Barnes also believes in this interpretation and its New Testament expression of the Trinity, "I am thinking, in particular, of the pivotal appeal to John 1:1-3 at de Trinitate 2.2.9, which resembles Tertullian's (and Hippolytus's) use of the Johannine prologue as the paradigmatic expression of the economy of the Trinity." (Barnes 239) Omerod also feels that the Augustinian explication of this passage, as well as the rest of the Gospel is fundamental to understanding it.
I do not think it is stretching things too far to suggest that Augustine is making connections between his exploration in the interior realm with fundamental Christian religious experience, mediated through Scriptures. We are to "seek his face evermore" (Ormerod 777)
One of the earliest supporters of this prologue was Pope Leo the Great (440-461 CE), whose own personal prose style has been called rhythmic and poetic in itself had great respect for the prologue:
Leo stated his belief in the unchanging divine nature in Jesus after the Incarnation a number of times… In one instance, quite explicitly, he offered an explanation of the Johannine prologue to support this. What the passage means is that the Son, with divine nature unchanged and intact, takes on something else: Corporeal birth did not take anything away from the majesty of God's Son, nor add anything to it, for the unchangeable substance can neither be diminished nor increased. "The Word became flesh" does not mean that the nature of God was changed into flesh, but that flesh was taken up by the Word into the unity of this Person.(Dunn 71)
Pitkin also points out that the doctrine of Calvin is highly influenced by this particular passage and gospel as well, "Rather, the epistle and the Gospel focus on knowledge of Christ and of God through Christ's mediation, presenting this as saving knowledge that overcomes the world." (Pitkin 84)
In fact, Calvin's own commentary on this Gospel continues to discuss the issue of true faith as certain knowledge and thereby creates the connection between knowledge and certainty. "The Gospel's frequent references to knowing and the occasional linking of knowledge and belief in the same verse provide Calvin with opportunities to speak of faith as knowledge." (Pitkin 90)
Taking the Gospel of John as a whole and the prologue in particular one must remember that it is primarily a tale of revelation and not necessarily cosmological or even theological speculation and argument. In some sense the entire Gospel itself is akin to a liturgical hymn so it is no mystery that many feel that it begins that way. The images in the prologue reveal the experience, as John sees it, of encountering and understanding the nature of God within and without. "It arises then not out of philosophical or even theological reflection but out of the self-understanding of the worshipping community." (Kysar 12) Pitkin echoes this sentiment and the idea of the revelatory experience for the community:
The Gospel of John… shares with the Pauline writings a thoroughly reflective explication of Christological faith. While clearly concerned with the question of the origin of faith, the Gospel's main interest is to establish the firm ground of faith in Christ precisely to foster the community's endurance. (Pitkin 96)
Recent research dominated as it is by the aspects and irregularities of the oral tradition concept and the vast influence of various languages, translations and liturgies (Brodie 133) the concept is still intact that the prologue is from some yet undiscovered hymn. As evidenced above there are certainly good reasons to support this view, the changes in text from poetry to prose and then the switch in flow to the
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