I've already mentioned this, at least I thought I had, and many disagreed with it. That is there right and choice of course. But maybe I'm wrong and I didn't mention it before as I thought. So in case I'm wrong and I haven't mentioned this before, I'll state it again.
The apostle John repeatedly, describes the Lord Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God, with such scriptures as John 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9 to name a few. But from my research and study of the scriptures I don't see this is in reference to his human birth or to him as just the man Jesus. At John 1:1 John says in the first part of this scripture, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God." Many try to convince me that here at the first part of John 1:1 John was teaching, in the beginning was God, and God was with God. Those who try to convince me of this, is because they believe John is teaching the Word is God. I don't agree with those who believe and teach that, and I don't agree that John was teaching that. When John says in the first part of John 1:1 "in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God," I honestly don't believe John was saying that the Word was God and that God was with God. Since the first part of John 1:1: says, "the Word was with God" then someone who is with another person can't be the same as the other person. The Journal of Biblical Literature, edited by Jesuit Joseph A. Fitzmyer, notes that if the latter part of John 1:1 was interpreted to mean "the" God, meaning the last part of John 1:1 being translated as, "and the Word was God" that would then contradict with the clause of John 1:1 which says, in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God.
So I disagree with those who claim John was teaching that Jesus was God, because they believe the Word is God. I agree that John 1:1 highlights the quality of the Word, meaning that the Word who is the only begotten Son of God was "divine," "godlike," "a god," but not Almighty God, and this harmonizes with the rest of the Bible. Also there are other translations that translate the last part of John 1:1 differently such as,
1808 "and the word was a god," The New Testament in an Improved Version, Upon the Basis of Archbishop Newcome's New Translation: With a Corrected text.
1864 "and a god was the Word." The Emphatic Diaglott, interlinear reading, by Benjamin Wilson.
1928 "and the Word was a divine being." La Bible du Centenaire, Lee anti or demon Jean, by Maurice Goguel.
1935 "and the Word was divine." The Bible, An American Translation, by J.M. Smith and E.J. Goodspeed.
1946 "and of a divine kind was the Word." Das Neue Testament, by Ludwig Thimme.
Let's take first that popular rendering by the Authorized Version or Douay Version which is translated: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.”
Here a few lines deserve to be quoted from the book, The Four Gospels Harmonized and Translated, by Count Leo Tolstoy, page 30, paragraph 2, as follows:
If it says that in the beginning was the comprehension, or word, and that the word was to God, or with God, or for God, it is impossible to go on and say that it was God. If it was God, it could stand in no relation to God
So I disagree that the apostle John was so unreasonable as to say that someone, meaning, "the Word" was with some other individual (“God”) and at the same time was that other individual (“God”).
So John proves that the Word who was with God “was made flesh” and that Jesus Christ was “the Son of God.” So it would be proper to say that the Word was the Son of God. I disagree that the Word was God, “the only true God,” because it would be contrary to what the apostle John proves by the rest of his writings. Like at John 20:30, 31 where it says that everything that john wrote, which includes John 1:1 was written down to teach people that Jesus is the son of God. At Revelation 19:13 John calls him “The Word of God,” saying: “And his name is called The Word of God.” Note that his name is not called “God the Word,” but is called “The Word of God,” or God’s Word.