Responses to a Jehovah's Witness' Questions, Page 3

TL;DR:
Was Jesus truly God? In contrast to what Jehovah's Witnesses teach, the Bible declares that Jesus has God’s eternal attributes, performs divine actions, and claims divine authority. Passages such as John 1:1 and Jesus’ “I am” statements reveal Jesus’ identity as Yahweh incarnate. The New Testament consistently portrays Jesus as the eternal Creator God who became human.

3. Discussing Jesus’ identity with a Jehovah's Witness

“As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures.” — Acts 17:2 (2011 NIV)

Excerpts from an email exchange with a Jehovah's Witness

Watchtower Society interchange: Recently, a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses and I exchanged a lot of e-mail messages about beliefs and doctrines. Here are the questions he asked and the responses I gave. In reality, this is a blog of our conversations. There will be some overlapping of material since the email conversation occasionally circled back to the same themes.

One of the sad things about our email exchanges is that my Jehovah's Witness friend rarely commented on my responses or asked me follow-up questions. So we had very few real "conversations" discussing anything in-depth.

Jehovah's Witness question: Where in Scripture does it say that Jesus is the same as Jehovah?

My answer: Well, take a look at what Jesus said about Himself. Take a look at what was said about Him in Scripture. Here are some Bible passages that indicate Jesus was Yahweh incarnate:

What was Jesus like? Doesn't Scripture ascribe to Jesus the following characteristics that only Yahweh Himself possesses?
1. Preexistence (that means there was no previous point in time or eternity in which He did not exist)¹
2. Divine names and titles² [600 names and titles for God in the Bible]
3. Self-existence (which only God has)³
4. Eternality (which only God possesses)⁴
5. Omnipresence (which only God possesses)⁵
6. Omnipotence (which only God possesses)⁶
7. Immutability or changelessness (which only God possesses)⁷
Foundational Scripture passages

¹"'Very truly I tell you,' Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I am!'" -- John 8:58
"And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." -- John 17:5
See also John 1:15, John 3:13, and John 6:51

²"This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: 'A voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" -- Matthew 3:3
"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' . . . Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." -- Romans 10:9, 13
"Thomas said to him, 'My Lord and my God!'" -- John 20:28
"You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all." -- Acts 10:36
" Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised!" -- Romans 9:5
See also Isaiah 40:3, Joel 2:32, John 1:1, and 1 John 5:20.

³"Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.'" -- John 2:19
"The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life -- only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." --- John 10:17-18
"For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself." -- John 5:26

⁴"And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. . . . Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world." -- John 17:5, 24
"But about the Son he says, 'Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.'" -- Hebrews 1:8, 10-12
See also John 1:1-2 and 1 John 1:2

⁵"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." -- Matthew 18:20
"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." -- Matthew 28:20
See also John 3:13 and Ephesians 1:19-21.

⁶"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.'" -- Matthew 28:18
"In Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority." -- Colossians 2:10
See also Luke 21:15, John 1:3, John 10:18, 1 Corinthians 1:24, Ephesians 1:22, Philippians 3:20–21, and Revelation 1:18.

⁷"They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end." -- Hebrews 1:11-12
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." -- Hebrews 13:8
What does the Bible say Jesus did and is doing? -- Actions only God can do are attributed to Jesus.
1. Creation of the universe⁸
2. Upholding and preserving all things⁹
3. Forgiving sins¹⁰
4. Giving the Holy Spirit¹¹
5. Giving true peace¹²
6. Giving light¹³
7. Giving eternal life¹⁴
8. Conferring spiritual gifts¹⁵
9. Receiving worship¹⁶
Foundational Scripture passages

⁸"Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." -- John 1:3
"For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him." -- Colossians 1:16
See also 1 Corinthians 8:6 and Hebrews 1:10

⁹"He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." -- Colossians 1:17
See also Hebrews 1:3

¹⁰"God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins." -- Acts 5:31
"When Jesus saw their faith, he said, 'Friend, your sins are forgiven.'" -- Luke 5:20
See also Mark 2:5-10 and Luke 7:47-49

¹¹"I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." -- Luke 24:49
"It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." -- John 16:7
See also John 20:22 and Acts 2:33

¹²"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives." -- John 14:27
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace." -- John 16:33
See also Romans 5:1, 15:33, and 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Ephesians 2:14; Philippians 4:9; Colossians 3:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; and Hebrews 13:20.

¹³"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" -- John 8:12
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." -- John 12:46
See also John 1:4-9, 9:5, 12:35, 1 John 1:5-7 and Revelation 21:23

¹⁴"For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him." -- John 17:2

¹⁵He ascended on high . . . and gave gifts to his people. . . . So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers . . . -- Ephesians 4:8, 11

¹⁶"Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.'" -- Matthew 14:33
"And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, 'Let all God's angels worship him.'" -- Hebrews 1:6
See also Luke 24:51–52, Acts 1:24, 7:59–60, and Revelation 5:13.
What powers and privileges belonging to Yahweh did Jesus claim for Himself?
1. Jesus said he was Lord of the Sabbath¹⁷
2. Jesus claimed to be the final judge of all human beings¹⁸
Foundational Scripture passages

¹⁷"So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." -- Mark 2:28

¹⁸"Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son." -- John 5:22
"And Jesus said, 'For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.'" -- John 9:39

See also Matthew 25:31–33, John 5:22, 30, Acts 10:42, and 2 Corinthians 5:10.

What about Jesus’ repeated use of “I am”—“I am the good shepherd”; “I am the gate”; “I am the way and the truth and the life”; “I am the true vine”; “I am the resurrection and the life”; and “I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star”? Would those statements have reminded Jewish listeners of God’s “I AM” declaration to Moses in the wilderness?

Some Jewish leaders sought Jesus’ death because they understood His claims as making Himself equal with God, which they regarded as blasphemy.

His disciples likewise referred to Jesus as Kyrios, the Greek word for “Lord” that the Septuagint frequently uses to represent the divine name Yahweh. Applying this title to Jesus makes a strong statement about His divinity.

In John 20:18 Mary Magdalene is quoted as saying, “I have seen the Lord.” The Greek word used in the passage is kyrios, a word that clearly refers to God in Acts 7:31: “I heard the Lord say to me.”

Kyrios is also the same word used for God in such passages as Philippians 4:5, 2 Corinthians 8:21, 1 Thessalonians 3:3, 2 Timothy 2:24, Hebrews 13:6, 1 Peter 1:25, 1 Peter 2:3, 2 Peter 3:9, James 1:7, James 4:10, and Revelation 4:11.

When Paul repeatedly refers to Jesus as Lord—the title represented in Exodus 3:15, which you quoted—it is clear that he understood Jesus to be God. For Paul, there is only “one Lord.”

In the 21st century, we can try to rationalize away the early Christians’ conviction that Jesus of Nazareth was God incarnate. However, Jesus’ followers used the title “Lord” for Him in the same way that they used “Lord” for God. In his writings, John clearly affirms the deity of Christ. Read the Gospel of John and his three letters all the way through in one sitting. Reading them as complete works rather than focusing on isolated phrases of Scripture will help you see that John was intent on demonstrating that Jesus was indeed God.

Jehovah's Witness question: How could the Word be with God and be God at the same time? When you find a sensible answer to this question, let me know.

My answer: You've asked an excellent question. John 1:1 is one of the most finely crafted verses in the entire Bible. Try to put aside your theological lens for a moment and just look at how the verse is worded. See how its three phrases build to a climax. The first phrase of the verse proclaims the eternal preexistence of the Word ("In the beginning was the Word"). The next phrase defines the relationship of the Word to God. Then the last phrase establishes that the essential nature of the Word is Deity ("The Word was God"). Verse two then comes back to state again the eternality of the Word—such eternal preexistence is, of course, a quality unique to God.

Some Greek and Jewish thinkers used logos for divine reason or for the rational principle underlying the universe. Philo, a well-known Jewish philosopher who lived about 20 BC to AD 50, used the term in discussing God’s activity and relationship to the world. It is no accident that John used logos, translated “the Word.” John identifies the Word with the Creator Yahweh.

The potency of this Scripture verse does not come from the phrases with God and was God. This verse's power centers on John's use of “Word.” To the ancient Greeks, logos (what we translate as "word") was not just speech or reason. Logos or "Word" was at the center of the Greek understanding of the existence of the universe. The logos could not be dated in time. The logos was associated with creative and ordering power. John 1 should remind us of Genesis 1, which portrays God speaking the universe into existence (“And God said, ‘Let there be . . .’”). John draws on this idea to demonstrate the eternal preexistence of Jesus and to show that He was, in fact, the eternal Creator God.

Your question actually centers on the second phrase of that verse: "the Word was with God." Let's look at that phrase. The Greek preposition pros has some shades of meaning that may not be fully communicated by our English word "with." What John was trying to say with his phrase "with God" is much more than merely "being near" or "beside."

In this context, pros conveys a personal relationship and distinction between the Word and God, not merely physical nearness. John wrote that the divine Word existed with the Father from all eternity.

John 1:1–14 declares three important truths about “the Word”:

The One who existed in the beginning entered human history.
He who was eternally joined to the Father came and lived among human beings.
He who was God became flesh.

All three of these thoughts are introduced in verse one and are then developed in verse 14. As I have said, the wording of John 1:1 is finely crafted.

Jesus as Yahweh and the Word (Logos)

3. Discussing Jesus’ identity with a Jehovah's Witness

Excerpts from an email exchange with a Jehovah's Witness

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