Does John 1:1 Teach That Jesus Christ Is True God?
ALTHOUGH THE IGLESIA NI CRISTO does not recognize Jesus Christ as God, we highly recognize him based on what the Bible teaches about him. The Bible teaches that God made Him as our Lord and appointed him to be our Savior (Acts 2:36; 5:31). He is our Mediator (I Tim. 2:5) and the Head of the Church (Col. 1:18). We serve and worship him since it is God who commanded him to be worshipped (Philippians 2:9-11). However, even though He possesses special attributes which were given to him by God, these special qualities do not qualify or make Him as God.
WHO IS THE TRUE GOD THAT THE BIBLE TEACHES?
When we speak about the true God, we are not referring to Jesus Christ but to the Father who is in heaven whom Jesus Christ introduced during his mediatory prayer as “to know you, the only true God” (John 17:1, 3 NLT), a Supreme Being who is Eternal and Immortal (1st Timothy 1:17), All-knowing (I John 3:20) and All-powerful (Genesis 17:1). The Father is also the Father of Jesus’ disciples and the God of Jesus is also the God of his disciples (John 20:17). Jesus is not a Trinitarian nor the early disciples because the same teaching was echoed by Apostle Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians (8:6) wherein he says, “But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we live for him” (NLT).
Since the Father is the only true God, and Jesus Christ is not the Father, therefore, Jesus Christ is not the true God.
Whenever our Trinitarian friends are pressed hard to explain how they understand the phrase “the only true God” in John 17:3, what they normally do is dodge the issue by saying that the verse does not say that Jesus Christ is not God. Although it is true that John 17:3 does not say that Jesus Christ is not God, however, it rules out the possibility that He is God because of his qualifying statement that the Father is the “only” true God. If the Father is the “only” true God, how could Christ be in the picture? Jesus Christ is not the “true” God because he was pointing to somebody else as the “only” true God.
To avoid the issue, our Trinitarian friends would cite John 1:1 as their proof text in justifying their belief in the so-called divinity of Christ. Therefore, it behooves us to examine John 1:1 since this is the biblical text which they usually use to prove their point. In our discussion, I will try my best to simplify the Greek terms so the readers who have not studied biblical Greek or who are not familiar with the language shall be able to understand my presentation.
In most English versions, John 1:1 was translated this way:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
(Reference: John 1:1 NIV)
How was John 1:1 rendered in the Greek New Testament? Let us take a look at how this was written in most Greek manuscripts:
Transliteration (in Erasmian pronunciation):
“En archeé eén ho Lógos kaí ho Lógos eén prós tón Theón kaí theós eén ho Lógos.”
(Reference: Jn. 1:1 Emphasis Mine)
The argument of our Trinitarian friends would run like this: The Logos or Word mentioned in this verse is Jesus Christ. Since the third clause John 1:1c, says, “the Word was God,” then substituting the term Word with Jesus Christ, they would read the verse to mean that Jesus Christ was God in the beginning.
It should be noted that there is no mention of the term “Jesus Christ” in this verse. It is simply an assumption of our Trinitarian friends that the Word is Jesus Christ. Granting but not conceding that the Word is Jesus, the second clause John 1:1b mentions that the Logos was with God. If the Word is Jesus and was with God, it appears that Jesus is different from God because the verse says that the Logos was “with” God. How could Christ be that same God when it says that the Logos is “with” God? Who is this God who was “with” the Logos in the second clause? Obviously, it is not Jesus Christ since they believe He is the Word. They could not be the same person because a person could not be “with” another person if he is the same person!
THE IDENTITY OF THE GOD IN THE SECOND CLAUSE OF JOHN 1:1b
Let’s continue to find out the identity of the God mentioned in the second clause by going to the Greek text for clarification.
What is the Greek word for the term God in the nominative case – the subject of the sentence? It is O THEOS, which is pronounced as HO THEOS in the Erasmian pronunciation. The Greek letter OMICRON (o) before the term THEOS is an article in Greek which corresponds to the article “THE” in English. Therefore, the Greek phrase HO THEOS is translated as THE GOD in English.
However, during the process of translation into English, the article THE is no longer included in the translation but is left out. A Greek grammarian will explain to us why:
“Many times, Theos occurs with the def. art. ho, but it is not so rendered in translation because, in Eng., we never refer to God as the God, except if He is designated as belonging to someone specifically, such as the God of Abraham (Matt. 22:32).”
(Reference: Zodhiates, Spiros, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament, AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN (1992), p. 730, Emphasis Mine)
Going back to the second clause John 1:1b, is there an article before the term God in the Greek text? Yes. The word for God is TON THEON. Why is it now TON THEON instead of HO THEOS? Because when the word God is in the accusative case – the direct object in the sentence, the HO THEOS becomes TON THEON. That’s the way the Greek language was structured. You could see this arrangement in the Greek text of the second clause of John 1:1 but you could not notice it in the English translation since the article “the” was not translated in John 1:1b but was left out during the process of translation.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE GREEK ARTICLE
What is the significance of Greek article before the term God? Another Greek grammarian will explain to us the significance of the Greek article:
“When Greek uses a noun it almost always uses the definite article with it. The Greek for God is theos and the definite article is ho.”
(Reference: The Gospel of John, Vol. 1, by William Barclay, Pub: 2001, p. 46)
Therefore, when it says O THEOS in Greek, it means THE GOD in English. When it says TON THEON, it also means THE GOD. THE “O” is an article in the nominative case (subject of the sentence), and TON is an article in the accusative case (direct object).
What is the usage of the article in the Greek language?:
“(1)… The article is used far more frequently than any other word in the Greek NT, (almost 20,000 times, or one out of seven words) …”
(Reference: Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament By Daniel B. Wallace, Pub: 1996, p. 207)
Since there is an article (TON) before the term God in the second clause of John 1:1 (TON THEON), it is an indication which tells us that the “true” God is identified in the second clause. Who is the “true” God introduced by the article TON in the second clause? A Greek grammarian will tell us about him:
“In many instances when the def. art. ho occurs before Theós, God, particular reference is made to God the Father …”
(Reference: The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament by Spiros Zodhiates, Pub: 1992, p. 730, Emphasis Mine)
Therefore, whenever we encounter in the Greek text that the word THEOS is introduced by the article HO, it is referring to the Father. Going back to the second clause of John 1:1, the TON THEON is referring to the Father. We are not surprise about this truth since it was Christ himself who taught us that the Father is the “only” true God in John 17:3.
Considering this fact, how should the second clause be translated into English? If we utilize the interlinear translation (a word-for-word translation), the second clause, (John 1:1b), is translated this way: AND THE WORD WAS WITH THE GOD.
What else is the significance of the article, especially when it is being placed before the noun God in the Greek text?:
“The article is frequently used to identify monadic or one-of-a-kind nouns, such as ‘the devil,’ ‘the sun,’ ‘the Christ.’
“…the monadic article points out a unique object, … For example, ‘the sun’ is monadic because there is only one sun.”
(Reference: Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament By Daniel B. Wallace, Pub: 1996, p. 223, Emphasis Mine)
Since the term God is a monadic noun (one-of-a-kind), it is always being introduced by the article in the Greek. The monadic article points out the identity of the unique or the only true God in the second clause of John 1:1. The only true God in John 1:1 is the Father. The same goes true with John 17:3 in which the article TON was used before the term THEON – TON MONON ALETHINON THEON – the only true God. The term is referring to the Father (John 17:1).
If the true God is always introduced by the article, what about the word THEOS in the third clause of John 1:1(c)? Does it contain an article? No, it does not have an article before it. It just simply says THEOS, not HO THEOS.
What is the usage of the term THEOS in the third clause of John 1:1(c) in the absence of an article? A Greek grammarian will explain to us its function:
“Now when Greek does not use the definite article with a noun, that noun becomes much more like an adjective.”
(Reference: The Gospel of John, Vol. 1, by William, Barclay, Pub: 2001., p. 46, Emphasis Mine)
The term THEOS (God) in the third clause of John 1:1(c), in the absence of the article, is functioning as an adjective. It is not functioning as a NOUN but as an ADJECTIVE. If it is a NOUN, then John 1:1 will come up with two Gods instead of just one since the second clause has already the TON THEON. Therefore, THEOS in the third clause is an ADJECTIVE.
Are there Greek grammarians who also advocate this position? Take a look at how other bible scholars put it:
“The closing words of v. 1 should be translated, ‘the Logos was divine’. Here the word theos has no article, thus giving it the significance of an adjective.”
(Reference: The Fourth Gospel: Its Significance and Environment By Robert. H. Strachan, D.D., Third Edition Revised and Rewritten, Pub: 1941, p. 99, Emphasis Mine)
“[where Θεὸς without the article, ‘used as an attribute, simply expresses the notion of kind. It is an adjective…”
(Reference: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary on the New Testament On Original Plan: Gospel According to St. John By Rev. W. Frank Scott, Vol. 25, Pub: 1896., p. 19, Emphasis Mine)
Are there Bible translators who favor the rendition that the Greek word THEOS is an adjective (divine) instead of a noun? Take a look at three of the translations made by bible scholars:
“The Logos existed in the very beginning, the Logos was with God, the Logos was divine.”
(Reference: A New Translation by James Moffatt, Emphasis Mine)
“In the beginning the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was divine.”
(Reference: A New Translation by Edgar J. Goodspeed, Emphasis Mine)
“In the Beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. So the Word was divine.”
(Reference: The Original New Testament by Hugh J. Schonfield, Emphasis Mine)
Therefore, if the term God in the third clause of John 1:1 functions as an adjective, our Trinitarian friends could no longer summon this verse as a proof-text that our Lord Jesus Christ is God. This type of understanding (that the verse does not support the alleged deity of Christ) does not compromise the biblical truth about the absolute oneness of God as taught by Christ in John 17:1, 3. Once the verse is understood as promoting the alleged deity of Christ, our Trinitarian friends are face with a big dilemma: how to reconcile the fact that the second clause teaches that the one true God is the Father and the third clause portrays a different God whom they believe is Jesus Christ. They will be guilty of polytheism, and that would be the biggest thorn in their eye, which they can not remove if they continue to insist that Jesus Christ is the THEOS in the third clause of John 1:1(c).
On the contrary, if our Trinitarian friends would only humble themselves and reject the Trinity doctrine and adopt the teaching of Christ concerning the absolute oneness of God the Father, they would not be facing the arduous task of trying to reconcile a troublesome position. Hopefully, they could see the error of supporting a wrong doctrine and would eventually accept the biblical truth presented by Christ and His apostles that the Father is the only true God (John 17:1, 3; I Corinthians 8:6 TEV). By doing so, they shall have the knowledge that will give them eternal life.
WHY DOES IT SAY THAT THE WORD WAS GOD OR THE LOGOS WAS DIVINE?
Diving deeper into this, we must establish the actual meaning of λόγος (Lógos) to tie everything together in the proper biblical understanding of John 1:1, which later in the passage the λόγος (Lógos) was made flesh in verse 14 of the same epistle of John. First, we must understand if “Lógos” means God or something else. The whole argument of Trinitarians or the proponents of the deity of Christ also hinges on this argument. So, what does Lógos actually mean? The English term WORD is LÓGOS in Greek. What are the several meanings of this term? Let us read:
LÓGOS
Greek: “reason,” or “plan”
(Reference: Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, Emphasis Mine)
LÓGOS
“its use as respect to the MIND alone; reason, the mental faculty of thinking, meditating, reasoning, calculating.
“A Greek philosopher named Heraclitus first used the term Lógos around 600 B.C. to designate the divine reason or plan…”
(Reference: The NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon, Emphasis Mine)
“Word (Greek: lógos). Lógos means word, thought, concept, and the expressions thereof.”
(Reference: Ryrie Study Bible, p. 1599, Emphasis Mine)
“1. a word, not in the grammatical sense of a mere name (ἔπος, ὄνομα, ῥῆμα), but a word as embodying a conception or idea.”
(Reference: A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament Third Edition By G. Abbott-Smith, D.D., D.C.L., LL.D., Pub: 2008 pp. 270-271, Emphasis Mine)
As mentioned the Greek term LÓGOS was translated as WORD in John 1:1 in most of the English translations. However, that is the preference of Bible translators since the term LÓGOS has several meanings in the New Testament. Here are some other meanings:
“a word, a thing uttered, speech, language, talk, converse, mere talk, wordy show, language, mode of discourse, style of speaking, a saying, a speech, an expression, form of words, formula, a saying, a thing propounded in discourse, a message, announcement, a prophetic announcement, an account, statement, a story, report, a written narrative, a treatise, a set discourse, doctrine, subject-matter, account, a plea, a motive, reason, the word of God, the divine WORD.”
(Reference: The Analytical Greek Lexicon by Wesley J. Perschbacher, Pub: 1990., pp. 259-260, Emphasis Mine)
As you can see from the list above, there are so many additional meanings of the Greek term LÓGOS. Therefore, it is evident that “Lógos” does NOT MEAN God AT ALL, but instead, it is applied to the THOUGHT, CONCEPT, DIVINE REASON, CALCULATING, or PLAN of God. Hence, if we were Bible translators, we would render John 1:1 this way and nobody could question the translation since there is no law that would prohibit us from doing such a thing. We are confident that our translation of John 1:1 is a rendition that would not compromise the doctrine of the absolute oneness of God. Here’s how we would translate it:
“In the beginning was the idea [concept, plan] and the idea [concept, plan] was with God, and the idea [concept, plan] was divine.”
(Reference: Emphasis Added)
WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT THE WORD [O LOGOS] OR THE IDEA [PLAN, CONCEPT] WAS WITH GOD?
The concept or the idea about Christ was with God in the beginning. It is a divine plan or concept since it is God Himself who planned about it in the beginning. When is this beginning that the LÓGOS was in the mind of God or an idea, plan or concept that intellectually emanated from Him? The answer is from Apostle Peter who wrote that:
“For he [Christ] was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you”
(Reference: I Peter 1:20 NASB, Emphasis Mine)
God had the foreknowledge about Christ before the foundation of the world. This was echoed by Apostle Peter during his sermon on the day of Pentecost when he declared to the Jews:
This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.”
(Reference: Acts 2:23 NIV, Emphasis Mine)
The Greek term used in 1st Peter 1:20 is proginōskō which means to determine on beforehand, to foreordain, to foreknow while Acts 2:23 uses the Greek term prognōsis which means previous determination, purpose. These two terms in Greek are cognates.
What does it mean that Christ was foreknown before the foundation of the world? To foreknow means to know something before it happens: to have knowledge or awareness that something is going to happen. So, Christ was in the mind of God, a divine idea or plan before the foundation of the world. Christ had no prior existence before he was born. When was God’s plan or idea of bringing His Son into the world materialized? When the “lógos [plan] was made flesh” (John 1:14), in fulfillment of this, Christ was born of a woman (Galatians 4:4).
It is quite clear that the one true God of the Bible had in His mind the lógos or the idea about Christ. Since there is only one true God, John 1:1 does not advance the concept that the lógos is another God aside from the true God, nor does it prove that the Lord Jesus Christ is God. In fact, this verse tells us that the only true God is the Father. Since Jesus Christ is not the Father but the Son, He is not the only true God. This is why Christ made it clear who the true God is that sent Him as the Messiah, and by knowing this truth, it means eternal life:
“After Jesus had said this, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father…
And this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent—Jesus the Messiah.”
(Reference: John 17:1,3 ISV, Emphasis Mine)
IN CONCLUSION
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WE KINDLY EXTEND our visitors an invitation to explore the pristine, unadulterated teachings of Christ and His apostles as they were taught in the first-century Church Of Christ. Therefore, do not be deceived, but investigate the truth and learn about “…the simplicity that is in Christ.” (II Cor. 11:3). These teachings presented in the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) is the path that leads to eternal life for all on that appointed day of Judgment:
The Truth about God and Jesus Christ
SUPPORTERS OF THE BELIEF in the divinity of Christ, also known as the Christ-is-God or the God-man doctrine, assert that God exists as a trinity consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Although they are three in nature and considered distinct beings, proponents maintain that they form a single God. The concept of the Trinity lacks explicit biblical endorsement; thus, proponents often argue that it represents a profound mystery beyond human comprehension and should be accepted by faith alone.
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