I have a friend who is a Jehovah’s Witness. A while back he told me that we don’t have big differences in our beliefs so I brought up the issue of Jesus’ nature. “Do you think Jesus is divine?” I asked. “We don’t believe that” he asserted. And then he quoted a barrage of Scripture verses to prove his point.
One thing is certain: the Jehovah’s Witnesses know their Bible well. I emphasize their because Jehovah’s Witnesses only use one translation of Scripture, called the New World Translation, and as far as I know no one else uses it. If you are seeking to prove your point by quoting another Bible version you won’t gain much ground. For example, the reference to Jesus’ deity, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn. 1:1 ESV) differs in the New World Translation. Instead of stating that the Word (Jesus) “was with God and was God” it reads “the Word was with God, and the Word was a god” (Jn. 1:1 NWT). There are many more places where the NWT differs from other English Bible versions so that the text doesn’t state or imply that Jesus is divine. (To be fair, the NWT retains Thomas’s declaration to Jesus as “My Lord and my God!” (Jn. 20:28 NWT), but Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t see that as an admission of Jesus’ deity.) And these differences in translation require us to get involved in the details of Greek grammar. Needless to say, eyes start to glaze over when Greek grammar is discussed.
But there’s another way forward for the evangelical Christian conversing with a Jehovah’s Witness. Look for passages in the NWT (available online), which support Jesus’ deity. Here’s one example. In Revelation 4, John sees a vision of God seated on his throne being worshiped by four living creatures and twenty-four elders. The twenty-four elders “fall down before him,” “worship him,” and “cast their crowns before the throne” as they say “You are worthy.”
In the next chapter, John sees another figure standing between the throne and the living creatures and elders. The figure is a lamb who looks like it has been slaughtered causing us to instantly identify the lamb with Jesus. As the scene unfolds the four living creatures and twenty-four elders fall down before the lamb and sing “You are worthy.” And then thousands of angels join in, “The Lamb that was slaughtered is worthy to receive the power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing” (Rev. 5:12 NWT). If that weren’t enough, the scene reaches its climax with every creature breaking forth in praise, “To the One sitting on the throne and to the Lamb be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever and ever” (Rev. 5:13 NWT).
Think of what is happening here. Creatures who have just worshiped the one seated on the throne turn their attention to another being and begin worshiping it. The elders who fall down before God, fall down before the Lamb. If Jesus doesn’t share in God’s nature then John has just described the most blasphemous scene we could ever imagine happening right in front of God’s face. The scene only makes sense when we understand that Jesus shares in the nature of the one seated on the throne just as a human son shares in the nature of a human father.
After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. My latest book focuses on Paul’s work as a tentmaker and what it means for today.
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Try me out with whatever Bible you want.
Lets start with Rev 1:1 and tell me how that does not contradict the trinity. It makes it obvious that God and Jesus are two different persons, I really don’t know how people miss that.
However, regarding your point, the falling down in front of a person happened many times in the Bible and did not always indicate ‘worship’. Doing obeisance with a particular frame of mind was always reserved for Jehovah.
Matt,
Thanks for the comment. Regarding Rev. 1:1 the relevant phrase reads, “A revelation by Jesus Christ, which God gave him” (NWT). If I understand your point correctly, you believe that John is contradicting the Trinity because he refers to God as distinct from Jesus when he asserts that God gave Jesus a revelation.
Of course, there are many verses which distinguish the Father from the Son (and even the Spirit) but these verses don’t pose a problem for Trinitarians. The doctrine of the Trinity asserts that there is one God who exists in three ‘Persons.’ These ‘Persons’ are distinct from one another allowing us to speak of them individually but they are also inseparably united allowing us to speak of them as a unity. As Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (Jn. 10:30 NWT). Thus the term trinity or tri-unity. So by asking the question, “Is Jesus God?” I am in no way implying “Is God the Son the same as God the Father?” Rather “Is Jesus God?” is really asking “Is Jesus divine?” or “Is Jesus worthy of worship?” As we know the Bible is emphatic that only God is worthy of worship.
And that is where Revelation 4 & 5 come into the picture. Your point that falling down may indicate different things at different times is well taken. However, the entire scene of these two dramatic chapters leads me to the conclusion that the Lamb together with the One seated on the throne are both the recipients of lavish worship. In the last phrase of praise they are addressed together and given the same honor, “To the One sitting on the throne and to the Lamb be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever and ever” (Rev. 5:13 NWT).