Tag: 1 Corinthians 15:45

Why Not Create a Second Adam Out of the Dust?

As we have seen in previous posts, the Watchtower insists that “the ransom sacrifice” had to be provided by “a perfect man—nothing more, nothing less—and the exact counterpart of the once perfect Adam.” Only this way could Jesus give “‘himself a corresponding ransom for all,’ that is, for all of sinner Adam’s imperfect offspring. (1 Tim. 2:5, 6).” (The Watchtower, “Appreciating the Salvation of Our God,” 8/1/73, p. 465)

On page 50 of its book What Does the Bible Really Teach?, the Watchtower states its position:

How did Jehovah provide the ransom? He sent one of his perfect spirit sons to the earth. But Jehovah did not send just any spirit creature. He sent the one most precious to him, his only-begotten Son.” (Read 1 John 4:9, 10). Willingly, this Son left his heavenly home. (Philippians 2:7) As we learned in the preceding chapter of this book, Jehovah performed a miracle when he transferred the life of this Son to the womb of Mary. By means of God’s holy spirit, Jesus was born as a perfect human and was not under the penalty of sin.—Luke 1:35.

As I noted last week, the clear implication of this statement is that Jehovah could have chosen one of any number of obedient angels to come as a man and make the atonement (“ransom”) for our sins.

Today, I’ll go even further. Continue reading

Was Jesus Just a Man?

In the Watchtower Bible, 1 Timothy 2:6 reads as follows: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all—this is what is to be witnessed to in its own due time.” (emphasis added)

 So far as I can find, no other translation includes the word “corresponding,” but the Watchtower builds much of its Christology around it.

 In its book Good News to Make You Happy (1976), p. 118, the Watchtower states: “Jesus was not half God, half man. He was not God in the flesh. To atone for ‘one man’s [Adam’s] trespass’, ‘the one man, Jesus Christ’ had to correspond exactly to the once-perfect Adam. He had to be a perfect man, nothing more, nothing less. (Romans 5:15)” Continue reading

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