John 1:1 — "The Word Was God"

Methodists affirm the traditional Trinitarian reading of John 1:1. The Word's identification with God establishes the divinity of Christ, which is foundational to Methodist theology. John Wesley himself endorsed this interpretation as consistent with Scripture and reason.

The Methodist tradition reads this passage as biblical support for the deity of Christ without overemphasizing metaphysical speculation. Methodists follow the quadrilateral: Scripture clearly teaches Christ's divinity here; tradition (patristic and Reformation) supports this reading; reason affirms its philosophical coherence; and Christian experience of Christ's salvific power witnesses to his divine nature.