Chapter 1 -

The divinity of Jesus

 

 

 

 

When a Christian believer speaks with a Jehovah's Witness, one of the largest distinctive factors is the divinity of Jesus. Jehovah's Witnesses do not really believe in the divinity of Jesus; they regard Him only as a created being who was and is a great spiritual being in Heaven, actually He is the archangel Michael. He is also believed to have been on Earth as an ordinary person:

 

Jesus was in Heaven before coming on Earth. But was He one person of the almighty, everlasting triune God? No, for the Bible clearly says that before Jesus became a man, He was a created spirit, just as the angels were spirits created by God. (...)

   But because Jesus was not God, He could have been disloyal.

   From Jesus, who was not more than a perfect man, became a ransom that compensated exactly what Adam lost - the right to the perfect human life on Earth. (Tulisiko sinun uskoa kolminaisuuteen [Should You Believe in the Trinity?], p. 14,15)

 

But is this view of the Jehovah's Witnesses' and the Watchtower Society about Jesus true? We will try to give an answer to this below.

 

VERSES THAT REFER TO THE DIVINITY OF JESUS

 

Firstly, it is good to note that in the Bible, there are many verses that speak about the divinity of Jesus. The significance of these verses is that if they are examined by a person who is not yet saturated with the doctrine of the Watchtower Society, he will certainly understand that those verses clearly speak about the divinity of Jesus:

 

- (1 John 5:20-21) And we know that the Son of God is come, and has given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

21  Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

 

- (John 1:1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 

- (Rom 9:5)  Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

 

- (Tit 2:13) Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;

 

- (Matt 1:22-23) Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

23  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

 

- (John 20:28) And Thomas answered and said to him, My LORD and my God.

 

- (1 Cor 2:7-8) But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world to our glory:

8  Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

 

- (Phil 2:5-8) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7  But made himself of no reputation, and took on him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.

 

- (Col 2:8-9) Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

9  For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

 

- (1 Tim 3:16) And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

 

- (1 Tim 4:10) For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe.

 

- (Hebr 1:7-8) And of the angels he said, Who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

8  But to the Son he said, Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom.

 

JOHN 1:1

 

The previous list had the first verse from the Gospel of John (In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.). In the original language, this verse is one of the best pieces of evidence about the divinity of Jesus. Even the literature of the Watchtower Society admits that this verse confirms the divinity of Jesus:

 

A Bible reader who uses the commonly accepted translations will immediately say, “There should not be any difficulty in understanding who the Word is. It clearly says that the Word is God, and God is God. (Word, who He Was According to John, p. 4).

 

However, it is important that when this same verse does not fit the doctrine of the Watchtower Society, it has been changed a little. In its own New World Translation, the Society has translated and changed this verse so that it says that Jesus is only one of the gods. In its translation, the word “God” is not capitalized and even has an indefinite article before it. This verse has been translated in the following way by them:

 

- ... and the Word was a god.

 

However, it is strange that the Watchtower Society has not followed the same translation principles in other similar verses. If we look at the same first chapter of the Gospel of John (dozens of similar examples can be found in NT), the following verses should also have been translated in the same way as in John 1:1. However, the Society has not done this, but has translated them according to what is said also in other translations. Is this because only John 1:1 emphasizes the divinity of Jesus too strongly, and the other verses do not?

   In any case, if the Society was to follow the same translation principles than in John 1:1, it should have translated the verses below in the following way:

 

- (John 1:6) There was a man sent from (a) God, whose name was John.

 

- (John 1:12) But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of (a) God, even to them that believe on his name:

 

- (John 1:13) Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of (a) God.

 

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

 

ONE WITH THE FATHER

 

One good piece of evidence of the divinity of Jesus is that He is one with the Father. Jesus said that who has seen Him, has seen the Father. These verses refer to Jesus being as divine as His heavenly Father:

 

- (John 10:30-33) I and my Father are one.

31  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

32  Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do you stone me?

33  The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone you not; but for blasphemy; and because that you, being a man, make yourself God.                                                          

 

- (John 14:7-9) If you had known me, you should have known my Father also: and from now on you know him, and have seen him.

8  Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffises us.

9  Jesus said to him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet have you not known me, Philip? he that has seen me has seen the Father; and how say you then, Show us the Father?

 

- (Hebr 1:3) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

 

When it is a question of the above-mentioned verses, the Watchtower Society generally explains them so that Jesus is one with his Father only in His goals and His will, but not in His nature and essence.

   But if Jesus really meant this, why did the Jews intend to stone him? Did they not intend to stone him because He said He was equal to the almighty God? In the Jewish society of those days - which believed only in one almighty God - this had quite a special meaning.  People in this society could in no way mistake the significance of the words of Jesus about His divinity. (It should be noted that the cause of Jesus' death was the same.)

   The conclusion is that Jesus has to be one with the Father, not just in His goals and His will, but also in nature and essence. This same divine connection can also be found in the next examples:

 

God / Jesus has created everything:

 

- (Gen 1:1) In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

 

- (Job 38:4) Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if you have understanding.

 

- (John 1:9-10) That was the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world.

10  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

 

- (Col 1:16) For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

 

God / Jesus is unchanging:

 

- (Mal 3:6) For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed.

 

- (Hebr 13:8) Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

 

The Judgement of God and Jesus Christ:

 

- (Rom 14:10) But why do you judge your brother? or why do you set at nothing your brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

 

- (2 Cor 5:10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.

 

WORSHIPPING JESUS

 

The Bible says in several places that God does not give His glory to others and that we cannot have other gods before Him. He never gives His glory to anyone else or for example to idols:

 

- (Isa 42:8) I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

 

- (Exodus 20:2-3) I am the LORD your God, which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3  You shall have no other gods before me.

 

On the other hand, we can also find a teaching in the Bible of the angels of God not taking worship for themselves; they will refuse it. A good example is in the Revelation: John fell down at the feet of an angel, and the angel warned John not to do it. (It should be remembered that in the teaching of the Watchtower Society, Jesus is believed to have been an angel - actually the archangel Michael - before He came on Earth.):

 

- (Rev 22:8-9) And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things.

9  Then said he to me, See you do it not: for I am your fellow servant, and of your brothers the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

 

However, when we look at the Bible verses about Jesus, we see several in which He is worshipped, bowed, and respected, just like the Father. There is also one verse in which Jesus is set aside from the angels and the angels bow Him.

   This kind of worshipping could not be possible if Jesus was only a man or an angel:

 

- (Phil 2:10-11) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

- (John 9:38) And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

 

- (Matt 14:33)  Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth you are the Son of God.

 

- (Matt 28:9) And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

 

- (Hebr 1:5-8) For to which of the angels said he at any time, You are my Son, this day have I 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-begotten into the world, he said, And let all the angels of God worship him.

7  And of the angels he said, Who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

8  But to the Son he said, Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom.

 

- (John 5:22-23) For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son:

23  That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.  He that honors not the Son honors not the Father which has sent him.

 

- (Rev 22:1,3) And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

3  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

 

A CREATED BEING OR AN ETERNAL GOD?

 

When it is a question of the Jehovah's witnesses' view on Jesus, He is like a smaller "god" who has been created but the Father God is almighty and the highest God. Jesus can be seen to be a "god" only in that He is a great spiritual being. Neither is He ever thought to be eternal.

   However, if we study this view by means of many Bible verses, they indicate just the opposite. They speak, among other things, about His eternity and how everything has been created by Him. This would in no way be possible for a created being:

 

Eternal. Firstly, Isaiah 9:6 and other verses indicate that Jesus is eternal.  If someone is eternal, He cannot have been created, as the Watchtower Society teaches:

 

- (Isa 9:6) For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be on his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

 

- (Micah 5:2) But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall he come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

 

- (1 John 1:1-2) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked on, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

2  (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show to you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested to us;)

 

- (Hebr 7:3) Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like to the Son of God; stays a priest continually.

 

Through Jesus all things were created. One example of the divinity of Jesus is that all things were created by Him and have their origins in Him.

    If without Jesus, the Word, nothing would have been created, it means that He cannot be a created being but must have always existed. Many verses also indicate that He is also life - it is a characteristic that belongs only to God:

 

- (John 1:3,4) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

 

- (Col 1:16-17) For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

 

- (John 11:25) Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

 

No other gods. The idea that Jesus was a created god does not agree with the next verses. They indicate that no god has been created and that there is no other God than the right God. The conclusion is that as these and many other verses speak about God, they can only refer to one God who has informed Himself through Jesus Christ.

   On the other hand, if the Jehovah's Witnesses do not admit the divinity of Jesus and that He is one with the Father God, they then have two Gods: Jesus, a powerful God who has been created and the Father God, the Almighty who has created Jesus. In fact, they have many gods, which makes them polytheist:

 

- (Isa 43:10) You are my witnesses, said the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

 

- (Isa 45:5) I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded you, though you have not known me:

 

- (Deut 32:39) See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

 

JEHOVAH AND JESUS

 

Some of the best pieces of evidence about the divinity of Jesus are the Bible verses where Jesus is connected with the name Jehovah. (Most learned people regard this form of the name of God as wrong and believe that the original name was Yahveh.) Jehovah's Witnesses emphasize this name but the Bible verses below indicate that Jesus is Jehovah / God and also the Father. To make things clear, we have used boldfacing and italics to mark those places (in the Old Testament) where the word Jehovah / Jahveh (the LORD) appears:

 

MAKE ROAD FOR THE LORD / JEHOVAH, MEANING JESUS

 

Prophecy:

 

- (Isa 40:3-5) The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

5  And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.

 

Fulfillment:

 

- (Matt 3:1-3,11) In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

2  And saying, Repent you: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

3  For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

11  I indeed baptize you with water to repentance. but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

 

- (Luke 1:16-17) And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

17  And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

 

- (Luke 1:76)  And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest: for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

 

THERE IS NO OTHER SAVIOUR THAN THE LORD/ JEHOVAH  JESUS

 

Prophecy:

 

- (Isa 43:11) I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior.

 

Fulfillment:

 

- (Acts 4:11-12)  This is the stone which was set at nothing of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

 

CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD / JEHOVAH, JESUS

 

Prophecy:

 

- (Joel 2:32) And it shall come to pass, that whoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

 

Fulfillment:

 

- (Rom 10:9,13) That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.

13  For whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

 

- (1 Cor 1:2) To the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:

 

- (Acts 9:21) But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came here for that intent, that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?

 

"I AM" THAT IS THE NAME OF GOD AND JESUS

 

Prophecy:

 

- (Exo 3:14-15) And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.

15  And God said moreover to Moses, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial to all generations.

 

Fulfillment:

 

- (John 8:58) Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am.

 

THE LORD / JEHOVAH  JESUS, WHO SEARCHES THE HEART

 

Prophecy:

 

- (Jer 17:10) I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

 

Fulfillment:

 

- (Rev 2:18,22,23) And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things said the Son of God, who has his eyes like to a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

22  Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

23  And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searches the reins and hearts: and I will give to every one of you according to your works.

 

THE LORD/ JEHOVA, JESUS, WHO COMES WITH ALL HIS SAINTS

 

Prophecy:

 

- (Zec 14:5) And you shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal: yes, you shall flee, like as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with you.

 

Fulfillment:

 

- (1 Thess 3:13) To the end he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

 

THE LORD / JEHOVAH, JESUS, WHO IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF PEOPLE

 

Prophecy:

 

- (Jer 23:5-6) Behold, the days come, said the LORD, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

6  In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

 

Fulfillment:

 

- (1 Cor 1:30-31) But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made to us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

31  That, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.

 

- (Rom 4:25) Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.

 

THE LORD / JEHOVAH, JESUS AND THIRTY SILVER COINS

 

Prophecy:

 

- (Zec 11:12-13) And I said to them, If you think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.

13  And the LORD said to me, Cast it to the potter: a goodly price that I was priced at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

 

Fulfillment:

 

- (Matt 26:15) And said to them, What will you give me, and I will deliver him to you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

 

THE LORD / JEHOVAH, JESUS, WHO IS PIERCED AND POURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

 

Prophecy:

 

- (Zec 12:1,10) The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, said the LORD, which stretches forth the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.

10  And I will pour on the house of David, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look on me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

 

Fulfillment:

 

- (John 19:33-37) But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they broke not his legs:

34  But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and immediately came there out blood and water.

35  And he that saw it bore record, and his record is true: and he knows that he said true, that you might believe.

36  For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.

37  And again another scripture said, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

 

- (Acts 2:32- 33) This Jesus has God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.

33  Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth this, which you now see and hear.

 

THE LORD / JEHOVAH, JESUS, WHO IS THE FIRST AND THE LAST

 

Prophecy:

 

-  (Isa 44:6) Thus said the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

 

Fulfillment:

 

- (Rev 1:17-18) And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand on me, saying to me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

18  I am he that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for ever more, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

 

- (Rev 22:12- 13) And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

 

- (Rev 21:6- 7) And he said to me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him that is thirsty of the fountain of the water of life freely.

7  He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

 

THE LORD/ JEHOVAH, JESUS, BEFORE HIM EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW

 

Prophecy:

 

- (Isa 45:21-24) Tell you, and bring them near; yes, let them take counsel together: 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 Savior; there is none beside me.

22  Look to me, and be you saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

23  I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That to me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

24  Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.

 

Fulfillment:

 

- (Phil 2:10-11) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

THE LORD/ JEHOVAH, JESUS, WHO IS THE SHEPHERD

 

Prophecy:

 

- (Ps 23:1) The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

 

Fulfillment:

 

- (John 10:11) I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.

 

GOD / JESUS, WHO laid the foundations of the earth

 

Prophecy:

 

- (Ps 102:24-27) I said, O my God, take me not away in the middle of my days: your years are throughout all generations.

25  Of old have you laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of your hands.

26  They shall perish, but you shall endure: yes, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a clothing shall you change them, and they shall be changed:

27  But you are the same, and your years shall have no end.

 

Fulfillment:

 

- (Hebr 1:7,8,10-12) And of the angels he said, Who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

8  But to the Son he said, Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom.

9  You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.

10  And, You, Lord, in the beginning have laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of your hands:

11  They shall perish; but you remain; and they all shall wax old as does a garment;

12  And as a clothing shall you fold them up, and they shall be changed: but you are the same, and your years shall not fail.