John 1:1
King James Version (KJV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Translations
John 1:1 - Amplified Bible
IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (Himself.
John 1:1 - American Standard Version
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1 - Bible in Basic English
From the first he was the Word, and the Word was in relation with God and was God.
John 1:1 - Darby Bible
In [the] beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1 - English Standard Version
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1 - King James Version
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1 - La Biblia de las Americas
En el principio existìa el Verbo, y el Verbo estaba con Dios, y el Verbo era Dios.
John 1:1 - The Message
The Word was first,
the Word present to God,
God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
in readiness for God from day one.
John 1:1 - New American Standard Bible
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1 - Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy
En el principio ya existìa el Verbo (la Palabra), y el Verbo estaba con Dios, y el Verbo era Dios.
John 1:1 - World English Bible
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1 - Young's Living Translation
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God;
John 1:1 - Additional Comments
The learned Francis Junius, in the account he gives of his own life, tells how in his youth he gave little care to any notions in religion, and by the grace of God was wonderfully recovered by accidentally reading these verses in a Bible which his father had purposely set out for him to see. He says that he observed such a divinity in the argument, such an authority and majesty in the style, that his flesh trembled, and he was struck with such amazement that for a whole day he scarcely knew where he was or what he did; and it was at that point that he began to be serious about God. Let us inquire as to what there is in these strong lines.
John refers to Jesus as "The Word", a term unique to John's writings. See also 1 John 5:7, Rev 19:13.
Jesus is the "Word" in 2 ways, one as a presentation to us of God Himself, and second as one who proclaims the words of God. In His presence and in His words he both shows God to us and also proclaims the thoughts of God (Heb 1:2, Matt 17:5).
He didn't just receive and convey the mind of God, He had the mind of God.
Of the many things of which we can contemplate and grasp, the understanding of God is probably the subject furthest from our grasp. This is one of the reasons why we so desperately need Jesus, to give us the Word of God, the truth of God.
John Baptist was the voice (Matt 3:3), but Christ the Word.
Christ has existed eternally. He was there at the beginning (see vs 2), which meant He existed before the beginning, which means He cannot be created. In fact, all things were created through Christ (Eph 3:9). See the note on Col 1:15. And He will be at the end, "the first and the last" - Rev 1:17-18, of which God is also known as - Isaiah 41:4.
Note the co-existence of God and Christ. There were together in the beginning (along with the Holy Spirit - Gen 1:2). Ah, what a perfect happiness and serenity they must have had before the universe and man's rebellion!. Yet, there was trouble, for Satan and a third of the angels had chosen to rebel (Rev 12:3-4,7-9). Amazing, after that, God still desired the love that man could bring to Him, and despite the trouble, decided it was going to be worth it! The trinity conspired from before the beginning how men could be brought to God (1 Peter 3:18).
God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - these were the "Us" in Gen 1:26, in whose image man was made. Man was made in the image of God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And Christ Himself reflects God; He is the express image of God - Heb 1:3.
This verse lays down the quandary of the trinity, for Christ was both with God, and He also was God. How is it that He is both a distinct being and the same as God? See other verses in the note on vs 14 that show the deity of Christ. Yet, the Son has a different mind, a different set of knowledge and thought - Matt 27:46, Mark 13:32.
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