John 1:1 — "The Word Was God"

The Wesleyan Church affirms the traditional and orthodox reading of John 1:1, understanding it as clear testimony to the full divinity of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word. This affirmation is foundational to Wesleyan Christology and soteriology.

In Wesleyan theology, Christ's divinity is essential to understanding His redemptive work. Only as God incarnate could Christ make a complete and efficacious atonement for sin, offering Himself as a perfect sacrifice. The preexistence of the Word and His identity with God underscore the cosmic significance of the Incarnation and the power of Christ's redemptive death and resurrection.

Moreover, the affirmation of Christ's divinity grounds the Wesleyan doctrine of entire sanctification. Christ, as God the Son, lived a life of perfect obedience and holiness, which believers are invited to appropriate through faith and the empowering work of the Holy Spirit. The divine Christ is both Redeemer and the model of holiness toward which believers press. John 1:1 thus anchors both the objective redemption accomplished in Christ and the subjective appropriation of that redemption through sanctifying grace.