John 1:18

No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. -- John 1:18 (NIV)

or

No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. -- John 1:18 (NLT)

"who is himself God" is text added by translators which was not part of the original manuscript. Compare for example with the KJV which is a much older translation:

No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. -- John 1:18 (KJV)

A direct translation from the Interlinear Bible reads:

God no one has seen ever yet [the] only begotton god the one being in the bosom of the Father he has made [Him] known.

What causes the confusion is that the Greek word "theos" could either mean

Therefore, depending on the translator's view, the same Greek scripture is translated differently.

If John truly meant God (with a capital letter "G"), it would cause a contradiction with John 1:14 which states that Jesus was seen while John 1:18 states that "no one has ever seen God".

In fact one could argue, that if the "only begotton Son" declared God or made Him known, then the Son did a bad job to explain the triune God composed of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Instead, he said multiple times that the Father alone is God. (John 17:3; 20:17; Mark 12:29; 15:34; Matthew 4:3-10; 27:46; Revelation 16:5-7)

For example:

  • Jesus could have taught the Samaritan women (John 4:1-42) about the triune God composed of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and that she should worship him as God, but instead he told her that he is the Messiah (John 4:26) instead of God. In fact even told her that she should worship the Father (John 4:23) which would have reinforced her belief that there was only one God that should be worshipped.
  • When Jesus taught his disciples that he was the Messiah (Matt. 16:17-20) instead of God and also reinforced Peter's belief that it was God the Father in heaven who revealed this knowledge to him.
  • When Jesus healed a blind man he also only taught him that he was the Messiah (John 9:35-38) instead of God.
  • When the young rich ruler approached Jesus and called him Good Master, Jesus corrected him and told him only God was good which implies he is not God. (Mark 10:17-18)