In my opinion, what appears in this week’s and next week’s posts are the Watchtower’s best arguments and proof texts against the deity of Christ as well as the most effective ways to respond to them.

1.Jehovah is one Jehovah (pp. 171-172)

Jehovah’s Witnesses often quote Deuteronomy 6:4 and Mark 12:29 to the effect that “Jehovah our God is one Jehovah” (Watchtower’s translation). Based on this, they argue that God cannot be a Trinity.

In reply to this argument, point out that Trinitarians do not claim that there are three Gods. We agree that there is only one God. However, just as height, length, and width comprise one space—not three—so the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit constitute one God, not three.

 2. The Father is the only true God (pp. 172-173)                                                                   

Jehovah’s Witnesses are always quick to point out that in John 17:3 Jesus called his Father “the only true God.” The claim they are making is that Jesus himself stated that only the Father is the Almighty God, Jehovah. There are several good responses you can make to that argument:

  • Jude 4 calls Jesus “our only owner and Lord.” Ask, “Is that Scripture saying that the Father is not our owner and Lord? That’s the same reasoning AS SAYING that Jesus’ calling the Father ‘the only true God’ proves that Jesus can’t be the true God as well.”
  • “If Jesus meant to exclude himself when he called the Father ‘the only true God,’ then wouldn’t that make Jesus a false god?”
  • In John 20:28, Thomas called Jesus, “My Lord and my God.” Literally, “the Lord of me and the God of me.” If Jesus meant to exclude himself as being “the true God,” why didn’t he rebuke Thomas for his statement?
  1. Jesus has a God (p. 173)

John 20:17 reads as follows: “Jesus said [to Mary Magdalene], “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'”

The Watchtower argument is that Jesus cannot be God because he has a God—Jehovah. The answer you can give them is that, of course, as a man Jesus did have his Father as his God. There is no contradiction.

Jehovah’s Witnesses will sometimes ask, “If Jesus is God, did he pray to himself?” The answer is, “No, as a man, he prayed to his Father in heaven. The Trinity doctrine does not claim that Jesus and the Father are the same person.”

  1. Christ is subordinate to the Father (pp. 173-174)

It’s likely the Witnesses will cite you many of the subordination passages I covered when discussing the humanity of Christ. Remind them that you cited those very passages to them. Being a man, Jesus humbles himself and subordinates himself to his Father.

In line with its teaching that Christ was part of a cosmic sovereignty battle between God and Satan, the Watchtower has a strange rendering of Philippians 2:6: “who, although he was existing in God’s form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God” (Watchtower’s translation). By using the word “seizure,” they imply that Christ would be a sinful rebel if he, like Satan, claimed equality with God.

To counter this you can say, “You don’t have to seize something you already have. Christ already existed in God’s form. In becoming a man, he voluntarily lowered his position without changing his identity.” 

  1. Christ had a beginning (pp. 174-176)

Revelation 3:14: Beginning of the creation by God

The Watchtower cites Revelation 3:14: “… These are the things that the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God…” (Watchtower’s translation)

The answer is that Christ is the “beginning” of the creation of God in that he is the one who began the creation. You can point out that this meaning of “beginning” completely accords with Revelation 21:6, where God calls himself “the beginning and the end” (Watchtower’s translation). It doesn’t mean that he had a beginning. It means that he is the one who began the creation by bringing it into existence

Colossians 1:15: “firstborn of all creation”

Jehovah’s Witnesses often cite Colossians 1:15, which calls Christ “the firstborn of all creation” (Watchtower’s translation). Their argument is that he was the first thing Jehovah created.

In the Bible the word “firstborn” often refers to preeminence, not order of creation. If we substitute for “firstborn” the word “preeminent” in Colossians 1:15-17, we find that it fits the context perfectly: “He is the image of the invisible God, [preeminent] over all creation; For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

You need to be aware that in the New World Translation (Watchtower’s translation), the Watchtower has inserted “other” four times in this passage before the word “things” in order to make it appear that Christ was one of the things created. However, the word “other” appears nowhere in the original Greek text. You can point this out to Jehovah’s Witnesses using their own Kingdom Interlinear Translation, which gives the Greek interlined with the English translation.

Proverbs 8:22-24: “Jehovah produced me…”

The Watchtower notes that Christ is called “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). They try to show that this proves that Christ was a created being by connecting this passage with Proverbs 8:22-24 in which “wisdom” says: “Jehovah produced me as the beginning of his way…” (Watchtower’s translation).

The best response to this is to ask, “Doesn’t 1 Corinthians 1:24 actually show that Jesus is God? How can a mere creature be the power and wisdom of God? Besides, is wisdom something God created or is it a part of him? Was there ever a time when God was without his power and wisdom?”

Study Questions

How would you answer these Watchtower arguments against the deity of Christ? (pp. 171-179)

  • Jehovah is one Jehovah, not three. (pp. 171-172)
  • Jesus himself called his Father “the only true God.” (John 17:3) (pp. 172-173)
  • Jesus can’t be God because Jesus has a God. (p. 173)
  • Jesus is subordinate to the Father. (pp. 173-174)
  • Jesus had a beginning. (pp. 174-176)

 

 

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