The Word: Commentary on John 1:6-18 (Part 2)

January 14, 2011 by William Hamblin

Continued from Page 2

The Only God?
There is an interesting variant in the ancient manuscripts of John 1:18: "No one has ever seen God; the only Son/God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known." Some ancient manuscripts read monogenēs huios (the only Son), while others, including the oldest fragments, read monogenēs theos (the only God). These manuscript variants probably arose during Christological doctrinal disputes among early Christians, and may represent an interesting example of intentional manipulation of manuscripts by some early Christian theologians. Scholars dispute which reading is the original, but Jesus is called the monogenēs huios several times in John (Jn. 1:14, 3:16, 18), but never again monogenēs theos. Be that as it may, the context clearly shows that John is stating that the Son has revealed the Father (Jn. 6:46; 1 Jn. 4:12, 20). Actually, the verb in Greek, exēgeomai (from whence our term exegesis), means literally to "explain or expound divine secrets"—that is, Jesus has explained the divine secret of the Father. As a Christological title, the term monogenēs is only found in John (Jn. 1:14, 18, 3:16, 18). Traditionally, it has been translated as "only begotten," but modern translators tend to render it simply as "only" or "unique." This leads to another ambiguity. Is Jesus the Only Son of the Father—meaning there are no other sons of the Father? Or is he the Unique Son—meaning there are other sons of God (the disciples, Jn. 1.12, 11.52), but the nature of Jesus' sonship is unique? The Greek could be understood either way, but, as noted above, the fact that John calls Jesus the "Son of God," but the disciples "children of God" would point to "unique" as the best translation.

Conclusion
It is not until the end of the Prologue that John reveals his full meaning. The divine creator known as the Word has become flesh; he is the divine Light, enlightening the world. He dwells among Mankind, making us the children of God, and bringing us grace and truth. But not until 1:17 do we discover who John is describing: Jesus the Messiah. Literarily speaking, John is creating suspense for the readers, leaving them wondering until the final revelation of the identity of the divine Word. The Prologue gives both a quick summary of God's plan of salvation, and a quick summary of the Gospel of John. In this brief synopsis, three key elements of God's plan of salvation are emphasized: divine preexistence of Jesus (1:1-4, 10), manifestation of God as the incarnate Word in the World (1:9-11), and the Word's atonement for all mankind (1:12-13). As we shall see, John uses the rest of his gospel to explore the implications of these ideas.

A pdf of the full version of this column, with extensive references and notes, can be found here.
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1/14/2011 5:00:00 AM

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About William Hamblin

William James Hamblin is professor of Near Eastern History at Brigham Young University. You can follow and discuss "An Enigmatic Mirror" on Facebook.

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