What Do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe
The first section of the pamphlet that I want to approach is:
The Bible, Jesus Christ, and God
The Jehovah's Witness make the statement:
"We endorse completely the apostle Peter's testimony regarding Jesus Christ: 'There is not another name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved.' Acts 4:12 "However, since Jesus said that he is "God's Son" and that the "Father sent me forth," Jehovah's Witnesses believe that God is greater than Jesus."
They use John 10:36, and John 6:57 to back this statement up. Here is John 10:36:
John 10:36 ESV do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?
- Your first question should be, who is Jesus talking to?
- What is he talking about?
- Thirdly, if I only worked from this verse, what does this tell me?
“him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world”
It merely points out that God purified His Son, setting him apart for some holy work. We know that the work he was set apart for was the redemption of man.
There is a context to the verse which they choose to ignore.
John 10:22-36 ESV At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, (23) and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. (24) So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." (25) Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, (26) but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. (27) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (28) I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (29) My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. (30) I and the Father are one." (31) The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. (32) Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?" (33) The Jews answered him, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God." (34) Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods'? (35) If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— (36) do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?
- The Jews then wanted to stone him.
While there are things in this passage, that some could say show that Jesus is lower than the Father, it is obvious that the Jews did not see it this way. You can see the impact of their understanding in verse 31 through 33, when they say, “you, being a man, make yourself God.” There was no denying this.
The other scripture the brochure uses to prove that Jesus was lower than God, is John 6:57, so let's pursue that for a moment.
John 6:57 ESV As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.
- “As the living Father sent me”
Does this imply that Jesus is lower than the Father?
No, it only demonstrates the willingness of the Son to do the Father's will.
John 6:57 ESV As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.
How would someone subservient be able to say something like this?
John 6:57, this too has a context.
John 6:42-59 ESV They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" (43) Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. (44) No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (45) It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me-- (46) not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. (47) Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. (48) I am the bread of life. (49) Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. (50) This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. (51) I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." (52) The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" (53) So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. (54) Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. (55) For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. (56) Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. (57) As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. (58) This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever." (59) Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
The Jehovah's Witnesses only choose to use verse 57, and yet that verse states that the Father sent me. Jesus told them that he lives because of the Father, and whoever feeds on him, Jesus, will also live. How could that be if Jesus was anything less than the Father.
As I said, their brochure states: “Jesus himself acknowledged: “the Father is greater than I am.” At this point they reference John 14:28; John 8:28.
John 14:28 ESV You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
If again, we are only allowed to consider one aspect of the context, it would be rather condemning, and in the favor of JW logic.
What then is the context? The context begins in the 13th chapter of John. He has told them he is going away and they are coming undone with the grief and thought of losing him.
The response is rather long, but begins with:
John 13:30-33 ESV So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. (31) When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. (32) If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. (33) Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come.'
Peter asked :
John 13:36 ESV .. "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward."
Thomas, as one might expect, expressed his doubts:
John 14:5-7 ESV .. "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" (6) Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (7) If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."
Philip added:
John 14:8-9 ESV .. "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." (9) Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
In Jesus responses to Thomas and Philip, he states very clearly:
- “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
- “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
- However, the phrase that seems to shoot right by everyone, comes in John 14:6 where Jesus, in response to Thomas (and not just Thomas, for he wanted all of those within earshot to hear this) says, “I AM ...”Those two words spoke volumes. They are the same two words he said when the temple guards came to take him in the garden that night. When He spoke those words at them they all fell backwards due to the power in the words coming out of the mouth of God. I AM; the Greek words ego eimi barely mean anything to us Goyim/gentiles, but to the Jews hearing this they knew immediately what he was trying to convey. Ego means I. There is no manipulation or subservience implied, and Eimi conveyed I exist (used only when emphatic): - I am, and have been. This so called blasphemy was the motivation of the Jews, on several occasions, to attempt to stone Jesus.
If the Jehovah's Witness had read the entirety of John 13 and 14, we would not be having this conversation.
The writer of Hebrews tells us:
Hebrews 1:1-10 ESV Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, (2) but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (3) He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (4) having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. (5) For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"? Or again, "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son"? (6) And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him." (7) Of the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire." (8) But of the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. (9) You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions." (10) And, "You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;
As you can see in verse six, “And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him." It is clear that there had been a shift, and for a time, Jesus had set aside who he was, but for a specific purpose.
Did Jesus put himself in a subservient position? Certainly!
Philippians 2:5-10 ESV Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, (6) who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, (7) but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (8) And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (9) Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, (10) so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Jesus voluntarily set aside who he was and became obedient even to the death on the cross. All this was done to rescue mankind. Corrupted by the fall of Adam, all are and were born into sin, but Christ's obedience to the cross covered that debt and therefore none will be judged and excluded from God's presence because of sin. You will however be judged based upon what did with Jesus – Did you accept him or reject him. If you reject him then you might as well have put him on the cross yourself. To accept him as your life means to gain a permanent relationship with the Father once again. Hence we have the story of the prodigal son. A story that ends showing us the Father, standing, watching, and waiting for us to return to a relationship we once had. Upon the sons return there is a complete restoration, just as there will be for us. No manipulation, no threats, and no subservient roles, just full restoration of all things as the Father, who wishes nothing but peace, love and relationship for us.
Is this a New Testament, corrupted christian concept?
Not hardly, we find this in the Psalms of David, where he describes what is to come.
Psalms 40:6-8 KJV Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. (7) Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, (8) I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
In speaking of Jesus Christ, the son that was to come - he did come by the way - the Prophet Isaiah under inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, said this:
Isaiah 9:6-7 KJV For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (7) Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Did you catch that. His name, Jesus, will be called, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Not only is it his name, but it is His kingdom.
In trying to prove their point, the brochure continued by using John 8:28.
John 8:28 KJV Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
One does not have to think hard or look far to debunk this passage as demonstrating Jesus as subservient, for the answers lie in the passage itself.
- “ When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am” Once again, we have the phrase ego eimi. A dominant and emphatic declaring that he was and is the all existent one.
- Should you wish to use “ I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me” to make your point, then consider that made himself willing and subject to the path it took to get to the cross. In so doing he showed us what willingness looks like. He, by the way, is sitting once again on the throne.
The next paragraph, and I will end here because this could go on all day, states:
“Thus we do not believe that Jesus is equal with the Father, as the Trinity doctrine says. Rather, we believe that he was created by God and that he is subordinate to Him.”
They reference: Colossians 1:15; 1 Corinthians 11:3. So let's have a look:
Colossians 1:15 KJV Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
How do you argue by working from the middle of the paragraph? I know who this person is that is being referenced, it is Jesus.
Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Matthew 2:13-15 KJV And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. (14) When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: (15) And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
A created being, like an angel, is not, and cannot be a son. Son's are born of the Father. If Jesus was not the Son, then why did Satan, a created being, even bother to test the concept with Jesus. The logic of the Jehovah's Witness argument is not even sound.
Matthew 4:1-4 MKJV Then Jesus was led by the Spirit up into the wilderness, to be tempted by the Devil. (2) And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterwards hungry. (3) And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If You are the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. (4) But He answered and said, It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
Clearly demons have more sense than the Jehovah's Witnesses, for even they recognized that Jesus was the Son of God.
Matthew 8:28-29 MKJV And when He had come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, two demon-possessed ones met Him, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one might pass by that way. (29) And behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with You, Jesus, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?
I have intentionally avoided the statements Jesus made of himself, in which he called himself, the Son of man. Theologically I can think this through and see that an aspect of the statement entails his voluntarily giving himself to pay the debt for mankind; that could only happen through a sinless man. Since mankind sustained some aspect that corrupted us all, and it was passed through the seed, then we had to have God interacting with a virgin, thus bypassing the corruption passed through the seed. Because of this Jesus was fully man, without the inherited corruption, making him sinless, and at the same time, God's Son. God's Son walked this earth as a man; subject to every temptation, as we are.
However, this simple man, forgave sins, and even the Jews were smart enough to realize that only God could do that. What does that tell you?
Matthew 9:6 MKJV But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, then He said to the paralytic, Arise, take up your bed and go to your house.
One of my commentaries states: “Jewish teachers knew that only God could ultimately forgive (on the Day of Atonement in response to sacrifice); but they also recognized that healing ultimately came from God as well. Josephus shows us that many false prophets in Jesus’ day claimed to work miracles but actually failed to work them; some of Jesus’ critics may have placed him in this category. His act in front of these witnesses, however, should have challenged them to reconsider their case.” So, once again, Jesus made it known that he was God.
Let me reiterate that the belief of the Jehovah's Witness is that Jesus is subordinate to God, and not a part of the trinity doctrines. The last verse they use to make this straight in our heads as they pound on our doors is:
1 Corinthians 11:3 MKJV (3) But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Ah, how refreshing, the head of Christ is God.
I need to make a couple of points here. Even though I used it before, it speaks clearly toward this.
Hebrews 1:1-6 MKJV God, who at many times and in many ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, (2) has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds, (3) who being the shining splendor of His glory, and the express image of His essence, and upholding all things by the word of His power, through Himself cleansing of our sins, He sat down on the right of the Majesty on high, (4) being made so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. (5) For to which of the angels did He say at any time, "You are My Son, this day I have begotten You?" And again, "I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son?" (6) And again, when He brings in the First-born into the world, He says, "And let all the angels of God worship Him."
- Even if he is a subservient Son, God has “appointed (him) heir of all things,”
- Through this subservient Son, “He made the worlds”. Should choose not to buy into this, then allow me to rock your boat with this - John 1:1-4 MKJV “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He was in the beginning with God. (3) All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. (4) In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
- Hebrews 1:3 ESV He (Jesus) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
- Hebrews 1:3 ESV He (Jesus) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
No angel has ever made purification for sins, that was placed upon man because of his sins. Since Christ was sin free, he obviously did not do that for himself, but did it for us, and, we are told that he offered his own blood upon the altar for those sins.
- Clearly something horrific happened. Scripture tells us that Jesus became sin. That is quite a step beyond merely acting as a high priest on our behalf. Hanging on that cross he said, my God why have you forsaken me. We are told that God cannot look upon sin, this is evidenced by priests actions under the law. Since Christ, the Son of God became sin, then something had to change, and you see this here in Hebrews when God says, You are My Son, this day I have begotten You?" And again, "I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son?" (6) And again, when He brings in the First-born into the world, He says, "And let all the angels of God worship Him."
What we fail to grasp is that though fully man, and fully God, Jesus has continued in his willingness to be the visible representation of God in a mans body.
How do I know that? Because after the grave he came to his disciples, who in their discouragement had returned to fishing. He called to them, cooked for them, ate with them, and yet could walk through walls and appear suddenly without having walked to get there.
As for the false Trinity Doctrine. This is not Christianity's idea, it is God's, for his name from the beginning of time has been 'ĕlôhı̂ym, and Elohim conveys the thought of plurality. Since we understand that the Holy Spirit is included, then the team has always been the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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