The deity of the Lord Jesus Christ is under attack from many quarters. There are those of other religions, such as Jews, Hindus, especially Muslims, who are striving to deny that Jesus is God. There are pseudo-Christian cults, such as Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons, who make unceasing attacks on the deity of our Lord, and there are neo-orthodox theologians and even American televangelists who have denied the deity of our Lord and the nature of our God as Trinity. But in one verse, in John's Gospel, we have the deity of Christ clearly and unassailably taught.

That verse is John 1.1: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' This verse is found in what G. Campbell Morgan called the most wonderful page in the Bible. 'I think of all of the pages of this wonderful Biblical literature, that is the one to me which is the most restful. It suggests the infinite, incomprehensible, far-flung splendours of the things of God.'¹ In this most wonderful page, the Greek language in which John's Gospel was written provides a clear declaration of Jesus' deity.

In the beginning the Word was: that is, the Word existed, the Word had a relationship, and that relationship was with God. The Word Himself was God. There are those who, not knowing basic Greek grammar, would note that the word order literally reads, 'and a god was the Word.' But they misunderstand why the word 'God' does not have the definite article (the).

A very simple rule in Greek grammar referring to the definite article states that, if there are two nouns in the same case in a sentence or clause and one has the definite article and the other one does not, the noun with the article is the subject of that sentence or clause and the other is the predicate. The noun which follows the verb renames or describes the subject in such a way that, because of this linking verb 'was', the subject and predicate 'are closely related if not identical.'² The English reads the same as the Greek. Thus, it is not 'a god was the Word', but 'The Word was God.'

There is a reason, in the providence of God, why the noun 'God' does not have the definite article. If 'God' did have the article , this verse would be saying, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was the God,' meaning that the Word was God the Father. The definite article would identify that Jesus was God the Father and not a separate Person who also is God. Without the definite article, John was indicating a particular character quality of Jesus; that particular character quality is that Jesus is God. Thus, the meaning of the phrase, 'the Word was God,' is that the Word was in His nature and essence God.

Therefore, do not ever let someone from another religion or cult, or even someone from modern theological backgrounds, cast doubts in your mind regarding Jesus being God. John clearly understood under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that Jesus is God. In this wonderful Gospel, John's stated purpose for writing is, 'that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.' Thus we have explicitly stated who Jesus is: He is the Word, He is the Son of God, He is God.

First published in Quarterly Record 519. Lightly edited in June, 2023 for online publication.

Endnotes:

¹ G. Campbell Morgan, This Was His Faith: The Expository Letters of G. Campbel/Morgan, ed. Jill Morgan (Grand Rapids, MI, USA: Baker Book House , 1977), p.101. ² James A. Brooks and Carlton L. Winbery, Syntax of New Testament Greek (Washington, D.C., USA: University Press of America, Inc., 1979), p.4.