All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence.”​—John 1:1-3.

Without prior knowledge of the rest of the Bible this introduction can be difficult to understand. For example, at Proverbs 8:22-31 the Word (Christ in his prehuman existence) is spoken of under the symbol of wisdom as a “master worker” collaborating with God in His creative work. (See also 1 Corinthians 1:24.) The apostle Paul confirms this thought in his letter to the Colossians, where Christ is spoken of as “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all other things were created.” From this we can see that the Word who “became flesh and resided among us” was God’s first creation and was then used by his Father to carry out all further creative work.​—Colossians 1:15, 16; John 1:14.

In Jn 1 verses three and four of the first chapter of his Gospel, John takes us into two of those key themes that are interwoven into the fabric of his inspired account by saying: “What has come into existence by means of him [the Word] was life, and the life was the light of men.” What does John convey by this statement? That the Word, or Christ, was God’s Chief Agent for communicating both life and light to mankind. (Acts 3:15)