What Does John 1:1 Mean?

John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source says the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jehovah’s Witnesses read that second clause as a god in the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of John 1:1John 1:1 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.John 1:1 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open the Source. The Study Edition calls the second theos qualitative, a characteristic of the Word, and then prints a god. This page is the Gospel of John, not the First Letter of John. The other verses that translation changes are How the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) Changes John 1:1 and Other Verses About Jesus.

Key Points

• New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible, 2013), the Bible Jehovah’s Witnesses use: the Word was with God, and the Word was a god — New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of John 1:1John 1:1 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.John 1:1 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open the Source
• King James Version: the Word was with God, and the Word was God — John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source
• The study note says the second theos has no definite article and is qualitative in meaning, and that many translators favor the Word was God.
• The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of John 1:3John 1:3 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence. What has come into existenceJohn 1:3 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open the Source says that apart from him not even one thing came into existence. The note on verse 1 has already called him the Son through whom God created all other things.
• The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of John 20:28John 20:28 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)In answer Thomas said to him: “My Lord and my God!”John 20:28 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open the Source has Thomas address Jesus as his Lord and his God. The note allows the words to be addressed to Jesus and explains them as a god.
• The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of Isaiah 43:10Isaiah 43:10 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)“You are my witnesses,” declares Jehovah, “Yes, my servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and have faith in me And understand that I am the same One. Before me no God was formed, And after me there has been none.Isaiah 43:10 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open the Source says that before Jehovah no God was formed, and after him there has been none.
• The note on John 1:18John 1:18 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god who is at the Father’s side is the one who has explained Him.John 1:18 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open the Source calls him the only-begotten god and the only one directly created by God.
• The added word other in Colossians is Is Jesus the Creator or a creature?. Firstborn is What does “firstborn of all creation” mean?.

The Question

John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source says, in the translations most churches use, that the Word was with God and the Word was God. The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of John 1:1John 1:1 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.John 1:1 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open the Source, the Bible Jehovah’s Witnesses use, says the Word was with God and the Word was a god. The rest of the prologue says all things came into being through the Word, and that the Word became flesh. The verse is a hinge for who Jesus is.

What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach

The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of John 1:1John 1:1 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.John 1:1 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open the Source (2) says that in the beginning the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. The Greek of that verse, word by word, is on John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source, under the King James text, with a note on θεός.

The study note (3) does not hide the alternative. On the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of John 1:1John 1:1 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.John 1:1 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open the Source it states the Society’s reading and the one it rejects:

the Word was a god: Or “the Word was divine [or, “a godlike one”].” This statement by John describes a quality or characteristic of “the Word” (Greek, ho loʹgos; see study note on the Word in this verse), that is, Jesus Christ. The Word’s preeminent position as the firstborn Son of God through whom God created all other things is a basis for describing him as “a god; a godlike one; divine; a divine being.” Many translators favor the rendering “the Word was God,” equating him with God Almighty. However, there are good reasons for saying that John did not mean that “the Word” was the same as Almighty God. First, the preceding clause and the following clause both clearly state that “the Word” was “with God.” Also, the Greek word the·osʹ occurs three times in verses 1 and 2. In the first and third occurrences, the·osʹ is preceded by the definite article in Greek; in the second occurrence, there is no article. Many scholars agree that the absence of the definite article before the second the·osʹ is significant. When the article is used in this context, the·osʹ refers to God Almighty. On the other hand, the absence of the article in this grammatical construction makes the·osʹ qualitative in meaning and describes a characteristic of “the Word.”

John 1:1 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)

The note’s reason for preferring that reading includes Isaiah 9:6. Calling the Word a god, or a mighty one, would match the prophecy that the Messiah would be called Mighty God, not Almighty God, and that he would be the Eternal Father of all those privileged to live as his subjects.

John 1:18John 1:18 · King James VersionNo man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.John 1:18 · King James VersionOpen the Source is translated to match. The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of John 1:18John 1:18 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god who is at the Father’s side is the one who has explained Him.John 1:18 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open the Source (5) says that no man has seen God at any time, and that the only-begotten god who is at the Father’s side is the one who has explained Him. The study note (6) says John is referring to the Word, Jesus Christ, whom he earlier calls a god, at John 1:1 and 1:17. Later in the same note, because Jesus is the only one directly created by God and the only one through whom all things came into existence, he is called the only-begotten god.

Two other sentences in John are usually set beside this. The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of John 17:3John 17:3 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)This means everlasting life, their coming to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.John 17:3 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open the Source (10) says that everlasting life is coming to know the Father, the only true God, and the one whom he sent, Jesus Christ. The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of John 14:28John 14:28 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)You heard that I said to you, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I am.John 14:28 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open the Source (9) has Jesus say that if the disciples loved him they would rejoice that he is going to the Father, for the Father is greater than he is.

Those texts are in the Bible. The Witness concern is a real one: not to turn Jesus into a second Almighty beside the Father. A god is how the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) marks the difference it sees between the two uses of theos in John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source.

The Texts

Read John 1:1–18John 1:1–18 · King James Version^1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ^1:2 The same was in the beginning with God. ^1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. ^1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. ^1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. ^1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ^1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. ^1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. ^1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. ^1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. ^1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. ^1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: ^1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. ^1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ^1:15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. ^1:16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. ^1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. ^1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.John 1:1–18 · King James VersionOpen the Source in the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) and in another translation, side by side. The question is whether a god fits the paragraph the note itself describes.

John 1:3John 1:3 · King James VersionAll things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.John 1:3 · King James VersionOpen the Source, in the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)John 1:3 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence. What has come into existenceJohn 1:3 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open the Source (4), says that all things came into existence through him, and that apart from him not even one thing came into existence. The same verse page shows the Greek, which has πάντα and οὐδὲ ἕν and does not have a word for other. The note on verse 1 has already called him the Son through whom God created all other things. The sentence in verse 3 does not say other. What that insertion does in Colossians is Is Jesus the Creator or a creature?. What firstborn is doing is What does “firstborn of all creation” mean?.

John 20:28John 20:28 · King James VersionAnd Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.John 20:28 · King James VersionOpen the Source is the other end of the same book. That page shows ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου under the King James line. The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of John 20:28John 20:28 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)In answer Thomas said to him: “My Lord and my God!”John 20:28 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open the Source (7) has Thomas answer him, My Lord and my God. The study note (8) on that New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of John 20:28John 20:28 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)In answer Thomas said to him: “My Lord and my God!”John 20:28 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open the Source gives the literal line and the two explanations the Society considers:

My Lord and my God!: Lit., “The Lord of me and the God [ho the·osʹ] of me!” Some scholars view this expression as an exclamation of astonishment spoken to Jesus but actually directed to God, his Father. Others claim that the original Greek requires that the words be viewed as being directed to Jesus.

John 20:28 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)

The note then allows the words to be addressed to Jesus. Thomas may have called him my God because he viewed Jesus as a god, though not the almighty God, and the note points back to the study note on John 1:1.

The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of Isaiah 43:10Isaiah 43:10 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)“You are my witnesses,” declares Jehovah, “Yes, my servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and have faith in me And understand that I am the same One. Before me no God was formed, And after me there has been none.Isaiah 43:10 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open the Source (11) says that before Jehovah no God was formed, and after him there has been none.

A Christian Response

The Word was God. He was with God, so he is not the Father. He was God, so he is not a second deity. That is the Christian claim. What Is the Deity of Christ?, the Trinity, and What vs. Who: One Being, Three Persons say it for the whole confession. This page stays with John’s wording and with the Study Edition’s own note.

The note is right about two things that are easy to lose in a shorter argument. The Word was with God, so the second theos is not a way of saying he is the Father. And the note calls that second theos qualitative in meaning. A qualitative noun tells what someone is. A god does a different job. It counts a second divine being. The note’s own glosses slide between those jobs: divine, a divine being, of divine kind, and a god. Divine can mean he has the nature of God. A god means there is a god who is not Jehovah. The translation chooses the second, and then the note explains the choice by the first.

Isaiah 43:10Isaiah 43:10 · King James VersionYe are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.Isaiah 43:10 · King James VersionOpen the Source, in the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible), is the sentence that will not allow the counted god. Before Jehovah no God was formed, and after him there has been none. A god who was formed, which is what the only one directly created by God means in the note on John 1:18John 1:18 · King James VersionNo man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.John 1:18 · King James VersionOpen the Source, is a God formed, and that verse says none was. The prologue does not leave a gap for him to be an exception. John 1:3John 1:3 · King James VersionAll things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.John 1:3 · King James VersionOpen the Source says that apart from him not even one thing came into existence. If he came into existence, he is one of the things that came into existence apart from himself.

John 20:28John 20:28 · King James VersionAnd Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.John 20:28 · King James VersionOpen the Source is Thomas speaking to him. The note says some scholars hear an exclamation aimed past Jesus at the Father, and that others say the Greek addresses Jesus. It then allows the second and explains it as a god, not the Almighty, or as the way people sometimes spoke to an angel who represented Jehovah. The literal line the note prints is The Lord of me and the God of me, with the article on God. The narrative does not correct Thomas. Jesus answers him about believing because he has seen. The Gospel that opened with the Word and God ends with a disciple calling Jesus his God, and the Study Edition’s way of holding those sentences together is to make the second a smaller god than the first. Isaiah 43:10, in that same translation, is why a smaller formed god is not available.

John 17:3John 17:3 · King James VersionAnd this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.John 17:3 · King James VersionOpen the Source calls the Father the only true God, and names Jesus Christ as the one he sent. That is not a denial that the Son is God. It is Jesus praying to the Father, who is the only true God, and including himself in the knowledge that is life. John 14:28John 14:28 · King James VersionYe have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.John 14:28 · King James VersionOpen the Source says the Father is greater. The Son can say that of the Father, in the order of their persons, without becoming a creature. Greater is not a god rather than God. The note on John 1:1 already knows the alternative translation is the Word was God. The reason it gives for refusing that translation is that it would equate him with God Almighty. That is the point the verse is making.

Common Follow-Ups

The first theos has the article and the second does not, so they cannot be the same kind of God. The note says the missing article makes the word qualitative. Qualitative is what he is, not a member of a class of gods. English often needs an article or the indefinite a where Greek uses neither. The Society’s own description of the grammar is the qualitative one. A god is the extra step, taken so that the Word is not God Almighty.

John 1:18 calls him the only-begotten god, so the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) is simply literal. The note says the earliest manuscripts read only-begotten god, with or without the article, and that some later ones read only-begotten Son. Quote that rather than pretending the phrase is a trick. The note then defines the phrase as the only one directly created by God. Only-begotten in John’s Gospel is the Son who is uniquely from the Father, the one who explains God because he is at the Father’s side. The creation step is the note’s, and it runs into John 1:3John 1:3 · King James VersionAll things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.John 1:3 · King James VersionOpen the Source and into Isaiah 43:10.

Colossians 1:15 and Revelation 3:14 call him the beginning of creation. They need their own pages, not a sentence added to this one. What does “firstborn of all creation” mean? quotes the study note that takes firstborn as the first creature. Is Jesus the Creator or a creature? quotes the note that says a literal all things in Colossians 1:16 could give the impression that Jesus was the Creator.

Jehovah’s Witnesses and Trinitarian Christianity Compared

Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that the Word was a god, the firstborn Son through whom God created all other things, and not God Almighty. The Study Edition says that in the note quoted above. Historic Trinitarian Christianity confesses that the Word was God, with the Father, not a second deity. The creed of 381, in Henry Percival’s translation, says: (14)

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Jesus is God. The Trinity, What Is the Deity of Christ?, and Is Jesus God? stay on that confession. What vs. Who: One Being, Three Persons is one being and three persons.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 1 John 1:1 the Same as John 1:1?

No. 1 John 1:11 John 1:1 · King James VersionThat which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;1 John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source opens the First Letter of John: that which was from the beginning, which we have heard and seen. John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source opens the Gospel: in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) sentence discussed on this page is the Gospel.

When Was the Gospel of John Written?

Irenaeus, in Against Heresies 3.1.1, says John, the disciple of the Lord, who had leaned upon his breast, published a Gospel during his residence at Ephesus in Asia. (13) That sentence prints no year. Who Wrote the Gospel of John? quotes it and the other early notices.

Keep Reading

• How the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) Changes John 1:1 and Other Verses About Jesus
• Is Jesus the Creator or a creature?
• What does “firstborn of all creation” mean?
• What Is the Deity of Christ?
• What vs. Who: One Being, Three Persons
• The Watch Tower and Scripture
• What Does Messiah Mean?
• Who Wrote the Gospel of John?
• Which Bible Translation Is Most Accurate?
• Isaiah 9:6: Does “Mighty God” Mean Less Than “Almighty God”?