Scripture-first response
“John 1 teaches two eternal divine persons.”
John says both that the Word was with God and that the Word was God. The Old Testament presents God creating and acting through His own word, which becomes flesh in John 1:14.
What the objection is claiming
The Word’s relation to God is assumed to be interpersonal before John’s own biblical background is examined.
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.Open full referenceThe Word eternally belongs to God’s own identity and is fully God.
How the passages answer it
God’s Word is His living, active self-expression, purpose, reason, and revelation. It can be toward God and go out from God without becoming another God beside Him. John’s decisive move is incarnation: the Word became flesh, and the born Son reveals the unseen God.