Hey Jehovah's witnesses Was Jesus God, manifest in human form?

Question

The Bible tells us:

As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.
—Acts 10:25,26
Peter refused worship in light of the Law that said,

You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.
In Revelation 19:10, when the apostle John saw an angel, he said,

I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, See you do it not: I am your fellow-servant, and of your brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God.
Even the angel of the Lord refused to be worshipped.

However, here are many more verses showing that Jesus allowed Himself to be worshipped, simply because He was God "manifest in the flesh":

While he spoke these things to them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay your hand upon her, and she shall live
—Matthew 9:18

Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth you are the Son of God
—Matthew 14:33

Then she came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me
—Matthew 15:25

And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him
—Matthew 28:9

When they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted
—Matthew 28:17

He received their worship because He was…

…the image of the invisible God…
—Colossians 1:15) …God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory…
—1 Timothy 3:16, (emphasis added)

proskuneo: 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you,[d] Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”Matthew 4:10 in greek the same word proskuneo is used here in worshiping God. That is because this word means to worship and is translated wrong int the NWT

Answer 1

Just remember to shake the dust off of your feet as you leave, they will not listen. I don't even know why they try to align themselves with Christianity when what they do believe does not constitute a saving faith. This has already been hammered out in the first few centuries, and all Jehovah's Witnesses have done is substitute one doctrine for another. One saves, one does not. Your quotes and Scripture references belong to the former.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

No, Jesus is not God, the Almighty. Jesus is the son of God. Yes, True, while on Earth, people did an act of obeisance to him. However, it is important to acknowledge and remember that Jesus was not accepting worship, which belongs to God alone but recognized the act of the one doing obeisance as recognition of the authority given Him by God.

Answer 4

No.
If you happen to have a Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, you need to look up the word misapplied in your translation.
Worshipped, in the Greek Dictionary is #4352 has this definition provided:
proskuneo- _(meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand); to fawn or crouch(lit. or fig.) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence, adore) : worship.

So if I claim that Jesus is not God, then certainly it is true that your translation is nothing if it is not misleading. Why? well as we can see, the word translated 'worship' in your translation has the primary definition of showing honor, not necessarily the worship due to Almighty God alone.

Answer 5

To say that there's multiple god isn't going towards scripture in any respect. Certainly, it does no longer contradict Isaiah forty three. The Bible itself speaks of different gods. two Corinthians four:four (NIV) mentiones 3 of them: "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, in order that they can not see the sunshine of the gospel of the honour of Christ, who's the snapshot of God." KJV reads this fashion: "In whom the god of this international hath blinded the minds of them which suppose no longer, lest the sunshine of the fantastic gospel of Christ, who's the snapshot of God, will have to shine unto them." Now right here Christ is recounted via name (that's to mention his name of the Anointed) however the first god and the final god aren't recounted via identify. In each situations, the Greek phrase rendered 'god' is theos. Now this primary god (theos), is naturally Satan. And this final god (theos) is God Almighty. And Christ is the snapshot of the final god, in step with this verse. Now if we motive that there's just one God and no others have been shaped and no others exist, we could need to finish that this primary god (theos), that's Satan, is the identical because the final god (theos), that's God Almighty. Are we definite that this primary god (theos) is Satan? Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary, the 1599 Geneva Study Bible, the People's New Testament, Jamieson Fausset Brown's Commentary and nonetheless others all recognize that the primary god recounted right here, the one that is blinding the minds, is none as opposed to Satan. So, once more, via your line of reasoning, we ought to succeed in the realization that Satan is God Almighty and Christ, being the snapshot of God, is himself the snapshot of Satan. Do professed Christians suppose this? Never might that be! Isaiah forty three:10 can not be used to aid one of these syllogism. This could be like announcing, cows are mammals, females are mammals, hence females are cows. That is a syllogism and an faulty one. And I will have to desire that no person subscribes to such. Isaiah does no longer coach that Yahweh is the one god in life. Hannah J Paul

Answer 6

(NKJV) Rev 3:9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.

(NASB) I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.

(NWT) I will make them come and do obeisance before your feet and make them know I have loved you.



Why are the Jews commanded to worship at the feet of Christians?

To use the word 'worship' or 'obeisance' or 'bow down' for the Greek word is a matter of interpretation.

As to bowing down (the literal meaning of the Greek) there are several occations in the bible showing that it is not a violation of God's Commandments to show honor by bowing down before a ruler. People bowed dow to Joseph, David, Elisha.

Jesus as King of God's Kingdom is due the honor of obedience and submission, which he was shown by many.

Notice in Rev. in both occations when the angel told John not to bow down to him, and to worship God. Jesus was literally standing next to God.

and yet the angel ignored Jesus and said to worship God, the One sitting on the throne.

When Rev talks about the 24 elders worshiping, They always directed that worship to God, the one sitting on the throne.

edit --

The scripture you quote in Matt. denoting 'worship' is directed to LORD you God.

All bible students know that this LORD is Jehovah.

Thanks for the quote.

Answer 7

The Scriptures quite plainly show that godly persons must be uniquely devoted to the person of Almighty Jehovah God the Father. His Son, Jesus, plainly taught that Jehovah deserves a unique form of "sacred service".

(Matthew 4:10) Jesus said... ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.’

(Luke 4:8) Jesus said... ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.’

(Exodus 20:5) I Jehovah your God am a God exacting exclusive devotion


The bible teaches that Jehovah has given Jesus extraordinary authority, and so true Christians (such as Jehovah's Witnesses) work to demonstrate their devotion, love, obedience, and obeisance to Jesus.

(Hebrews 1:3-4) [Jesus] sat down on the right hand of the Majesty in lofty places. 4 So he has become better than the angels

(Matthew 28:18) And Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying: "All authority has been given me in heaven and on the earth [by God the Father]

(Acts 2:36) God made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you impaled.

(John 3:35) The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.

(Acts 5:31) God exalted this one as Chief Agent and Savior to his right hand

(Psalm 2:2-6) The kings of earth take their stand And high officials themselves have massed together as one Against Jehovah and against his anointed one... Jehovah himself will hold them in derision..., Saying: "I, even I, have installed my king [Jesus]

(Hebrews 1:6) When [God] again brings his Firstborn [Jesus] into the inhabited earth, he says: “And let all God’s angels do obeisance to him.”


Because the English word "worship" is confusing to some (especially regarding the nature of "exclusive devotion"), Jehovah's Witnesses prefer to reserve the English word "worship" only to describe the "sacred service" which they direct only to Jehovah God.

Thanks for another opportunity to effectively demonstrate that Jehovah God the Father is a distinct person from Jesus Christ the Son!

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/ti/index.htm?article=article_05.htm

Answer 8

Yes

Answer 9

Yes He was

Answer 10

Jesus Christ: The only-begotten Son of God, the only Son produced by Jehovah alone. This Son is the firstborn of all creation. By means of him all other things in heaven and on earth were created. He is the second-greatest personage in the universe. It is this Son whom Jehovah sent to the earth to give his life as a ransom for mankind, thus opening the way to eternal life for those of Adam’s offspring who would exercise faith. This same Son, restored to heavenly glory, now rules as King, with authority to destroy all the wicked and to carry out his Father’s original purpose for the earth. The Hebrew form of the name Jesus means “Jehovah Is Salvation”; Christ is the equivalent of the Hebrew Ma·shi′ach (Messiah), meaning “Anointed One.”

Is Jesus Christ actually God? John 17:3, RS: “[Jesus prayed to his Father:] This is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God [“who alone art truly God,” NE], and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” (Notice that Jesus referred not to himself but to his Father in heaven as “the only true God.”)
John 20:17, RS: “Jesus said to her [Mary Magdalene], ‘Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (So to the resurrected Jesus, the Father was God, just as the Father was God to Mary Magdalene. Interestingly, not once in Scripture do we find the Father addressing the Son as “my God.”)

Does John 1:1 prove that Jesus is God? John 1:1, RS: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God [also KJ, JB, Dy, Kx, NAB].” NE reads “what God was, the Word was.” Mo says “the Logos was divine.” AT and Sd tell us “the Word was divine.” The interlinear rendering of ED is “a god was the Word.” NW reads “the Word was a god”; NTIV uses the same wording.
What is it that these translators are seeing in the Greek text that moves some of them to refrain from saying “the Word was God”? The definite article (the) appears before the first occurrence of the·os′ (God) but not before the second. The articular (when the article appears) construction of the noun points to an identity, a personality, whereas a singular anarthrous (without the article) predicate noun before the verb (as the sentence is constructed in Greek) points to a quality about someone. So the text is not saying that the Word (Jesus) was the same as the God with whom he was but, rather, that the Word was godlike, divine, a god.

What did the apostle John mean when he wrote John 1:1? Did he mean that Jesus is himself God or perhaps that Jesus is one God with the Father? In the same chapter, verse 18, John wrote: “No one [“no man,” KJ, Dy] has ever seen God; the only Son [“the only-begotten god,” NW], who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.” (RS) Had any human seen Jesus Christ, the Son? Of course! So, then, was John saying that Jesus was God? Obviously not. Toward the end of his Gospel, John summarized matters, saying: “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, [not God, but] the Son of God.”—John 20:31, RS.

Does Thomas’ exclamation at John 20:28 prove that Jesus is truly God? John 20:28 (RS) reads: “Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” There is no objection to referring to Jesus as “God,” if this is what Thomas had in mind. Such would be in harmony with Jesus’ own quotation from the Psalms in which powerful men, judges, were addressed as “gods.” (John 10:34, 35, RS; Ps. 82:1-6) Of course, Christ occupies a position far higher than such men. Because of the uniqueness of his position in relation to Jehovah, at John 1:18 (NW) Jesus is referred to as “the only-begotten god.” Isaiah 9:6 (RS) also prophetically describes Jesus as “Mighty God,” but not as the Almighty God. All of this is in harmony with Jesus’ being described as “a god,” or “divine,” at John 1:1

The context helps us to draw the right conclusion from this. Shortly before Jesus’ death, Thomas had heard Jesus’ prayer in which he addressed his Father as “the only true God.” (John 17:3, RS) After Jesus’ resurrection Jesus had sent a message to his apostles, including Thomas, in which he had said: “I am ascending . . . to my God and your God.” (John 20:17, RS) After recording what Thomas said when he actually saw and touched the resurrected Christ, the apostle John stated: “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31, RS) So, if anyone has concluded from Thomas’ exclamation that Jesus is himself “the only true God” or that Jesus is a Trinitarian “God the Son,” he needs to look again at what Jesus himself said (vs. 17) and at the conclusion that is clearly stated by the apostle John (vs. 31).

Does Matthew 1:23 indicate that Jesus when on earth was God? Matt. 1:23, RS: “‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emman′u-el’ (which means, God with us [“God is with us,” NE]).” In announcing Jesus’ coming birth, did Jehovah’s angel say that the child would be God himself? No, the announcement was: “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High.” (Luke 1:32, 35, RS; italics added.) And Jesus himself never claimed to be God but, rather, “the Son of God.” (John 10:36, RS; italics added.) Jesus was sent into the world by God; so by means of this only-begotten Son, God was with mankind.—John 3:17; 17:8.

It was not unusual for Hebrew names to include within them the word for God or even an abbreviated form of God’s personal name. For example, Eli′athah means “God Has Come”; Jehu means “Jehovah Is He”; Elijah means “My God Is Jehovah.” But none of these names implied that the possessor was himself God.

What is the meaning of John 5:18? John 5:18, RS: “This was why the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but also called God his Father, making himself equal with God.” It was the unbelieving Jews who reasoned that Jesus was attempting to make himself equal with God by claiming God as his Father. While properly referring to God as his Father, Jesus never claimed equality with God. He straightforwardly answered the Jews: “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.” (John 5:19, RS; see also John 14:28; John 10:36.) It was those unbelieving Jews, too, who claimed that Jesus broke the Sabbath, but they were wrong also about that. Jesus kept the Law perfectly, and he declared: “It is lawful to do good on the sabbath.”—Matt. 12:10-12.

Does the fact that worship is given to Jesus prove that he is God? At Hebrews 1:6, the angels are instructed to “worship” Jesus, according to the rendering of RS, TEV, KJ, JB, and NAB. NW says “do obeisance to.” At Matthew 14:33, Jesus’ disciples are said to have “worshiped” him, according to RS, TEV, KJ; other translations say that they “showed him reverence” (NAB), “bowed down before him” (JB), “fell at his feet” (NE), “did obeisance to him” (NW).

The Greek word rendered “worship” is pro·sky·ne′o, which A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature says was also “used to designate the custom of prostrating oneself before a person and kissing his feet, the hem of his garment, the ground.” (Chicago, 1979, Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich, Danker; second English edition; p. 716) This is the term used at Matthew 14:33 to express what the disciples did toward Jesus; at Hebrews 1:6 to indicate what the angels are to do toward Jesus; at Genesis 22:5 in the Greek Septuagint to describe what Abraham did toward Jehovah and at Genesis 23:7 to describe what Abraham did, in harmony with the custom of the time, toward people with whom he was doing business; at 1 Kings 1:23 in the Septuagint to describe the prophet Nathan’s action on approaching King David.

At Matthew 4:10 (RS), Jesus said: “You shall worship [from pro·sky·ne′o] the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.” (At Deuteronomy 6:13, which Jesus is evidently here quoting, appears the personal name of God, the Tetragrammaton.) In harmony with that, we must understand that it is pro·sky·ne′o with a particular attitude of heart and mind that should be directed only toward God.

Do the miracles performed by Jesus prove that he is God?
Acts 10:34, 38, RS: “Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘ . . . God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; . . . he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.’” (So Peter did not conclude from the miracles that he observed that Jesus was God but, rather, that God was with Jesus. Compare Matthew 16:16, 17.) John 20:30, 31, RS: “Now Jesus did many other signs [“miracles,” TEV, Kx] in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.” (So the conclusion we should properly draw from the miracles is that Jesus is “the Christ,” the Messiah, “the Son of God.” The expression “Son of God” is very different from “God the Son.”)

Pre-Christian prophets such as Elijah and Elisha performed miracles similar to those of Jesus. Yet that certainly is no proof that they were God.