This article appeared in the March, 1976 edition of The Christian Courier. It was written by Wayne Jackson. The paper was published by the East Main Street Church of Christ in Stockton, California and edited by Jackson. It's a fantastic look at one of my favorite New Testament books.
The Gospel of John is a truly rich depository of truth and nowhere is this more evident than in the first sentence of that marvelous narrative. Moreover, a correct view of John's initial statement refutes several gross errors.
IN THE BEGINNING - Reminiscent of Genesis 1:1, the apostle sweeps the mind back to the very beginning of time. The phrase asserts that time, along with the material universe, had a beginning. This of course, is squarely opposed to the atheistic notion that matter is eternal. Both scripture and scientific law testify that our universe is growing old and wearing out. (Cf. Hebrews 1:10-12) If eternal, it would already have reached a state of deadness. The universe had a beginning; and if a beginning, then a Beginner! All three personalities within the divine Godhead cooperated in that beginning of creation. (Genesis 1:1-2; Psalms 104:30; John 1:3, Colossians 1:16)
WAS THE WORD - The term "Word" here denotes a person as evidenced by the use of the personal pronoun "Him" in the subsequent statements. The Word was He who "became flesh, and dwelt among" men; i.e., Jesus, the Son of God. (John 1:14) That Christ is called the Word is a dramatic emphasis of the fact that God has communicated with man. The philosophy of deism asserts that though there is a super-human force behind the universe, it has no contact with man. Not so! God has spoken through His Son. (Hebrews 1:1-2) God, through the person of the incarnate Word, has instructed both by sentence and sample what He wants us to be.
It is further interesting to note that the apostle says, "In the beginning the Word was..." Significantly, he employs the imperfect tense form of the verb eimi, meaning "to be, exist." The imperfect tense in Greek stresses the concept of continuity in the past, the sense being here, "The Word was always existing." Though the universe had its origin, the divine Word was eternally existing. As a man Jesus, "became (emphasizing point of commencement) flesh (verse 14) but as the pre-incarnate Word, He always was. (Cf. Micah 5:2) This of course, thoroughly refutes the Jehovah's Witness contention that Christ was originally created by Jehovah.
THE WORD WAS WITH GOD - John's use of the Greek preposition pros (with) is very important. The word literally means "toward" or "face to face." And it implies two things here. First, it shows a distinction between the person called God and the person termed the Word. The United Pentecostal sect is renowned for the doctrine that there is but one personality in the Godhead. But it is absurd to speak of someone being "with" Himself! In the second place, the preposition here affirms that the Word is toward, facing, on a plane of equality with God. John thus acknowledges the full Deity of our Lord! This is vividly expressed again in the following phrase.
THE WORD WAS GOD - The Jehovah's Witnesses are notorious for their mistranslation of the phrase in their ridiculous rendition: "the Word was a god." The assertion is made that since "God" in the first part of the passage is preceded by the article (i.e., "the God") but wanting in the latter part of the verse, this suggests that Christ is not Deity in the full sense; He is a little god! This is truly a deceitful and damning mutilation of the sacred Scriptures. The absence of the article before "God" is perfectly understandable. First, if the sentence read, "the Word was with the God and the Word was the God," it would have identified Christ with the Father and would have made perfect nonsense. Secondly, the absence of the article before "God" in 1b serves to show that it is a part of the predicate, "the Word was God." And thirdly, the omission of the article reveals that the character or quality of the noun is here being stressed. A very legitimate translation here would be: "the Word was Deity." The full divine nature of Christ is unquestionably affirmed. If this verse does not teach that Christ shares the nature of Deity equally with the first person of the Godhead, if it asserts He is "a god" with a nature distinct from Jehovah's, then the conclusion of polytheism (multiple gods) is inescapable!
The Watchtower Witnesses are hopelessly inconsistent when they claim that Jesus is "a god" who was created by Jehovah as the first of His creation. The very passage they constantly appeal to as authority for their name, Isaiah 43:10 plainly says, "I (Jehovah) am He; before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me."
John 1:1 is thrilling and lofty in its inspired affirmations and it is devastating in its rebuttal of unbelief and religious error.
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