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John 1:1 In the beginning was the word ( logos ), and the word ( logos ) was with God ( ton theon ) and God ( theos ) was the word.

Diving into John 1:1-3 since there are many elements of this commonly quoted verse that many do not realize. When common scripture speaks like a riddle in English, it is usually because of a mistranslation or misunderstanding of Greek/Hebrew to English.

Logos vs Word

First off, we have the word ' logos ' which translated typically refers to the collection of thought, reason, plan, or a message. We can see the word 'logos' translated in a variety of ways throughout scripture. HowevIn the  Greek lexicon (strong's #3056) you would see 'logos' defined as: teaching, reason, decree/command, speech, prophecy, or moral precept. We see these definitions plainly applied throughout scripture in the Old and New Testament;

Psalm 106:12 Then they believed his logos ( promises ) and sang his praise.

Hebrews 4:2 Unto us the gospel was logos ( preached ), as well as unto them but the word preached did not profit them...

John 12:28 The logos ( prophecy ) of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled which he spoke...

John 15:25 It came to pass, that the logos ( plan ) might be fulfilled that is written in their law, they hated me without a cause.

Ephesians 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the logos ( message ) of truth, the gospel of your salvation - having also believed...

Thus it seems to be that a more accurate translation to John 1:1 thus far would be "message" of God, however the only "message of God" or "word of God" from a Jewish perspective would have been the Torah which laid out God's plan and desires.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the plan/message/desires , and the plan/message/desires was with ton theon  and  theos  was the message/plan/desires .

God vs Theos

Theon and theos are usually in reference to divinity. God is sometimes referred to as " The Theos/Theon " whereas people who spoke for God, judges, and those in the likeness of God were referred to as just " Theos/Theon " (without the definitive article 'the' in front). 

In the first mention of God in John 1:1 we see the ' logos'  was with ' ton'  theon. The Greek word ton is the definitive article 'the' as we translate it in English. The second mention of God does not contain an article and thus could be understood as 'divine' or 'authority'. We can see the examples of where theos and theon are used in Greek writings of that time without the article in a wide range of verses;

Acts 28:5-6 Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects...and said he was theon ( a god - no definitive article)

Now just because the article is not there does not mean that the indefinite article should exist. There are many times when God (the Father) is called Theos or Theon without the definitive article as well.

The objections to this will definitely agree that the first use of the word God in John 1:1 is clearly the Eternal, True God, creator of all - but being that John had just mentioned God the Father he could have used the word ' tis ' (being an indefinite pronoun) to show clear understanding that the Theon (Almighty God) and theos were two separate beings. 

( See the more usages of theos in the 'You Are Gods' article )

This would imply that John would need a reason to make them more distinct when talking to his audience who were primarily single-God Jewish people. If John was talking about introducing a new persona of God here, he would have been MORE definitive if anything and not less. To assume that John was preaching to both believers and non-believers and passed over a critical word like theos in reference to God Almighty with a loose tie seems a bit odd considering that this book was his story for all to know Christ - why leave it up to chance or an even potentially vague statement?

Both options are to be considered as we move towards understanding which translation is the most accurate in this regard, but I don't believe either one particularly matters. 

He vs It

One might say, "Ah, but the next verse clearly states that the Word is a HE!".... so we continue. 

John 1:2-3  Houtos  was with God in the beginning, through  houtos  all things were made; without  houtos  nothing was made that has been made.

The Greek word here " houtos " means;  this ,  he ,  she , or  it .  If we use the meaning of John 1:1 as people would have read it in the early church, and apply the same early church thinking to John 1:2-3, then we see that  houtos  should actually be translated as ' it ' since words ( logos ) are not people and no one reading would have assumed a word ( logos ) to be a person. 

In fact, when William Tyndale translated the Bible into English which became widespread thanks to the invention of the printing press, he translated  houtos  as ' it '.

Fun Fact Involving Murder:  William Tyndale was sentenced to strangulation and his body burned at the stake in 1536 for translating the Bible into English for you fine folks. His dying prayer was that the King of England's eyes would be opened - his prayers were answered one year after his death (#PowerOfPrayer) when King Henry authorized the Matthew Bible which was mostly Tyndale's own work with the missing sections translated by John Rogers and Miles Coverdale. Tyndale is basically the reason you have a Bible in English today. The Modern King James Version is estimated to be about 88% of Tyndale's New Testament work and 76% of his Old Testament work. 

Conclusion Time

To sum it all up, here we have the potential translation options of John 1:1-3 in order of likelihood in the opinion of myself and many unbiased Greek scholars:

John 1:1-3   In the beginning was   God's desires/plan ,   the plan/desires  was with God, and   the plan/desires  was   divine .  It  was with God in the beginning, through   it  all things were made; without   it  nothing was made that has been made.

This translation points to God's desires/plan being with God since the beginning and reason why everything was created. Everything that was made was made to ultimately point to God. This is the message throughout the entire Bible and is consistent with the rest of scripture. Nothing that didn't ultimately end up pointing to God was not made. Everything is for God's glory. Jesus was the living word of God (lived the torah / God's desires perfectly).

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was  the plan ,  the plan  was with God, and  God  was  the plan .  It  was with God in the beginning, through   it  all things were made; without   it  nothing was made that has been made.

This translation also has the same effect as the first translation, but using 'God was the plan' and intentionally create a specified 'God' meaning 'THE GOD', the message is changed slightly to imply that the plan of everything was God. Whether God was the planner of everything or if the ultimate goal of the plan was God, these are both odd but acceptable potential interpretations of this translation.

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was  Jesus ,  Jesus  was with God, and  Jesus  was  divine .  He  was with God in the beginning, through   Him  all things were made; without   Him  nothing was made that has been made.

This reading creates the idea that Jesus is not God, but is divine and thus he was in the beginning but not God. My best guess at this interpretation is that John is trying to low-key hint that Jesus was possibly an angel or some other celestial being.

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was  Jesus ,  Jesus  was with God, and  God  was  Jesus .  He  was with God in the beginning, through   Him  all things were made; without   Him  nothing was made that has been made.

This translation seems to go against Greek understanding of logos as well as interpret logos as a person which wouldn't make sense. The Hebrews were familiar with God's logos being his wisdom/plan/etc as they refer to it as such throughout the Old Testament - so to bring up the concept that Jesus is God the Father in this secret way seems extremely odd.

Despite the beliefs out there of who Jesus is, this verse is a beautiful verse by John stating that in the beginning, God had a plan and everything He made which was to ultimately end up glorifying Him as we all should desire and strive to play a part in. Jesus was the ultimate example of God's perfect desires and encompassed his will/plan/desires for our lives. We are so beyond lucky to just be in the presence of true awesomeness one day, and this verse clearly demonstrates that all of this; earth, sky, people, plants, animals, etc are all exist with one purpose: God.

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