22] For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. -- World English.
The angels in heaven, who always see the face of God, were not subjected to this vanity, but, due to Adam’s disobedience, the human creation on the earth has been subjected to vanity. (Ecclesiastes 1:2,13-17) Thus, is should be apparent that the "whole creation" being spoken of in Romans 8: does not include the invisible creation of the angels.
Also, we note that Paul when speaking of the ransom sacrifice Jesus gave, said that the man Christ Jesus gave himself as a ransom for all. (1 Timothy 2:5,6) Does "all" in this verse refer to absolutely the entire created universe? Does it include the angels? Obviously not. Jesus gave his body of flesh for the life of the world (John 6:51). The "world" (kosmos) he died for is the same world into which sin came by the first man, Adam. (Romans 5:12-19) He did not give his body of flesh for the life of the angels, who are not flesh.
Now getting back to the “beginning” spoken of in Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1. It should be apparent by a comparison of spiritual revealing with spiritual revealing (1 Corinthians 2:13) that this beginning is not speaking of everything in the entire universe, but in John 1:1, it can be seen to be limited especially to the world of mankind (the world that did not recognize him), into which Jesus came, and was the light of the world while he was in it. (John 1:10; 9:5) It is the world of mankind that John speaks of John 1:3 as “panta” — all. TON THEON made the all of the world of mankind, through Jesus, and without him none of this world was made. It is the same "beginning" that is spoken of in Genesis 1:1-2:4; Exodus 20:11; 31:17; Matthew 19:4,8; 24:21; Mark 10:6; 13:19; John 1:1-3,10; Hebrews 1:10; and 2 Peter 3:4.
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