"THE WORD WAS GOD"
According to the Einheitsübersetzung (EÜ), John 1:1 reads: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." It is clear from the following verses of the first chapter that the "Word" refers to Jesus (John 1:14). Since the "Word" is referred to as God, some conclude that the Son and the Father must be part of one and the same God.
It should be noted here that this part of the Bible was written in Greek. The Greek text was later translated into other languages. However, some Bible translators did not opt for the rendering "The Word was God". Why not? Based on their knowledge of biblical Greek, they came to the conclusion that this passage must be translated differently. How? Here are some examples: "And divine in nature was the Logos [the Word]" (John Schneider, The Gospel according to John). "And a god was the Logos" (Jürgen Becker, The Gospel according to John). "The Word had a divine nature" (Ludwig Albrecht, The New Testament). "First there was the Word, close to God and of God's nature" (Berger/Nord, Das Neue Testament und frühchristliche Schriften). According to these translations, "the Word" is not God himself. Because of its high position among Jehovah's creatures, it is instead referred to as "a god". "God" in this case means "Mighty One".
OBTAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Most people are not familiar with the Greek of the Bible. So how can they know what the apostle John meant? Consider the following situation: A teacher discusses a certain topic with his students. Afterwards, the students cannot agree on how to understand his explanations. How can they get clarity? They could ask the teacher for additional information in order to better understand the material. John 1:1 is also easier to understand if you look for additional information about Jesus' position in the Gospel of John. This makes it easier to draw the right conclusions.
In chapter 1, verse 18, for example, John writes: "No man has ever seen God [the Almighty]." But there have been people who have seen God's Son, Jesus, for John declares, "The Word [Jesus] became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory" (John 1:14, ETR). If this is so, how can the Son be a part of God Almighty? John also writes that "the Word" was "with God". How can someone be with a person and at the same time be that person himself? John 17:3 also shows that Jesus makes a clear distinction between himself and his heavenly Father. He calls his Father "the only true God". Towards the end of his gospel, the apostle John summarizes the reported things as follows: "But these things have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God" (John 20:31). Note that Jesus is not called God here, but the Son of God. This additional information from the Gospel of John shows how John 1:1 is to be understood: Jesus, "the Word", is "a god" insofar as he occupies a high position, but he is not to be equated with God Almighty.