by Giuseppe Monno
The Greek text of John 1:1 reads:
En archē ēn ho Logos
kai ho Logos ēn pros ton Theon
kai Theos ēn ho Logos.
A faithful and theologically sound translation is:
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
THE ARTICLE: A MISLEADING ARGUMENT
The New World Translation renders the final clause as “the Word was a god,” appealing to the absence of the definite article before Theos. This argument, however, does not hold up linguistically and reflects a misunderstanding of Koine Greek usage.
In New Testament Greek, a noun may appear without the article (anarthrous) and still refer to the one true God. Unlike in modern languages, the presence or absence of the article does not by itself determine definiteness. In predicate constructions—especially when the predicate precedes the verb—the absence of the article is both common and expected.
In John 1:1, Theos functions as a predicate noun placed before the verb ēn (“was”) and carries a qualitative force. In other words, it describes the nature of the Word. The clause kai Theos ēn ho Logos does not suggest that the Word is “a lesser god,” but affirms that he shares fully in the divine nature.
THE QUALITATIVE FORCE OF “THEOS”
John does not write ho Theos ēn ho Logos—which would identify the Word with the Father and collapse their distinction—but Theos ēn ho Logos, in order to affirm both unity and distinction:
“The Word was with God” expresses personal distinction (the Word is distinct from the Father).
“And the Word was God” expresses unity of nature (the Word is fully divine).
THE ANARTHROUS USE OF “THEOS” IN THE PROLOGUE
The argument advanced by Jehovah’s Witnesses is further undermined by the usage of Theos elsewhere in the same chapter. Several times it appears without the article, yet unmistakably refers to God:
John 1:6: “a man sent from God”
John 1:12: “children of God”
John 1:13: “born not from human stock… but from God”
In each case, Theos is anarthrous and clearly refers to God. If the reasoning behind the New World Translation were applied consistently, these verses would have to read “from a god,” “children of a god,” and “born from a god”—an obviously untenable result.
JOHN 1:18: A DECISIVE WITNESS
The Prologue reaches its climax in John 1:18:
“No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.”
The underlying expression—traditionally rendered “the only-begotten God” in many manuscripts—strongly affirms the full divinity of the Son while maintaining his personal distinction from the Father. Such language leaves no room for the idea of “a god” in any lesser or derivative sense.
BIBLICAL MONOTHEISM AND THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF “A GOD”
Scripture consistently affirms absolute monotheism:
Deuteronomy 6:4
“Listen, Israel: the Lord our God is the one, the only Lord.”
Isaiah 43:10
“Before me no god was formed, and there will be none after me.”
Isaiah 44:6
“I am the first and I am the last, and there is no god except me.”
Isaiah 45:5
“I am the Lord, unrivalled; there is no other God besides me.”
These texts make it impossible to interpret John 1:1 as “a god” without contradicting the broader witness of Scripture.
THE WORD AS CREATOR, NOT CREATURE
John 1:3 states:
“Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him.”
This is a sweeping claim. “All things” (panta) encompasses the entirety of created reality. If the Word were himself a creature, he would necessarily fall within that category. Yet the text explicitly excludes such a possibility.
The Word, therefore, does not belong to the created order; he is its source.
Colossians 1:16–17 reinforces this:
“For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth… all things were created through him and for him. He exists before all things and in him all things hold together.”
Here again, the universality of creation, the mediating role of the Word, and his pre-existence are clearly affirmed. The conclusion is inescapable: the Word is not a creature but the agent and ground of creation itself.
The New World Translation introduces the phrase “all other things” in Colossians 1:16—words that are absent from the Greek text. No equivalent to “other” (allos) appears. This insertion is therefore interpretive rather than translational, and it significantly alters the meaning of the passage.
Scripture elsewhere is unequivocal:
Isaiah 44:24
“I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself.”
God declares that he alone is the Creator. If all things are made by God alone, and all things are made through the Word, then the Word cannot be a creature. He fully participates in the one divine act of creation.
THE ETERNAL EXISTENCE OF THE WORD
John’s use of the imperfect verb ēn (“was”) indicates continuous existence in the past. The Word does not come into being; he already is. He is uncreated and co-eternal with the Father.
THEOLOGICAL SUMMARY
The Prologue of John teaches that the Word is eternal, distinct from the Father, and fully divine. This is reaffirmed in John 1:18, where the Son uniquely reveals the Father.
CONCLUSION
The rendering “a god” is grammatically unsound, contextually implausible, and theologically incompatible with the witness of Scripture. It reflects a doctrinal presupposition rather than a faithful translation.
By contrast, the Greek text clearly affirms that the Word is God in the fullest sense.
FINAL FORMULA
The Word is distinct from the Father in person, yet one with him in nature. Therefore, “the Word was God” remains the only translation that is faithful to the text, coherent in context, and consistent with the rule of faith.