Apostolic Antiquity

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Many trinitarian proponents like to say the word “with” or “pros” πρὸς in Greek denotes the meaning; face to face with, and would therefore insinuate at least two divine persons in the text. The text would essentially read: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was face to face with God, and the Word was God.” Furthermore, the first use of the word God is generally interpreted as being the person of the Father, while the second use of the term God is referring to the divine nature which the Son partakes of along side the Father. Or in other words, the first use is better understood as a pronoun and the second use as a noun. However, this is an eisegetical approach of interpretation that forces one to shift the meaning of the term “God” from person to essence, although the verse does not explicitly demand this. Furthermore, the Greek word pros does not necessarily mean face to face with. We see in Greek the word “pros” πρὸς in in its accusative case, which forms a prepositional phrase describing the Word’s relation to God. Although pros in its accusative sense can be interpreted as “face to face with” this is dependant upon the context and is the less common translation of the word while the indication of relationship is the more generally used translation. This is where yet another trinitarian interpretation shows up; in this interpretation John 1:1 is not saying the Word was “face to face with” God, but rather that the Word was in close personal relationship with God. The assumption, however, lies in the added word “personal”. Though John 1:1 is speaking of the relationship between the Word and God, the text itself is not actually explicit it being a personal or intimate one on the contrary, in the latter half of the verse it actually explains this relationship as an ontological one: “And the Word was God”. This is the relationship between God and the Word, that they share the same ontological status of being God, now this exegetical interpretation is not contrary to trinitarian theology, but it does not explicitly show a distinction of persons. 

Conclusion:

We see in the Greek the word “pros” πρὸς is in its accusative case, which forms a prepositional phrase when modifying the word “was” (ēn ἦν) describing the Word’s relation to God. In the context of John 1:1, the relationship being described by the modifier is not a personal one, nor is it an intimate one that must be shared by two separate or distinct persons, but rather it is one of ontological relationship, highlighting that this Word i.e. mind, thought, plan, reason, or logic, is no other than God Himself. Johns central point that he is trying to get across, both contextually and grammatically, in John 1:1 is that the Mind that was made flesh (John 1:14) was not the mind of a mere angle or human being but that He was the God who was in the beginning.