I suggest that Vicky’s view of the Word is heavily influenced by her doctrine of God (which in my estimation, is borderline Unitarian). There is no doubt that she thinks Jesus is God incarnate, but it would appear that she also adheres to a form of incarnational Sonship, which is essentially the belief that the Son only became “the Son” at a point in time (the incarnation). At the very least this could possibly mean that she believes the Word existed eternally alongside the Father in an intimate relationship (as a second person), and would later (at the incarnation) be known to us as “the Son.” However, based off much of what has already been said, I tend to think that is not the case, but opts for a form of Unitarianism (Modalism, specifically) that suggests the Word did not pre-exist with the Father as a second person, but as a type of quality – a plan, decree, or expression in the mind of God – if you will, and that it would be God the Father that would later manifest Himself as “the Son.” Modalism is dependent on incarnational Sonship, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that incarnational Sonship is dependent on Modalism.
What John says about the Word of God correlates/corresponds to much of what Scripture has to say about the Son of God. As I mentioned in post #83, the imagery that John uses in his prologue of the Word parallels other NT themes which speak of the Son. The Son is God’s audible Word; His voice to the world. He communicates God. He speaks as God speaks, hence, He is the Word. And it is in this way that He is intimately connected with God. The Son is the eikon (‘image’) of God, God’s enthroned representative — the very vicar of YHWH. When you see the Son, you see God (John 14:9). He acts as God acts (John 5:28) — in perfect union with God. As the vicar of YHWH, the Word is God’s perfect representative; the perfect reflection of His very being.
As the Word (who came in a “vision” to Samuel) made YHWH known (1 Samuel 3:7-9, 22); so too has the Son made known (or exegeted) the Father (John 1:18). No one has seen God at any time, except through the agency of the Word (who, according to John, is the Son); and He has been doing this throughout the entire history of the human race, since ancient times. John intends his readers to make the referential connection between the Son and this mysterious Word of God figure of the OT.
Whereas John speaks of all things coming into existence “through” the Word (John 1:3), we are elsewhere told that it is “through” the Son that all things came into existence (Hebrews 1:2-3).
In addition, John 1:1c speaks about the equality between the Word, and God (I can go into this further, if need be). In like manner, it is the Son of God who is equal to God (“For this reason they tried all the more to kill Him; not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God,” John 5:18). Jesus’ application of the title “Son of God” carries with it its fair share of nuances, but might I suggest that one of the more prominent nuances in NT usage is an extremely Jewish one? What I mean by that, is that the “Son of God” epithet is used frequently of the Davidic King, who is God’s vicar, God’s “right hand man,” who mediates God’s presence, and is in that sense (by way of extension), “equal with God.” But I also understand that Jesus’ application of such title runs even deeper than that of the Davidic King motif, for even the Jews of Jesus’ day understood Jesus’ application (what I would consider a more personal application), as going beyond the scope of what any man could rightfully claim for themselves without the charge of blasphemy being brought against them (hence the, “you being a man make yourself out to be” tid bit in John 10). In both, John 5 and John 10, Jesus acts as God acts — in inseparable union — “For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. But He answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.’” Jesus uses the present middle indicative for the word “work,” which indicates a presence of past action still in progress. Just as the sustainer of all things (God the Father) continues to work (throughout history) and is thereby exempt from the rules of the Sabbath, in this same manner, the Son too has been working (hence, 5:18). The Son’s works are co-extensive with the Father’s. Thusly, Jesus’ application of “the Son of God” epithet of Himself, is intrinsically tied (in a facet of ways) to the idea of Him being “one with” and “equal to,” God.