D-15. John 1:1 The BIBLICAL Unitarian MEANING! DOWNLOAD to SAVE as a PDF Doc to read OFFLINE. D-15. John 1:1 The BIBLICAL Unitarian MEANING!
What does John 1:1 TRULY mean in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God? What I mean by this is, when EVERY verse in the entire Bible is interpreted CORRECTLY in the INTENDED meaning of Almighty God Himself, then what does John 1:1 TRULY mean? Let us begin part 1 of this series of studies in God’s word on John 1:1-18 by letting ALL Christians know and understand that there are no less than FOUR POSSIBLE “INTERPRETATIONS” of John 1:1. And also, I personally believe that ALL Christians should have the RIGHT to know and understand that there can be only ONE interpretation that is God's INTENDED interpretation. In other words, what is the EXACT CORRECT interpretation that God Himself intends us to hear, receive, believe, and then be able to teach to others. I say EXACT interpretation because in SOME verses of Scripture, there can be more than just one interpretation that agrees with every verse in the Bible having no contradictions, but there is only one INTENDED interpretation that Almighty God Himself INTENDS His word to be understood and taught. But HOW do we know which interpretation is the correct God INTENDED interpretation? According to Acts 17:11, in order for us to know if the interpretation of ANY and EVERY Scripture that you have been taught is the TRUE SOUND Biblical God INTENDED meaning, then we must both READ, and STUDY the Bible for ourselves trusting that the Holy Spirit will lead and guide us into all TRUTH. So then, HOW do you know IF what you have come to believe is the truth or not the truth? We all have COME to believe what we believe by one or more of the following ways. We believe the doctrines that church denominations teach, we believe what we learned in a book, or by a teaching video that we watched. We believe what we heard from other Christians, or by what our parents taught us. And in the modern world of technology, we believe teachings on websites on the Internet, by what we hear on Television, and by what we hear on the radio. So, no matter how you came to believe what you believe, in order for you to know IF it is the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God, then YOU yourself must be like the Berean Christians in Acts 17:11. It is YOUR responsibility to SEARCH the Scriptures for YOURSELF! You must COMPARE Scripture with Scripture to see IF what you have been taught is the truth or to see if what you have come to believe is not the truth of the WHOLE word of Almighty God Himself. So then, what is God's INTENDED meaning of His word in John 1:1 when all of the verses of Scripture are CORRECTLY interpreted in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God? How SHOULD John 1:1 be understood and taught? Therefore, to know for SURE whether or not what you have come to believe is the truth or not the truth, is your RESPONSIBILITY that belongs to YOU and to you alone to decide. So, ask Almighty God our Heavenly Father right now in the name of Jesus to reveal to you His true SOUND Biblical meaning of John 1:1. Take a moment and pray that prayer right now. Almighty God promised in His word to lead and guide you into ALL TRUTH. For you see, God is not a man that He should lie. Therefore, if you TRULY believe that the word of Almighty God is indeed the TRUTH, then you can trust His Holy Spirit to reveal His truth to you. Do NOT assume that you already know the truth based on what you have already come to believe in the past. What if you are WRONG? Are you above being deceived by Satan? No! None of us are above being deceived by the Devil. So what harm is there to hear what other Christians believe and WHY they believe what they believe? The TRUTH will always prevail in the end! With that being said, let us now read John 1:1 first, and then we will read the FOUR POSSIBLE “INTERPRETATIONS”. I will have the small letter (a) in parentheses before the first phrase, the small letter (b) in parentheses before the second phrase, and the small letter (c) in parentheses before the third phrase. This makes it easier to follow along to know WHICH phrase that is being referred to when discussing the sound Biblical meanings of the words “God” and “Word” in John 1:1. So when you see John 1:1 (c), then you will know that the THIRD phrase is being referred to because the letter “c” is the third letter of the alphabet.
Here is John 1:1 with all three letter codes.
“(a) In the beginning was the Word, (b) and the Word was with God, (c) and the Word was God.”
So then, whenever you see a Scripture reference such as John 1:1 c, then the writer is letting you know that he is only quoting PART of the verse in John 1:1. Here is an example.
John 1:1 (c).
“...and the Word was God.”
The three dots let you know that the first part of John 1:1 was left out. And you should also know that what is left out can reveal the TRUE INTENDED meaning of a verse of Scripture. For you see at times, the translator does not translate every word in the original Greek text. And thus, what is LEFT out of God's word in the original text can also reveal the TRUE meaning of a verse of Scripture. Also, here is another thing you need to know and understand. ADDED WORDS! For you see, a word or phrase might be added by the translator, and that word is NOT in the original Greek text. And thus, those ADDED WORDS can change the true God INTENDED meaning of a verse of Scripture. And we must never forget about keeping the verse being studied in its CONTEXT. Now then, in order to CHECK to see if our interpretation AGREES with the rest of God's word, then we need to COMPARE Scripture with Scripture. And that means that even if one verse of Scripture CONTRADICTS our interpretation, then we do NOT have the CORRECT God INTENDED interpretation of that verse of Scripture. These are just a few pointers on how to study the Bible for yourself. So let us begin this brief introductory study on John 1:1 for those who God is ALREADY leading to seek His TRUTH in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Here are the no less than FOUR POSSIBLE “INTERPRETATIONS” of John 1:1 in no particular order. Keep in mind that every church doctrine is an “INTERPRETATION” of what a man or men working together have interpreted the word of God to mean to THEM. And that is why there are so many different church denominations. And thus, you must always treat every church doctrine as a THEORY until you know what is the truth by the Holy Spirit leading and guiding you into all truth.
INTERPRETATION #1.
This theory teaches that the Word in John 1:1 is the preexisting Son of God in the eternity past. And, according to this theory, the Son of God is Almighty God Himself. This view teaches that the Word is Almighty God the SON, the second person of a Trinity Godhead. And thus, according to this theory, the Son of God never had ANY kind of beginning because Almighty God Himself has always existed without any kind of beginning. Therefore, this theory teaches that the Word made flesh in John 1:14 means that Almighty God the SON became flesh. And thus, Jesus is Almighty God Himself in the flesh having two natures at the SAME time, one divine, and one human, according to this theory number one. Again, this “interpretation” or this theory is just ONE of FOUR different Christian doctrines. And this theory is known as the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of the Deity of Jesus having two natures at the same time during the days of his flesh.
INTERPRETATION #2.
This theory teaches that the Word in John 1:1 is Almighty God Himself who has always existed as ONE God in ONE person, who alone is the FATHER. Therefore, according to this theory, the Word made flesh in John 1:14 means that Almighty God the FATHER MANIFESTED Himself to become flesh. And thus, this theory also teaches that Jesus is Almighty God Himself in the flesh having two natures at the SAME time, one divine, and one human. Again, this “interpretation” or this theory is just ONE of FOUR different Christian doctrines. And this theory is known as the Oneness Pentecostal doctrine called the Oneness doctrine. It is also known as modalism which teaches that the Father can MANIFEST Himself in different MODES of existences. And thus, the Father can exist up in heaven as the Father, exist down on the earth in the FORM of a man, and can also exist everywhere at the same time as the Holy Spirit. And therefore, according to this theory, Jesus is NOT TRULY a SEPARATE person from the Father because God is only ONE being in ONE person who alone is the FATHER. And this interpretation teaches that when you get to heaven, you will only see ONE being sitting on the throne, and his name is Jesus.
INTERPRETATION #3.
This theory teaches that the Word in John 1:1 is a SEPARATE being who came into being in the ETERNITY PAST. And to them, the Word was with God at His SIDE. And thus, according to this theory, the Word has always been WITH the ONE TRUE God in ONE person for all eternity past. This theory teaches that since the Word came into existence, then the Word cannot be Almighty God Himself because God has always existed having no beginning. Therefore, the Word is “A” God, who had his BEGINNING in the eternity past. And they teach that a lesser God, God the Son became flesh who has always been WITH the one true God but is NOT THE Almighty God Himself. This “interpretation” or this theory is just ONE of FOUR different Christian doctrines. And it is known as one of the many different “oneness” of God doctrines. This interpretation is taught primarily by the Jehovah’s Witness Christians. But there are other Christians who believe that the Son of God CAME INTO EXISTENCE in the eternity past as well. And thus, they teach that the one true God who alone is the FATHER created the Word FIRST and then the Word created everything else, according to their “interpretation” of Colossians 1:15-17.
INTERPRETATION #4.
This theory teaches that the Word in John 1:1 should have never been capitalized to make it SEEM as if the word is a literal preexisting being or separate person who was WITH Almighty God at His side in the eternity past. And thus, according to this theory, the Greek word logos that is translated as the Word should be understood as the word in the MIND of God. In other words, the word was with God by being WITHIN the ONE true God in ONE person who alone is the Father as God’s THOUGHTS. Therefore, the “word” with a lowercase “g” is the SPOKEN word of PROPHECY in John 1:1. And thus, the word in John 1:1 (c) is a PROPHECY that came into existence as “A” God under and subject to his God and Father after the cross and resurrection. But FIRST the word as the spoken word of prophecy was MADE flesh just as John 1:14 states as a fact with no interpretation needed. And AFTER the cross, the HUMAN Son of MAN, Jesus, was HIGHLY EXALTED to be MADE Lord to rule as God FOR Yahweh the Father in the NAME OF the Father for ONLY 1000 years. And then, after the 1000-year reign, Jesus will step down from ruling and commit the Kingdom back into his God and Father’s hands so that Almighty God the Father can be all in all, according to 1 Corinthians 15:20-28. This “interpretation” or this theory is just ONE of FOUR different Christian doctrines. And it is known as BIBLICAL Unitarianism. Now, there have always been Biblical Unitarian Christians from the very beginning of the church, but they were called by different names. In fact, Jesus is a Biblical Unitarian as well because he always referred to God as being his God. And the very Apostles of Jesus were also Biblical Unitarian Christians, according to Hebrews chapter 2 verses 1-18. The Apostles of Jesus teach us that Jesus was made a little LOWER than the angels, and THEN the Son of MAN, Jesus, was CROWNED with glory and honor after the cross. And thus, the true sound Biblical God intended meaning of the word made FLESH in John 1:1-14 means that the spoken word of PROPHECY was made a little LOWER than the angels. Therefore, the Apostles of Jesus did NOT teach that Jesus is Almighty God Himself in the FLESH having TWO natures at the SAME time during the days of his FLESH, one divine, and one human.
Now, I myself was FIRST taught the doctrine of the Trinity, which is “interpretation #1. In other words, my whole life from a small child being raised in the belief system of the Roman Catholic Church which teaches the man-made doctrine of the Trinity, I had always been taught interpretation #1. And when I converted to become a Protestant Christian in the Assemblies of God denomination, I was still taught the doctrine of the Trinity. But as I read the Bible in my alone time having no man to explain the Scriptures to me, I began seeing verses of Scripture that did not AGREE with the INTERPRETATION #1. Therefore, to me, the Christians that teach interpretation #1 WRONGLY teach that God is a Trinity Godhead. And thus, what I had come to believe in Trinitarian church denominations, I can no longer believe and teach because that doctrine of the Trinity CONTRADICTS many verses of Scripture. Now, when I was first seeking the truth even before I actually became a Christian, I held up the Bible I was reading and talked to God. I said to God that I know that every church denomination uses this Bible to teach what they teach, but they all teach different things, and each church denomination says that they alone have the truth. I then asked God saying, “I do not care who is right or who is wrong, all I want to know is the TRUTH, the WHOLE truth, and NOTHING but the TRUTH!” And then, I began reading the Bible for MYSELF to seek His truth. And little by little the Holy Spirit of God led me out of the doctrine of the Trinity to believe INTERPRETATION #4, which I did not even know existed until some 30 years later. So then, for some thirty years I THOUGHT that I was the ONLY Christian on the earth who believed that Jesus BECAME “A” God after the cross and resurrection to begin being a God to sit at the right hand of his God and Father on the Father’s throne. And for some forty years I have been writing Bible studies on most every church doctrine or THEORY that exists. And I try to do my best to share ALL sides of any given controversy. I teach my readers to search the Scriptures for THEMSELVES and to treat EVERY church doctrine as a THEORY, until THEY THEMSELVES have studied the word of God asking God to know His truth and to teach only His truth. So, I implore every person who believes that there is only ONE TRUE God to ASK the ONE TRUE God who He is and who He is NOT! Ask the one true God if He has a SON! In other words, if you are a Jew or a Muslim, then ask God Himself if He has a SON named Jesus. And then READ the Holy Bible for yourself every day. And also talk to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob every day asking what the Scriptures mean as He INTENDED His words to be interpreted. Lay aside what you have been raised to believe or what you were converted to believe. And then, TRUST Almighty God the Creator Himself to teach you His TRUTH directly from His word, the Holy Bible. Do NOT add to the Creator's word using what a man “INTERPRETS” His word to mean. In other words, if you are a Jew, then lay aside the books written by Jewish Rabbis and only READ the Scriptures. And to my Muslim readers, lay aside the Quran and only READ the Holy Bible trusting that the one true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will hear your prayer to lead and guide you into all truth. For you see, the Holy Bible teaches us that we MUST believe that Jesus is the Christ or the Messiah and the SON of the living God in order to receive eternal life in the world to come. And time is running out, Jesus is coming sooner than you may think. The Bible itself teaches us that the Son of God came into existence as God's human Son to BECOME God's ETERNAL Son after the RESURRECTION. In other words, the Bible itself does NOT teach that God had a SON in the eternity past. The Son of God spoken of in Proverbs 30:4 is a PROPHECY of God's Son, Jesus, RETURNING to execute the WRATH of Almighty God the Father on those who REJECT Jesus as their Lord and Savior in this present world. And again, time is running out for you to ACCEPT Jesus as your Lord and Savior before it is too late to escape the WRATH of God. So lay aside what you were previously taught and BELIEVE what the Bible ITSELF teaches as the TRUE foundation of the church. Now, if you are a Christian who already believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, then I implore you to lay aside what you have been raised to believe, what you have been converted to believe, and what you have come to believe no matter HOW you came to believe what you believe. And then, read the Bible for yourself WITHOUT adding any previous “INTERPRETATION” that you came to believe. Basically, start OVER with an open mind and an open heart trusting in the one true God ALONE to lead and guide you into all truth by His Holy Spirit. It is alright to read the interpretations of other Christians but treat them as THEORIES until God Himself reveals to you whether or not those interpretations agree or disagree with the rest of His word as He INTENDS His word to be understood and taught. Now, this brief introduction study on John 1:1 is just one of the many IN-DEPTH studies that I have written on John 1:1 through John 1:18 over the past 40 years. And in those studies, I show you HOW and WHY I can no longer believe in the doctrine of the Trinity. I also show you HOW and WHY interpretation #2 and #3 are also NOT sound Biblical interpretations. And I show you how and why Biblical Unitarianism is the only teaching as to who Jesus truly is, according to the Bible ITSELF. And to me, what Biblical Unitarianism teaches that makes perfect logical sense and AGREES with the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Again, I teach my readers ALL sides of every controversial church doctrine because I believe that every Christians has the RIGHT to know why other Christians believe what they believe. And thus, each individual Christian can make their OWN choice as to what makes the most sense to THEM. And if they chose wrongly by holding on to what they have previously been taught, then I have FAITH in the Holy Spirit that He will lead and guide them into all truth sooner or later. So then what if you sincerely believe that you are teaching the truth, but you are WRONG? And what if you are a pastor of a church and you do NOT ALLOW your congregation to hear WHY other Christians believe what they believe. And what if one of those other groups of Christians ARE teaching God's INTENDED truth and YOU are NOT teaching the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty? Can you not see that a controversial church doctrine is simply a teaching on a particular subject in the Bible that Christians DISAGREE upon? And because of that hard headed disagreement, not willing to truly HEAR the other side of the controversy, they separated themselves to become different church DENOMINATIONS. Again, there are just FOUR MAIN church denominations in regard to WHO Jesus is to THEM. But within each of those four main church denominations there are smaller church denominations that branched off because of OTHER church doctrines that they disagreed upon. In other words, at the beginning of the church on the Day of Pentecost in the first century, there was only ONE church denomination which teaches us in the New Testament of the Bible WHO Jesus truly is, according to the SCRIPTURES. And then, there became TWO church denominations where the FIRST church denomination held fast to what Jesus and his Apostles taught who Jesus is, according to the PROPHECIES in the Old Testament Scriptures. And then. THAT church split to make three more church denominations. And this process of the one true church dividing ITSELF to become some tens of thousands of different church denominations, but in reality, there are actually only FOUR church denominations concerning the ONE subject of WHO Jesus is, according to how THEY interpret the Scriptures. But three of those main church denominations do not TRULY use the Scriptures in the Old Testament like the FIRST century church did. And thus, interpretations number 1, number 2, and number 3 do NOT see Jesus as the FULFILLMENT of PROPHECY. Yes, they believe that Jesus is the one that is prophesied in the Scriptures, but they do not TRULY believe that the spoken word of PROPHECY was literally made to become FLESH by Almighty God performing His own spoken word of prophecy. For you see, at the very beginning of the church, the Old Testament was the only Scriptures that they had. In other words, the New Testament was not yet written down in the form that we have today. They only had letters written to the church as they were being written week after week, month after month, and year after year. And all of those letters to the churches quoted the Old Testament PROPHECIES about Jesus saying this was done to FULFILL the Scriptures. But it took many years to collect copies of those letters in order to write down the New Testament as one document written on a manuscript or scroll. Now, the second church denomination that split off from the early first century church started by Jesus, based their faith on the INTERPRETATION of terms used by Jesus and the Apostles of Jesus written in the letters of the New Testament. In other words, the church that split off the first original church of Jesus, INTERPRETED terms such as the term, “What does the phrase “Son of God” mean?” Other examples of Christian terms are, “What does the term “Christ” mean?” And what does Jesus being called “God” mean? Does Jesus being called God mean that Jesus is the one true God Himself? Does Jesus being called God mean that Jesus became a God? Did God's Son have a beginning? Did God's Son always exist without a beginning? Was God's Son a divine being? Was Jesus the adopted human Son of God? Did Jesus have two natures? And they used PHILOSOPHICAL answers to answer those many questions. Now, keep in mind that very few Christians for hundreds of years could not even read even IF they had access to a copy of the Scriptures. But today we have computers and the Internet to access every translation of the Bible, concordances, dictionaries, commentaries, AND what all of the different groups of Christians believe and why they believe what they believe. So basically, we do not have any excuse for believing any FALSE doctrine. So then, what do I mean by the word “INTERPRETATION”? The literal definition of the word “interpretation” means an explanation of what something means to the one who originally made that interpretation. But the Biblical meaning of the word “interpretation” means that there can be MANY DIFFERENT explanations of what verses of Scripture mean according to man’s OWN PERSONAL understanding of what a verse of Scripture means to THEM. And a SOUND Biblical interpretation means that it is the TRUE INTENDED meaning of what Almighty God Himself INTENDS His word to be understood and taught in the LIGHT of His WHOLE written word in the Holy Bible ITSELF as it is written in the original languages of Hebrew and Greek. For you see, every Bible is a TRANSLATION or God's word that was written the original languages of Hebrew in the Old Testament and in the Greek language in the New Testament. And SOME words in EVERY translation of the Bible were translated using the translator's INTERPRETATION of what he or she was TAUGHT to believe. In other words, if a Jewish person translates the original Hebrew Scriptures into a different language such as English, then their translation will be somewhat biased toward what the Jewish faith believes and teaches. Now since the Scriptures were written to the Jews FIRST, then logically, the Scriptures SHOULD be biased toward what Moses and all of the prophets WROTE down as being INSPIRED by Almighty God Himself. For the most part, the Jews do NOT believe the New Testament is God's word because they do not believe that Jesus is their Messiah. And if a Muslim translates the Bible, then their interpretation will be bias toward their belief in what Muhammad teaches in their Quran. And if Trinitarian Christians translate the Bible, then their translations of the Bible will be somewhat biased toward their doctrine of the Trinity. And if Oneness Pentecostal Christians translate the Bible, then their translations will be somewhat biased toward their belief that the Father manifested Himself to become the Son. And if Jehovah’s Witness Christians translate the Bible, then their translation will be biased toward what the Jehovah's Witnesses believe and teach. And, by the way, the Jehovah's Witnesses have their OWN personal translation of the Bible. And the Roman Catholic church has several or their OWN personal translations of the Bible as well. So, it is not a stretch to say that the publishing companies owned by Trinitarian Christians have translations of the Bible that are biased toward the doctrine of the Trinity. And even IF the Biblical Unitarian Christians were to translate the Bible, then their translation would ALSO be biased toward what Biblical Unitarian Christians believe and teach. So then, EVERY TRANSLATION of the Bible is somewhat BIAS toward what the TRANSLATORS of that Bible translation believe. So how can we know the TRUTH? We must use ALL of the translations of the Bible by COMPARING the many different translations, even the Bible translations of the Roman Catholic Church, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Mormons. Then we only KEEP what agrees with what the WHOLE word of God teaches us in SIMPLICITY from all of the translations of the Bible. But who has that much time? Not me! So, what I do is, I use a LITERAL word for word translation that has been translated from the SAME Greek manuscript that the King James Version is translated from, which is called the Textus Receptus. Here is a link to that LITERAL word for word translation that I use to study the Bible. Online Interlinear Greek New Testament published by Scripture4all.org. Now, what I mean by the word “SIMPLICITY” is that what we come to believe needs to make perfect SENSE to us and still AGREE with ALL of the Scriptures in the Bible. In other words, what YOU come to believe must make perfect sense to YOU. And thus, YOU will be able to EXPLAIN in your own words what you believe to make perfect SENSE to OTHERS. For you see, you cannot not teach what you yourself do not UNDERSTAND. Now, a person can PARROT, or simply REPEAT what someone else SAID to them, even if they do not understand it themselves. In other words, anyone can memorize and repeat what they were taught in a dogmatic way that they MUST believe EXACTLY what their church denomination teaches because it is a MYSTERY past finding out. And thus, they can only respond to the questions of others by saying to them, you just have to ACCEPT the doctrine of the Trinity whether you understand it or not because it is a MYSTERY. However, the word “MYSTERY” in the Bible itself is ALWAYS revealed to us what it means. A mystery in the Bible is simply what God kept secret from His enemy in the Old Testament times. But in the New Testament times that mystery is revealed to us. So then, no Christian should ever teach a man-made theory as being a MYSTERY that cannot be completely understood. What we teach should be completely LOGICAL and it makes perfect sense to us. Now, that does not mean that we must know every detail of everything in the Bible before we can share the gospel with others. But rather, we should simply teach others what the Bible itself STATES as a FACT with no interpretation needed. Let us use John 1:1 as an example. You simply quote John 1:1 to someone and then ask them, what does John 1:1 mean to them in that last phrase, “And the Word was God”? Listen to what they have to say first, and then ask yourself what you would say back to them. Obviously, you would say to them, what you have COME to believe as your own interpretation of what that verse means to YOU. And there is nothing wrong with doing that. But what if they disagree with you, or you disagree with them? And what if they ask you another question so that they can better understand your EXPLANATION of John 1:1 (c)? What SHOULD you do then? In truth, you should be HONEST with them and simply tell them the truth which is, this is what I myself have COME to believe or this is what I was TAUGHT to believe. And then, be completely HONEST with them and tell them that OTHER Christians believe differently than you do. In other words, be honest to tell them that other Christians have different OPINIONS as to what John 1:1 means to THEM. And then, if you yourself do not know WHY other Christians believe differently from you, then at least let the one you are witnessing to know that there are FOUR main interpretations as to who Jesus is. And that way, THEY can do their own research on what other Christians believe so that they can decide for THEMSELVES as to what makes the most SENSE to THEM. But that is NOT what some churches do, is it? Almost every church denomination that there is in the world is AFRAID that if they share openly what other Christians believe, then they might LOSE their followers to join one of those other church denominations. Therefore, almost all church denominations do their best to CONTROL what their followers believe by ONLY ALLOWING them to read and listen to their OWN church teachings. Now IF they are truly teaching the TRUTH then they should never be afraid of losing any of their followers by openly ALLOWING them to study what EVERY church denomination believes. The TRUTH will always expose the errors of darkness when we truly trust the Holy Spirit to teach the congregation that God has allowed pastors to lead by example. So, to me, the BEST way to teach the TRUTH is to teach ALL sides of every church doctrine as to WHY other Christians believe what they have come to believe, and the TRUTH will ALWAYS shine forth to expel all of the darkness. The truth can be discerned through the WHY they believe what they believe! With that being said, let us now take an HONEST look at what the Greek word “Theos” means that is translated as the word “God” with a capital “G” in John 1:1. And I will explain step by step WHY I myself believe that the word “God” in John 1:1 c SHOULD have been translated with a lowercase “g”. In other words, I will explain WHY the word God in John 1:1 (c) should have been translated as the word was “god” with a lowercase “g”. Or at the very least, John 1:1 (c) should have been translated as the word was “a” God. Here is how E-Sword defines the Greek word “Theos”.
G2316 Theos theh'-os Of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with G3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively a magistrate; by Hebraism very: - X exceeding, God, god [-ly, -ward]. Total KJV occurrences: 1343.
Other concordances say the same thing, but they include other meanings such as gods, goddess, and idol gods. Notice that the Greek word “Theos” used WITH (G3588) indicates that the “Theos” being referred to in the Scriptures is the SUPREME God, as in, the one true and only Almighty God, the Creator. For you see, there can only be ONE God who alone is the Almighty God that is THE God OF gods, according to Psalm 136:2. Also, notice that the G3588 in parentheses is the Strong’s number for the Greek word “ho” which is called the definite article. And a definite article identifies something or someone as being SPECIFIC. For example, I have a SPECIFIC pen that I like to write with. So, to IDENTIFY that specific particular pen then I would say THE pen as opposed to saying “a” pen. Also, notice that the Father of Jesus is ALWAYS identified as being THE God. So according to the definition of the Greek word “Theos” in the New Testament, then the Father is the SUPREME God. For you see, Jesus is never referred to as THE God in the Bible. But what about the Word in John 1:1 (c) combined with John 1:14 which says, “And the Word was God” and “The Word was made FLESH”? Does that mean that THE Almighty God Himself was made FLESH? That is what INTERPRETATIONS #1 and #2 dogmatically demands that John 1:1-18 teaches. But is either of those “interpretations” what the Bible ITSELF teaches in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God? And how can YOU know for SURE if you never TRULY consider what other Christians believe and teach and WHY they teach what they teach? How can you be sure that Jesus is not “A” God if you blindly reject what every other Christian believes if they do not believe EXACTLY what you have come to believe? Does not the DEFINITION of the Greek word “Theos” ALSO mean a deity, a god, a goddess, gods in the plural, and idol gods? YES! Absolutely, the actual Greek word “Theos” appearing WITHOUT the definite article “THE” can and does indeed mean all of these meanings, a deity, a god, a goddess, gods in the plural, and idol gods. So, we must never FORCE the “INTERPRETATION” that Jesus is THE Almighty God Himself in the flesh upon any other Christians by using INTIMIDATION simply because Jesus is called by the title “God”. Satan is also called by the TITLE “Theos”, but it is correctly translated as “god” because Satan is NOT THE Almighty God Himself. So, it could very well be that God INTENDED Jesus to be understood as being a god that THE Almighty God Himself prophesied into being. And, therefore, Jesus is the FULFILLMENT of the Scriptures of PROPHECY. What do I mean by “intimidation”? What I mean by intimidation is that no Christian should ever use GUILT to persuade other Christians into believing what they themselves have come to believe. In other words, never belittle other Christians to make them feel ignorant if they do not believe exactly as you believe. And never use fear by saying or implying that they are not a true Christian if they do not believe exactly the same as you have come to believe. And never lord over other Christians by implying that you have the truth, and they are wrong, case closed. That type of lording over other Christians wrongly leads the ones being lorded over to never question what you yourself teach. And never, never ever tell a Christian that they are NOT truly saved, and that they can ONLY be saved by believing ONLY what your church denomination teaches because you THINK that your church ALONE is the ONLY TRUE church! Let us all be HONEST to at least CONSIDER all of the POSSIBLE meanings of each and every verse of Scripture in the Bible. With that being said, let us be open and honest with the meanings of the Greek word “Theos” in John 1:1. Now, there is indeed the definite article, “the”, before the word “God” in John 1:1 (b), which LITERALLY says, “and the SAYING was TOWARD THE God”. But the King James Version HIDES this truth from you by NOT translating the definite article, “the”, before the word God in John 1:1 (b). Here is the KJV of John 1:1 again with all three letter codes. I will also include the Strong’s number G3588 in parentheses where it is found in every place in the original Greek text. For you see, even some concordances OMIT the Strong's number G3588. And I will place in light green type where the definite article, “the”, is NOT found in the Greek text, but rather, it was ADDED by the translator.
John 1:1 with all three letter codes and the Strong's number G3588.
“(a) In the beginning was the (G3588) Word, (b) and the (G3588) Word was with (G3588) God, (c) and the (G3588) Word was God.”
Please notice THREE things, the KJV added the article, “the”, before the word “beginning” to imply that it is the original beginning in the eternity past. And that hides the truth that this beginning COULD possibly be another beginning after the original beginning in the eternity past. Then the KJV OMITS the definite article, “the”, before the word “God” in John 1:1 (b) which would let the reader know for sure that the word “God” in John 1:1 (b) is most definitely referring to Almighty God Himself. And the KJV does NOT add the letter “a” before the word “God” in John 1:1 (c). Plus, the KJV and some of the newer translations of the Bible capitalize the Greek word “logos” as “Word” to imply that the word is a living PERSON that pre-existed in the eternity past at God's side. And the KJV capitalizes the word “God” in John 1:1 (c) which does NOT have the definite article, “the”, G3588 before the word “Theos”. For you see, the Greek word “Theos” could very well be translated as a god, because it ALSO means a god with a lowercase “g”. Now let us read the LITERAL translation that is translated from the SAME Greek manuscript called the “Textus Receptus” which means the received or the accepted text that the KJV is translated from.
Here is the LITERAL translation of John 1:1 from the Textus Receptus.
“In beginning was THE saying, and THE saying was TOWARD THE God, and God was THE saying.”
Now, in every place in the New Testament, except for 7 places, the Greek word “logos” is ALWAYS translated as the word. And three of those 7 places are right here in John 1:1, where the Greek word “logos” is translated as the “Word” in the KJV to imply that it is a person and not the spoken word of PROPHECY. But in TRUTH, the Greek word “logos” literally means the SPOKEN word of PROPHECY or the written word of God. And thus, the Greek word “logos” is always translated as “word” with a lowercase “g”. In other words, the Greek word “logos” is never IMPLIED to mean a person anywhere else except for 7 places and three of those places are in one verse of Scripture, John 1:1. The fourth place is in John 1:14. And the other three places are in 1 John 1:1, in 1 John 5:7, and in Revelation 19:13. And there is much evidence that 1 John 5:7 was tampered with by the Roman Catholic Church to support their doctrine of the Trinity. Please read the study “U-35. Was 1 John 5:7 ADDED to the Bible?” And as you can see from the LITERAL translation the Greek word “logos” is translated as the SAYING that was TOWARD THE God, and the God was the SAYING, or the SAYING was God. So, what does all of what I have shared to you thus far mean? To me, it means that much of the information that HAS been taught to us is somewhat deceptive to even be very deceptive. And at the very least, it means that much information has also NOT been taught to us. Now, whether this deception was intentional or unintentional, I leave that for you to decide for yourself. But nonetheless, the word “beginning” in John 1:1 (a), COULD very well mean “a” beginning that occurred AFTER the original beginning in the eternity past that is IMPLIED by the translators ADDING the definite article, “the”, before the word beginning. And I myself have come to believe that the INTENDED beginning is indeed a DIFFERENT beginning than Genesis 1:1. Please read all of the studies under the heading >>>Q-0. WHY ARE WE HERE? - Is GOD at WAR?<<< But for now, please know and understand that the Greek word the “logos” of God should have NEVER been capitalized in my own opinion. And the definite article “the” should have been translated in ALL of the translations of the Bible before the word God in John 1:1 b. And every Christian SHOULD at least be taught that the word God in John 1:1 c, COULD very well be referring to a god who came into existence to be under and subject to THE Almighty God in John 1:1 b. So, to ME, John 1:1 a refers to “A”, as in, ANOTHER beginning billions of years after THE beginning in Genesis 1:1. And then, the earth BECAME void and empty in Genesis 1:2. And then, God needed to RESTORE the earth to be inhabitable once again. And here are some things as to WHY I myself believe that John 1:1 (a) is NOT the original beginning in the eternity past as the added definite article, “the”, implies. And thus, to me, that implication misleads Christians who are not taught all of the facts so that they can decide for themselves what makes the most sense to them. So here are some facts as to WHY I believe that the beginning in John 1:1 is NOT the beginning in the eternity past some billions or even some trillions of years ago. Keep in mind that God created Adam around 6,000 years ago but the earth itself is far older than just 6000 years old. So why would God WAIT billions or trillions of years after He created the earth to create the first human being, if so be that the beginning in John 1:1 is the beginning in the eternity past some trillion years ago? Why would God create the earth, VOID? Does God create junk? No! The King James Versions HIDES the fact that the earth BECAME void and empty after God created the earth perfect in the day He created it trillions of years ago. The LITERAL translation says that the earth BECAME CHAOS and vacant. Also, in Genesis 1:28, God says go and REPLENISH the earth, which is the SAME Hebrew word used in Genesis 9:1. And in Genesis 9:1, God tells Noah after the flood that destroyed the whole population of the earth, except for what God saved on the Ark that Noah built, to be fruitful and multiply and REPLENISH the earth. Plus, there are hidden prophecies in Genesis chapter 1 speaking of Jesus being the LIGHT of the world and that Jesus will DIVIDE light from the darkness. These are just some of the reasons why I believe that the beginning in John 1:1 is NOT the beginning in the eternity past, but rather, John 1:1 is speaking of ANOTHER beginning after Lucifer rebelled and made war against God. And to me, if John 1:1 is NOT the beginning in the eternity past, then it would be a HUGE stretch to interpret John 1:1 (c) to mean that Jesus is God the Son in the eternity past who always existed from the VERY beginning. For you see, when the word was in “a” beginning after Lucifer rebelled and made war against God, and NOT in the VERY beginning in the eternity past, then John 1:1 would have never been INTERPRETED to mean that Jesus pre-existed in the eternity past. To say that another way, when Christians understand that only that the one true God has always existed without ever having a BEGINNING, and that Jesus did indeed HAVE a BEGINNING, then they will KNOW that the Triniatarian INTERPRETATION of John 1:1 is not a SOUND Biblical interpretation. Secondly, another fact that is not being taught to Christians is that the word “Word” was not always capitalized in the earlier English translations before the KJV. And that fact, to me, means that the word should have never been capitalized in those 7 places. For you see, by capitalizing the word to be the Word, then the spoken word of PROPHECY is made to SEEM as if the Word is a person. Whereas in those 7 places, if the Greek word “logos” was correctly translated as the word with a lowercase “w”, then it can easily be understood as the word of PROPHECY. And thus, the “word” was God is not misleading to Christians because it can be seen as the word of prophecy was God, or God was the word of prophecy that was with the only true God in the beginning. Thirdly, the OMITTING of the definite article, “the”, before the word “God” in John 1:1 b is also misleading. For you see, that omission of the definite article, “the”, before the word “God” in John 1:1 (b) can HIDE the FACT that there could very well be a DIFFERENCE between the word “God” in John 1:1 (b) and the word “God” in John 1:1 (c). And fourthly, the simple fact that Christians are NOT being taught these things shows that some church denominations are NOT being completely HONEST in what they teach to their congregation. So, what are they AFRAID of? Are they afraid of the TRUTH and that they would have to change what they teach? Or do they KNOW full well that they are NOT teaching the truth? Are they DELIBERATELY hiding these things so that they do not have to change what they teach? Are they afraid of losing members of their congregation? Perhaps they themselves do not know all the facts either, so always be faithful to share the TRUTH with them.
Proverbs 30:5,6.
“Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. (Do you truly TRUST the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you into all truth? Do you truly trust the Holy Spirit to lead and guide your congregation into all truth? If so, then why are you afraid to teach what other Christians believe and WHY they believe what they believe?) 6. Add you NOT unto His words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a LIAR.”
In other words, it is alright to give your opinion or your interpretation of verses of Scripture, but do not add your interpretation as being the very word of Almighty God ITSELF. What I mean by this is do NOT dogmatically demand that there is absolutely no OTHER POSSIBLE meaning for verses such as John 1:1, than how YOU yourself interpret John 1:1. But rather, be open and HONEST to your congregation by teaching them ALL of the different interpretations of John 1:1, as well as all of the other controversial verses of Scripture. And then, allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide the congregation that you pastor into all truth. Because if you do add what is NOT the INTENDED meaning of the Scriptures that God Himself INTENDS His word to be believed, then God will reprove you sooner or later. And you will be found a LIAR if you do not change what you believe to agree with God’s INTENDED meaning of His words. Again, giving your interpretation as your OPINION is not adding to the word of God. But keeping your congregation from knowing WHY other Christians do NOT believe what you teach is the same as saying that what you teach is a THUS says the Lord. And, therefore, it is not an INTERPRETATION or an opinion. So then, fifthly, ALL Christians have the RIGHT to be taught that the word “God” in John 1:1 (c), COULD very well POSSIBLY mean “a” God under his God was being PROPHESIED to come into being from a beginning that began after Lucifer rebelled and made war against God. And thus, that beginning could very well be another beginning other than the original beginning in the eternity past. To say this another way, the word “God” in John 1:1 (c) does not have to mean that it is referring to the word as being Almighty God Himself. Therefore, John 1:1 (c) COULD be “interpreted” as being the spoken word of prophecy that a God is being prophesied by Yahweh to come into being as a visible IMAGE of Yahweh's PERSON to be God's REPRESENTATIVE or Yahweh's ambassador. With that being said, let us look at just ONE of many prophecies found in the Old Testament, because I already have many in-depth studies that I have written on John 1:1-18 that I will give a link below. And you can read those as well if you feel led by the Holy Spirit to read them. But in this shorter study, I have chosen for you to read just one PROPHECY found in Isaiah 9:6,7. And while you are reading those two verses of Scripture, I want you to notice the ORDER in which the events are PROPHESIED. In other words, the first coming of Jesus is prophesied before the second coming of Jesus as the Mighty God, but it is written as one prophecy. To say this another way, the CHILD is born FIRST, and THEN, a Son of GIVEN, and THEN, the government will be laid upon his shoulders in the world to come. And thus, it is AFTER the government is laid on his shoulders that his NAME shall be called the Mighty God. To say this another way, the word of TRUTH does NOT prophesy that a Mighty God will be sent down from heaven to manifest himself or to be incarnated in the flesh. And there are no PROPHECIES that God's Messiah will have two natures at the same time during the days of his flesh, one divine, and one human. So then, let us not add to the Scripture lest God reproves us, and we are found to be liars. Simply teach what the PROPHECIES are saying.
Please read Isaiah 9:6,7.
“For unto us, a CHILD is BORN, (Now, we all agree that the CHILD being prophesied is speaking of Jesus. And thus, the Order of event #1 that is prophesied here has already been FULFILLED. And next, the Order of event #2 has also already been FULFILLED) unto us a son is given: (Therefore it was the HUMAN Son of MAN, Jesus as the Son prophesied to be given as the ONE sacrifice for the sins of the world. You see, Yahweh provided His own Lamb that was slain in the mind of God from the foundation of the world. And God Himself CHOSE for His Lamb to be made inferior to the angels or made a little LOWER than the angels. So then, it was Yahweh alone and by Himself that created the human race a little lower than the angelic beings, but yet still in His image) and the government shall be upon his shoulder: (And THEN comes Order of event #3 that is prophesied here which is YET FUTURE. And thus, it is YET to be FULFILLED because Jesus has not yet returned to rule over the earth in the world to come) AND (Or and THEN will come Order of event #4 that is prophesied which is also YET FUTURE and it is YET to be FULFILLED. Therefore,) his NAME shall be CALLED Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, (In the world to come WHEN the government is laid upon the shoulder of Jesus. And at that time of the Millennial reign of Jesus his NAME shall also be CALLED) The everlasting Father, (Or more precisely, according to Hebrews 5:9, this should have been translated as the father of everlasting life or the AUTHOR of eternal life. For you see, it was BECAUSE, of the Son of man obeying his God and Father's Will, that Jesus made it possible for whosoever believes in him shall be saved. Jesus was MADE perfect by his God and Father to BECOME the father of eternal life AFTER the cross. To say this another way, according to John 5:26,27, the Son of MAN, the HUMAN Jesus, was GIVEN the authority and the power AFTER the cross to JUDGE, and to also to give eternal life to whomsoever he chooses, BECAUSE he is the Son of MAN. This is why Psalms 2 prophecies to kiss the feet of God’s Son whom He ordained to be His King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus is prophesied to also be called) The Prince of Peace. (And, according to Revelation 1:5, Jesus is our Prince right now standing at the right hand of God. But at his second coming, Jesus will sit on the right hand of Yahweh to rule and reign FOR Yahweh as the Lord of the Sabbath. And at that time, the kingdoms of this present world will become the one kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. And) 7. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
Also, please notice WHO is doing the PERFORMING of His own spoken word of PROPHECY that came forth OUT FROM His own mouth. It is Almighty God Yahweh the Creator who is performing His own word. So, to me, Jesus is the FULFILLMENT of the spoken word of PROPHECY. And thus, John 1:1 (c) is a PROPHECY of a God coming into being that was FULFILLED after the cross and resurrection of the Son of MAN, who God created in the womb of the Virgin Mary by God fulfilling or performing His own spoken word of prophecy. And thus, Jesus was born of a woman as the human CHILD prophesied all through the Old Testament Scriptures. Can you not see that Jesus began as a THOUGHT in God’s mind as God's secret plan of salvation? Not just the salvation of mankind that Yahweh had not yet created, but also the RESTORATION of the entire universe back to being at PEACE having no WAR. To me, God created the human race to put an end to ALL evil. And Yahweh CHOSE to use a MAN to accomplish this task, a MAN made by God to be a little LOWER than the angels. Please read the studies under the heading >>>Q-0. WHY ARE WE HERE - Is GOD AT WAR?<<< In closing, I would like to say that YES, Jesus did indeed come OUT FROM God and come forth from the Father, as in, the ORIGIN of Jesus is because OF Yahweh, the God and Father OF Jesus. To me, the Bible ITSELF teaches us that Jesus was born as a MAN child or as a male HUMAN being who was born of a woman that was a VIRGIN. But at the same time, the birth of Jesus was UNIQUE and UNLIKE the birth of any other human being. The Bible clearly teaches us this truth that Jesus had no earthly father. But that does not mean that Jesus was DIVINE at the time he was born. For you see, Jesus was NOT the “BIOLOGICAL” Son of God. In other words, Almighty God did NOT have sexual intercourse with another person's betrothed wife. And thus, no Christian should argue that since humans beget human nature then that MUST mean that Divinity begets DIVINE nature. And therefore, Jesus MUST have had two natures at the same time during the days of his flesh, one divine, and one human because God is his Father. No! That is man's INTERPRETATION! Rather, the Bible ITSELF teaches us that God SPOKE His word of PROPHECY out from His mouth, and then, God watches over His spoken word of prophecy to PERFORM or to FULFILL His spoken word of prophecy. That is how God created everything that exists. Our heavenly Father is the ORIGIN OF His Son Jesus who began as God's human Son first. And then, after the cross and resurrection, God highly exalted His human Son to JOIN Him to be seated on His God and Father's throne. That is what the “word” was TOWARD THE God means in John 1:1 (b), in my own opinion. For you see, Jesus did not JOIN his God on his Father's throne until AFTER the cross and resurrection. And thus, it is only the INTERPRETATION of some Christians who dogmatically teach that since humans can beget only humans then this proves that Almighty God can ONLY beget DIVINITY. So, therefore, according to their OWN personal interpretation of the Scriptures, Jesus was DEITY or a DIVINE being DURING the DAYS of his FLESH. And thus, they WRONGLY teach that Jesus is Almighty God in the flesh as opposed to Almighty God DWELLING in the flesh OF Jesus. They somehow forget that God CREATED or MADE Jesus a little LOWER than angels DURING the days of his FLESH. And then after the cross and resurrection, Almighty God CROWNED His human Son to be MADE Lord. They somehow do not keep in their memory that God GAVE Jesus a NEW NAME that is higher than any other name. And they somehow have not seen that it will be in the world to come that at the NAME every knee will bow in the world to come, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory OF Almighty God, the FATHER, according to Philippians 2:8-11. Please, do not simply take my word for it, but rather, search the Scriptures for yourself to see whether or not I am teaching you the truth of the whole word of Almighty God. Always keep in MIND all of the Scriptures, WHILE you are interpreting those controversial verses of Scripture. That is called COMPARING Scripture with Scripture. And to interpret Scripture in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of God means to interpret the CONTROVERSIAL Scriptures in the UNDERSTANDING of the simple verses of Scripture. For you see, the CLEAR simple verses do not need to be INTERPRETED. For example, you do not need to interpret verses like Ephesians 1:3 that clearly teach us in SIMPLICITY that Almighty God is THE God and Father OF His Son Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:3.
“Blessed be the God and Father OF our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”
As you can clearly see from this CLEAR simple verse of Scripture, Jesus has the Father over him as being the God of Jesus. So then, how can Jesus be Almighty God Himself in the flesh when Almighty God Himself is THE God OF His Son Jesus? For you see, it was Almighty God Himself who MADE the Son of MAN, the HUMAN Jesus to be both Lord and Christ after the cross, according to Acts 2:36? So then, it is in the LIGHT of these SIMPLE verses of Scripture that we must interpret God's INTENDED meaning of all of the controversial verses like John 1:1. To read part 2 of this series of studies on John 1:1-8 please click on the link “D-16. John 1:2,3 THE BIBLICAL Unitarian MEANING!” Below are three links to find all the studies on who Jesus is according to the Bible itself. Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus. So, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading >>>D-0. THE BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of JESUS!<<< And for the SUBJECT on the true foundation of the church, please click on the subject heading >>>C-0. THE TRUE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH!<<< This way you can just send ONE link to those who you want to share the TRUE sound Biblical FOUNDATIONAL teachings of the church that Jesus and his Apostles taught in the first century church.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century. So let us all come into the UNITY of the faith and return to what Jesus and his Apostles taught us in SIMPLICITY in the New Testament.
To learn more TRUTH, then please return to
VERSES USED TO TEACH THAT JESUS PREEXISTED!
To me, the best way to know the ONE true God in ONE person is to know who Jesus TRULY is according to the WHOLE word of Almighty God. So please read ALL of the studies under the heading >>>N-0. WHO is JESUS ACCORDING to the BIBLE?<<< and you will see that the Bible itself teaches us that Jesus was CREATED by his God and Father. And if you have any questions related to the correct meaning of certain verses of Scripture on this subject of who Jesus is please read all the studies under the two headings >>>U-0. VERSES used for THE TRINITY!<<< and >>>V-0. VERSES used to TEACH that Jesus PRE-EXISTED!<<< These two headings have ALL of the studies that I have on who Jesus truly is according to what the Bible itself teaches us in simplicity. I compiled these three headings to make it easy for my readers to send just one, two, or three links to those you desire to help understand what the Bible itself teaches concerning who Jesus is in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. If you have any questions, please feel free to write to me. My contact email is MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail .com. Thanks again for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God.
Your Brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
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Always be faithful to share, to preach, and to teach the whole gospel of Jesus Christ! |