What I see first is it should be noted that the text itself shows that the Word was "with God,” so could not be God, that is, be the Almighty God.
That would be begging the question. There is nothing in the context to indicate that would be the case and, in fact, everything to indicate that the Word is God.
Also I note that John 1:2 would be unnecessary if John 1:1 actually showed the Word to be God.
John 1:2 just repeats the first part of John 1:1 (1:1a).
Also, the word for “god” (theos) in its second occurrence in the verse is significantly without the definite article “the” (ho).
Regarding this fact, Ernst Haenchen, in a commentary on the Gospel of John (chapters 1-6) stated: “theos and ho theos (‘god, divine’ and ‘the God’) were not the same thing in this period. . . . In fact, for the . . . Evangelist, only the Father was ‘God’ (ho theos; John 17:3); ‘the Son’ was subordinate to him (John 14:28). But that is only hinted at in this passage because here the emphasis is on the proximity of the one to the other . . . . It was quite possible in Jewish and Christian monotheism to speak of divine beings that existed alongside and under God but were not identical with him. Philippians 2:6-10 proves that. In that passage Paul depicts just such a divine being, who later became man in Jesus Christ . . . So, in both Philippians and John 1:1 it is not a matter of a dialectical relationship between two-in-one, but of a personal union of two entities.”(John 1, translated by R. W. Funk, 1984, pp. 109, 110)
Ernst Haenchen goes on to state: “In this instance, the verb ‘was’ ([en]) simply expresses predication. And the predicate noun must accordingly be more carefully observed: theos is not the same thing as ho theos ‘divine’ is not the same thing as ‘God.” (pp. 110, 111) Elaborating on this point, Philip B. Harner brought out that the grammatical construction in John 1:1 involves an anarthrous predicate, that is, a predicate noun without the definite article “the,” preceding the verb, which construction is primarily qualitative in meaning and indicates that “the logos has the nature of theos.” He further stated: “In John 1:1 I think that the qualitative force of the predicate is so prominent that the noun theos cannot be regarded as definite.” (Journal of Biblical Literature, 1973, pp. 85, 87) Other translators, also recognizing that the Greek term has qualitative force and describes the nature of the Word, therefore render the phrase: “the Word was divine.”Such as, The Bible an American Translation(1935, J. M. Powis Smith and Edgar J. Goodspeed); The Authentic New Testament (1958 Hugh J. Schonfield); A New Translation of the Bible (1934, James Moffatt).
R. W. Funk as a source? You might want to rethink that one. Anyway, yes, it is significant that the article is missing in the second occurrence of
theos. John had to do this, as including it would have equated "God" with "Word," meaning they would be one and the same, interchangeable.
We must begin at the beginning. There is only one being that is God; there are no beings between God and man that are truly gods. That would be polytheism or Gnosticism and certainly not a Christian idea. Christianity has always been monotheistic:
Deu 4:35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God;
there is no other besides him.
Deu 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God,
the LORD is one.
Deu 32:39 "'See now that I, even I, am he, and
there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. (ESV)
Isa 43:10 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.
Isa 43:11 I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior.
Isa 44:6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "
I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
Isa 44:8 Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses!
Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any."
Isa 44:24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: "I am the LORD,
who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,
Isa 45:5 I am the LORD,
and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me,
Isa 45:6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
Isa 45:18 For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): "
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
Isa 45:21 Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD?
And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.
Isa 45:22 "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
Isa 46:9 remember the former things of old; for
I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,
Isa 48:12 "Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he;
I am the first, and I am the last.
Isa 48:13 My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together.
(All ESV)
Context determines meaning. This is
especially important to keep in mind when we speak of Jesus, as words or phrases (Son of God, for example) have a different meaning when applied to him than when applied to others. The whole point of John’s prologue (1:1-18) is to state who the Word is. So, let's look a bit more closely at 1:1.
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (ESV)
The word "was" is the Greek
en, which is a form of
eimi (I Am), and denotes a continuous action in the past. That is, when the beginning began (creation), the Word was already in existence; it is absolute existence, eternal preexistence. This is then confirmed by 1:2.
Then when we look at "with God," it is the Greek
pros that is translated as "with." But that doesn't convey the full meaning; it isn't merely speaking of being together or near. It expresses “direction towards,” as in relationship and communion, implying intimacy.
"Was God" means that the Word was divine in nature. It can never mean "a god" or another "God," as both imply polytheism. Again, this is about the
logos, who the
logos is, not who God is.
Even apart from the Greek, if
logos is simply spoken words, then none of John 1:1 makes sense, but the Greek makes it all the more clear. It is very difficult to see how spoken words could have existed for eternity past or how they can be said to be in intimate relationship with God or how they can be said to be divine in nature. Only God has existed for eternity past, only a person could be in intimate relationship with another, and only God is divine in nature.
Then we have this supporting verse:
Joh 1:3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (ESV)
Firstly, there is a very simple flow of logic here.
If "all things were made through" the Word, and "without him was not any thing made that was made,"
then if necessarily follows that the Word
cannot be something that was ever made, or that entire verse is false. This is in complete agreement with
Col 1:16. Both are exhaustive assertions--not one thing came into being without the Word (Christ). (Even the NWT surprisingly gets
John 1:3 right, contradicting its false translation in
Col 1:16-17.) This verse precludes the Word from being something that was made, from being something that at one point did not exist. The
only logical conclusion is that the Word has always existed.
Secondly, "were made," is the Greek
egeneto and refers to "coming into existence." This is an action
in time. John is contrasting that with
en, "was," in 1:1. It is important to note that
en is used only of the Word in the first 13 verses of John 1 and
egeneto of everything else and not the Word. This is significant because in verse 14 we see
egeneto used of the Word--"And the Word became flesh."
There is only one logical conclusion from just the first three verses of John 1--the Word is fully and truly God, who has existed for eternity past, in intimate relationship and communion with (at least) the Father, and was involved in the creation of everything that has ever come into existence.
