Why is “the Word was a god” not a valid translation of John 1:1?

John 1:1 reads, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Some have proposed another translation that says, “The word was a god” (emphasis added). This translation, however, is widely regarded as invalid for several reasons, including Greek grammar and syntax, predicate nouns in Greek, the context and purpose of John’s Gospel, and the testimony of early Christians.

The Greek phrase in John 1:1 is theos ēn ho logos (literally, “God was the Word”). In Greek, the word theos (“God”) comes before the verb ēn (“was”). The placement of theos is important because it reveals that the Word (or Logos) is truly divine.

The absence of a definite article before a noun does not necessarily render it indefinite. When a predicate noun, like theos in this case, precedes the verb and lacks a definite article, then it is best to see it as either qualitative or definite, rather than indefinite. Thus, translating theos as “a god” misrepresents the grammatical structure.

John 1:1 is not alone in its use of nouns without a definite article. In the New Testament, there are numerous examples where a predicate noun before the verb lacks an article yet is properly understood as qualitative or definite. For instance, in John 1:49, Nathaniel declares, “You are the King of Israel!” In the Greek text, there is not a definite article before the word for “King,” yet it is rightly translated as “the King,” not “a king.”

Another example of a noun lacking the definite article is John 8:39. Jesus says, “If you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example” (NLT). Here, the word translated “children” has no preceding article in Greek, yet the one supplied by the translators is the definite the. This is an accurate translation, following the rules of grammar. In the same way, the absence of an article before theos in John 1:1 does not dictate the indefinite translation “a god.”

The purpose of John’s Gospel is to establish the full divinity of the Word (the Logos). In the prologue, John presents Jesus as the preexistent, divine Word who became flesh (John 1:1–18). If we say that Jesus was “a god” rather than “the God,” equal to the Father in essence, then it would introduce polytheism into a religion that is unabashedly monotheistic.

John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus, the Word made flesh, is not lower than God but equal to Him, sharing the same divine nature as the Father (cf. John 10:30).

The early Christian community understood Jesus to be both the Messiah and God. For instance, in John 20:28, Thomas explicitly addresses Jesus as, “My Lord and my God!” Thomas’ public declaration of Jesus’ divinity strengthens the accepted translation of John 1:1 as “the Word was God.”

Furthermore, in Romans 9:5, Paul writes, “Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.” Likewise, in Philippians 2:5–11, Paul describes Jesus as existing “in very nature God.”

Colossians 1:15–20 also presents Christ as “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,” through whom and for whom God created all things. These passages affirm the belief that the Word was God rather than “a god.”

It is the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New World Translation that translates John 1:1 as “the word was a god.” It is a misleading translation, as it fails to account for Greek grammar and syntax, the context and purpose of John’s Gospel, and early Christian understanding of Jesus’ divine nature. The proper translation, “the Word was God,” accurately reflects John’s intent and affirms the full divinity of the Word made flesh.