Addressing the OP, Good presentation.
May we add this, in an Easy Way to Understand Who God Is.
I used this in another topic. in your reference to John 1:1. the Lord Jesus said, John 8:58 "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was,
I am." and John 1:1 state, "In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word
was God."
TAKE NOTE OF THE TERM "
WAS" in John 1:1 now, back to John 8:58, the Lord Jesus said "I AM". we know from Exodus 3:14 God is "I AM". in John 8:58 the Lord Jesus said he is "I AM". in Light of this, let's examine John 1:1 more closely in the term "
WAS"
the term "WAS" here is the Greek word,
G2258 ἦν en (een') v.
ἦσαν esan (ee'-san)
ἦτε ete (ee'-te)
ἦμεν emen (ee'-men)
ἦς es (ees')
ἦσθα estha (ees'-tha)
I (thou, etc.) was (wast or were).
[imperfect of G1510]
KJV: + agree, be, X have (+ charge of), hold, use, was(-t), were
Root(s): G1510
LET'S FOLLOW THE ROOT. and see why this word "WAS" is the imperfect of G1510,
G1510 εἰμί eimi (ei-miy') v.
1. I am (i.e. I exist).
2. (emphatically declaring oneself, following G1473) It is I Myself (see Matthew 14:27, Matthew 14:28 and Mark 6:50).
3. (of God himself, following G1473) I AM (this is the comparable Greek form of God's Hebrew name, YAHWEH; compare H3068).
{used only when emphatic}
[first person singular present indicative, a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb]
KJV: am, have been, X it is I, was
now let's ROOT out G1473 in definition #2, and #3 above.
G1473 ἐγώ ego (e-ğō') p.
(emphatically, of the first person) I.
{
Only expressed when emphatic. For the other cases and the plural, see also}
[a primary pronoun]
KJV: I, me
HOLD IT, it said, see "also". ,let's see it, Isaiah 48:12 "Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first,
I also am the last." there is the ALSO, which confirms the "WITH" in John 1:1. listen, Isaiah 41:4 "Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning?
I the LORD, the first, and
with the last; I am he." the LORD who is FIRST/Father, is "WITH" the Last, but as the definition said, the Lord ONE PERSON, is "ALSO" the Last. BINGO the same one Person.
when the Lord Jesus said, "I AM",. he just declared that he is God ....
in flesh. according to his "NATURE, in PERSON and not His Person in NATURE. NOTE {Only expressed when emphatic. For the other cases and the plural,
see also ....... see ALSO as in Isaiah 48:12 which we did, Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first,
I also am the last." I is one person, and "Also" mean addition to, .. "Another" of oneself. hence the plurality, in NATURE/Spirit, and not in person(s), but in ONE PERSON.
in John 1:1 the "WITH" express the "ALSO" as the same ONE PERSON. "WAS"?I AM. so John 1:1 can be written as easy in clarity as,
John 1:1 "In the beginning was (I AM, JESUS) the Word, and the Word was (I AM, JESUS) with God, and the Word was (I AM, JESUS) God."
my source for the above definitions is the Mickelson's Enhanced Strong's Dictionaries of the Greek and Hebrew Testaments.
