John 1:1c – “the Word was God” or “the Word was a god?”
This page will tackle the most controversial verse, among “Christian” groups today. That is, is Jesus God Almighty? Should the end of John 1:1, when talking about Jesus, refer to Jesus as “God” or “a god?”
Most translators, today, feel that John 1:1 should be translated similar to the following:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
However, there is a noticeable discrepancy with the New World Translation and a few “Christian” translations ;
1 In the beginning, the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.
Translators that support that Jesus IS Almighty God, or a part of him, one way or another, push the “was God” translation. Translators that feel that Jesus is subordinate to God, as his Son, favor the “was a God.”
Let’s make what could be a very long research paper simple:
One of the oldest translations directly from the Greek Scriptures is a Sahidic Coptic translation. This is a relatively recent researched translation. Due to the structure of the language, it is possible to come to a more correct understanding of how John 1:1 should be translated:
“And the Word was with the God, and the Word was a god.”
Here are some references, about the Sahidic Coptic translation:
John One The Coptic Evidence (Solomon Landers, September 2006)
This paper also comments on John 1:18: “A modern translation of the Coptic of John 1:18 is ‘No one has ever seen God at all.
The god who is the only Son in the bosom of his Father is the one who has explained
him’ ” Compare: Who can be rightfully called, “god” or “God?”
What Sahidic Coptic John 1:1 Really Says