Who is the word in john 1

 PROLOGUE OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN

• 1 In the beginning the Word already existed.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
• 2 He existed in the beginning with God.
• 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.  (Jn 1:1-3, New Living Translation)

WHO IS THE WORD IN JOHN 1?

Obviously, the Word is a male living being as he was addressed as a “HE,” “HIM,” and “HIS.”

WHAT KIND OF A MALE LIVING BEING IS THE WORD?

John 1:1 assures us that the Word was God.  Jesus also reveals in John 4:24 that God is Spirit.  Ergo, the Word was God and Spirit.

John 1:14 tells us that the Word who was God and Spirit became human, and the Word is the Father’s one and only Son:

• So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. (Jn 1:14, NLT)

WHO IS THE FATHER’S ONE AND ONLY SON?

The Father’s one and only Son is Jesus:

• God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.  No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.  And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.  Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.  (1 Jn 4:9-15, NLT)

WHO IS JESUS?

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God:

• Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.”  (Mt 16:15-17, NLT)

Another version:

• He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.  (Mt 16:15-17, King James Version)

The liars and the antichrists that left the Catholic Church deny Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, also known as the Word who was God and Spirit who created all things and became Man in the immaculate womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

• Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us. But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth.  So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies.  And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ.  Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist.  (1 Jn 2:18-22, NLT)

WHO IS THE CHRIST?

The Christ is the one and only Son of the living God whom God the Father called God twice and the Anointed (Christ, Messiah) and the Lord that made the heavens and the earth with His own hands:

• For God never said to any angel what he said to Jesus: “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.” God also said, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.”  And when he brought his firstborn Son into the world, God said, “Let all of God’s angels worship him.”  Regarding the angels, he says, “He sends his angels like the winds, his servants like flames of fire.”  But to the Son he says, “Your throne, O God (O SON), endures forever and ever.  You rule with a scepter of justice.  You love justice and hate evil.  Therefore, O God (O SON), your God (YOUR FATHER) has anointed you (MADE CHRIST), pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.”  He also says to the Son , “In the beginning, Lord (SON), you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands.  They will perish, but you remain forever.  They will wear out like old clothing.  You will fold them up like a cloak and discard them like old clothing.  But you are always the same; you will live forever.”  (Heb 1:5-12, NLT, emphasis mine)

IS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, MAN OR SPIRIT WHEN HE CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH?

The Christ, the Son of God, also known as the Word was God and Spirit when He created the heavens and the earth in these manners:

• In the beginning the Word already existed.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He existed in the beginning with God.  God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.  (Jn 1:1-3, NLT)
• You love justice and hate evil.  Therefore, O God (O SON), your God (YOUR FATHER) has anointed you (MADE CHRIST), pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.”  He also says to the Son , “In the beginning, Lord (SON), you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands.  They will perish, but you remain forever.  They will wear out like old clothing.  You will fold them up like a cloak and discard them like old clothing.  But you are always the same; you will live forever.”  (Heb 1:9-12, NLT, emphasis mine)

It was the same Christ, the Son of God, also known as the Word who was God and Spirit who inspired the prophets to prophesy about His future suffering and his great glory afterward for our salvation:

• This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. (1 Pt 1:10-11, NLT)

It was the same Spirit of Christ, who created the whole world and inspired the prophets, or the Christ Himself whom God the Father has sent to the Blessed Virgin Mary in order for her to conceive, gestate, and bear and make the Christ, the Son of God, who was God and Spirit, into a Man:

• But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. (Gal 4:4, NLT)

Another version:

• But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, (Gal 4:4, KJV)

Thus, the same Christ, the Son of God, also known as the Word who was God and Spirit was made into Man by the Blessed Virgin Mary:

• And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth. (Jn 1:14, AMP)

WHY IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, CALLED THE WORD?

The Christ, the Son of God, is called the Word because He gave life to everything that was created by him:

• The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. (Jn 1:4, NLT)
• God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it.  He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth.  (Is 42:5, NLT)
• Forasmuch as he knew not his maker and him that inspired into him the soul that worketh, and that breathed into him a living spirit. (Wisdom 15:11, Douay-Rheims Version)

Hence, the Christ, the Son of God, is called the Word of Life or the Word for short:

• We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.  (1 Jn 1:1-3, NLT)

Truly, the Christ, the Son of God, is Eternal Life:

• And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. (1 Jn 5:20, NLT)

Another version:

• And we [have seen and] know [positively] that the Son of God has [actually] come to this world and has given us understanding and insight [progressively] to perceive (recognize) and come to know better and more clearly Him Who is true; and we are in Him Who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah). This [Man] is the true God and Life eternal. (1 Jn 5:20, AMP)

Indeed, the Christ, the Son of God, is the Life-giving Spirit:

• The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.”  But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit.  (1 Cor 15:45, NLT)

Furthermore, the Christ, the Son of God, is also called the Word of God or the Word for short:

• Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the WORD OF GOD.  The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses.  From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress.  On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.  (Rv 19:11-16, NLT, emphasis mine)

THEREFORE, THE WORD IN JOHN 1 IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, WHO WAS GOD AND SPIRIT WHO CREATED EVERYTHING IN BEHALF OF GOD, HIS FATHER:

• In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.  (Jn 1:1-3, Amplified Bible)
• And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth. (Jn 1:14, AMP)
• No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known]. (Jn 1:18, AMP)

Another version:

• Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is himself God. He created everything there is—nothing exists that he didn’t make. (Jn 1:1-3, The Living Bible)
• And Christ became a human being and lived here on earth among us and was full of loving forgiveness and truth. And some of us have seen his glory—the glory of the only Son of the heavenly Father! (Jn 1:14, TLB)
• No one has ever actually seen God, but, of course, his only Son has, for he is the companion of the Father and has told us all about him. (Jn 1:18, TLB)

 PROLOGUE OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN

• 1 In the beginning the Word already existed.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
• 2 He existed in the beginning with God.
• 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.  (Jn 1:1-3, New Living Translation)

WHO IS THE WORD IN JOHN 1?

Obviously, the Word is a male living being as he was addressed as a “HE,” “HIM,” and “HIS.”

WHAT KIND OF A MALE LIVING BEING IS THE WORD?

John 1:1 assures us that the Word was God.  Jesus also reveals in John 4:24 that God is Spirit.  Ergo, the Word was God and Spirit.

John 1:14 tells us that the Word who was God and Spirit became human, and the Word is the Father’s one and only Son:

• So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. (Jn 1:14, NLT)

WHO IS THE FATHER’S ONE AND ONLY SON?

The Father’s one and only Son is Jesus:

• God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.  No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.  And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.  Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.  (1 Jn 4:9-15, NLT)

WHO IS JESUS?

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God:

• Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.”  (Mt 16:15-17, NLT)

Another version:

• He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.  (Mt 16:15-17, King James Version)

The liars and the antichrists that left the Catholic Church deny Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, also known as the Word who was God and Spirit who created all things and became Man in the immaculate womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

• Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us. But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth.  So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies.  And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ.  Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist.  (1 Jn 2:18-22, NLT)

WHO IS THE CHRIST?

The Christ is the one and only Son of the living God whom God the Father called God twice and the Anointed (Christ, Messiah) and the Lord that made the heavens and the earth with His own hands:

• For God never said to any angel what he said to Jesus: “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.” God also said, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.”  And when he brought his firstborn Son into the world, God said, “Let all of God’s angels worship him.”  Regarding the angels, he says, “He sends his angels like the winds, his servants like flames of fire.”  But to the Son he says, “Your throne, O God (O SON), endures forever and ever.  You rule with a scepter of justice.  You love justice and hate evil.  Therefore, O God (O SON), your God (YOUR FATHER) has anointed you (MADE CHRIST), pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.”  He also says to the Son , “In the beginning, Lord (SON), you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands.  They will perish, but you remain forever.  They will wear out like old clothing.  You will fold them up like a cloak and discard them like old clothing.  But you are always the same; you will live forever.”  (Heb 1:5-12, NLT, emphasis mine)

IS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, MAN OR SPIRIT WHEN HE CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH?

The Christ, the Son of God, also known as the Word was God and Spirit when He created the heavens and the earth in these manners:

• In the beginning the Word already existed.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He existed in the beginning with God.  God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.  (Jn 1:1-3, NLT)
• You love justice and hate evil.  Therefore, O God (O SON), your God (YOUR FATHER) has anointed you (MADE CHRIST), pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.”  He also says to the Son , “In the beginning, Lord (SON), you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands.  They will perish, but you remain forever.  They will wear out like old clothing.  You will fold them up like a cloak and discard them like old clothing.  But you are always the same; you will live forever.”  (Heb 1:9-12, NLT, emphasis mine)

It was the same Christ, the Son of God, also known as the Word who was God and Spirit who inspired the prophets to prophesy about His future suffering and his great glory afterward for our salvation:

• This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. (1 Pt 1:10-11, NLT)

It was the same Spirit of Christ, who created the whole world and inspired the prophets, or the Christ Himself whom God the Father has sent to the Blessed Virgin Mary in order for her to conceive, gestate, and bear and make the Christ, the Son of God, who was God and Spirit, into a Man:

• But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. (Gal 4:4, NLT)

Another version:

• But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, (Gal 4:4, KJV)

Thus, the same Christ, the Son of God, also known as the Word who was God and Spirit was made into Man by the Blessed Virgin Mary:

• And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth. (Jn 1:14, AMP)

WHY IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, CALLED THE WORD?

The Christ, the Son of God, is called the Word because He gave life to everything that was created by him:

• The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. (Jn 1:4, NLT)
• God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it.  He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth.  (Is 42:5, NLT)
• Forasmuch as he knew not his maker and him that inspired into him the soul that worketh, and that breathed into him a living spirit. (Wisdom 15:11, Douay-Rheims Version)

Hence, the Christ, the Son of God, is called the Word of Life or the Word for short:

• We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.  (1 Jn 1:1-3, NLT)

Truly, the Christ, the Son of God, is Eternal Life:

• And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. (1 Jn 5:20, NLT)

Another version:

• And we [have seen and] know [positively] that the Son of God has [actually] come to this world and has given us understanding and insight [progressively] to perceive (recognize) and come to know better and more clearly Him Who is true; and we are in Him Who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah). This [Man] is the true God and Life eternal. (1 Jn 5:20, AMP)

Indeed, the Christ, the Son of God, is the Life-giving Spirit:

• The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.”  But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit.  (1 Cor 15:45, NLT)

Furthermore, the Christ, the Son of God, is also called the Word of God or the Word for short:

• Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the WORD OF GOD.  The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses.  From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress.  On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.  (Rv 19:11-16, NLT, emphasis mine)

THEREFORE, THE WORD IN JOHN 1 IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, WHO WAS GOD AND SPIRIT WHO CREATED EVERYTHING IN BEHALF OF GOD, HIS FATHER:

• In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.  (Jn 1:1-3, Amplified Bible)
• And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth. (Jn 1:14, AMP)
• No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known]. (Jn 1:18, AMP)

Another version:

• Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is himself God. He created everything there is—nothing exists that he didn’t make. (Jn 1:1-3, The Living Bible)
• And Christ became a human being and lived here on earth among us and was full of loving forgiveness and truth. And some of us have seen his glory—the glory of the only Son of the heavenly Father! (Jn 1:14, TLB)
• No one has ever actually seen God, but, of course, his only Son has, for he is the companion of the Father and has told us all about him. (Jn 1:18, TLB)

«In the beginning was the Word» redirects here. For the part of Catholic liturgy, see Last Gospel.

John 1:1
← Luke 24 1:2 →
First page of John’s Gospel from the Coronation Gospels, c. 10th century.
Book	Gospel of John
Christian Bible part	New Testament

John 1:1 is the first verse in the opening chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The traditional and majority translation of this verse reads:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.^[1][2][3][4]

The verse has been a source of much debate among Bible scholars and translators.

«The Word,» a translation of the Greek λόγος (logos), is widely interpreted as referring to Jesus, as indicated in other verses later in the same chapter.^[5] For example, “the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14; cf. 1:15, 17).

This and other concepts in the Johannine literature set the stage for the Logos-Christology in which the Apologists of the second and third centuries connected the divine Word of John 1:1-5 to the Hebrew Wisdom literature and to the divine Logos of contemporary Greek philosophy.^[6]

On the basis of John 1:1, Tertullian, early in the third century, argued for two Persons that are distinct but the substance is undivided, of the same substance.

In John 1:1c, logos has the article but theos does not. Origen of Alexandria, a teacher in Greek grammar of the third century, argued that John uses the article when theos refers to «the uncreated cause of all things.» But the Logos is named theos without the article because He participates in the divinity of the Father because of “His being with the Father.”

The main dispute with respect to this verse relates to John 1:1c (“the Word was God”). One minority translation is «the Word was divine.» This is based on the argument that the grammatical structure of the Greek does not identify the Word as the Person of God but indicates a qualitative sense. The point being made is that the Logos is of the same uncreated nature or essence as God the Father. In that case, “the Word was God” may be misleading because, in normal English, «God» is a proper noun, referring to the person of the Father or corporately to the three persons of the Godhead.

With respect to John 1:1, Ernest Cadman Colwell writes:

The absence of the article does not make the predicate indefinite or qualitative when it precedes the verb, it is indefinite in this position only when the context demands it.

So, whether the predicate (theos) is definite, indefinite or qualitative depends on the context. Consequently, this article raises the concern that uncertainty with respect to the grammar may result in translations based on the theology of the translator. The commonly held theology that Jesus is God naturally leads to a corresponding translation. But a theology in which Jesus is subordinate to God leads to the conclusion that «… a god» or «… divine» is the proper rendering.

Source text and translations[edit]

• 

  Codex Vaticanus (300–325), The end of Gospel of Luke and the beginning of Gospel of John

John 1:1 in English versions[edit]

The traditional rendering in English is:

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

Other variations of rendering, both in translation or paraphrase, John 1:1c also exist:

• 14th century: «and God was the word» – Wycliffe’s Bible (translated from the 4th-century Latin Vulgate)
• 1808: «and the Word was a god» – Thomas Belsham The New Testament, in an Improved Version, Upon the Basis of Archbishop Newcome’s New Translation: With a Corrected Text, London.
• 1822: «and the Word was a god» – The New Testament in Greek and English (A. Kneeland, 1822.)
• 1829: «and the Word was a god» – The Monotessaron; or, The Gospel History According to the Four Evangelists (J. S. Thompson, 1829)
• 1863: «and the Word was a god» – A Literal Translation of the New Testament (Herman Heinfetter [Pseudonym of Frederick Parker], 1863)
• 1864: «the LOGOS was God» – A New Emphatic Version (right hand column)
• 1864: «and a god was the Word» – The Emphatic Diaglott by Benjamin Wilson, New York and London (left hand column interlinear reading)
• 1867: «and the Son was of God» – The Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
• 1879: «and the Word was a god» – Das Evangelium nach Johannes (J. Becker, 1979)
• 1885: «and the Word was a god» – Concise Commentary on The Holy Bible (R. Young, 1885)
• 1911: «and [a] God was the word» – The Coptic Version of the New Testament in the Southern Dialect, by George William Horner.^[13]
• 1924: «the Logos was divine» – The Bible: James Moffatt Translation, by James Moffatt.^[14]
• 1935: «and the Word was divine» – The Bible: An American Translation, by John M. P. Smith and Edgar J. Goodspeed, Chicago.^[15]
• 1955: «so the Word was divine» – The Authentic New Testament, by Hugh J. Schonfield, Aberdeen.^[16]
• 1956: «And the Word was as to His essence absolute deity» – The Wuest Expanded Translation^[17]
• 1958: «and the Word was a god» – The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Anointed (J. L. Tomanec, 1958);
• 1962, 1979: «‘the word was God.’ Or, more literally, ‘God was the word.'» – The Four Gospels and the Revelation (R. Lattimore, 1979)
• 1966, 2001: «and he was the same as God» – The Good News Bible.
• 1970, 1989: «and what God was, the Word was» – The New English Bible and The Revised English Bible.
• 1975 «and a god (or, of a divine kind) was the Word» – Das Evangelium nach Johnnes, by Siegfried Schulz, Göttingen, Germany
• 1975: «and the Word was a god» – Das Evangelium nach Johannes (S. Schulz, 1975);
• 1978: «and godlike sort was the Logos» – Das Evangelium nach Johannes, by Johannes Schneider, Berlin
• 1985: “So the Word was divine” — The Original New Testament, by Hugh J. Schonfield.^[18]
• 1993: «The Word was God, in readiness for God from day one.» — The Message, by Eugene H. Peterson.^[19]
• 1998: «and what God was the Word also was» – This translation follows Professor Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John, ed. Daniel J. Harrington.^[20]
• 2017: “and the Logos was god” — The New Testament: A Translation, by David Bentley Hart.^[21]

Difficulties[edit]

The text of John 1:1 has a sordid past and a myriad of interpretations. With the Greek alone, we can create empathic, orthodox, creed-like statements, or we can commit pure and unadulterated heresy. From the point of view of early church history, heresy develops when a misunderstanding arises concerning Greek articles, the predicate nominative, and grammatical word order. The early church heresy of Sabellianism understood John 1:1c to read, «and the Word was the God.» The early church heresy of Arianism understood it to read, «and the word was a God.»

— David A. Reed^[22]

There are two issues affecting the translating of the verse, 1) theology and 2) proper application of grammatical rules. The commonly held theology that Jesus is God naturally leads one to believe that the proper way to render the verse is the one which is most popular.^[23] The opposing theology that Jesus is subordinate to God as his Chief agent leads to the conclusion that «… a god» or «… divine» is the proper rendering.^[24]

The Greek Article[edit]

The Greek article is often translated the, which is the English definite article, but it can have a range of meanings that can be quite different from those found in English, and require context to interpret.^[25] Ancient Greek does not have an indefinite article like the English word a, and nominatives without articles also have a range of meanings that require context to interpret.

Colwell’s Rule[edit]

In interpreting this verse, Colwell’s rule should be taken into consideration, which says that a definite predicate which is before the verb «to be» usually does not have the definite article. Ernest Cadman Colwell writes:

The opening verse of John’s Gospel contains one of the many passages where this rule suggests the translation of a predicate as a definite noun. Καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος [Kaì theòs ên ho lógos] looks much more like «And the Word was God» than «And the Word was divine» when viewed with reference to this rule. The absence of the article does not make the predicate indefinite or qualitative when it precedes the verb, it is indefinite in this position only when the context demands it. The context makes no such demand in the Gospel of John, for this statement cannot be regarded as strange in the prologue of the gospel which reaches its climax in the confession of Thomas [Footnote: John 20,28].»^[26]

Jason David BeDuhn (Professor of Religious Studies at Northern Arizona University) criticizes Colwell’s Rule as methodologically unsound and «not a valid rule of Greek grammar.»^[27]

The Word was divine[edit]

The main dispute with respect to this verse relates to John 1:1c (“the Word was God”). One minority translation is «the Word was divine.» The following support this type of translation:

Tertullian[edit]

Tertullian in the early third century wrote:

Now if this one [the Word] is God according to John («the Word was God»), then you have two: one who speaks that it may be, and another who carries it out. However, how you should accept this as «another» I have explained: as concerning person, not substance, and as distinction, not division. (Against Praxeus 12)^[28]

In other words, the Persons are distinct but the substance is undivided. As Tertullian states in Against Praxeus 9 and 26, He is “so far God as He is of the same substance as God Himself … and as a portion of the Whole … as He Himself acknowledges: «My Father is greater than I.”^[29]

At the beginning of chapter 13 of against Praxeus, Tertullian uses various Scriptures to argue for “two Gods,” including:^[30]

“One God spoke and another created” (cf. John 1:3).

“God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee or made Thee His Christ” (cf. Psm 45).

«’In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ There was One ‘who was,’ and there was another ‘with whom’”.

Origen[edit]

In John 1:1c, logos has the article but theos does not. Literally, “god was the word”.^[31] Origen of Alexandria, a teacher in Greek grammar of the third century, discusses the presence or absence of the article in Commentary on John, Book II, chap, 2.^[32] He states:

He (John) uses the article, when the name of God refers to the uncreated cause of all things, and omits it when the Logos is named God. […]
God on the one hand is Very God (Autotheos, God of Himself); and so the Saviour says in His prayer to the Father, “That they may know Thee the only true God;” (cf. John 17:3) but that all beyond the Very God is made God by participation in His divinity, and is not to be called simply God (with the article), but rather God (without article).

Origen then continues to explain that the Son — the first-born of all creation – was the first to be “with God” (cf. John 1:1), attracted to Himself divinity from God, and gave that divinity to the other “gods:”

And thus the first-born of all creation, who is the first to be with God, and to attract to Himself divinity, is a being of more exalted rank than the other gods beside Him, of whom God is the God […] It was by the offices of the first-born that they became gods, for He drew from God in generous measure that they should be made gods, and He communicated it to them according to His own bounty.

As R.P.C. Hanson stated in discussing the Apologists, «There were many different types and grades of deity in popular thought and religion and even in philosophical thought.»^[33] Origen concludes that “the Word of God” is not “God … of Himself” but because of “His being with the Father” (cf. John 1:1):

The true God, then, is “The God,” and those who are formed after Him are gods, images, as it were, of Him the prototype.  But the archetypal image, again, of all these images is the Word of God, who was in the beginning, and who by being with God is at all times God, not possessing that of Himself, but by His being with the Father, and not continuing to be God, if we should think of this, except by remaining always in uninterrupted contemplation of the depths of the Father.

Translations[edit]

Translations by James Moffatt, Edgar J. Goodspeed and Hugh J. Schonfield render part of the verse as «…the Word [Logos] was divine».

Murray J. Harris writes,

[It] is clear that in the translation «the Word was God», the term God is being used to denote his nature or essence, and not his person. But in normal English usage «God» is a proper noun, referring to the person of the Father or corporately to the three persons of the Godhead. Moreover, «the Word was God» suggests that «the Word» and «God» are convertible terms, that the proposition is reciprocating. But the Word is neither the Father nor the Trinity … The rendering cannot stand without explanation.»^[34]

An Eastern/Greek Orthodox Bible commentary notes:

This second theos could also be translated ‘divine’ as the construction indicates «a qualitative sense for theos». The Word is not God in the sense that he is the same person as the theos mentioned in 1:1a; he is not God the Father (God absolutely as in common NT usage) or the Trinity. The point being made is that the Logos is of the same uncreated nature or essence as God the Father, with whom he eternally exists. This verse is echoed in the Nicene Creed: «God (qualitative or derivative) from God (personal, the Father), Light from Light, True God from True God… homoousion with the Father.»^[35]

Daniel B. Wallace (Professor of New Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary) argues that:

The use of the anarthrous theos (the lack of the definite article before the second theos) is due to its use as a qualitative noun, describing the nature or essence of the Word, sharing the essence of the Father, though they differed in person: he stresses: «The construction the evangelist chose to express this idea was the most precise way he could have stated that the Word was God and yet was distinct from the Father».^[36] He questions whether Colwell’s rule helps in interpreting John 1:1. It has been said^{[by whom?]} that Colwell’s rule has been misapplied as its converse, as though it implied definiteness.^[37]

Murray J. Harris (Emeritus Professor of NT Exegesis and Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) discusses «grammatical, theological, historical, literary and other issues that affect the interpretation of θεὸς» and conclude that, among other uses, «is a christological title that is primarily ontological in nature» and adds that «the application of θεὸς to Jesus Christ asserts that Jesus is … God-by-nature.^[38][39][40]

John L. McKenzie (Catholic Biblical scholar) wrote that ho Theos is God the Father, and adds that John 1:1 should be translated «the word was with the God [=the Father], and the word was a divine being.»^[41][42]

In a 1973 Journal of Biblical Literature article, Philip B. Harner, Professor Emeritus of Religion at Heidelberg College, claimed that the traditional translation of John 1:1c (“and the Word was God”) is incorrect. He endorses the New English Bible translation of John 1:1c, “and what God was, the Word was.”^[43] However, Harner’s claim has been criticized.^[44]

Philip B. Harner (Professor Emeritus of Religion at Heidelberg College) says:

Perhaps the clause could be translated, ‘the Word had the same nature as God.” This would be one way of representing John’s thought, which is, as I understand it, that ho logos, no less than ho theos, had the nature of theos.^[45]

B. F. Westcott is quoted by C. F. D. Moule (Lady Margaret’s Professor of Divinity in the University of Cambridge):

The predicate (God) stands emphatically first, as in 4:24. ‘It is necessarily without the article (theós not ho theós) inasmuch as it describes the nature of the Word and does not identify His Person. It would be pure Sabellianism to say “the Word was ho theós”. No idea of inferiority of nature is suggested by the form of expression, which simply affirms the true deity of the Word. Compare the converse statement of the true humanity of Christ five 27 (hóti huiòs anthrópou estín . . . ).’^[46]

James D. G. Dunn (Emeritus Lightfoot Professor at University of Durham) states:

Philo demonstrates that a distinction between ho theos and theos such as we find in John 1.1b-c, would be deliberate by the author and significant for the Greek reader. Not only so, Philo shows that he could happily call the Logos ‘God/god’ without infringing his monotheism (or even ‘the second God’ – Qu.Gen. II.62). Bearing in mind our findings with regard to the Logos in Philo, this cannot but be significant: the Logos for Philo is ‘God’ not as a being independent of ‘the God’ but as ‘the God’ in his knowability – the Logos standing for that limited apprehension of the one God which is all that the rational man, even the mystic may attain to.”^[47]

In summary, scholars and grammarians indicate that the grammatical structure of the Greek does not identify the Word as the Person of God but indicates a qualitative sense. The point being made is that the Logos is of the same nature or essence as God the Father. In that case, “the Word was God” may be misleading because, in normal English, «God» is a proper noun, referring to the person of the Father or corporately to the three persons of the Godhead.

The Word as a god.[edit]

Some scholars oppose the translation …a god,^{[48][49][50][51]} while other scholars believe it is possible or even preferable.^[52][53][54]

The rendering as «a god» is justified by some non-Trinitarians by comparing it with Acts 28:6 which has a similar grammatical construction’^[55]

«The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.»^{[Ac. 28:6 NIV]}.

«Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god (theón).» (KJV)^[56]

«But they were expecting that he was going to swell up or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god (theón).» (NET)^[57]

However, it was noted that the Hebrew words El, HaElohim and Yahweh (all referring to God) were rendered as anarthrous theos in the Septuagint at Nahum 1:2, Isaiah 37:16, 41:4, Jeremiah 23:23 and Ezekiel 45:9 among many other locations. Moreover, in the New Testament anarthrous theos was used to refer to God in locations including John 1:18a, Romans 8:33, 2 Corinthians 5:19, 6:16 and Hebrews 11:16 (although the last two references do have an adjective aspect to them). Therefore, anarthrous or arthrous constructions by themselves, without context, cannot determine how to render it into a target language. In Deuteronomy 31:27 the septuagint text, «supported by all MSS… reads πρὸς τὸν θεόν for the Hebrew עִם־ יְהֹוָ֔ה»,^[58] but the oldest Greek text in Papyrus Fouad 266 has written πρὸς יהוה τὸν θεόν.^[58]

In the October 2011 Journal of Theological Studies, Brian J. Wright and Tim Ricchuiti^[59] reason that the indefinite article in the Coptic translation, of John 1:1, has a qualitative meaning. Many such occurrences for qualitative nouns are identified in the Coptic New Testament, including 1 John 1:5 and 1 John 4:8. Moreover, the indefinite article is used to refer to God in Deuteronomy 4:31 and Malachi 2:10.

In the Beginning[edit]

«In the beginning (archē) was the Word (logos)» may be compared with:

• Genesis 1:1: «In the beginning God created heaven, and earth.»^[60] The opening words of the Old Testament are also «In the beginning». Theologian Charles Ellicott wrote:

«The reference to the opening words of the Old Testament is obvious, and is the more striking when we remember that a Jew would constantly speak of and quote from the book of Genesis as «Berēshîth» («in the beginning»). It is quite in harmony with the Hebrew tone of this Gospel to do so, and it can hardly be that St. John wrote his Berēshîth without having that of Moses present to his mind, and without being guided by its meaning.^[61]

• Mark 1:1: «The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.»^[62]
• Luke 1:2: «According as they have delivered them unto us, who from the beginning (archē) were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word (logos).^[63][64]
• 1 John 1:1: «That which was from the beginning (archē), which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word (logos) of life».^[65][66]

[edit]

• Chrysostom: «While all the other Evangelists begin with the Incarnation, John, passing over the Conception, Nativity, education, and growth, speaks immediately of the Eternal Generation, saying, In the beginning was the Word.»

• Augustine: «The Greek word “logos” signifies both Word and Reason. But in this passage it is better to interpret it Word; as referring not only to the Father, but to the creation of things by the operative power of the Word; whereas Reason, though it produce nothing, is still rightly called Reason.»

• Augustine: «Words by their daily use, sound, and passage out of us, have become common things. But there is a word which remaineth inward, in the very man himself; distinct from the sound which proceedeth out of the mouth. There is a word, which is truly and spiritually that, which you understand by the sound, not being the actual sound. Now whoever can conceive the notion of word, as existing not only before its sound, but even before the idea of its sound is formed, may see enigmatically, and as it were in a glass, some similitude of that Word of Which it is said, In the beginning was the Word. For when we give expression to something which we know, the word used is necessarily derived from the knowledge thus retained in the memory, and must be of the same quality with that knowledge. For a word is a thought formed from a thing which we know; which word is spoken in the heart, being neither Greek nor Latin, nor of any language, though, when we want to communicate it to others, some sign is assumed by which to express it. […] Wherefore the word which sounds externally, is a sign of the word which lies hid within, to which the name of word more truly appertains. For that which is uttered by the mouth of our flesh, is the voice of the word; and is in fact called word, with reference to that from which it is taken, when it is developed externally.»

• Basil of Caesarea: «This Word is not a human word. For how was there a human word in the beginning, when man received his being last of all? There was not then any word of man in the beginning, nor yet of Angels; for every creature is within the limits of time, having its beginning of existence from the Creator. But what says the Gospel? It calls the Only-Begotten Himself the Word.»

• Chrysostom: «But why omitting the Father, does he proceed at once to speak of the Son? Because the Father was known to all; though not as the Father, yet as God; whereas the Only-Begotten was not known. As was meet then, he endeavours first of all to inculcate the knowledge of the Son on those who knew Him not; though neither in discoursing on Him, is he altogether silent on the Father. And inasmuch as he was about to teach that the Word was the Only-Begotten Son of God, that no one might think this a passible (παθητὴν) generation, he makes mention of the Word in the first place, in order to destroy the dangerous suspicion, and show that the Son was from God impassibly. And a second reason is, that He was to declare unto us the things of the Father. (John. 15:15) But he does not speak of the Word simply, but with the addition of the article, in order to distinguish It from other words. For Scripture calls God’s laws and commandments words; but this Word is a certain Substance, or Person, an Essence, coming forth impassibly from the Father Himself.»

• Basil of Caesarea: «Wherefore then Word? Because born impassibly, the Image of Him that begat, manifesting all the Father in Himself; abstracting from Him nothing, but existing perfect in Himself.»

• Augustine: «Now the Word of God is a Form, not a formation, but the Form of all forms, a Form unchangeable, removed from accident, from failure, from time, from space, surpassing all things, and existing in all things as a kind of foundation underneath, and summit above them.»

• Basil of Caesarea: «Yet has our outward word some similarity to the Divine Word. For our word declares the whole conception of the mind; since what we conceive in the mind we bring out in word. Indeed our heart is as it were the source, and the uttered word the stream which flows therefrom.»

• Chrysostom: «Observe the spiritual wisdom of the Evangelist. He knew that men honoured most what was most ancient, and that honouring what is before everything else, they conceived of it as God. On this account he mentions first the beginning, saying, In the beginning was the Word.»

• Augustine: «Or, In the beginning, as if it were said, before all things.»

• Basil of Caesarea: «The Holy Ghost foresaw that men would arise, who should envy the glory of the Only-Begotten, subverting their hearers by sophistry; as if because He were begotten, He was not; and before He was begotten, He was not. That none might presume then to babble such things, the Holy Ghost saith, In the beginning was the Word.»

• Hilary of Poitiers: «Years, centuries, ages, are passed over, place what beginning thou wilt in thy imagining, thou graspest it not in time, for He, from Whom it is derived, still was.»

• Chrysostom: «As then when our ship is near shore, cities and port pass in survey before us, which on the open sea vanish, and leave nothing whereon to fix the eye; so the Evangelist here, taking us with him in his flight above the created world, leaves the eye to gaze in vacancy on an illimitable expanse. For the words, was in the beginning, are significative of eternal and infinite essence.»

• Council of Ephesus: «Wherefore in one place divine Scripture calls Him the Son, in another the Word, in another the Brightness of the Father; names severally meant to guard against blasphemy. For, forasmuch as thy son is of the same nature with thyself, the Scripture wishing to show that the Substance of the Father and the Son is one, sets forth the Son of the Father, born of the Father, the Only-Begotten. Next, since the terms birth and son, convey the idea of passibleness, therefore it calls the Son the Word, declaring by that name the impassibility of His Nativity. But inasmuch as a father with us is necessarily older than his son, lest thou shouldest think that this applied to the Divine nature as well, it calls the Only-Begotten the Brightness of the Father; for brightness, though arising from the sun, is not posterior to it. Understand then that Brightness, as revealing the coeternity of the Son with the Father; Word as proving the impassibility of His birth, and Son as conveying His consubstantiality.»

• Chrysostom: «But they say that In the beginning does not absolutely express eternity: for that the same is said of the heaven and the earth: In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. (Gen. 1:1) But are not made and was, altogether different? For in like manner as the word is, when spoken of man, signifies the present only, but when applied to God, that which always and eternally is; so too was, predicated of our nature, signifies the past, but predicated of God, eternity.»

• Origen: «The verb to be, has a double signification, sometimes expressing the motions which take place in time, as other verbs do; sometimes the substance of that one thing of which it is predicated, without reference to time. Hence it is also called a substantive verb.»

• Hilary of Poitiers: «Consider then the world, understand what is written of it. In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. Whatever therefore is created is made in the beginning, and thou wouldest contain in time, what, as being to be made, is contained in the beginning. But, lo, for me, an illiterate unlearned fisherman is independent of time, unconfined by ages, advanceth beyond all beginnings. For the Word was, what it is, and is not bounded by any time, nor commenced therein, seeing It was not made in the beginning, but was.»

• Alcuin: » To refute those who inferred from Christ’s Birth in time, that He had not been from everlasting, the Evangelist begins with the eternity of the Word, saying, In the beginning was the Word.»

• Chrysostom: «Because it is an especial attribute of God, to be eternal and without a beginning, he laid this down first: then, lest any one on hearing in the beginning was the Word, should suppose the Word Unbegotten, he instantly guarded against this; saying, And the Word was with God.»

• Hilary of Poitiers: «From the beginning, He is with God: and though independent of time, is not independent of an Author.»

• Basil of Caesarea: «Again he repeats this, was, because of men blasphemously saying, that there was a time when He was not. Where then was the Word? Illimitable things are not contained in space. Where was He then? With God. For neither is the Father bounded by place, nor the Son by aught circumscribing.»

• Origen: «It is worth while noting, that, whereas the Word is said to come [be made] to some, as to Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, with God it is not made, as though it were not with Him before. But, the Word having been always with Him, it is said, and the Word was with God: for from the beginning it was not separate from the Father.»

• Chrysostom: «He has not said, was in God, but was with God: exhibiting to us that eternity which He had in accordance with His Person.»

• Theophylact of Ohrid: «Sabellius is overthrown by this text. For he asserts that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one Person, Who sometimes appeared as the Father, sometimes as the Son, sometimes as the Holy Ghost. But he is manifestly confounded by this text, and the Word was with God; for here the Evangelist declares that the Son is one Person, God the Father another.»

• Hilary of Poitiers: «But the title is absolute, and free from the offence of an extraneous subject. To Moses it is said, I have given thee for a god to Pharaoh: (Exod. 7:1) but is not the reason for the name added, when it is said, to Pharaoh? Moses is given for a god to Pharaoh, when he is feared, when he is entreated, when he punishes, when he heals. And it is one thing to be given for a God, another thing to be God. I remember too another application of the name in the Psalms, I have said, ye are gods. But there too it is implied that the title was but bestowed; and the introduction of, I said, makes it rather the phrase of the Speaker, than the name of the thing. But when I hear the Word was God, I not only hear the Word said to be, but perceive It proved to be, God.»

• Basil of Caesarea: «Thus cutting off the cavils of blasphemers, and those who ask what the Word is, he replies, and the Word was God.»

• Theophylact of Ohrid: » Or combine it thus. From the Word being with God, it follows plainly that there are two Persons. But these two are of one Nature; and therefore it proceeds, In the Word was God: to show that Father and Son are of One Nature, being of One Godhead.»

• Origen: «We must add too, that the Word illuminates the Prophets with Divine wisdom, in that He cometh to them; but that with God He ever is, because He is God. For which reason he placed and the Word was with God, before and the Word was God.»

• Chrysostom: «Not asserting, as Plato does, one to be intelligence, the other soul; for the Divine Nature is very different from this. […] But you say, the Father is called God with the addition of the article, the Son without it. What say you then, when the Apostle. writes, The great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; (Tit. 2:13) and again, Who is over all, God; (Rom. 9:5) and Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father; (Rom. 1:7) without the article? Besides, too, it were superfluous here, to affix what had been affixed just before. So that it does not follow, though the article is not affixed to the Son, that He is therefore an inferior God.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Another God in the Gospel of John? A Linguistic Analysis of John 1:1 and 1:18

2

He was with God in the beginning.

3

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

4

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

5

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome^[a] it.

6

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

7

He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.

8

He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

9

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

10

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

11

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

12

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

13

children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

14

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15

(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”)

16

Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.

17

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

18

No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and^[b] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

20

He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”

21

They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”

22

Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23

John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ”^[d]

24

Now the Pharisees who had been sent

25

questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26

“I baptize with^[e] water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know.

27

He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

28

This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

30

This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’

31

I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.

33

And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’

34

I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”^[f]

36

When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

37

When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

38

Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39

“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

40

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.

41

The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).

42

And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter^[g] ).

44

Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.

45

Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

46

“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.

47

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

48

“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

49

Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”

50

Jesus said, “You believe^[h] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”

51

He then added, “Very truly I tell you,^[i] you^[j] will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’^[k] the Son of Man.”

Your answers

What was «the Word» of «In the beginning was the Word»,
of John 1.1?

The Prologue of St John’s Gospel (1.1-18) may have been
deliberately added by the Evangelist in order to explain the
significance of what he had already written in his Gospel. For this
purpose, «the Word», or, in Greek, the Logos, was the
definitive expression that points to Jesus.

In the Gospel, the words and action-signs of our Lord are to be
seen and understood as the working out in human history of the
pre-existent divine and personal Word that is the self-utterance of
God. In a phrase used by the late B. H. Streeter, in «the Word» of
John 1.1 we discover that «the meaning of the Infinite was spoken
out.» In this respect, John’s Prologue bears comparison with the
opening of the Letter to the Hebrews: «God has spoken to us by a
Son . . . through whom he also created the worlds . . . and
sustains all things by his powerful word» (Hebrews 1.1-3).

In the Prologue, a movement of «the Word» is traced from
eternity to time: «He was in the beginning with God» (John 1.2),
«all things came into being through him» (John 1.3), and «in him
was life and life was the light of all people» (John 1.4). He came
into the world, but was rejected by his «own», but accepted by
believers, who are enabled to become children of God (John
1.11-12). All this foreshadows the Gospel story of that same Word
who pitched his tent among us when he became flesh (John 1.14).

Because Prologue and Gospel are inseparable, it is possible to
see that, however wide the intellectual background to
Word-Logos may have been, the Evangelist treats it not
primarily as philosophical speculation (beloved by Philo, Stoics,
and others), but as the hidden gospel truth about Jesus.

This is abundantly illustrated in the Gospels. When, for
example, John 1.1 affirms the pre-existence of the
«Word-Logos«, this is echoed in John 17.5: «glorify me . .
. with the glory I had in your presence before the world
existed.»

The life-giving and light-bearing Word of John 1.4 is
pre-eminently seen in Johannine «signs»: the raising of Lazarus and
the statement «I am the resurrection and the life» (John 11.25),
and the giving of sight to the man born blind (John 9), with
sayings such as «I am the light of the world, and whoever follows
me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life»
(John 8.12).

In a remarkable way, the Prologue comes full circle at John
1.18. The Word, with God at the beginning, is indeed the one who is
«close to the Father’s heart» (or «in the Father’s bosom»). The
only Son has made the Father known or «interpreted him»
(exegesato): as Jesus declares, «whoever has seen me has
seen the Father» (John 14.9).

(Canon) Terry Palmer

Magor, Monmouthshire

In Genesis 1.1 we read: «In the beginning God created the heaven
and the earth»; verse 2 mentions the Spirit of God; and from verse
3 onwards, many times we have the words: ‘God said . . . and it was
so,» i.e. his words effect the deed; for that which God speaks is
his Word, and his Word brings about his will.

John equates God’s Word — which in the beginning did not have
human form — with the incarnate Jesus who came to dwell among us
(v.14: «And the Word was made flesh»). He emphasises that God’s
Word co-existed with God from the very beginning; and that it was
through God’s Word that «all things were made» (John 1.3).

That the incarnate Jesus possessed this same power (of will,
word, and deed) is shown in St Matthew’s Gospel, when the Roman
centurion acknowledges that Jesus has only to «speak the word» and
healing will occur (Matthew 8.8).

In Genesis 1.1-3, we are shown the Holy Trinity working
together: God, Spirit, and Word. Later, in the New Testament, after
«the Word» has become flesh, the Holy Trinity is described as God
the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Alison Rollin

Ruislip, London

Your questions

Why are there «Introits and Anthems» at the back of
The English Hymnal, and what are we meant to do with
them?

P. M.

Address for answers and more questions: Out of the Question,
Church Times, 3rd floor, Invicta House, 108-114 Golden
Lane, London EC1Y 0TG.

questions@churchtimes.co.uk

The Word and Creation

1 In the beginning, the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He existed in the beginning with God. ³ Through him all things were made, and apart from him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life brought light to humanity.^{[a] 5} And the light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.^[b]

John’s Witness to the Word

⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe because of him. ⁸ John^[c] was not the light, but he came^[d] to testify about the light. ⁹ This^[e] was the true light that enlightens every person by his coming into the world.^{[f] 10} He was in the world, and the world was made through him. Yet the world did not recognize him.

Responses to the Word

¹¹ He came to his own creation,^[g] yet his own people did not receive him. ¹² However, to all who received him, those believing in his name, he gave authority to become God’s children, ¹³ who were born, not merely in a genetic sense,^[h] nor from lust,^[i] nor from man’s desire, but from the will of^[j] God.

The Word Becomes Human

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and lived^[k] among us. We gazed on his glory, the kind of glory that belongs to the Father’s uniquely existing Son,^[l] who is full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ John told the truth about him when he cried out, “This is the person about whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me ranks higher than me, because he existed before me.’” ¹⁶ We have all received one gracious gift after another from his abundance,^{[m] 17} because while the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus the Messiah.^{[n] 18} No one has ever seen God. The uniquely existing God,^[o] who is close to the Father’s side, has revealed him.

The Testimony of John the Baptist^(A)

¹⁹ This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders^[p] sent priests and descendants of Levi to him from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

²⁰ He spoke openly and, remaining true to himself,^[q] admitted, “I am not the Messiah.”^[r]

²¹ So they asked him, “Well then, are you Elijah?”

John^[s] said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

²² “Who are you?” they asked him. “We must give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³ He replied, “I am

‘…a voice crying out in the wilderness,
    “Prepare the Lord’s^[t] highway,”’^[u]

as the prophet Isaiah said.”

²⁴ Now those men^[v] had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, “Why, then, are you baptizing if you are not the Messiah,^[w] or Elijah, or the Prophet?”

²⁶ John answered them, “I am baptizing with^[x] water, but among you stands a man whom you do not know, ²⁷ the one who is coming after me, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ This happened in Bethany^[y] on the other side^[z] of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

²⁹ The next day, John^[aa] saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks above me, because he existed before me.’ ³¹ I didn’t recognize him, but I came baptizing with^[ab] water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”

³² John also testified, “I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ³³ I didn’t recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with^[ac] water told me, ‘The person on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining is the one who baptizes with^[ad] the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen this and have testified that this is the Son^[ae] of God.”

The First Disciples

³⁵ The next day, John was standing there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶ As he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

³⁸ But when Jesus turned around and saw them following, he asked them, “What are you looking for?”

They asked him, “Rabbi,” (which is translated “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

³⁹ He told them, “Come and see!” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.^[af]

⁴⁰ Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.^{[ag] 41} The first thing Andrew^[ah] did was to find his brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Anointed One!”^[ai] (which is translated “Messiah”).^[aj]

⁴² He led Simon^[ak] to Jesus. Jesus looked at him intently and said, “You are Simon, John’s son.^[al] You will be called Cephas!”^[am] (which is translated “Peter”).^[an]

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathaniel

⁴³ The next day, Jesus decided to go away to Galilee, where he found Philip and told him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.

⁴⁵ Philip found Nathaniel and told him, “We have found the man about whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote—Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

⁴⁶ Nathaniel asked him, “From Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?”

Philip told him, “Come and see!”

⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him and said about him, “Look, a genuine Israeli, in whom there is no deceit!”

⁴⁸ Nathaniel asked him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

⁴⁹ Nathaniel replied to him, “Rabbi,^[ao] you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

⁵⁰ Jesus told him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that.” ⁵¹ Then he told him, “Truly, I tell all of you^[ap] emphatically, you will see heaven standing open and the angels of God going up and coming down to the Son of Man.”

Community answers are sorted based on votes. The higher the vote, the further up an answer is.

Greek: logos (G3056) (Jn 1:1; Acts 1:1). The Word refers to Christ (Jn. 1:14; Rev. 19:13) and proves His pre-existence (Mic. 5:1-2 Rev. 1:8,11; 2:8; 22:13-16). Christ is an eternal Being as are also the Father and the Holy Spirit (Ps. 90:1-2 Heb. 9:14). They make the Divine Trinity (1Jn. 5:7).

Logos (G3056) has to do with a concept, an idea; the Greek: rhema (G4487) has to do with the expression of that idea in proper, intelligent, and grammatical form in words and sentences. Logos is translated "word" 225 times; "saying" 50 times; "account" 8 times; "speech" 8 times; and in other ways, 39 times.

Greek: logos (G3056), used 330 times with 3 main ideas of expression:
❶ In respect to speech: a word (Jas. 3:2); saying (Mt. 19:22); discourse (2Cor. 10:10); doctrine (1Tim. 6:3; 2Tim. 1:13); narrative (Acts 1:1); report (Jn. 21:23); and discussion by which the inward thought is expressed (Heb. 4:2) 
❷ In respect to the mind alone: the reasoning powers (Heb. 4:12) 
❸ In respect to a person: the essential living Word of God (Jn. 1:1,14; 1Jn. 1:1; 5:7; Rev. 19:13); the embodiment of and expression of all wisdom and prudence (Eph. 1:8; 1Cor. 1:30; Col. 2:3)

Not only was the Word with God, but He was God and always will be as much divine as the other two members of the Trinity (Ps. 45:6-7 Isa. 9:6-7 Jn. 1:1; Heb. 1:8-12 Rev. 1:8,11; 22:13-16).

God created all things by Jesus Christ (Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:15-18 Heb. 1:1-2). Not only were all things created by him, but redemption of creation is by him (Jn. 17:2; Col. 1:20). As all creation came by the Son, through the Holy Spirit, so all redemption comes the same way. It was what Christ did on the cross that made it possible for God to redeem through the power of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 3:3-5 Tit. 3:5).

The satanic powers of darkness (Eph. 6:12) did not overcome the Word, but that the Word spoiled them on the cross (Col. 2:14-17).

"The Word" spoken of in the verse cited was the pre-incarnate Christ, the Son of God, and the Second Person of the eternal Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) that is the One God.

As John says, "All things were made through Him (that is, the Word), and without Him was not anything made that was made." When God made the repeated "Let there be..." statements in Genesis 1 during the creation of the universe, those statements were the Word expressing God's desires, and also the Word carrying out those desires by performing the actions that God intended.

As John also indicates in the passage cited in the question, this Word subsequently became flesh in the incarnation of Jesus, who provides us with the fullest and clearest manifestation of God and of His will and teachings.

More than that, He also was born in order to provide salvation to humanity in a way that our own imperfect works could not, through living a sinless life that was completely in accordance with God's will, dying a sacrificial death to pay the penalty required by God for humanity's sin from eternity past to eternity future (which only He as God incarnate could do), and then rising from the dead to live eternally as proof that His payment of that penalty had been sufficient in God's sight, so that all who would place their faith in Him (rather than in their own works) to make them acceptable to God could also have eternal life in God's presence.

John 1:1-2 introduces us to “the Word” who was in the beginning, and was with God and was God.

John 1:3-4 tells us that the Word created all things, and gave life to living things.

John 1:10-11 tells us that the Word was in the world he created, but the people he created did not recognize him or receive him.

John 1:14 informs us that the Word took the form of human flesh, and dwelled among us.

John 1:15-16 tells how John the Baptist spoke of this incarnate Word, describing him as one who comes after him, yet has surpassed him because he existed before him. His existence was from “the beginning” (verse 1), so he was before John the Baptist, even though his conception and birth came after John’s.

John 1:17 finally identifies the Word by name. “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

John 1:18 declares that although no one has ever seen God directly, God the Son, who as the Word was with the Father’s side in the beginning (verse 1), has made him known. He is thus the living Word or Message which reveals the nature and character of his Father, whom is not seen by men.

In this scripture it is a statement pointing out the fact by example that Jesus is the the Word of God meaning for which he has said again and again in so many ways. This Jesus, his Son, was the one noted in Genesis Chapter 3 concerning the sin of Adam and Eve that was to cause all who followed God's original creation to face being confused with Evil. Now we know that Jesus was the WORD pointing to redemption of all by faith in his payment of Sin by the original Adam (Note that Jesus is called the Second Adam). By his death and resurrection bearing the sin of the world and consequences of death. 

Read this section, John 1, in the original Hebrew text and it will point out that the Word is Jesus by context.

Add your Answer

All answers are REVIEWED and MODERATED.
Please ensure your answer MEETS all our guidelines.

What makes a good answer? ▼

Think about this: Jesus Christ is God’s personal message of love, truth and peace to us. Memorize this truth: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

What is the purpose of the signs in John Gospel?

The purpose of John gospel and selected signs is to revealed who Jesus is, His sovereignty over all creation and messiah of humanity.

What is the connection of the old and new testament?

Together the Old Testament and the New Testament make up the Holy Bible. The Old Testament contains the sacred scriptures of the Jewish faith, while Christianity draws on both Old and New Testaments, interpreting the New Testament as the fulfilment of the prophecies of the Old.

Who wrote the 27 books of the New Testament?

St. Paul

Which book did John write first?

The First Epistle of John

Was revelation written before the Gospel of John?

Many secular scholars have expressed their doubts on the authorship of the Book of Revelation. Nevertheless, most Christian Churches maintain that the Revelation was written by St. John, the favorite disciple of Jesus Christ and the author of the Fourth Gospel. As he himself says in Revelation 1: 9, St.

Who is John talking to in 1john?

1 John. The First Letter of John was apparently addressed to a group of churches where “false prophets,” denounced as Antichrist, denied the Incarnation of Jesus and caused a secession so substantial that the orthodox remnant was sadly depleted.

What is the purpose of the book of Revelation?

Garden City: Doubleday, 1975. Both Caird and Ford thus argue that the purpose of Revelation was to prepare and strengthen the Christians of Asia Minor, as adressed in the letters to the seven churches, so that they will remain faithful against the impending persecution.

When was the book of revelations added to the Bible?

fourth century

Did the Gospel writers know Jesus?

According to the majority viewpoint, the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, collectively referred to as the Synoptic Gospels, are the primary sources of historical information about Jesus and of the religious movement he founded.

Which gospel should I read first?

For first time readers of the Bible I would recommend starting with the Luke, then Acts, Genesis, Exodus, John, Page 3 begin Psalms (a few each time you read several chapters in another book) and Proverbs (one chapter each time you read several chapters in another book); Deuteronomy, Romans, (After reading the above, a …

Why is it called Old and New Testament?

But all scripture is divided into two Testaments. That which preceded the advent and passion of Christ—that is, the law and the prophets—is called the Old; but those things which were written after His resurrection are named the New Testament.

What are three major themes of John’s Gospel?

For John, major themes include: eternal life, witness, life, Messiah, Jerusalem (Jewish identity), identity itself, and signs. Interestingly, there are zero parable in the gospel of John!

Who was the first Gospel writer?

The tradition handed down by the Church Fathers regarded Matthew as the first Gospel written. This view of Gospel origins, however, began to be challenged in the late 18th century, when Gottlob Christian Storr proposed in 1786 that Mark was the first to be written.

What does it mean to take the Bible literally?

Biblical literalists believe that, unless a passage is clearly intended by the writer as allegory, poetry, or some other genre, the Bible should be interpreted as literal statements by the author. Critics argue that allegorical intent can be ambiguous.

Why is John’s gospel different?

The Gospel of John is unique from the “synoptic Gospels” (Matthew, Mark and Luke), so called due to their similar content. The synoptics cover many of the same miracles, parables and events of Jesus’ life and ministry. The synoptics focus on the signs and sayings of Christ; John emphasizes the identity of Christ.

Who does Jesus claim?

God

Did the same John wrote the Gospel and Revelation?

The author of the Book of Revelation identifies himself as “John”, and the book has been traditionally credited to John the Apostle. Reference to the apostle’s authorship is found as early as Justin Martyr, in his Dialogue with Trypho.