Jehovah Witness, do they not believe in the divinity of Christ?

Question

The first chapter of the Gospel of John explains that Jesus is God. Jesus tells his apostles to baptist in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in Matthew 28: 16-20
Jesus is the son of God, He is also God. The Holy Trinity, three persons, one God.

Answer 1

Jehovah's Witnesses are Christians; they teach that Christ was and is divine and of the same nature as God.

Jehovah's Witnesses teach that no salvation occurs without Christ, that accepting Christ's sacrifice is a requirement for true worship, that every prayer must acknowledge Christ, that Christ is the King of God's Kingdom, that Christ is the head of the Christian congregation, that Christ is immortal and above every creature, even that Christ was the 'master worker' in creating the universe!

Jehovah's Witnesses love and respect and honor Christ. However, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the Scriptures quite plainly demonstrate that Jesus and the Almighty are separate distinct persons, and the Almighty created Jesus as His firstborn son.

(Colossians 1:15) the firstborn of all creation

(Mark 10:18) Jesus said to him: 'Why do you call me good? Nobody is good, except one, God.

(Revelation 3:14) the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God

(Philippians 2:5-6) Christ Jesus, who, although he was existing in God's form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God

(John 8:42) Neither have I come of my own initiative at all, but that One sent me forth

(John 12:49) I have not spoken out of my own impulse, but the Father himself who sent me has given me a commandment as to what to tell and what to speak

(John 14:28) I am going my way to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am

(1 Corinthians 15:28) But when all things will have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also subject himself to the One who subjected all things to him

(Matthew 20:23) this sitting down at my right hand and at my left is not mine to give, but it belongs to those for whom it has been prepared by my Father

(1 Corinthians 11:3) I want you to know that the head of every man is the Christ; ...in turn the head of the Christ is God

(John 20:17) I am ascending to my Father and your Father and to my God and your God.

(Deuteronomy 6:4) Jehovah our God is one Jehovah

(1 Corinthians 8:4-6) There is no God but one. For even though there are those who are called "gods," whether in heaven or on earth, just as there are many "gods" and many "lords," there is actually to us one God the Father, out of whom all things are, and we for him

Thanks again for an opportunity to share what the bible actually says about the distinct persons of Jesus Christ the Son and Jehovah God the Father!

Learn more!
http://watchtower.org/e/ti/
http://watchtower.org/e/20050422/
http://watchtower.org/e/20020515/
http://watchtower.org/e/pr/article_04.htm

Answer 2

The Word Was God"

AT JOHN 1:1 the King James Version reads: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Trinitarians claim that this means that "the Word" (Greek, ho lo'gos) who came to earth as Jesus Christ was Almighty God himself.

Someone who is "with" another person cannot also be that other person

Note, however, that here again the context lays the groundwork for accurate understanding. Even the King James Version says, "The Word was with God." (Italics ours.) Someone who is "with" another person cannot be the same as that other person. In agreement with this, the Journal of Biblical Literature, edited by Jesuit Joseph A. Fitzmyer, notes that if the latter part of John 1:1 were interpreted to mean "the" God, this "would then contradict the preceding clause," which says that the Word was with God.

Notice, too, how other translations render this part of the verse:

1808: "and the word was a god." The New Testament in an Improved Version, Upon the Basis of Archbishop Newcome's New Translation: With a Corrected Text.

1864: "and a god was the word." The Emphatic Diaglott, interlinear reading, by Benjamin Wilson.

1928: "and the Word was a divine being." La Bible du Centenaire, L'Evangile selon Jean, by Maurice Goguel.

1935: "and the Word was divine." The Bible—An American Translation, by J. M. P. Smith and E. J. Goodspeed.

1946: "and of a divine kind was the Word." Das Neue Testament, by Ludwig Thimme.

1950: "and the Word was a god." New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures.

1958: "and the Word was a God." The New Testament, by James L. Tomanek.

1975: "and a god (or, of a divine kind) was the Word." Das Evangelium nach Johannes, by Siegfried Schulz.

1978: "and godlike kind was the Logos." Das Evangelium nach Johannes, by Johannes Schneider.

At John 1:1 there are two occurrences of the Greek noun the·os' (god). The first occurrence refers to Almighty God, with whom the Word was ("and the Word [lo'gos] was with God [a form of the·os']"). This first the·os' is preceded by the word ton (the), a form of the Greek definite article that points to a distinct identity, in this case Almighty God ("and the Word was with [the] God").

On the other hand, there is no article before the second the·os' at John 1:1. So a literal translation would read, "and god was the Word." Yet we have seen that many translations render this second the·os' (a predicate noun) as "divine," "godlike," or "a god." On what authority do they do this?

The Koine Greek language had a definite article ("the"), but it did not have an indefinite article ("a" or "an"). So when a predicate noun is not preceded by the definite article, it may be indefinite, depending on the context.

The Journal of Biblical Literature says that expressions "with an anarthrous [no article] predicate preceding the verb, are primarily qualitative in meaning." As the Journal notes, this indicates that the lo'gos can be likened to a god. It also says of John 1:1: "The qualitative force of the predicate is so prominent that the noun [the·os'] cannot be regarded as definite."

So John 1:1 highlights the quality of the Word, that he was "divine," "godlike," "a god," but not Almighty God. This harmonizes with the rest of the Bible, which shows that Jesus, here called "the Word" in his role as God's Spokesman, was an obedient subordinate sent to earth by his Superior, Almighty God.

There are many other Bible verses in which almost all translators in other languages consistently insert the article "a" when translating Greek sentences with the same structure. For example, at Mark 6:49, when the disciples saw Jesus walking on water, the King James Version says: "They supposed it had been a spirit." In the Koine Greek, there is no "a" before "spirit." But almost all translations in other languages add an "a" in order to make the rendering fit the context. In the same way, since John 1:1 shows that the Word was with God, he could not be God but was "a god," or "divine."

Joseph Henry Thayer, a theologian and scholar who worked on the American Standard Version, stated simply: "The Logos was divine, not the divine Being himself." And Jesuit John L. McKenzie wrote in his Dictionary of the Bible: "Jn 1:1 should rigorously be translated . . . 'the word was a divine being.'"

Answer 3

Ask your english teacher if it is correct to say

"Snoopy is dog."

This is improper english.

In english you have to say "Snoopy is a dog."

This means most bibles use improper english when they write, "The Word was God" the proper translation should be translated as "The Word was a god"

god (2) denotes essence, which means the nature of something, not Godhead.

the nature of something, or the family of something.

In the bible Jesus is a spirit person, same as the angels, Are the angels God also?

Family, the angels are sons of God, are they the same as God?

In the bible the family arrangement,

Father, the head of the family,

Son, inferior to his father, in subjection (1 Cor 11:3)

The bible even places sons below the wife.

Christians become brothers to Christ, does this make Christians equal to God?

Matt 28, lists Father, Son and holy spirit.

If I list Tom, Dick, and Harry, are we to assume these are 3 persons or one person with 3 different personalities??

Do You know that the trinity wasn't an official teaching until 300 years after Christ, and the 1st century christians didn't believe in a trinity?

Answer 4

Actually, the Apostle John used four different Greek spellings for the word "god", but never used the same spelling in reference to Almighty "God" and the Word was "god". He did use the same spelling for the word god when he referenced the Word, Satan, and a man as "god", so does that also mean Satan is God? Buy an Interlinear Greek Translation of the New Testament at any Bible book store. A little education goes a long way.

Another scripture commonly used is in the old testament which refers to him as a might god, but a mighty god is created and receives its power from an Almighty God.

I think one question to ask yourself is if Christ is God, then why do Satanists also refer to him as God? You would think they would promote the opposite. Like using the upside-down cross. Tends to make Christians think that they are simply the opposite of Christianity, when they are actually just trying to make people think there is some significance in the symbol. Misdirection is the key.

Answer 5

We believe in Christ but not the Trinity. Notice what Simon Peter said who Jesus Christ was. Found at Matthew 16:16.

There are Bible texts that I could never fit in with that belief or with the Trinity. Such as Matt. 24:36. If the Son is equal to the Father and is the same person, how is it that the Father knows things that the Son does not? Even if it's regarding his "human nature" why does the holy spirit not know? Are not all 3 persons supposed to be 1, according to the Trinity doctrine? However, the bible does have this to say about God - He has a personal name, Psalms 83:18. Reasonably, if Jesus were God, then he would have said that he wanted people to worship him. However, instead, Jesus never claimed to be equal to God. And there’s a scripture that points this fact out. It’s found at John 14:28.

I agree with you. Many have too many hang-ups over John 1:1 and don't consider the rest of the scriptures, since the bible is in harmony with each writer and book. Something to ponder for those who don't believe Jesus is the son of God:

Let’s start at the beginning. Forget everything about Jesus on earth and let’s focus in heaven. Who has superiority in Heaven? Considering that Jesus is God, then it would be Jesus. However, if we take a look at Matthew 28:18 it says something of great interest. Here Jesus has been resurrected and is speaking to his disciples before he ascends into heaven to live. Here he says to the disciples that “all authority has been given him in heaven and on the earth”. Since he said “all authority” had been given to him, then that would conclude that somebody gave him that authority. Who could that person be, if Jesus was himself God? Why would Jesus now have this authority when he should of already have had it? Let’s go to Philippians 2:9 to find this answer. It says here that “God exalted him to a superior position”. Well, if Jesus is not God, then who is this God? The bible does not leave us wondering. His very personal name is found at Psalms 83:18. Please also read these additional scriptures: Proverbs 8: 22-31; 30:4, John 20:17, 31, Acts 7:56 then Acts 17:31

Colossians 1:15-18. (Notice what the bible states about death). One is unconscious, conscious of nothing. So how can God resurrect himself if he alone is dead and had written in the bible what happens to one who dies. Is he lying about death or is Jesus really not God?

Someone who was studying the bible had this to say: People think Jesus is God. They even pray to Jesus. But he gives so much evidence to prove wrong this theory. God Cannot Lie. When Jesus teaches people to pray, he says in Matthew 6:6 but when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Did you catch that? Pray to the Father who is "Unseen"! If Jesus is God, how could you pray to the Father who is Unseen, if he is right there telling you to do it?

Something to ponder about.