What about John 1:1?

by Wendy
(Australia)

John 1:1 has been attacked as much as any verse in the Bible because some people hate the scriptural truth that Jesus is God in the flesh, 1 Timothy 3:16.

"In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God."

-Gospel of John 1:1

John 1:1ff., Notes and Commentary

Unbelievers / false teachers
love to attack
the deity of Christ


John 1:1 is the great dividing line between truth and error. Those who refuse to believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, Jehovah's Witnesses for example, like to change John 1:1, making it say that Jesus was "a" god.

Jehovah's Witnesses, in the New World Translation, have inserted their false teaching into scripture. Yet the Bible is very clear about Jesus being God.
"Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?

Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him."
-Proverbs 30:4-5, KJV

"But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." -Hebrews 1:8, KJV

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." -1 Timothy 3:16, KJV

"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." -1 John 5:7, KJV

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." -Isaiah 9:6, KJV

"I and my Father are one." -John 10:30, KJV

Its important that we understand John's purpose in writing his Gospel.

"And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."
-John 20:30-31, KJV

John wrote the Gospel of John so that we would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

John never mentions repentance but he uses some form of the words faith and believe more than the other three Gospels combined. That is why John opens his Gospel in 1:1 by telling us that Jesus is God - because believing that is essential to our salvation. The Jews understood that Jesus claimed to be God.

"I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." -John 8:24

"The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." -John 10:33

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." -John 1:1

Variations of "believe"
in the Four Gospels

Matthew - 11 times
Mark - 17 times
Luke 11 times
John - 98 times
"and his disciples believed on him" -John 2:11

"many believed in his name" -John 2:23

"And the man believed" -John 4:50

"And many of the people believed on him" -John 7:31

"And he said, Lord, I believe" -John 9:38

"And many believed on him there" -John 10:42

"She saith unto him, Yea, Lord, I believe" -John 11:27

"Then many of the Jews... believed on him" -John 11:45

"many of the Jews... believed on Jesus" -John 12:11

"among the chief rulers also many believed" -John 12:42

To answer your other questions:

1. I believe the King James Bible is the most accurate English version and is, by the way, the most gay-friendly English translation of the Bible.

2. I use many versions of the Bible in my research and study. Our eDisciples page offers many resources for believing Bible study.

3. Wendy wrote: "I was a Catholic, but I now just read the bible... I've come to realise that the Catholic church is so removed from what the scriptures teach, it's not funny! What do you think?"

Rick responds: Its always best to believe what the Bible says than what ANY church teaches about what the Bible says. The written words of scripture, in cultural, doctrinal, historical, linguistic and religious context, are our focus on this website.

Have you seen the helpful Bible study resources on our eDisciples page?

Have you studied the diagrams
about our Trinitarian God?


We've answered the question about John 1:1. Click here to return to
Gay Christian 101 Home Page.


Wendy's Original Question:

"I have a few bibles I cross reference to find a 'right'(or satisfactory) answer to questions I have. When different bibles are translated, even the slightest addition or subtraction of a letter can change the intended meaning of a scripture. That's why I try to find other scripture that can back up the initial scripture I'm querying. For example; in John 1.1 some translations have "was God", some have "was a God" and some have "was the same as God". In a passage in Hebrews it says: 'Jesus was made in the image of the Father', so I presumed the correct translation for me would be "was the same as God". I'm interested to know what translation you believe to be true, and why? And do you only use and trust one type of bible, or do you have different ones?

I was a Catholic, but I now just read the bible(s).I have for the last 20 years. I've come to realise that the Catholic church is so removed from what the scriptures teach, it's not funny! What do you think?

Respectfully(!)
Wendy"

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