My Daily Thoughts—John 1:1

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Len

John 1:1 (WEL) In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Book Summary:

The author is John the Apostle. It was written in Ephesus, most likely. The date is approximately 85-95 AD. In my opinion, the Gospel was written 1) to add information that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke did not have, 2) to emphasize doctrine, particularly about the Lord Jesus, and 3) to include some of Jesus’s messages in length.

Chapter Summary:

Joseph Benson:

We have here,

(1) A very sublime and emphatic account of the Deity and incarnation of Christ; and of those glorious and important purposes for which he condescended to appear among us in the human nature, John 1:1-14.

(2) The testimony of John the Baptist concerning Christ, and the evangelist’s own testimony added to confirm it, John 1:15-18.

(3) Another testimony of John concerning Christ, delivered to the priests and Levites, sent by the great men among the Jews to inquire who he was, John 1:19-28.

(4) A third and more enlarged testimony of the Baptist borne to Jesus, as the Lamb of God, which becomes an occasion of introducing some of John’s disciples into an acquaintance with Jesus, John 1:29-42.

(5) The calling of Philip, and the interview of Christ with Nathanael, John 1:43-51.

V1 In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The beginning is when time began in the universe as Genesis chapter 1 informs us. Time refers to the rotation of the Earth and its revolving around the sun.

The Word is the message given by a person. This is not a general message but a message from God Himself—Jesus Christ (John 1:18, John 5:20, John 17:14, Revelation 19:13, and Matthew 11:27). Humans, because of sin, are spiritually blind (2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 Corinthians 2:14, and Romans 3:11).

Jesus did not become the Word; He is the Word. The Word refers to Jesus alone: 1) the Word is flesh (John 1:14), 2) His authority (John 15:3 and Revelation 19:13), and 3) His word is truth (John 17:17).

People know what I believe (if I tell the truth) and what I think by my words and communication (body language, etc.). Jesus is the Word of God who always tells the truth and reveals things about God such as His character, His plans, His salvation, His judgment, His worldview, His laws, His lifestyle, etc.

This Word and all it means is seen and done by Jesus Christ.

This Word is God, not adopted by God, having not received a special anointing by the “Christ,” appearing as a real person but is not, and many other heresies. What makes God the only God is His essence, which is the stuff that He is (God is a spirit, not an angel spirit stuff, but God stuff) and His character traits. What God the Father is, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit are also. They have the same essence. No angel or any other creature has this essence; it is found in only being (YHWH).

The Word is God is plain enough. Jesus is not a god as Jehovah Witnesses (JW) teach. John 1:1 Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. Jehovah Witnesses translate καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος as “and the Word was a god,” but we conservatives translate it as “and the Word was God.” Yet, there are strong, essential arguments that the JW argument is incredibly erroneous translating.

Ask Andy AI:

“I’ll explain the core arguments that conservative scholars use to translate καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος as “and the Word was God,” and why the Jehovah’s Witness rendering “and the Word was a god” is rejected.

  1. The context and immediate contrast
  • John 1:1 contains a deliberate contrast: “the Word was with God” (καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦн πρὸς τὸν θεόν) where θεός has the article (τὸν θεόν = “the God”/“God”), and then “and the Word was God” (καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος). The contrast is between “with God” (the personal God, with the article) and the Word’s identity or nature. In other words, John is saying the Word had fellowship with the Father and at the same time the Word shared the divine nature.
  1. The Greek grammar: qualitative use of θεός without the article
  • Greek allows anarthrous (no article) nouns to function qualitatively (describing nature or essence) rather than indefinite (“a something”). In John 1:1, the word order and the lack of the article point to a qualitative sense: θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος = “the Word was divine” or “the Word was God” (affirming the Word’s deity). If John intended “a god” (indefinite, creature), that would be an unusual and awkward way to state it in the context, and would contradict the rest of John’s theology.
  1. Word order supports emphasis on the nature of the Word
  • The construction places θεός before the verb and the subject (θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος). That fronting gives emphasis to the predicate (the Word’s divine nature). Reading it “the Word was a god” in English loses that qualitative emphasis and makes John sound like he is equating the Word with some lesser divine being, which is inconsistent with the prologue’s thrust.
  1. Wider Johannine and New Testament context
  • John uses Logos elsewhere (John 1:14: “the Word became flesh”), and the prologue repeatedly attributes fullness, glory, and life to the Word. John’s other statements (e.g., Jesus’ “I am” claims) and the New Testament’s teaching about Christ’s role in creation (e.g., through whom all things were made) make plain that John intends to affirm the eternal deity of the Word, not present a secondary, created “god.” The historical fact that the early church forcefully rejected Arianism and affirmed “begotten, not made” (Nicene language) flows from this clear Johannine witness.
  1. Historical and theological stakes
  • The alternative rendering (“a god”) revives ancient Arian errors (that Christ was a created being). Conservative interpretation treats John 1:1 as a foundational affirmation of the eternal, uncreated deity of the Word—Jesus Christ—while still allowing the distinct persons and relationships within the one Godhead (the Word was with the Father yet shared the same divine essence).

Summary

  • Grammatically and contextually, the anarthrous θεός in John 1:1 functions qualitatively: John is asserting the Word’s deity. Rendering it “a god” is both grammatically odd in context and theologically at odds with John’s overall presentation of Jesus as the one true God become flesh. The conservative translation “and the Word was God” best captures John’s intended claim: the eternal, divine Logos (who became flesh) is truly God.

Relevant Scriptures include:

  • John 1:1-3 (NASB-1995): “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
  • John 1:14 (NASB-1995): “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
  • Hebrews 1:2 (NASB-1995): “In these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”

We learn:

  • Jesus is God.
  • Jesus is the Word.
  • Jesus communicates everything that God wants humans to know.

Questions:

  • Do you believe Jesus is God?
  • Do you believe the words of Jesus in their plain, normal sense?