[Power of the Word] A Controversial Verse - Part 1
Daniel Brady
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
--John 1:1
John 1:1 is often used to make one of the most compelling cases for the deity of Christ. However, between Christians and some other religious groups (i.e. the Jehovah’s Witnesses), this verse is the cause of great debate.
Believing Christ to have existed as the archangel, Michael, before His incarnation, the Watchtower Society (in the New World Translation) translates this verse differently. Their version reads, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was a god.” The difference in meaning is unmistakable. And the JW’s maintain that their version is correct, based on the Greek language.
Here is where the discussion gets a little technical, but I ask you to bear with me. The word of God instructs us to be prepared to give a ready defense to those who question our faith. What I want to do in this entry is prepare you to give a ready defense, should you ever find yourself in discussion with a Jehovah’s Witness (or anyone else) concerning this verse.
The controversy centers around the use of the definite and indefinite articles. What is a definite or indefinite article? I’m glad you asked. Rather than trying to explain, let me give you a couple of examples.
Sentence: George Bush lives in the White House.
Sentence: My friend, Jake lives in a white house.
Did you notice the difference? The first sentence makes use of the definite article, “the.” The second sentence makes use of the indefinite article, “a.” Obviously, in the second sentence, you have no idea where my friend Jake lives. It does not specify any particular house in which he lives. All you know is that his house is white. In the first sentence, you know exactly where George Bush lives. He lives in Washington, D.C., in the house designated as the home of the President, which is known as the White House.
Now, in the Greek language, there is no indefinite article. Only the definite article is used. Therefore, in verses where the indefinite article appears (in modern translations) the context of the verse indicates whether or not the indefinite article should be used. For example, Matthew 8:2 speaks of “a leper” who came to Jesus for cleansing. In Greek, “leper” is used by itself. It is the context of the passage, as well as rules of English Grammar, that tells us it was “a leper”, as opposed to, perhaps, “the leper.” And, of course, in English. “And leper came to Him” is very poor grammar.
Now, concerning John 1:1, the definite article appears with “Word,” rendering “the Word.” However, it does not appear with “God.” And herein is the basis of the JW’s argument. They claim that the absence of the definite article implies the presence of the indefinite article. Hence, their rendering; “the word was a god.”
However, in his widely used text on Biblical Greek, Dr. Bill Mounce explains why this is not so. To begin with, the order of a sentence in English Grammar is:
Subject – Verb – Object. In Greek, this is not necessarily so. The subject of a sentence may come at the beginning of a sentence, or it may come at the end of a sentence. It depends on what the writer is intending to emphasize.
I wish I could give you this full explanation in one entry. However, I am doing what I can to maintain my one-page limit for each entry. so I have to ask you to hold that thought for next time. If need be, you might want to save this and the next entry, and then read them together if you think that will help.