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Who was Jesus?
A friend of mine gave me a small book, which some Jehovah’s Witnesses
had given to him. He asked me to check it through and see if there were any
errors in it. I reluctantly agreed – I say reluctantly because I am already
familiar with the many errors, which characterise the JW teachings. However,
with the possibility that a few comments might help to illuminate the difference
between a cult teaching and Bible truth, I took the book home and began to
read.
I reached page 15 and stopped in amazement. The error was outstanding!
It was blatant and undisguised. Anyone with a bit of time and a Bible could
have spotted it – so why do JW’s teach it?
I refer to these three statements:
Jehovah alone is referred to as "the Almighty" (Rev.15:3)
He alone has always existed ((Psalm 90:2)
He alone is the Creator (Rev.4:11)
But having affirmed these true things the book goes on to say that Jesus
is not God. This is a heresy that crept into the church hundreds of years ago,
spawned by, among others, a man called Arius. His idea that Jesus was created.
Arius lived in
The main JW teaching is simply this: "Jesus is
not God. Jesus was created by God." Added to this
teaching is the extra: "The Holy Spirit is not God either." But it is
the first statement which matters most, because it is tied to salvation. If we
do not believe the right things about Jesus we cannot be saved. Who Jesus is,
is crucial to redemption, atonement and forgiveness of sins.
If anyone wants to pursue the wide range of other errors taught by JW’s
I suggest they read ‘The Kingdom of the Cults’ by Walter Martin, or Josh
McDowell’s ‘A Ready Defense’, or any number of other books and there are many
Internet sites which can easily refute the errors.
The claim about Christ’s deity is worth looking at, but first let us
make sure that jehovah does claim for Himself uniqueness:
"That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God,
and that there is none else." 1 Kings 8:60
"I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God
beside me" Isaiah 45:5
"That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that
there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else".
Isaiah 45:6
"Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God".(apart
from Me) Isaiah 45:14
"For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that
formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in
vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else".
Isaiah 45:18
"Who has declared this from ancient time? who has told it from that
time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just
God and a Saviour; there is none beside me". Isaiah 45:21
"Look to me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I
am God, and there is none else." Isaiah 45:22
"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is
none else; I am God, and there is none like me." Isaiah 46:9
Scripture is clear. There is but one God. He is the only one true God.
Now let us turn to Isaiah 6:1-3. Isaiah is speaking:
"In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord
sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered
his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD
of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory."
We must be clear here. Isaiah says he saw the Lord (Jehovah) in the
temple. This is the one true God, who has no rivals? This is the one and only
God. Now read on and see the titles which Jehovah uses of Himself: the Lord
your redeemer – 44:24, and creator, 45:12, 18, and the saviour- 45:22. He also calls
Himself "the first and the last", and the one who "laid the
foundation of the earth" – 48:12-17. So in summary, Jehovah calls Himself
the creator, redeemer, Lord God of
"But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they
believed not on him:
That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he
spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord
been revealed?
Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,
He has blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should
not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and
I should heal them.
These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him."
John
Now who did Isaiah see in the temple? Jehovah. Who was Isaiah
speaking of? Jesus.
Another way to approach the question of Jesus’ deity is to look at
prophecy. For example Isaiah 9:6 –
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".
Isaiah 9:6
"But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among the
thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth to me that is to be
ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."
Micah 5:2
"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
Isaiah
All these prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus, yet they call him
"the mighty God, the everlasting Father, He who is "from
everlasting" and "God with us".
The JW claim that Jesus was less than God is true, in the sense that
Jesus humbled Himself and became a servant. He was lower in rank so to speak,
but not in any other way. The humbling is described in Philippians5-11:
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal
with God: (This means, he thought it not ‘something to be grasped at’
because there was no need)
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name
which is above every name:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth;
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."
God humbled Himself so low He was actually willing to die for sinners.
The same God who gave the Law to Mankind, was willing to die for Man’s breaking
of that Law. Only the one who gave the Law could do that. It is illogical to
suppose that a mere created being, even a perfect one, could pay the price for
Man’s sin. Only God Himself could redeem us.
"For in him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
Colossians 2:9
Jesus Himself calls Himself by the same names which Jehovahin the Old
testament uses:
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the Lord,
which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." Revelation
1:8
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the
last." Revelation 22:13
In order to sidestep the obvious, some JW’s claim that there are two
mighty Gods, a greater one and a lesser one, yet this must be impossible, since
we know from many verses that there is only one God. So who is Jesus? Is He an
imposter? Is He a small god who makes huge claims for Himself? Did the one true
God really create Jesus, and then allow this mere created man to claim all the
power and prerogatives of the one true God for Himself? The true God could
never tolerate such impudent rivalry
Another approach is to look at the grounds on which
a person could, under the law of Moses be put to death.
There were five legal reasons:
1.
Having familiar spirits – Lev.20:27,
2.
Cursing or blasphemy – Lev.24:10-23,
3.
False prophets, who lead to idolatry – Deuteronomy
13:5-10
4.
Stubborn and rebellious adult son – Deuteronomy
21:18-21
5.
Adultery and rape- Deuteronomy 22:21-24 and
Lev.20:10.
The Jews were legalists, so they were seeking a legal way of
getting rid of Jesus. The only charge they could raise was ‘blasphemy’ (which
ironically was not valid). Some JW’s claim that the Jews tried to stone Jesus
because He called them children of the devil (John 8:44) but if this were true why
did they not try to stone Him on other occasions, such as Mat.23:33, when he
called them sons of vipers. The answer is simple. They could not kill him on
the grounds of "insult" because it was illegal.
To understand the context we must understand where the name "I
AM" comes from. It was the name given to Moses for
"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shall
you say to the children of
We must make no mistake here. YHWH or "I AM" refers to the one
true God, Jehovah, the only God. So, when Jesus used it of Himself what was He
implying?
"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was
glad.
Then said the Jews to him, You art not yet fifty years old, and have you
seen Abraham?
Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Before Abraham was,
I am.
Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went
out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by."
John
On another occasion Jesus was in danger of being stoned for similar
statements:
"Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not
only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making
himself equal with God." John 5:18 Equal with Jehovah, the one true
God? That’s right – equal.
One of the followers of Jesus, formerly a doubter, was utterly convinced
about the deity of Christ:
"And Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God."
John 20:28
On another occasion, when Jesus commanded a storm to cease, his
disciples reasoned correctly:
"And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner
of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" Mark 4:41
The Old Testament supplies the answer. This man was God, because God
alone can command the wind and sea:
"You (Jehovah) did blow with your wind, the sea covered them: they
sank as lead in the mighty waters." Exodus 15:10
Even the enemies of Jesus could not escape the logical conclusion:
"And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is
this which speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?"
Luke 5:21
The above summary of basic Bible teaching about Jesus’ deity shows how
wrong the JW point of view is, yet they continue to add new converts to their
ranks, so the question arises: how can so many people be deceived by a so
obviously fraudulent religion?
To understand this we need to note several aspects of JW membership.
1.
No member of the Watchtower Society is allowed to
think independently for him or herself. Independent Bible study is discouraged
if it questions the accepted teachings.
2.
All opposition to their teaching – including this
essay – is instantly labeled a "vain philosophy of men” and placed in the’
false’ bin.
3.
The Scriptures are always made to conform to the
Watchtower beliefs never the other way round.
4.
Much of JW literature is a masterpiece of illogical
reasoning, invalid arguments, mistranslations of Scripture and opinions which
appeal to the gullible mind
5.
The Society, as far as I can discover, has no Greek
scholars of any repute in their ranks. If they did, they would not twist and
contort such scriptures as John 1:1, 8:58 and Col. 2:9 (to mention but a few)
to suit their own views.
6.
Their publications avoid attributing authorship to
articles, so no-one knows who wrote what. This is a good way of avoiding
criticism or questions.
Obviously the far
better path to take is to read the Bible and believe it as it is written.
Whether we like it or not, one day every knee shall bow and every tongue will
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord – that is, God.