Commenting
on the deity of the premortal Jesus, Mark E. Petersen, defending this doctrine,
cited favourably many modern translations of John 1:1:
This is borne out in some of the newer
translations of the first chapter of John. Says the Goodspeed American
translation: “In the beginning the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the
Word was divine.”
Schoenfeld’s Authentic New Testament: “In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, so the Word was divine.”
The New English Bible says it slightly
differently, but with the same meaning: “When all things began, the Word
already was. The Word dwelt with God, and what God was, the Word was.” Christ
was divine.
The Knox (Catholic) version: “At the
beginning of time the Word already was. And God had the Word abiding with Him,
and the Word was God.”
Not only do these passages verify the
divinity of Christ, and sustain the fact of His being the Creator, but they
also teach the Father and the Son are two separate Beings, as are any father
and son, “and what the Father was, the Word was.” (Mark E. Petersen, This is Life Eternal [Salt Lake City:
Bookcraft, 1982], 31-32)
