Who is the Word?

1. The separation of orthodox Christianity from cults lies in the identification of the person of Jesus Christ. Orthodox Christianity defends both the full humanity and deity of Christ. His two natures are unchangeable, indivisible, inseparable and without distinction. Though challenged, the orthodox church has always remained steadfast to this commitment in her creeds and confessions.
         Specifically, John 1:1 is a crucial text that either establishes or denies the deity of Christ. Cults adamantly contest that Jesus Christ was not God. Often their interpretation of John 1:1 is the basis for their claim.
         The Word of God can have only one meaning. Who is right? First we’ll examine the cultic argument specifically as it relates to Jehovah Witnesses (JW), since most cults follow the same exegetical principles in their interpretation. Then we’ll examine an orthodox interpretation, which concludes that Jesus Christ was truly God in the flesh.
         Our brief study will primarily concentrate on the third part of John 1:1.
   
   …theos (God) en (is) ho (the) logos (Word)
   
   
2. The JW interpretation of John 1:1c.
1. The JW argument primarily gains its force from the absence of the definite article (the) before the word "God" (theos). Since there is no indefinite article (a) in ancient Greek grammar, interpreters insist that the English reader must supply an "a" in the translation (i.e. Ac. 28:6).
2. They claim that the definite article is often attached to the word "God" (theos) when the biblical writer is speaking of Jehovah, the Almighty God.
3. The absence of the article before theos (pointing to a quality, not identity) was intended to portray Jesus as a lesser created being, a god with divine qualities, different in essence from the God of the Bible (similar, but greater than those described in Psalm 82:6).
4. Contextually they argue that Jesus cannot be God because "no man has seen God at any time" (Jn. 1:18), obviously many saw Jesus (c.f. Jn. 1:14). Additionally, Jesus is presented in John 20:31 as the Son of God, not God.
5. In their own words:
1. "John’s inspired writings and those of his fellow disciples show what the true idea is, namely, the Word or Logos is not God or the God, but is the Son of God, and hence is a god. That is why, at John 1:1-2, the apostle refers to God as the God and to the Word or logos as a god, to show the difference between the two" (New Word Translation, pg. 775).
2. "Verses 1 and 2 say that in the beginning he was "with God." Can one be with someone and at the same time be that person" (Reasoning from the Scriptures, pg. 416)?
6. Therefore their interpretation in the New Word Translation reads, "…and the Word was a god."



3. Though the JW argument sounds fairly convincing, there are many flaws both on a grammatical and theological level.
1. First of all, by way of counterpoint, the JW’s are inconsistent with their own grammatical rules. In John 1:18 the word theos appears twice, both times without the definite article. The New World Translation does not supply an "a" for the first appearance and take theos to be God-Jehovah…despite the absence of the definite article! The same could be said for Jn. 1:6, 12, 13, 49; 8:39; 17:17 and over 250 occurrences (c.f. Rom. 14:17; Gal. 4:25; Rev. 1:20) where theos is found without the article and the biblical writer intends to speak of God.
2. Additionally, if John wanted to speak of a lesser divine being or "a god," he could have easily used the word theios (rather than theos), the available Greek word for divine (2 Pet. 1:4).
3. English sentence structure identifies its subject by word order (the subject comes first). Greek uses case ending attached as a suffix to the end of each word and uses word order for emphasis. Since God (theos) and Word (logos) require the same case endings due to the equative verb (is), the subject (logos) is distinguished from the direct object/predicate nominative by the presence of the definite article (the). This was an accepted practice of Greek grammar.
4. If "God" (theos) is not the subject of the sentence, why is it placed first in the Greek sentence? Answer, emphasis! The word order tells us that Jesus Christ-the Word (context!) is God, equal in essence to the Father. The Word was God! The deeds/words of Christ are the deeds/words of God. As one translation put it, "what God was, the Word was."
5. The absence of the definite article before God (theos) is essential. With the article before God, the verse would read, "and the Word was the God." This would be both contextually and theologically inappropriate. (Note, translating the sentence in the Greek word order without putting the subject (Word) first, "God was the Word," yields the same problems listed below).
1. Contextually inappropriate because John in the next verse (1:2) clearly states "He (the Word) was in the beginning with (the-ton) God." If the Word was the God, how could He logically be with the God? Rather, Jesus Christ was God (unity preserved), yet different from the Father (distinction preserved). His personal identity and deity are preserved.
2. Theologically inappropriate because Jesus Christ is not the God. He is distinct from the Father (and the Spirit). An early church heresy (Sabellianism) claimed that Jesus was only a manifestation of God the Father during the church age. Jesus does not make up the entire Godhead; rather the divinity that belongs to the rest of the Godhead belongs to Him.
3. Martin Luther put it well. "The lack of an article is against Sabellianism, the word order is against Arianism (denial of the deity of Christ).
6. Both the immediate and general context of this gospel lends one to accept Jesus as God. In 1:3 Jesus is the Creator, a work of God. The verse says "all things came into being by Him." If Jesus were created, "all things" would be an inaccurate choice of words. Furthermore, 1:1; 8:58; 10:30; 14:7; 20:28 and the seven "I am" statements all reaffirm the deity of Christ. The remainder of the Bible makes similar claims (Isa. 9:5; Rom. 9:5; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-20).
7. Identifying the subject (logos) and word order (theos is listed first) are crucial. Jesus Christ is God (not "a god" or "the God") enjoying all the attributes and qualities of the Godhead, yet distinct from the Father. Greek scholar Daniel Wallace summarized it best. "The construction the evangelist chose to express this idea was the most concise way he could have stated that the Word was God and yet was distinct from the Father" (Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, pg. 269). Therefore the proper translation should read, "…and the Word was God."