The Deity of Christ: A Defense and Meditation on John 1:1

John 1:1 sets forth the greatest argument concerning the deity of Christ as the eternal, pre-existent, Word as well as showing the intensely intimate relationship between the Son and the Father within the Godhead.

However, the deity of Christ is constantly under attack by non-Christians. Historically, it was the Arian heresy that denied the deity of Christ. Arius argued that “there was a time when Jesus was not” and a time “when the Father was alone and not a Father”. The Council of Nicaea (325 AD), from where we get the Nicene creed, re-affirmed the Trinity as the entire dispute concerning the deity of Christ came down to one letter in the Greek, in fact, the smallest Greek letter (i, or iota), between the two words homoousios and homoiousios. The word homoousios means “same substance”, while the word homoiousios means “similar substance”. The Council declared that Jesus was of the same substance (homoousios) of the Father. That is why you will notice the explicit emphasis in the creed concerning their one-ness:

“…And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.”  

Do you see that there are hills worth dying on, even if it is over one letter in the Greek?!?

The denial of Christ’s deity continues today, most frequently within Jehovah’s Witnesses and Isalmic circles (in fact, many Muslim apologists have borrowed JW arguments on John 1:1).

What I would like to do is provide a short defense and meditation on the deity of Christ straight from the Greek, since that is where the controversy revolves. Below, I have displayed John 1:1 in the Greek and have placed my own literal English translation of John 1:1 underneath.

εν

αρχη

ην

ο λογος

και

ο λογος

ην

προς

τον θεον

και

θεος

ην

ο λογος

In

a beginning

was

the word

and

the word

was

towards

the God

and

a God

was

the word

To begin I would first like to unpack this verse before I get to the controversy. The Apostle John has both Jewish and Gentile readers in mind. He begins by writing εν αρχη: in (the) beginning. So why would these first two words immediately grab the attention of Jewish listeners? The phrase “in the beginning” is an echo right out of Genesis 1:1- “In the beginning God…” The Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Old Testament, translates Genesis 1:1 as εν αρχη! So immediately, you will notice the identical phrase used both in Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1 in the Greek. This would immediately infer that John is about to write something concerning God Himself.

John continues: ην ο λογος (was the word). The concept of the Logos in Greek philosophy was extremely important. The Greeks loved talking about the Logos because the Logos was seen as an impersonal force of supreme Reason that brought order into the universe. So you can imagine how the Greek readers would become instantly engaged by the mere mention of the Logos. In fact, John uses the Logos in 1:1 to show that the Logos of Christianity is far superior to the Logos of pagan Greek philosophy. To John, the Logos meant the very Word that proceeds from God. We can really capture this idea in Hebrews 1:2 when the writer remarks, “…in these last days [God] has spoken to us in Son (literal Greek translation is in Son and not, in His Son)…” Just as one may speak in a language such as English, Latin, or Spanish, the language by and through which God speaks is His son, Christ Jesus. God speaks in Son, and we see that chiefly through the cross of Christ.

Next we see the intimate relationship between the Logos and God: και ο λογος ην προς τον θεον (and the word was towards the God). Most translations translate the preposition προς as “with” but it can also mean “towards” as well. The idea of “towards” paints the image of intimate face to face communion between the Father and Son. We see this intimate idea expressed later on in John 1:18 when John remarks – “…the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father…” Many commentators marvel at the phrase “in the bosom of the Father” and note that it represents an intimate union that far surpasses our comprehension.

Now we get to the controversy: και θεος ην ο λογος (and a God was the word). John is showing that not only did the Logos exist in the beginning with God but the Logos is God! However, those that oppose the deity of Christ will note that θεος lacks a definite article (the). That is why you will notice that I translated αρχη as “a beginning” instead of the typical translation of “the beginning” because it lacked the definite article τη. You will also notice that I translated τον θεον as “the God” just to make it explicit that this contains a definite article. So, you will then notice that θεος lacks the definite article ο. JW’s will try to argue that Jesus is a god but is not THE God.

Now, I don’t want to get too technical but here goes.

Let me first explain the first word “beginning.” Typically in the Greek, when a word, lacking a definite article, is preceded by a preposition (in this case, in), the preposition implies a definite article. So, εν αρχη can be rightly translated as “In (the) beginning”.

Now, let’s get to the real issue: should it be a God or the God? You may have noticed that there are two different endings for God in John 1:1: θεον and θεος. θεον is used because it is the direct object of the subject λογος. A direct object is simply a noun or phrase that receives the action in a sentence. “The Word (subject) was (linking verb) with God (direct object).” However, notice that the last phrase uses θεος instead of θεον! So, why is that so important? The reason is this: θεος and λογος are both in the Nominative Case, which is to say that they both function as the subject in the sentence! This is John’s way of saying that God and the Logos are the same, and therefore, are both God!

In closing, I would like to offer a few other remarks regarding the use of definite articles or lack thereof:

Do not build your theology upon definite articles or nouns lacking indefinite articles. The Greeks used and omitted definite articles all over the place where we would usually need or not need them. For example, we would translate “The Paul” from the Greek as “Paul” in English and “child” (lacking a definite article) as “a child” or “the child” depending on context. The point is, don’t get hung up on whether there is a the or not!

If JW’s or Muslims insist upon the lack of a definite article in John 1:1, see if they will be consistent elsewhere in John 1. Here’s why: every other mention of God in John 1 mentions God without a definite article.

• 1:6 – “There was a man sent from God…” - παρα θεου (from a God).
• 1:12 – “…to become children of God…” - τεκνα θεου (children of a God).
• 1:13 – “…but of God…” - αλλ εκ θεου (but of a God).
• 1:18 – “…No one has ever seen God” - θεον (a God).

So you see, John omits the definite article in these other four instances, but he is obviously not talking about a god but of THE GOD. If someone is trying to argue that John 1:1 says “a God” but all the other passages in John 1 say “the God”, it is obvious that they are not being consistent and their argument ultimately collapses and falls apart.

I hope this wasn’t too technical but helpful for understanding the opponents’ arguments and being able to defend the Christian faith, as well as see how each letter and word in the Bible was intentionally placed there by God!