This statement is literally “all things through him came into being.” The Greek phrase “through him” indicates that the Word was the agent in creation, but at the same time the context clearly implies that God is the ultimate source of creation; Today’s English Version makes this explicit. Similar expressions are found in Paul’s writings and in the Letter to the Hebrews. In 1 Corinthians 8.6 Paul distinguishes between “God, the Father, who is the Creator of all things” and “Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created.” Again, in Colossians 1.15-16 Paul refers to “the first-born Son,” by whom “God created everything in heaven and on earth.” In Hebrews 1.2 the writer speaks of the Son as “the one through whom God created the universe.”

The Greek text indicates clearly that the Word was the instrument or agency employed by God in the creation. Accordingly, in some languages one must distinguish clearly between the primary agent or initiator, which would be God, and the secondary agent or immediate agent, which is the Word. Such a relation may be expressed in some languages as “God caused the Word to make all things,” “God made all things; and the Word did it,” or “God used the Word to make all things.”

(For John 3b see Translation commentary on John 1:4)

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .