# John 1.1 **Book:** [John](/codex/john-the-apostle/) · NASB95 ## Verse > In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1, NASB95) ## Immediate context (±2 verses) (John 1:1 is the opening of the Gospel; there is no preceding verse.) **NASB95** ([NASB95](/codex/nasb95/)) > **1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.** > > 2. He was in the beginning with God. > > 3. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. (John 1:1-3, NASB95) ## Setting - **Speaker:** John the Apostle (the Evangelist), writing as inspired narrator. The voice is theological prologue, not dialogue. - **Audience:** A mixed Christian readership in the late first century, Jewish believers familiar with the Genesis creation account ("In the beginning") and Greek-influenced readers familiar with Hellenistic *Logos* philosophy (Heraclitus, Stoics, Philo of Alexandria). The prologue speaks deliberately to both. - **Location:** Traditionally Ephesus, where John ministered in his later years per Irenaeus (*Against Heresies* 3.1.1) and Eusebius (*Hist. Eccl.* 3.23, 3.39). - **Time period:** Late first century, c. AD 85-95 per the traditional dating; some place it earlier (pre-AD 70). Written after the Synoptics, with theological reflection on Christ's identity as a primary aim (cf. John 20:31). ## Theological reading The verse is the load-bearing wall of patristic Christology. It became the central battleground of the Arian controversy and the foundation for Nicene orthodoxy. - **Origen** (*Commentary on John*, Book II, c. AD 230) reads three distinct claims layered: the Word's eternal pre-existence (ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν), the Word's relational distinction from the Father (πρὸς τὸν θεόν), and the Word's full deity (θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος). He notes the grammatical distinction between *ho theos* (with article, the Father) and *theos* (anarthrous, predicate of the Son), but reads it as preserving distinction of person without diminishing deity, since Greek predicate nominatives that precede the verb regularly drop the article. - **Athanasius** (*Discourses Against the Arians*, c. AD 358) wields the verse against Arius's claim that the Word was a created being. The imperfect ἦν ("was") in all three clauses denotes continuous existence in the past, not coming into being, so the Word never *began*. Arianism collapses on the tense. - **Augustine** (*Tractates on the Gospel of John*, Tractate 1, c. AD 414) emphasizes that "in the beginning" of John 1:1 reaches behind the "beginning" of Genesis 1:1: the Word is not made *in* the beginning but is *with* God *at* the beginning of creation, eternally co-existing. He reads "the Word was God" as identity of nature, not numerical identification with the Father. - **John Chrysostom** (*Homilies on the Gospel of John*, Homilies 2-4, c. AD 391) presses the same imperfect-tense argument and develops the apologetic implications: Christ's eternity rules out adoptionism; his distinction from the Father rules out modalism; his deity rules out Arianism. The verse anchors all three. - **Cyril of Alexandria** (*Commentary on John*, c. AD 425), against Nestorius, uses the verse to ground the *hypostatic union*: the same Logos who was eternally with God is the one who became flesh in v. 14. The consensus: John 1:1 grounds the eternal pre-existence, personal distinction, and full deity of the Son in a single fourteen-word sentence. Nicaea's *homoousios* (consubstantial with the Father) is the conceptual unpacking of this verse. ## Key words Lexicon entries with full Strong's data, semantic range, and cross-references: - [G0746 - arche](/codex/g0746-arche/), *ἀρχή*, "beginning" (clause 1, *ἐν ἀρχῇ*), temporal/absolute, deliberately echoing Genesis 1:1 LXX - [G3056 - logos](/codex/g3056-logos/), *λόγος*, "Word", fusion of Hebrew *dabar* and Greek *logos* traditions, identified with the personal Son - [G4314 - pros](/codex/g4314-pros/), *πρός*, "with" / "toward" (clause 2, *πρὸς τὸν θεόν*), face-to-face relational orientation, grounding personal distinction - [G2316 - theos](/codex/g2316-theos/), *θεός*, "God", articular vs anarthrous distinction in clauses 2 and 3 grounds full deity + personal distinction in one sentence **Verse-specific note on grammar:** the verse's two occurrences of *theos* differ, *ὁ θεός* (articular) in clause 2 refers to the Father; *θεός* (anarthrous, predicate before verb) in clause 3 is qualitative (Colwell / Harner), predicating divine *nature* of the Word, not indefinite ("a god"). See [G2316 - theos](/codex/g2316-theos/) for the full Colwell's-rule discussion. ## Quoted in **Arguments and defeaters:** - [Anointing Implies Subordination Objection Defeater](/codex/anointing-implies-subordination-objection-defeater/) - [Anyone Who Affirms Universals Must Affirm God](/codex/anyone-who-affirms-universals-must-affirm-god/) - [Argument from Cosmology (Guillen)](/codex/argument-from-cosmology-guillen/), via [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) - [Argument from Intelligibility](/codex/argument-from-intelligibility/) - [Argument from Mathematical Truth](/codex/argument-from-mathematical-truth/) - [Argument from Mathematics (Guillen)](/codex/argument-from-mathematics-guillen/), via [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) - [Argument from Neuroscience (Guillen)](/codex/argument-from-neuroscience-guillen/) - [Argument from Origin of Life](/codex/argument-from-origin-of-life/) - [Argument from Physics (Guillen)](/codex/argument-from-physics-guillen/) - [Argument from the Apophatic Limit of Formal Systems](/codex/argument-from-the-apophatic-limit-of-formal-systems/) - [Argument from the Confession-Catharsis Convergence](/codex/argument-from-the-confession-catharsis-convergence/) - [Argument from the Continuance of Being](/codex/argument-from-the-continuance-of-being/) - [Argument from the Costly-Signal Convergence](/codex/argument-from-the-costly-signal-convergence/), via [John 1.1-18](/codex/john-1-1-18/) - [Argument from the Genetic Code](/codex/argument-from-the-genetic-code/) - [Argument from the Impossibility of an Actual Infinite Past](/codex/argument-from-the-impossibility-of-an-actual-infinite-past/) - [Argument from the Observer-Demand Convergence](/codex/argument-from-the-observer-demand-convergence/), via [John 1.1-18](/codex/john-1-1-18/) - [Argument from the Pre-Given Logos](/codex/argument-from-the-pre-given-logos/) - [Argument from the Reality of Mathematical Infinity](/codex/argument-from-the-reality-of-mathematical-infinity/) - [Argument from the Trans-Instinctual Agency Convergence](/codex/argument-from-the-trans-instinctual-agency-convergence/), via [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) - [Argument from the Universal Storytelling Convergence](/codex/argument-from-the-universal-storytelling-convergence/), via [John 1.1-14](/codex/john-1-1-14/) - [Cambrian Explosion Argument](/codex/cambrian-explosion-argument/) - [Common Design vs Common Descent Argument](/codex/common-design-vs-common-descent-argument/) - [Convergent Evolution as Design Signal Argument](/codex/convergent-evolution-as-design-signal-argument/) - [Cumulative Case for the Deity of Christ](/codex/cumulative-case-for-the-deity-of-christ/) - [Hand of God Argument](/codex/hand-of-god-argument/), via [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) - [Information Argument](/codex/information-argument/) - [Jesus Has a God Therefore Not God Objection Defeater](/codex/jesus-has-a-god-therefore-not-god-objection-defeater/) - [Jesus Never Claimed to Be God Objection Defeater](/codex/jesus-never-claimed-to-be-god-objection-defeater/) - [Kalam Cosmological Argument](/codex/kalam-cosmological-argument/), via [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) - [Manuscript Variants Bible Corruption Objection Defeater](/codex/manuscript-variants-bible-corruption-objection-defeater/), via [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) - [Miller-Urey Reframe Argument](/codex/miller-urey-reframe-argument/) - [Molecular Machines Argument](/codex/molecular-machines-argument/) - [Nag Hammadi Suppressed Gospels Objection Defeater](/codex/nag-hammadi-suppressed-gospels-objection-defeater/) - [Necessary Being is an Intelligent Mind](/codex/necessary-being-is-an-intelligent-mind/), via [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) - [Necessity of the Incarnation](/codex/necessity-of-the-incarnation/) - [Orphan Genes Argument](/codex/orphan-genes-argument/) - [Performative Self-Refutation of Atheist Denial](/codex/performative-self-refutation-of-atheist-denial/) - [Protein Sequence Space Argument](/codex/protein-sequence-space-argument/) - [Quinean Rejection of Modal Logic Objection Defeater](/codex/quinean-rejection-of-modal-logic-objection-defeater/) - [Quran Confirms Jesus is God Argument](/codex/quran-confirms-jesus-is-god-argument/) - [Quran Confirms the Trinity Argument](/codex/quran-confirms-the-trinity-argument/) - [RNA World Failure Argument](/codex/rna-world-failure-argument/) - [Signature in the Cell Argument](/codex/signature-in-the-cell-argument/) - [Six Day Creation Falsified Objection Defeater](/codex/six-day-creation-falsified-objection-defeater/), via [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) - [Stealing from God Argument](/codex/stealing-from-god-argument/), via [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) - [Transcendental Argument for God](/codex/transcendental-argument-for-god/), via [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) - [Trinity Coherence Defense (Latin-Thomist)](/codex/trinity-coherence-defense-latin-thomist/) - [Trinity Invented at Nicaea Objection Defeater](/codex/trinity-invented-at-nicaea-objection-defeater/) - [Unitarian Oneness Binitarian Objection Defeater](/codex/unitarian-oneness-binitarian-objection-defeater/) - [Universal Probability Bound](/codex/universal-probability-bound/) - [Why Didnt Jesus Write Anything Himself Objection Defeater](/codex/why-didnt-jesus-write-anything-himself-objection-defeater/) **Concepts:** - [Abiogenesis](/codex/abiogenesis/) - [Abiogenesis Under the Microscope](/codex/abiogenesis-under-the-microscope/) - [Arianism](/codex/arianism/) - [Big Bang](/codex/big-bang/) - [Borde-Guth-Vilenkin Theorem](/codex/borde-guth-vilenkin-theorem/), via [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) - [Christ is God](/codex/christ-is-god/) - [Christ Was Made (Misread Proof-Texts)](/codex/christ-was-made-misread-proof-texts/) - [Christian Discernment](/codex/christian-discernment/) - [Christianity](/codex/christianity/) - [Christology](/codex/christology/) - [Christs Deity](/codex/christs-deity/) - [Doctrine](/codex/doctrine/) - [Equivocation](/codex/equivocation/) - [Father-Son Authority Asymmetry](/codex/father-son-authority-asymmetry/) - [Genesis Hermeneutics](/codex/genesis-hermeneutics/), via [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) - [Hypostatic Union](/codex/hypostatic-union/) - [Idealism](/codex/idealism/) - [Incarnation](/codex/incarnation/) - [Information Argument for Design](/codex/information-argument-for-design/) - [Islamic Dilemma](/codex/islamic-dilemma/), via [John 1.1-18](/codex/john-1-1-18/) - [Jehovahs Witnesses](/codex/jehovahs-witnesses/) - [Jesus Said](/codex/jesus-said/) - [Kalimatullah](/codex/kalimatullah/), via [John 1.1-18](/codex/john-1-1-18/) - [Kantian Critique of Natural Theology](/codex/kantian-critique-of-natural-theology/) - [Laws of the Universe as Witness to Design](/codex/laws-of-the-universe-as-witness-to-design/) - [Lesson 2.4, Christology in One Lesson](/codex/lesson-2-4-christology-in-one-lesson/) - [Lesson 4.5, Comparative Religion Engagement](/codex/lesson-4-5-comparative-religion-engagement/) - [Logos Christology](/codex/logos-christology/) - [Mathematical Intelligibility of Nature](/codex/mathematical-intelligibility-of-nature/), via [John 1.1-18](/codex/john-1-1-18/), [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) - [Monotheism](/codex/monotheism/) - [Mormonism](/codex/mormonism/) - [Old Testament Christology](/codex/old-testament-witness-to-the-deity-of-christ/), via [John 1.1-18](/codex/john-1-1-18/) - [Old Testament Witness to the Deity of Christ](/codex/old-testament-witness-to-the-deity-of-christ/) - [Oneness Pentecostalism](/codex/oneness-pentecostalism/) - [Pantheism](/codex/pantheism/), via [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) - [Rationalism](/codex/rationalism/) - [Substance Dualism](/codex/substance-dualism/) - [Tahrif](/codex/tahrif/), via [John 1.1-18](/codex/john-1-1-18/) - [The Muslim Defense](/codex/the-muslim-defense/) - [Trinity](/codex/trinity/) - [Trinity Common Objections](/codex/trinity-common-objections/) - [Trinity OT Stack (Five Texts)](/codex/trinity-ot-stack-five-texts/) - [Trinity vs Oneness vs Modalism vs Arianism](/codex/trinity-vs-oneness-vs-modalism-vs-arianism/) - [Two Powers in Heaven](/codex/two-powers-in-heaven/), via [John 1.1-18](/codex/john-1-1-18/) - [Young's Literal Translation](/codex/ylt/) - [Zeitgeist - Constructed Religion Claims](/codex/zeitgeist-constructed-religion-claims/) - [Zero and the Metaphysics of Nothing](/codex/zero-and-the-metaphysics-of-nothing/), via [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) **People:** - [Avery Austin (God Logic)](/codex/avery-austin-god-logic/) - [Bart Ehrman](/codex/bart-ehrman/), via [John 1.1-18](/codex/john-1-1-18/) - [Church Fathers](/codex/church-fathers/) - [Jesus](/codex/jesus/), via [John 1.1-14](/codex/john-1-1-14/) - [John the Apostle](/codex/john-the-apostle/) - [John Wheeler](/codex/john-wheeler/) - [Philo of Alexandria](/codex/philo-of-alexandria/) **Lexicon:** - [G0746 - arche](/codex/g0746-arche/) - [G1096 - ginomai](/codex/g1096-ginomai/) - [G1510 - eimi](/codex/g1510-eimi/) - [G2316 - theos](/codex/g2316-theos/) - [G2320 - theotes](/codex/g2320-theotes/) - [G2937 - ktisis](/codex/g2937-ktisis/) - [G3004 - lego](/codex/g3004-lego/), via [John 1.1-14](/codex/john-1-1-14/) - [G3056 - logos](/codex/g3056-logos/) - [G3956 - pas](/codex/g3956-pas/), via [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) - [G4138 - pleroma](/codex/g4138-pleroma/) - [G4314 - pros](/codex/g4314-pros/) - [H0001 - ab](/codex/h0001-ab/), via [John 1.1-18](/codex/john-1-1-18/) - [H1697 - dabar](/codex/h1697-dabar/) - [H7218 - rosh](/codex/h7218-rosh/) - [H7225 - reshit](/codex/h7225-reshit/) **Guides:** - [02 Faith and Worldview](/codex/02-faith-and-worldview/) - [Ris3n Arguments](/codex/ris3n-arguments/), via [John 1.1-18](/codex/john-1-1-18/) **Passages:** - [1 John 1.1](/codex/1-john-1-1/) - [1 John 1.5](/codex/1-john-1-5/) - [1 John 4.8](/codex/1-john-4-8/) - [1 John 5.20](/codex/1-john-5-20/) - [2 Peter 1.1](/codex/2-peter-1-1/) - [Acts 20.28](/codex/acts-20-28/) - [Colossians 1.15](/codex/colossians-1-15/) - [Colossians 1.15-17](/codex/colossians-1-15-17/) - [Colossians 1.15-20](/codex/colossians-1-15-20/) - [Colossians 1.16](/codex/colossians-1-16/) - [Colossians 1.17](/codex/colossians-1-17/) - [Colossians 1.18](/codex/colossians-1-18/) - [Colossians 2.9](/codex/colossians-2-9/) - [Genesis 1](/codex/genesis-1/) - [Genesis 1.1](/codex/genesis-1-1/) - [Hebrews 1.1-3](/codex/hebrews-1-1-3/) - [Hebrews 1.8](/codex/hebrews-1-8/) - [Hebrews 1.8-9](/codex/hebrews-1-8-9/) - [Hebrews 2.17](/codex/hebrews-2-17/) - [John 1.1-3](/codex/john-1-1-3/) - [John 1.14](/codex/john-1-14/) - [John 1.18](/codex/john-1-18/) - [John 10.33](/codex/john-10-33/) - [John 12.41](/codex/john-12-41/) - [John 14.28](/codex/john-14-28/) - [John 14.6](/codex/john-14-6/) - [John 17.3](/codex/john-17-3/) - [John 17.5](/codex/john-17-5/) - [John 20.28](/codex/john-20-28/) - [John 4.24](/codex/john-4-24/) - [John 8.24](/codex/john-8-24/) - [John 8.58](/codex/john-8-58/) - [Luke 2.11](/codex/luke-2-11/) - [Matthew 19](/codex/matthew-19/) - [Matthew 19.8](/codex/matthew-19-8/) - [Philippians 2.5-11](/codex/philippians-2-5-11/) - [Philippians 2.5-6](/codex/philippians-2-5-6/) - [Philippians 2.6](/codex/philippians-2-6/) - [Revelation 1.8](/codex/revelation-1-8/) - [Titus 2.13](/codex/titus-2-13/) **Other pages:** - [Light of Day 1, Christological Reading](/codex/light-of-day-1-christological-reading/) --- _Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_