Lexicon

G2316 - theos

Strong's: G2316 · BLB lookup Pronunciation: the′-os Part of speech: masculine noun

Semantic range (Thayer / BDAG)

The supreme divine being, the one God of Israel; the God of biblical revelation.
The Father, in Christian usage, when articular (ὁ θεός), commonly designates the Father (cf. John 1.1 clause 2).
The Son, in Christian usage, predicated of Christ when context warrants (John 1.1 clause 3, John 20.28, Hebrews 1.8, Titus 2:13).
Whatever can in any respect be likened to God, extended to civil rulers (John 10:34 quoting Psalm 82:6), false gods of pagan worship (1 Corinthians 8:5), or Satan as "the theos of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Theological force, the John 1:1 grammar

The two occurrences of theos in John 1.1 illustrate the most contested Greek grammar in the NT:

Clause	Greek	Form	Refers to
2	πρὸς τὸν θεόν	articular (with ὁ)	the Father, specifically
3	θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος	anarthrous (no article), predicate before verb	the qualitative category, full deity, not "a god"

Colwell's rule and the broader pattern (Harner 1973, JBL) show pre-verbal anarthrous predicate nouns in Greek are typically qualitative, emphasizing the nature of the subject, not indefinite. The Watchtower's NWT renders "a god" (indefinite); this misreads the construction. The Word is God by nature while remaining personally distinct from the Father.

This single verse's grammar grounds:

Eternal pre-existence (imperfect ἦν)
Personal distinction from the Father (pros ton theon)
Full deity (theos ēn ho logos)

…in fourteen Greek words. Nicaea's homoousios (consubstantial) is the conceptual unpacking of clause 3.

Notable verses

Christ called theos directly

John 1.1, θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος
John 1.18, "the only-begotten theos" (μονογενὴς θεός in oldest manuscripts)
John 20.28, Thomas: ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου
Hebrews 1.8, Father addresses Son: ὁ θρόνος σου ὁ θεός
Titus 2:13, "our great theos and Savior, Christ Jesus" (Granville Sharp construction)
2 Peter 1:1, same Granville Sharp construction
Romans 9:5, "Christ, who is over all, theos blessed forever"
Colossians 2.9, "in Him all the plērōma of theotēs dwells bodily" (related noun)
1 John 5:20, "this is the true theos and eternal life"

Theos of the Father

John 1.1 clause 2 (πρὸς τὸν θεόν)
John 17:3, "you, the only true theos"
1 Corinthians 8.6, "for us there is one theos, the Father"
Ephesians 4:6, "one theos and Father of all"

Theos extended/qualified

John 10:34, quoting Psalm 82:6 ("you are theoi")
2 Corinthians 4:4, Satan as "the theos of this age"
Philippians 3:19, "their theos is their belly"
1 Corinthians 8:5, "many so-called theoi"

OT background (Hebrew El, Elohim, Eloah)

The LXX renders El (אֵל) and Elohim (אֱלֹהִים) almost uniformly as theos; YHWH is rendered kyrios. This LXX convention is what NT writers inherit when applying theos to the Father and (programmatically) to Christ.

Verses in this codex

See Obsidian's backlinks pane for every verse page linking here. Top-cited references using theos in the deity-of-Christ sense include: John 1.1, John 20.28, Hebrews 1.8, Colossians 2.9, John 1.18.