I think it's rather odd that Ev would want to argue the meaning of Jn1:1 in regards to the second occurence of 'theos' being that he does not believe that Jesus is the 'Word' here nor does he believe that Jesus even pre-existed prior to His birth in Bethlehem.
Very *odd* indeed
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Aside from that, I will nevertheless reiterate a post from TOL:
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Had John wanted to merely imply "divine" he could have much more easily used the word 'theios' as opposed to 'theos'.
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Several examples of scriptures speaking of God [theos] WITHOUT the definite article. Note how the passage reads with the indefinite article [a] inserted where the definite does not occur. Read:
- Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called children of [a] God.
- Mat 6:24 "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can't serve both [a] God and Mammon.
- Joh 1:6 There came a man, sent from [a] God, whose name was John.
- Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become [a] God's children, to those who believe in his name:
- Joh 1:13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of [a] God.
- Joh 3:2 The same came to him by night, and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from [a] God, for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him."
- 1Co 1:30 But of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from [a] God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption..'
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Some links on Jn1. They go into it [Colwell's rule etc..] a lot better than I can do here:
Excerpt from
http://www.ntgreek.org/answers/answer-john1_1.htm
Verse in Question: John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Question:
My name is Bethany, and recently I have been trying to learn Greek. One reason is to be able to (hopefully) better understand the bible. But also because of what it says at John 1:1. There it says that the Word was with God and the word was God. But a friend of mine, who is a devote Christian, pointed out the Greek there. The spelling for God, in the sentence 'and the word was God' is different than the spelling of God else where. I looked at this and saw it too. This same spelling is seen when referring to 'other' gods. My friend and I are wondering if maybe the translation wasn't done correctly. Maybe it should say 'and the word was a god' or something of the sort. Please look into this, with an open mind.
Thank you for your help. May God guide you and protect you.
Bethany.
Answer:
In answering your question, let me first note that understanding the Greek text of the New Testament is extremely important and necessary for a clear apprehension of what the writers of the New Testament meant as they wrote the letters and accounts that we now enjoy. One note of caution is needful because Greek, like every language, has its own nuances and ways of saying things that can lead to confusion or misunderstanding when looking at it from the perspective of an English (or foreign) reader. An excellent example of this is the phrase you asked about in John 1:1.
The Apparent Difference in Spelling
First of all, the same Greek word is used in both occurrences of the word "God" in John 1:1. This same word is used in many contexts, whether it refers to the Only True God or whether it is referring to a false god - such as a man-made god (1 Cor. 8:5) or Satan as the god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4). The apparent differences in spelling between the word God in the phrase and the Word was God (theos) and in other places, (even in the previous phrase, and the Word was with God (theon)) is due to inflection in the Greek language. Each Greek noun normally has 8 or 9 forms (cases) in which it can appear. (See my page on Inflection and Cases on the Web site). In the first instance in John 1:1 it is the object of preposition and thus is in the accusative case. In the phrase in question, it is in the nominative case (indicating the subject or predicate nominative - equal to the subject). But it is the same word for God, and in both phrases here indicates the One and Only True God. So the apparent difference is spelling is not because theos is a different word than theon, but is a different form of the identical word.
The Lack of a Greek Definite Article
Another common confusion in John 1:1 comes from the fact that in Greek there is no definite article in front of the word God (theos) in the phrase and the Word was God. The confusion arises from an assumption that if there is no definite article in the Greek, then it must have an indefinite meaning and thus should be translated with the indefinite article "a". Based on this understanding, some argue that this phrase in John 1:1 should be translated "the word was a god," rather than "the word was God." It is important at this point to understand that the Greek language has a definite article (the), but does not have an indefinite article (a or an). In certain instances, when the Greek omits a definite article, it may be appropriate to insert an indefinite article for the sake of the English translation and understanding. But we cannot assume that this is always appropriate. Greek does not operate in the same way as English does in regard to the use of the words the and a. In many instances in which English would not include the word the, the Greek text includes it. (We dont see it in the English translations because it would sound non-sensible in our language.) (See Note 1, below.) And in many cases where the Greek omits the definite article, the English translation requires it to convey the correct meaning of the Greek. (See Note 2, below.) Therefore it cannot be assumed that if the definite article is absent, then an indefinite article should be inserted. (For a clear illustration of this, see an example of the use of the word God and the definite article in John chapter one.) Furthermore, even though the Greek language does not have an indefinite article like we think of in English, there is a way in Greek for the writer to indicate the indefinite idea and thus avoid confusion. This is done in Greek by using the Greek indefinite pronoun tis.
In John 1:1 there is no definite article in front of the word God in the phrase, and the Word was God. However, in this instance, it cannot just be assumed that the word God is meant to be indefinite, and therefore an indefinite article used in the English translation. Because the first use of the word God in John 1:1 (the Word was with God) clearly refers to the Only True God, the Eternal Pre-existent Creator, more than likely John would have used a different Greek construction than he did if he had meant for this next phrase (and the Word was God) to refer to a lesser god, and did not want us to confuse this with the True God he had just mentioned. If John meant to avoid confusion, when making such a definitive statement, he could have done so by using this indefinite pronoun (tis) as an adjective. This would have made it clear that the Word was a certain god, but not the one he was just referring to. For examples of this, see the verses Mark 14:51, Luke 8:27, Luke 1:5, and Luke 11:1 (among many, many other examples). So, it seems that by the Greek grammatical structure in this statement, John is indicating that the Word (Jesus Christ - John 1:14) is the same essence and nature as God the Father.
(For a more thorough explanation of the function and use of the Greek article (and meaning of its absence), see Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, by Daniel Wallace. He includes fifty pages - entitled The Article, Part I - which is a more complete treatment of the subject that many grammar books present and explains all the general uses of the article. He actually has a Part II which discusses some special issues with the article. Fifteen pages of this second section apply directly to understanding this passage in John 1:1. It is highly recommended for those who really desire an honest and thorough understanding of this passage.)
The Predicate Coming Before the Subject
Also, this phrase in John 1:1 is an example of a predicate nominative coming first in the sentence, before the subject. (Sentences like this one that use a linking verb require the noun in the predicate part of the sentence to be in the nominative case. Thus the phrase 'predicate nominative'.) The subject of this clause is the Word and the predicate is God. In Greek, the word God comes before the word Word. According to normal Greek usage (Colwell's Rule), the word God should not have a definite article. Oftentimes, emphasis is shown in Greek by placing a word out of its normal, expected word order. Special emphasis is shown when the predicate comes first in the sentence. In other words, contrary to the thought that since there is no definite article used here it could belittle the fact of the Word being God, the fact that the word God is used first in the sentence actually shows some emphasis that this Logos (Word) was in fact God in its nature. However, since it does not have the definite article, it does indicate that this Word was not the same person as the Father God, but has the same essence and nature.
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Here is an excellent article on the topic:
http://www.aomin.org/JOHN1_1.html
James White uses the following citation from the work of Dr. A T Robertson in the above article:
And the Word was God (kai theos en ho logos). By exact and careful language John denied Sabellianism by not saying ho theos en ho logos. That would mean that all of God was expressed in ho logos and the terms would be interchangeable, each having the article. The subject is made plain by the article (ho logos) and the predicate without it (theos) just as in John 4:24 pneuma ho theos can only mean "God is spirit," not "spirit is God." So in 1 John 4:16 ho theos agape estin can only mean "God is love," not "love is God" as a so-called Christian scientist would confusedly say. For the article with the predicate see Robertson, Grammar, pp. 767f. So in John 1:14 ho Logos sarx egeneto, "the Word became flesh," not "the flesh became Word." Luther argues that here John disposes of Arianism also because the Logos was eternally God, fellowship of the Father and Son, what Origen called the Eternal Generation of the Son (each necessary to the other). Thus in the Trinity we see personal fellowship on an equality.
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God bless--FM
