John 1:1 — "The Word Was God"

Congregationalists affirm the traditional reading of John 1:1 ('the Word was God') as a statement of Christ's full divinity. This interpretation is fundamental to Congregationalist Christology and is taught consistently across the denomination's mainline heritage. The passage confirms the pre-incarnate Christ's divine nature and his ontological unity with God the Father.

Progressive Congregationalists do not dispute this translation or its theological import; the shift toward liberalism in twentieth-century Congregationalism did not entail a denial of the Logos theology but rather a more critical engagement with its philosophical foundations. The high Christology of John remains normative in Congregationalist worship and teaching.