The popular view that the Gospel of John holds a higher and distinctive Christology from the rest of the New Testament writings is mostly unchallenged in today’s theology even though most people that hold that opinion do not know Biblical Greek. So how can you know what the apostle John really meant?

Scriptures like:

John 1:1 The word was God

John 8:58 before Abraham, I AM

John 18:6 Jesus said, “I am,” they drew back and fell to the ground

John 10:30 Me and the Father are one

John 12:45  Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father

These texts are the pillars for a belief in a higher Christology in the Gospel, one that holds an equality between Jesus and God. Was it really what John had in mind when writing his theology?

Think of this example: A schoolteacher explains a subject to his students. Afterward, the students differ on how to understand the explanation. How can the students resolve the matter? They could ask the teacher for more information. No doubt, learning additional facts would help them to understand the subject better. Similarly, to grasp the meaning of these texts, you can look in the Gospel of John for more information on Jesus’ position. Learning additional facts on this subject is crucial to draw the right conclusion.

So let’s analyze these texts one by one to see if there is supporting evidence for such a claim. First up

John 1:1 “The word was God”

I am going to try to be brief as possible due to the extensive exegetical study of this text. Literally the Greek text reads: “In beginning was the word, and the word was toward the god, and god was the word.” The translator must supply capitals as needed in the language into which he translates the text. It is clearly proper to capitalize “God” in translating the phrase “the god,” since this must identify the Almighty God with whom the Word was. But the capitalizing of the word “god” in the second case does not have the same justification.

True, there is no indefinite article (corresponding to “a” or “an”) in the original Greek text. But this does not mean one should not be used in translation, for Koine, Hence, throughout the Christian Greek Scriptures, translators are obliged to use the indefinite article or not according to their understanding of the meaning of the text.

First, it should be noted that the text itself shows that the Word was “with God,” hence could not be God, that is, be the Almighty God. (Note also verse 2, which would be unnecessary if verse 1 actually showed the Word to be God.)

But to me hidden key to unlocking the meaning of John 1:1 is found in the beginning of the text.

“In the beginning was the Word”

Almost all scholars compare this with the creation of the Universe in Genesis 1:1, even Professor Ehrman thinks that the “Word” here is described in infinite past. Are there any additional writings of John to support or deny this understanding?

YES! Only one

Revelation 3:14 “To the angel of the congregation in La·o·di·ceʹa write: These are the things that the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God”

Think again about the example of the schoolteacher and the students. Imagine that some still have doubts, even after listening to the teacher’s additional explanation. What could they do? They could turn to another teacher for further information on the same subject. If the second teacher confirms the explanation of the first one, the doubts of most students may be put to rest. Similarly, if you are not sure what the Bible writer John was really saying about the relationship between Jesus and Almighty God, you could turn to another Bible writer for further information

John had prior knowledge of the Epistle to the Colossians as this dates about 30 years prior to his own writings, thus He was well aware of Colossians 1:15 where it mentions that Jesus is “the firstborn of all creation”

Many argue that “Firstborn” simply has to do with an implication of exaltation but in reality that word becomes irrelevant when taking in consideration the rest of the sentence. The words with the most importance here are πάσης κτίσεως (of all creation). Paul places Jesus in the category of creation.

Interesting enough this creed that is shared by John in Revelation 3:14. If John thought that Jesus was in fact created, then how can he exist as the “Word” in infinite past?

This should allow us to view John 1:1a in a different light, what “beginning” could he be talking about? Well when comparing Revelation 3:14 it’s obvious it refers to the beginning of the word or Gods first creation.

I will be writing more responses to the other texts mentioned above but for now I would love some feedback on my research of John 1:1