# Where Did the Term Logos Come From?

> Logos in Greek (Λόγος) is one of the most important and most obscure words in Western religious and philosophical thought, denoting in various contexts discourse, language, universal reason and the Word of God, among other meanings.

*2016-12-01T18:06:25Z*

![Quote card over a red-and-gold painted face: "You who came to us in His unchanging body, and filled all things", titled "Your Godhead, uncircumscribed" - Prayer of the Veil of the Son, Liturgy of St. Gregory, Euchologion of Deir al-Muharraq, p. 389.](/uploads/sites/1274e232-e31c-46f4-a48b-27b854406479/media/origin-of-the-term-logos.png?w=815&h=815)

Logos in Greek (Λόγος), in English (Logos), is one of the most important and most obscure words in Western religious and philosophical thought, since in various contexts it denotes multiple meanings, such as discourse, language, universal reason, the Word of God, among other meanings.

### 1- In Heraclitus:

Heraclitus, the ancient Greek philosopher, took great interest in the Logos, and regarded it as "the universal law of the cosmos." Heraclitus says: "All human laws are nourished by one divine law: for it prevails as far as it wishes, and suffices for all, and overcomes all." The Stoics agreed with him and said that reason, or the Logos, is the active principle in the world, and that it is what spreads life throughout the world, and that it organizes and guides the passive element in the world, by which they mean "matter." And Diogenes Laërtius said of the doctrine of the Stoics: "The Stoics say that the Logos is the active principle in matter; it is God, and it is eternal, and it is the active agent of everything through matter."

### 2- In Philo the Jew:

Philo said of the Logos that it is the first of the powers proceeding from God, and that it is the place of the forms, and the first model of all things. It is the inner power that gives life to things and binds them together. It takes part in the formation of the world, but it is not a creator. It is the mediator between God and humans, and it is what guides the sons of men and enables them to rise to the vision of God. But its role is always the role of mediator. And he is certain that it is "divine" (θέος), and he distinguishes it from God by the definite article which is added to God (οθέος) but is not added to the Logos.

### 3- In the Old Testament:

Among the books of the Old Testament in the Bible, there is a book called "the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon," in which its author describes Wisdom as being near God, or with God, sharing His divine throne, and as proceeding from His glory, and assisting Him in the work of creation, and pervading all things and bringing about the unity of the world. And it can be joined to those among humans who are prepared to receive it, to sanctify their souls and secure for them immortality with God: and this Wisdom is called in several places by the name "Logos," and this Logos (Word) is that in which the God of Israel, the Lord of mercy, made all things. And by it the people of Israel were saved, and it will save all the souls that receive it.

### 4- In the New Testament:

John, in the Fourth Gospel attributed to him, begins by speaking of (the Word): "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made."

And it is stated in the conclusion of his First Epistle and in the Revelation also attributed to him that this Logos, or Word, is He who was before the creation of the universe, was with God, and is God Himself, and that this Logos or Word became incarnate, that is, took a body, and dwelt among people, and revealed to them the truth of deliverance (salvation) and breathed into them eternal life, enabling them to become children of God. In short: He is Jesus Christ. And this Logos, in St. John, is not exactly like Wisdom in the Book of Wisdom, nor the Logos in Philo and Neoplatonism, because in John He is God Himself, and not a power subordinate to God as is the case in Philo.

### 5- In the Fathers of the Church:

In John's footsteps came the Christian Fathers: Justin, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen of Alexandria, and they found in the idea of the Logos a means of explaining the agreement between Greek philosophy and Christian doctrine, by claiming that the Logos is the source of both, and the sole fountain of all truth. And in the Fathers of the Church's conception of the Logos, they affirmed two things: the complete equality between the Logos and the Son of God and God the Father, and also the participation of the human race in the Logos insofar as He is reason.

### 6- In the Gnostics:

The Gnostics decided that the Logos is the lowest of the Aeons, and that it is He who undertakes the formation of the world, so St. Irenaeus confronted them and affirmed the complete equality between God and the Logos and the Holy Spirit.

### 7- In Origen later on:

Origen, in the third century, tried to differentiate in degree between God the Father and the Logos. And he decided that we may describe the Logos as the being of beings, the essence of essences, and the image of images, but we cannot describe God the Father with such attributes, because He transcends them all. It is true that the Logos is eternal with the eternity of God the Father, but that is not in the same sense. God the Father is Life and the "Son" derives life from the "Father."

### 8- The decision of the Church councils:

The Church in her councils (Nicaea, Ephesus 325 – 431) rejected Origen's interpretation, and considered it heresy. And she remained with the first view, which is the affirmation of equality between God and the Son who is the Word (the Logos). And from that date the Logos came to constitute a religious meaning, more than a philosophical one.

### 9- In the Muslim Sufis:

Since the Logos was transformed into a religious meaning, it has been found especially among the Muslim Sufis, particularly in Ibn Arabi.

Among contemporary writers, Dr. Hassan Zaza, in his book (Al-Lisan wa-al-Insan: Madkhal ila Ma'rifat al-Lugha [Tongue and Man: An Introduction to Knowing Language]), held that the ancients were confused about the derivation of the word "lugha" (language), and that there is not a single witness to the Arabs' use of the word "lugha" in this scientific sense that we mean, then he determined that the origin of the word (lugha) is Greek, not Arabic, and it is the word (logos), which means in Greek the word or speech.

### 10- In modern philosophers:

The Logos no longer has a place among the moderns, except by way of religious expression of certain tendencies, as is found in Fichte in his book "The Way Towards the Blessed Life" when he cited the opening of the Gospel of John to demonstrate the agreement between his idealism and Christianity, seeing in the Logos that it is the "I."

Mawsu'at al-Falsafa [Encyclopedia of Philosophy], Dr. Abd al-Rahman Badawi, al-Mu'assasa al-'Arabiyya li-l-Dirasat wa-l-Nashr [The Arab Institute for Studies and Publishing], 1st ed. 1984, Part Two.

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Source: https://abba.fadymondy.com/en/blog/origin-of-the-term-logos