How Can Jesus be Jehovah?

 

The Watch Tower seems fixated on the task of denying the deity of Christ. Their website is crowded with articles on the question, and Jehovah's Witnesses seem well rehearsed in arguing their case.

How can Jesus be Jehovah:

If he is 'the firstborn of all creation' (Col.1:15, it refers to Christ’s rights as a Son prōtotokos, his supreme status, not to his origin as a created being)

If he is simply acting as an agent of Jehovah (John 12:49, This reflects the relationship of Father and Son within the Godhead, equal but with different roles, not the inferiority of the Son)

If, in the end, Jesus hands over the kingdom to the Father (1 Cor.15:24, see John 12:49 above. This is a functional subordination between equals)

Where does the Bible ever say that Jesus is God? How would you begin to handle this question and demonstrate Jesus' true nature?

The Watchtower Magisterium

The first thing to understand is the Bible is not the authority in a Jehovah’s Witnesses life they claim it to be. It is replaced by the Watch Tower organisation, and utilised as a store of proof-texts to demonstrate the Society is right. Their final authority is the magisterium of the Watch Tower, the Governing Body, whereas for Christians it is the Word of God.

Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses often find they talk past each other for this reason. A Christian will go to the Bible to seek and establish the truth in a matter, the Jehovah’s Witness will believe they are doing the same. However, the high view of Scripture of the Christian is alien to them.

The Trinity Conundrum

It is from this high view of Scripture that the early Church Fathers came to wrestle with the idea that Jesus is God. John 8 tells us of an encounter between Jesus and Jewish leaders over his identity. Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went into the temple.’ (Jn.8:58,59)

Later Jesus declared, ‘‘I and the Father are one.’ The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?’ 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.’’ (Jn.10:30-33)

I Exist

The Watch Tower translates Jesus’ words in John 8, ‘Before Abraham came into existence, I have been.’ The Greek, ego eimi, is correctly translated ‘I am,’ using the present tense to indicate his transcendence over time. It could also be translated ‘I exist.’

Later, in chapter 10, Jesus again offends Jewish leaders by declaring, ‘I and the Father are one.’ (30) The New World Translation also gives, ‘I and the Father are one.’ Significantly, their Kingdom Interlinear gives, ‘I and the Father one (thing) we are.’ The Greek translated, ‘are one’ here is eimi heis. Here is the problem, Jesus is speaking about continuing existence with the Father in the same way he speaks of continuing existence before Abraham.

The Watchtower dazzles people with their their appendix notes and talk of present and perfect indicative, and obscure translations that appear to agree with them, but what was the reaction from those on the day with a better knowledge and understanding than any unschooled Jehovah’s Witness could hope to have?

‘The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?’ 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.’’ (Jn.10:30-33)

This is not simply The Greatest Man That Ever Lived. Paul writes of him:

‘He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together...For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…’ (Col.1:15-20)

Of course, the New World Translation reads, ‘For by him all [other] things hold together…’ But we know the word ‘other’ doesn’t belong in the text, its addition simply reflects the way Jehovah’s Witnesses bring their beliefs to the Bible instead of getting them from the Bible.

John, in his gospel writes of Jesus, ‘All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.’ (Jn 1:1) Jesus didn’t make everything except himself, Jesus made everything.

He Loved Me, He Gave Himself For Me (Gal.2:20)

This is the most profound truth you will ever encounter, the person of Jesus, his identity, his role as creator and sustainer of all things ‘visible and invisible.’ Understand this and you begin to grasp the enormous significance of the Philippians text, ‘...though he was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant.’ (Philip.2:6,7)

This is familiar territory, and I have so often heard people say it is a waste of time sharing this familiar material because it doesn’t work. Let me point out three things:

1. You are not called to witness for results but for faithfulness’ sake. We share the good news to be faithful to Jesus and it is enough that we share.

2. We need to have more confidence in God’s Word than to avoid it because ‘they have an answer.’ They don’t have an answer, they have a mindset, as we said at the beginning, and that is different. But, ‘The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing to the dividing of soul and spirit. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.’ (Heb.4:12) We should speak God’s truth in God’s words and let the living Word and the Spirit do their work.

3. You cannot possibly know what effect God’s word will have on another person’s heart but, If you share that word you will demonstrate what correctly handling the word of truth looks like to someone who doesn’t know what it looks like; you will plant seeds of truth in a heart that may be ready to hear it; and you will prepare soil for the time when a well timed word will make all the difference as another Christian shares God’s truth.

You will also hear yourself rehearsing again the great truths about our magnificent God and Saviour and perhaps strengthen your own convictions concerning Jesus. Now that is not such a bad thing.