IN RESPONSE TO THE JEHOVAH’S WITNESS’ ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE DEITY OF

CHRIST

In partial fulfillment of requirements in the course

ICST 7313D Introductions to Cults and World Religions

May 3, 2012

Trevor Ray Slone

In Response to the Jehovah’s Witness’ Arguments Against the Deity of Christ

In this paper we will be defeating the arguments against the deity of Christ as found at the

Jehovah’s Witness main website in the pamphlets titled Is God Superior to Jesus? and What

Does the Bible Say About God and Jesus.1 Since there are thirteen pages worth of arguments in

these pamphlets and we only have ten pages to address them all here, I will not be repeating all

of the arguments. For the most part I will reference each of the main headings in the pamphlets

(these will also be the main headings of this paper) and then move on to addressing each

argument without actually restating the argument, since there is simply not enough space in this

paper to do so. In this paper I will attempt to show that Jesus is in fact divine and that He is equal

to and the same as the God of the Old Testament.

Jesus Distinguished From God

Passages like John 17:3, John 20:17, and others where God the Father is referred to as

“the one true God” simply show Jesus showing His Jewish heritage in calling the Father His

God. These passages have similar wording to other Jewish writings such as 3 Macc.6:18.2 This

shows that Jesus is not distinguishing Himself from God in these passages. In regards to 1

Corinthians 8:6, Calvin says “Whatever has its origin from what is foreign to itself, is not eternal,

and, consequently, is not God……he alone, therefore, is God.” Calvin also agrees that this verse

discusses Jesus as Lord “in relationship to the Father.”3 Jesus is a separate person from the

Father, not a separate deity or creature.

1 Jehovah’s Witness, “Should You Believe in the Trinity,” cited May 4 2012. Online: http://www.watchtower.org/e/ti/index.htm

2 Andreas J. Kostenberger, Zondervan Bible Background Commentary: John, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 152-153.

3 John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries: 1 Corinthians, 500th Anniversary Edition, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 277-278.

In reference to Mark 10:18, “Jesus was asking, ‘Why do you call me ‘good’ when you

don’t recognize my deity?’”4 Jesus was not here saying that He was not good. After all, He

constantly claims to be equal with the God of the Old Testament (John 8:58; 10:30), and all Jews

know that He is good.

God Superior to Jesus at All Times

Matthew 3:16-17 and other passages that call Jesus God’s son or the Son of God are

indications of His deity. Son of God is a “term used to express the deity of Jesus of Nazareth as

the unique divine Son.5 So whenever someone calls Jesus the “Son of God,” they are saying that

He is equal with God, not subordinate to Him in the strict sense.

In Luke 4:18 Jesus is quoting from “Isaiah 61:1-2 with a line inserted from 58:6…..and

(He) applies it to his ministry of deliverance from sin and Satan.”6 Even if Jesus is making an

ontological statement here, namely that the Spirit of God is truly upon Him, this should not

surprise us, as this is a reference to the Holy Spirit, who is also a part of the Godhead (see Acts

5:3-4), and so they share communion with one another in all things. Also, the Holy Spirit is the

very substance of the relationship and love shared between the Father and the Son, and so it

makes perfect sense for the Spirit to be upon Jesus.7

Passages like Matthew 20:23 and Luke 22:24 where Jesus calls on or prays to the Father

are merely indications that Jesus is subordinate to the Father in office, not in essence, as can be

seen by the passages that clearly equate Jesus with God the Father (John 14:7; Matt. 16:16; Mark 4 Robert B. Hughes and J. Carl Laney. Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary, (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001),

433.5 Walter A. Elwell and Philip Wesley Comfort, Tyndale Bible Dictionary, (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001),

1212.6 Mark Straus, Zondervan Bible Background Commentary: Luke, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 362.7 Jonathan Edwrads, Treatise on Grace, On Audio CD, Christianaudio, 2011.

15:39). In reference to Mark 15:34, Jesus is citing Psalm 22:1, which if read to the end,

“expresses not only bitter despair but also supreme confidence.”8 Since Jesus is here quoting

from a Psalm, His statement should not necessarily be taken literally, as the Psalms in general are

poetic in nature. We must remember that as the God-man Jesus is one with the Father

ontologically, and so it is impossible for the Father, here referenced as “God”, to truly forsake

Jesus.9

In reference to Luke 23:46, Jesus sent His soul to be with the Father in Heaven the instant

that he died. This is because his Body stayed in the grave for three days, and so, like all people

His soul was separated from His body, at least from the time of death until His resurrection.10

This is known as the intermediate state, which there is much scriptural evidence for.11

In reference to Habakkuk 1:12 and the death of Jesus, it was Jesus’ human nature that

died, not his divine nature. Jesus had two separate natures, which can be seen from the fact that

He had to grow in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52), He did not know everything (Mark 13:32),

and His character had to mature (Heb. 2:10; 5:8-9), but also that He is fully God (John 1:1-14).12

Now whenever we reference John chapter one we must always be careful, when dealing with

8 David E. Garland, Zondervan Bible Background Commentary: Mark, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 302.9 Although many people seem to overlook this distinction, it is nevertheless vital to an adequate view of theology proper to realize that since God the Father and God the Son are of one and the same substance, they cannot actually be completely separated, ever. It is more accurate to say that Christ was separated from the Father in person, but not in substance, as God is three persons but only one substance, and so the persons of the God-head can be separated, but not the substance of God Himself. Otherwise, if God was divided in substance, He would become more than one God, which is clearly out of the question if one is to remain orthodox in his/her theology. However, this has no effect on soteriology, since Jesus only had to atone for our sins in a way that was parallel to our own relationship to God, and since we are not of the same substance as God like Christ is, He only had to be separated from the Father in person to fulfill the vicarious atonement for the sins of His elect, for we too are of a different person than the Father, as is Christ. 10 Norman L. Geisler and Thomas Howe, The Big Book of Bible Difficulties, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1992), 394.11 James Beck and Bruce Demarest, The Human Person in Theology and Psychology, (Grand Rapids: Kregel,

Publications, 2005), 59-61.12 Gregory A. Boyd and Paul R. Eddy, Across the Spectrum, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009), 113.

Jehovah’s Witnesses, to remember that their version of the Bible, the New World Translation,

says that Jesus is “a god”, not that he is God like the orthodox translations such as the ESV, the

NIV, and the HCSB say, and that the orthodox translations on this note are more accurate based

on the Greek text.

The prophets performed miracles, but they did not claim to be God. Jesus claimed to be

God (John 10:30; 14:7-10), and so His miracles were a confirmation of this claim. The

resurrection was the biggest miracle of all, and it is something that none of the prophets did.13

Jesus Had Limited Knowledge

This has already been addressed above. Jesus had limited knowledge because he

possessed a human nature, but as we have seen, he was also fully God. No one knows for sure

how these two natures coexisted in Jesus, but it is clear from the Scriptures that they did. This

union of natures is known as The Hypostatic Union.14

Jesus Continues to be Subordinate in Heaven

In reference to Acts 7:55, the Holy Spirit is simply not mentioned. That does not mean

that He does not exist or that He is not God. The passage in Revelation 4:8-5:7 is also not a

problem for Christians because Jesus and the Father (the one here referred to as being seated on

the throne) are two separate persons. They are still only one God though, and we must remember

that any reference to seeing God should ultimately be viewed as an anthropomorphism anyway,

since He is invisible (Col. 1:15). Finally, Philippians 2:11, 1 Corinthians 15:24, and every other

13 Norman L. Geisler and Patrick Zukeran, The Apologetics of Jesus, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 27-45.14Elmer L. Towns, Theology for Today, (Mason: Cengage Learning, 2008), 197-207.

passage that differentiates between Jesus and God the Father are simply showing further that

they are two distinct persons, not that they are two separate beings.

Jesus Never Claimed to be God

In reference to John 14:28, Arians and Jehovah’s Witnesses argue from the statement,

“The Father is greater than I”, that Jesus is somehow a lesser god. But this would make Jesus a

created being, or it would lead to polytheism, both of which are unbiblical. The Father and the

Son share the same essence (John 1:1-2; 14:9; 20:28). The Father and the Son are ‘One’ in

purpose and essence (10:30). Thus the Father is greater in office or glory than the Son was in His

humiliation.15 There are two Greek words that are similar but different that the Arians and

Athanasius fought over regarding Christ and his substance. These two words are homoousios (of

the same substance) and homoioisios (of a similar substance). The Arians argued for the latter

term in that they believed that Jesus was of a similar, but different substance than the Father, and

Athanasius argued for the former term. Athanasius’ position on this issue was eventually agreed

upon by the church at the Second Ecumenical Council in 381.16 The Arians, who denied the deity

of Christ in much the same way that the Jehovah’s Witnesses do, were an early precursor to the

Jehovah’s Witnesses. As we have already seen, Jesus did in fact on several accounts claim to be

God. His open acceptance of worship from the people is also a key indication that he claimed,

non-verbally in this sense, to be God, as He was a Jew and in the Jewish religion only God has a

right to be worshiped, and anyone else who accepted worship was guilty of Blasphemy. This

claim by Jesus along with His statements to be one with the Father (John 10:30) show that Jesus

did in fact claim to be God.

15 John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), V.2: 325.

16 Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity: Volume 1, (New York: Harper One, 2010), 199-207.

God is One not Three

Deuteronomy 6:4, Galatians 3:20, 1 Corinthians 8:4-6, and all other passages that state

that God is only one are not claiming that God is only one personally, but rather that He is only

one ontologically (in being or essence). Christians are monotheists. We believe that God is one

God in three persons, or put the way that the very early church put it, one essence in three

substances. This formula was later changed due to the discrepancy over the term substance, as

seen above regarding the fight between the Arians and Athanasius, but the concept is still the

same.

In reference to Isaiah 45:5 Calvin says that it is as if God is saying, “’Beware of ascribing

this victory to idols, or forming any confused idea of a god such as men imagine; know that the

God of Israel is the only author of this victory.’”17 Nowhere in this verse or anywhere else does

the God of the Old Testament say that He is only one in person, nor does He allude to such an

idea. According to the Exhaustive Dictionary of Bible Names, the name Jesus is defined as

follows: “Jesus (je’-zus) = Jehovah is salvation; Jehova, my salvation; Savior. Greek form of

Jehoshua.”18 So we see here that Jehovah, whether it be in Isaiah 45:5, Psalm 83:18, or anywhere

else in the Old Testament, is a synonym for Jesus. This is an incredibly clear indication that

Jesus is equal to God and that He is indeed part of the Godhead. Colossians 2:9 states, “For in

Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form (NIV).”

The fact that Jesus claimed to be God, as seen above, is what caused the church to

formulate the doctrine of the Trinity.19 Well, that and the passages that indicate that the Holy

17 John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries: Isaiah, 500th Anniversary Edition, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 401.18 Stelman Smith and Judson Cornwall. The Exhaustive Dictionary of Bible Names, (North Brunswick: Bridge-Logos,

1998), 131.19 Norman L. Geisler and Abdul Saleeb, Answering Islam, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2002), 269.

Spirit is both a separate person and yet also God (Matt. 28:18-20, Acts 5:3-4) Also, “the general

Hebrew name for God is Elohim (אלהים). Sometimes it is used with a definite article,

sometimes without. Altogether it occurs 2555 times. In 2310 of these instances it is used as the

name of the living and true God, but in 245 passages it appears to be adopted in lower senses.”20

So whenever this name is used to mean the one true God, it means just that. It does not in any

way negate the possibility or reality of a plurality of persons within the Godhead.

Jesus is a Separate Creation

There is no indication in either the Zondervan Bible Background Commentary21 or Keil

and Delitzsche’s Old Testament commentary series22 that Proverbs 8 is about Jesus. The

dictionary of Bible Themes, however, indicates that Proverbs 8:22-23 is referring to Christ, but

not in the sense that the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that it is. This passage is referring to the

wisdom of Christ, not Christ Himself. It is simply a forshadowing of the wisdom of Jesus as seen

in the Messiah, the Christ.23 In other words, Jesus’ wisdom typifies the wisdom discussed in this

passage, but this passage is poetic and is not meant to be taken literally, for this can be made

clear in seeing that wisdom, which this passage is talking about, is a virtue, not an actual existing

entity, hence it stems from the very essence of God rather than having been truly created by Him, 20 Robert Baker Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old Testament: Their Bearing on Christian Doctrine, (Oak Harbor: Logos

Research Systems, Inc., 1998), 19.21Tremper Longman III, Zondervan Bible Background Commentary: Proverbs, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009), 479-

480..22C.F. Keil and F. Delitzch, Keil & Delitzch Commentary on the Old Testament: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of

Solomon, (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011), 126-142.23 Martin H. Maser, Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies, (London:

Martin Manser, 1999) Electronic source (Logos), no page numbers.

and to make this passage about Jesus in the strict sense would mean to say that He was created,

which goes against John 1:1 and other passages.

In reference to Colossians 1:15-18, “John declared Jesus to be eternal and equal with God

(John 1:1; 8:58; 20:28)…..(here) Paul clearly declares Christ to be God in this very letter by

saying He ‘created all things’ (1:16) and has ‘the fullness of the Godhead’ (2:9).” The reference

to Jesus here as the firstborn means firstborn over creation, not the firstborn in creation. In this

context “firstborn” simply means that Jesus is the heir, the Creator and Owner of all things.24

Remember that Jesus is subordinate to the Father in office, but not in essence, and so it is

possible for Him to be the Father’s heir from an official standpoint, even if not from an

ontological standpoint. The same can be said in reference to Revelation 3:14, as well as all other

passages in the Bible that refer to Jesus as the “beginning of God’s creation” or the “firstborn”,

or anything else of the sort.

Could God Be Tempted?

Here we may simply say that, as James 1:13 makes perfectly clear, God cannot be

tempted, and so the God-nature of Jesus could not have been tempted, but Jesus’ human nature

could have been and was tempted just as we are tempted (Matt. 1:4-11). While we may not fully

understand this dichotomy, we must nonetheless uphold it as truth, for the Bible teaches both that

God cannot be tempted and that Jesus was tempted, and this is the only legitimate way to

reconcile the two. Of course there has been some speculation as to how this could have occurred,

but no one knows for sure. Some, on behalf of Philippians 2:5-8, have postulated that Jesus gave

up His claim to deity completely and became fully human alone when He came to earth. This is

24 Geisler and Howe, Big Book of Bible Difficulties, 485.

known as the Kenotic view.25 However, this is an unsatisfactory view considering the evidence

that we have already looked at regarding Christ’s deity, including His very own claims to be God

while on earth.

How Much Was The Ransom?

In reference to 1 Timothy 2:5-6, although this passage does seem to differentiate between

Jesus and God, this is not a necessary implication. For instance, if for some reason I had only one

arm, and this one arm was the only way for me to get food into my mouth so that I would not

starve to death, while my arm is distinct from my mouth, they are both part of me, Trevor. In the

same way, bearing in mind that no analogy is perfect and also avoiding any intellectual

connection from the analogy that might lead to some type of heresy, Jesus is distinct from God in

the sense that He is also a man, and although He is the only way to allow communication

between us and God, He is still ultimately part of that Godhead, as we have seen several times

already in the above text.

As for Hebrews 2:9, the New World Translation, the Jehovah’s Witness’ translation,

reads, “But we behold Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels…..(NWT)”. Now the

English Standard Version reads, “But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the

angels, namely Jesus…. (ESV),” and the Holman Christian Standard Bible reads, “But we do see

Jesus—made lower than the angels for a short time…..(HCSB)” Now, the New International

version also reads, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angel...(NIV).” So

we see that while some of the orthodox English translations translate this passage differently than

the NWT does, not all of them do. Based on what I know about Greek though I am inclined to

25 Boyd and Eddy, Across the Spectrum, 118-123.

agree with the NWT translation of this passage, but all this means is that Jesus became human

for a time, for according to Psalm 8:5-6 humans have been made a little lower than the angels.

So, all this passage does is to further show the humanity of Christ, but says nothing as to Him not

also being deity. As for John 3:16 and other passages that refer to Jesus as “only begotten,” the

Greek term used here has the connotation of “sole descent”, as in “without brothers or sisters”.26

And so we see here that these passages are not actually saying that Jesus was born (aside from

the virgin birth of course) or created. This Greek term can however also have more than one

meaning, as is true with many Greek words, and English words, and many words of many

different languages, and so in Hebrews 11:17 when this same term is used of Isaac, Abraham’s

“Only begotten,” it is still referring to Isaac as having no brothers or sisters (from both of his

biological parents), but this time, since we know that Isaac was only human and there is no

indication in the Scriptures that he was anything more than human, we can rightfully attach the

idea of birth to this term also. We must remember that there are many passages that we have

already looked at that show Jesus’ deity and eternality, and so we must view all passages

regarding Jesus in the Bible in light of these explicit references to such attributes of His.

Was Jesus Considered to Be God?

Isaiah 9:6-7, Jeremiah 23:5-6, Micah 5:1-4, and other Old Testament prophecies about

the Messiah clearly indicate that the Messiah will be God Himself, nothing less. In Matthew

16:16 and Mark 8:29 Peter very clearly calls Jesus the Christ, which means that Peter Considered

Jesus to be God. Also, in John 1:49 Nathaniel identifies Jesus as the “Son of God”, a term that

we have already seen denotes deity, and so yes, Jesus was considered by others to be God.

26 Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964-), 737-738.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we have seen that Jesus is God. We have seen that He is equal to the God

the Old Testament. We have also seen that Jesus was considered to be God in the first century by

others. We all need to know what the Scriptures say so as to be ready to give an answer for the

hope that is in us (1 Pet.3:15), especially to those who deny core Christian doctrines.

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