Featured God...The Unique God

“Θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακεν πώποτε ὁ μονογενὴς θεὸς ὁ ὢν είς τὸν κόλπον τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκεῖνος ἐξηγήσατο” (John 1:18)

“God no one has seen at any time the Unique God Who is in the bosom of the Father He has revealed Him”

Firstly, this reading with “θεὸς” (God), instead of “υιος” (Son), is the oldest, and has wider textual evidence. Of the Greek manuscripts, we have: The Codices P66 (about 200 A.D.), P75 (early 3rd cent.), Sinaticus (4th), Vaticanus (4th), Ephraemi (5th). Earlier than this, we have this reading “θεὸς” in, Ignatius (died 110), Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (130-200), Clement of Alexandria (150-215), and The Diatessaron, (about 180). We also have the testimony of the early “heretics”, like Valentinus of Egypt (2nd cent), Origen (185-254), Arius of Alexandria (250-336), who read “θεὸς” in John 1:18, and not “υιος”. The evidence for “υιος”, is also very early, and also known to Irenaeus, Clement and Origen. The earliest Greek manuscript is the 5th century Codex Alexandrinus, over 200 years after the P66. In more recent times, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, in both their Kingdom Greek Interlinears, use “θεὸς” in the text, but render it as “god”, because of their theology. This is followed in their New World Translation. It should be noted, in both uses “Θεὸν, θεὸς” in 1:18, there is no article in the Greek (τὸν θεόν, ὁ θεὸς), so there is no grammatical argument for the second use to be translated as “god”, other than the fact that it refers to Jesus Christ, and the JW’s theology rejects His full Deity! The Unitarian New Testament by Dr Noyes, also has “God”. So, even those opposed to the Bible’s Teaching that Jesus Christ IS “God”, in this verse accept the correct reading as “θεὸς”.

In this verse we have “the Word”, from John 1:1, 14, Who is called, “θεὸς”. Then, we also have “Θεὸν” used for “τοῦ πατρὸς” (the Father). As it says that one “God” was “into the bosom” of the other “God”, it is clear that BOTH cannot be IDENTICAL, as in the same “Individual”, or “Person”. There is a DISTINCTION here, between “Θεὸν” and “θεὸς”. This verse clearly destroys any teaching that says the God of the Holy Bible is “Unipersonal” (also known as Unitarianism), or that Jesus Christ alone is God (Jesus only heresy), or that the Father alone is God, or that The Father is in The Godhead, “Primary”, and Jesus Christ is “Secondary”, or “Inferior”. The Bible is very clear, that there is only ONE GOD. It is also very clear, from this verse, and John 1:1, that there are TWO Persons Who are EQUALLY God. Then, with The Holy Spirit as also “God” (Acts 5:3-4, “ψεύσασθαι σε τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον...ἐψεύσω ἀνθρώποις ἀλλὰ τῷ θεῷ.lied to the Holy Spirit...lied not to a human, but to God”; 2 Cor. 3:18, “ἀπὸ κυρίου πνεύματος, from The Lord Spirit), we get “Trinitarianism”. Unitarianism is an unBiblical heresy.

Next is the word “μονογενὴς”, which versions like the King James (Wycliffe, Tyndale, ASV, RSV, YLT, etc), translate “only begotten”. This, however, is not what the Greek means. “μονογενὴς” is a compound word, itself from “μόνος (one) and γένος (kind)”, literally, “one of a kind”, or “unique”, or “one and only”. If John wished to say “only begotten”, then he would have used the correct Greek word, “μονογέννητος”. “μονογενὴς” has not “begetting” in its use.

"only...Also unique (in kind) of someth. that it the only example of its category...'unique and alone'" (W F Ardnt and F W Gingrich; A Greek-English Lexicon, p.529)

"the only member of am kin or kind: hence, generally, only, single, unique" (H G Liddell and R Scott; A Greek-English Lexicon, p.1144. Revised Edition)

"μονογενὴς is literally “one of a kind,” “only,” “unique” (unicus), not “only-begotten,” which would be μονογέννητος, (unigenitus), and is common in the LXX in this sense" (J H Moulton & G Milligan; Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament. pp. 416-417)

“But the word can also be used more generally without ref. to derivation in the sense of “unique,” “unparalleled,” “incomparable,”” (Gerhard Kittel; Theological Dictionary of the New Testament)

When “μονογενὴς” is used for Jesus Christ, the term UNIQUE is the best to describe Him.

In John 1:1, we have one of the clearest verses in the Bible of the full Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, and His Eternal existence with God the Father. “Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος”, “In the beginning”, here is beyond Creation as in Genesis 1:1, as Creation is mentioned in verse 3. This “beginning” is to “eternity past”. “was the Word”, that is, “existed the Word”. John then says, “ καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν” (and The Word was with The God). The literal English is, "and the Word was in the presence the God". The use of this Greek preposition, "προς", shows that "the Word" and "the God" cannot be IDENTICAL as "Persons", as there is a clear distinction. Then John goes on to write, "και θεος ην ο λογος", literally, "and God was the Word". However, because "the Word" is the subject of this verse, which is also show from the use of the "ο", with "λογος", and "θεος", being the predicate of the sentence, does not take the Greek article, "ο". So, it is almost always translated as "the Word was God". "θεος" is here, as in the previous use, identical in meaning, as there is only One God. There is no other way to understand the "Nature" of the God of the Holy Bible, than to take "θεος" as "MultiPersonal".

We then have John tell us in 1:14, “Καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν”. (And The Word flesh became and tabernacled among us). In verse 1 John uses “ἦν” (was), which is in the imperfect, which denotes an incomplete action, begun in time past, but in its course. In verse 14 this changes to “ἐγένετο”, from “γίνομαι”, where the meaning is, “to be born, to come into being”. While remaining “God”, “The Word”, was “born” flesh, The Incarnation. Important is the fact that John did not write, “Καὶ ὁ λόγος ὁ σὰρξ ἐγένετο”, which could mean, “the flesh became the Word”, where “the Word” was “changed” into “the flesh”. This is what the Apostle Paul means in 1 Timothy 3:6, where the best textual evidence supports the reading of the King James Version: “θεος εφανερωθη εν σαρκι”, that is, “God was manifest in flesh”.

Jesus Christ, Who IS from eternity Almighty God, The Great I AM, “became flesh”, that is, The God-Man, 100% God and 100% Man, sin excepted. This is indeed UNIQUE and exactly what John says when he uses “μονογενὴς” for Jesus.

Here we have one of the clearest passages in the Bible, where we read twice, verses 1 and 18, where there are TWO “Persons”, Who are “Distinct” from One another, and called “God”. We have seen, where the Greek preposition "προς", is used in verse one, where the meaning is “besides another”. Then, here in verse 18, John uses the Greek, “κόλπος”, translated “bosom”, which denotes, “the closest communion”, as of one “on the lap of the other”, as we can see in John 13:23. It is very clear that we have TWO called “God” in exactly the SAME way. This is conclusive Bible Teaching that the teaching that God is “Unipersonal”, is blatant HERESY.

 

the reading of the TR and KJV, etc, it outweighed by the much older reading "God". Number of manuscripts mean little, if the ones they are copied from are corrupt in the first place, as this verse is

 

did you read the OP?

 

“θεὸς”, as I have said in the OP, is not only in the oldest Greek manuscripts, but also quoted as part of this verse by very early Greek fathers, heretics, and in more recent times, by the JW's, and Unitarian scholar!