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Jesus is not The Father - Dawn Llisone

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I spend a significant amount of time speaking with Jehovah's Witnesses about the deity of Christ. It's one of their favourite topics, since they have memorised verses which seem to indicate that Jesus was created and somehow “less than” the Father. If you are willing to go down this theological rabbit hole with one of Jehovah's Witnesses, you are a brave soul indeed.
Yet, such a discussion needn't scare us. Some Christians say that the only thing we can do is share our personal testimony with Jehovah's Witnesses, as any other discussion is fruitless. Whilst a testimony is powerful and I'd certainly encourage sharing it, the fact remains that at some point the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses need to be addressed biblically.
Therefore consider: every Jehovah's Witness has one main argument against Jesus deity. If you address their core misunderstanding, the rest may fall down like a house of cards. Let's explore this together and hopefully, having read this article, you'll feel so well equipped that rather than hiding behind the curtain you'll be keenly opening the door and surprising a few of our JW friends.
Having been one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I know first hand what their thought pattern is like when they hear a Christian say “Jesus is God”. My mind would immediately follow this train of thought: “Obviously Jesus is not God. The Bible says he is the Son of God, not God himself. Jesus did not pray to himself! God spoke from heaven, so was not talking to himself like multiple personalities!" Yet this pattern of thinking really revealed that I did not understand Christian beliefs.
Jesus is not the Father
So the first thing to do is to define what you believe as a Christian. Simply asking, “Would it be OK if I briefly explain what I believe?” is a good strategy because this will give you a few minutes of speaking time and at this point there is no “argument”. Go on to first explain that we do not believe that Jesus is the same person as the Father.
I guarantee you this will surprise most Jehovah's Witnesses. Confirm to them, “Jesus is not the Father. Since Jesus is the Son of God, he prayed to his Father who was in heaven. The voice from heaven at Jesus baptism was his Father's voice”. Remember that during the discussion you may need to repeat this point several times, because as soon as you state “Jesus is God” they may once again assume you are saying Jesus is the Father.
Now you are ready to establish some common ground. JWs believe that Jesus shares divine attributes with the Father, since they teach that Jesus is “a god” John 1:1 NWT. You can state: “What I mean when I say "Jesus is God", is that he is God in nature, sharing all of the attributes of God. And the Bible indicates in Philippians chapter 2 that he chose a subordinate role and came to the earth as Saviour. This is why he said "The Father is greater than I am" whilst he was on earth.
Yet the Bible clearly says he is God in nature. He is "God with us" (Matthew 1:23), "The fullness of God in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9). Also, Thomas called Jesus “my God” in John 20:27-28 “Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!””
Jesus is 'God with us.'
With this simple explanation of your beliefs, you have removed 90% of objections to Jesus deity. If they refer to scriptures which seem to indicate Jesus was subjected to the Father, you can confirm, “Yes as I explained, Philippians chapter 2 verses 5 to 7 show us that Jesus chose to be subjected to the Father in the plan of redemption”.
Scriptures in which Jesus prays or relies upon the Father are similarly easily explained. “As I mentioned, Jesus is not the Father. Whilst he was on earth, living as a Jewish man under law, he had a God, the Father who was in heaven. This subjection continues as Jesus serves as Mediator for us”.
Over the years, I believe I have heard nearly every (seemingly) scriptural objection to Jesus deity. I have found, however, that addressing this core misunderstanding and confirming that Jesus is not the Father is the single most important point to make when witnessing to Arians such as the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Of course, the rabbit hole goes deep. No doubt a more detailed discussion will open up. Subscribe to this blog for more articles like this one and here are a few resources which may help to equip you further. For example, you may subscribe to my YouTube channel “Witness for Jesus” (link below).
Further Resources:
“The Forgotten Trinity” - Dr James White
“Getting Through to Jehovah's Witnesses: Approaching Bible Discussions in Unexpected Ways” - David A Englund
Trinity debate between Dr James White and Greg Stafford (arguing for the Jehovah's Witnesses)
My own series of videos addressing the question “Is Jesus God?” YouTube “Witness for Jesus”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fteuT4qAE4E&list=PL714A75lfisGKlJTPFVf5JrqSscKu85Gu


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Comments

Adrian P said…
Jesus is not GOD. They are right. Jesus is the SON of GOD, born a man who didn't take the Nature of Angels, was of no particular physical beauty and was prone to die as a mortal human being, yet resurrected because he was sinless. He was of both Divine and Human Origin, as His Father was GOD and his mother was Mary.
21 December 2021 at 01:28
Witness for Jesus said…
Adrian, how do you explain the many verses which describe Jesus as God? John 1:1,18, Titus 2:13, Acts 20:28, Hebrews 1:8, etc. When we say Jesus is God we mean God in nature, not that Jesus is the Father. Therefore, Father and Son can be described as "God". Since there is one God alone (Isaiah 43:10 and rest of bible) we know that the teaching of Christianity on the Trinity is accurate.
28 April 2022 at 08:22
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