Yes.
Remember 37818, that a possible grammatical interpretation
does not always make for a possible contextual interpretation.
You are not possibly going to have the article, "the",
added into these verses, I hope. That's False Jehovah's Witnesses stuff.
"The"?
"The"?
"The"?
πρὸς τὸν θεόν
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, ...” —eclectic 1:1.
According to this text, the Word was
“with God:” Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν
πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.
"(Greek:
πρὸς τὸν θεόν, transliterates as:
pros ton theon); that is,
“with God.”
"Those not knowledgable of Greek idioms would see
pros ton theon (with God) as meaning
“face to face” with God (which meaning the Greek preposition “pros” does have: see
1 Corinthians 13:12), however, that would be a mistake.
"Here,
“pros ton theon” should be understood as
“pertaining to God.”
"A companion text is found in
1 John 1:2, (καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἐφανερώθη, καὶ ἑωράκαμεν καὶ μαρτυροῦμεν καὶ ἀπαγγέλλομεν ὑμῖν τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον ἥτις ἦν
πρὸς τὸν πατέρα καὶ ἐφανερώθη ἡμῖν. Here eternal life is said to
πρὸς τὸν πατέρα); the clause:
πρὸς τὸν πατέρα transliterates to
pros ton patera, “with the Father;” it is understood, however, that
“with the Father” means
“pertains to the Father.”
"Eternal life
“pertains to the Father.” No one understands eternal life to be a separate person that is
“face to face” with the Father. So, then the Word of God pertains to God just as does eternal life. Moreover, according to our text the Word
“was God.” Just as eternal life is an intrinsic part of God’s identity, so, too, is His Word."
"Not counting
John 1:1, since that is the text under examination, only 24 times out of 723 does
"pros" translate to
"with" in the sense of one thing being along side of , or in the presence of another thing. While "pros" does seem to, on rare occasions, have the meaning of "alone side of" or "in the presence of" that is most certainly not its primary meaning or use.
"In fact, in other New Testament texts where the exact same phrase
("pros ton theon”) is used, the idea of
"along side of" or "in the presence" is far from the meaning.
"Two of those texts are
Hebrews 2:17 and
Hebrews 5:1.
"In these places
"pros ton theon" is not translated
"with God", but is understood, and indeed translated, as
"pertains to God".
"Hebrews 2:17, “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” πρὸς τὸν θεόν, “pros ton theon” pertaining to God
"Hebrews 5:1, “For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:” πρὸς τὸν θεόν, “pros ton theon” pertaining to God..."
"Since the same phrase is used in Hebrews 2:17 and 5:1,
as is used in John 1:1, and there (in both Hebrews’ texts)
is translated “pertaining to God,”
it cannot, therefore, be a conclusive forgone proof
that “pros ton theon” means “with,”
in the sense of one person being with another person.
"In point of fact, the evidence tends to lean heavily in favor of the Monarchians’ understanding of
“πρὸς τὸν θεόν” (pros ton theon) meaning:
“pertaining to God.”
"The Word, then, of
John 1:1, pertained to God,
as a man’s word pertains to himself."
The word Godhead appears three times in the King James Version of the New Testament
(Acts 17:29; Rom. 1:20; Col. 2:9), and refers to the deity or divine nature of God.
When we take all that the Bible says on this subject, both from the Old and New Testaments, we learn that there is one deity or divine nature that is held by three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three of these persons are called God. All three of these persons are eternal. All three of these persons have divine power and divine nature. Together they make up the one God of the Bible. Does this suggest that there is more than one God? No!
There are three persons within the godhead, but they all have the same divine nature, and no one else has that divinity but them. The Father doesn’t have a different nature than the Son. The Son doesn’t have a different nature than the Spirit. The Spirit doesn’t have a different nature than the Father. They all have the same, one divine nature held by deity. So, there is one God.
