Is Jesus God? Is He a member of the Trinity, or is that some pagan belief that Christendom adopted? Is worshiping Jesus as God blasphemy? There is much debate about these very issues today. The foundations of church doctrine are being questioned and are now at stake. Jehovah's Witnesses claim that Jesus is not God, but rather Michael the Archangel given divine power. But what does the Bible say? God's Word confirms the doctrine held for almost two thousand years: Jesus is God. Let's find out how Christians arrive at this conclusion.
Sayings about Jesus
And the Word was God. Let's take a look at John 1:1:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.For many, the case is proven right now, but some are skeptical. The Watchtower Society, the head of the Jehovah's Witnesses, has produced a book they call the New World Translation of the Bible. In this version, the above verse is translated about the same, but with one difference: the last phrase is changed to, "and the Word was a god." The G is made lower case, and the article "a" is added before the word, making it seem like the Word, Jesus, is less than God. He's not the God, but He's a God, they say.
Jesus speaks in John 17:3:
"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You sent."Jehovah's Witnesses will readily agree that there is one true God. They quote this verse to say that Jesus is not God, because there can only be one. Let's take a closer look. Would you agree that whatever is not true is false? Of course. So if Jesus is "a god," but He is not "the only true God," He must be a false god. And how can a false god be sent by the Father, as John 17:3 says Jesus was? Would God send a false god to the people He's trying to save? Of course not!
So is the Bible wrong? Is Jesus not a god at all, since He's not the one true God? Certainly not. The only alternative is that Jesus and God are the same. Jesus cannot be "a god" without being "the only true God," because otherwise He is a false god.
If the New World Translation is correct, and Jehovah God and Jesus the god coexist, that is teaching polytheism, a doctrine the Bible clearly denies. Isaiah 43:10 says, "Before Me there was no God formed," and Isaiah 44:6 says, "Besides Me there is no God." Not to mention the command issued by God on Mt. Sinai to "have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:2). Clearly this translation cannot be correct. John 1:1 without doubt equates the Word with God. For more on this verse, go to the heading titled Going Greek.
Making Himself equal with God. John 5:17–18 says,
But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.By saying that God was His Father, Jesus was claiming Deity. One who denies the existence of the Trinity, however, will point out that the allegation of Jesus claiming Godship was made by Jews that hated Him, so they are likely to misquote Him and get His words wrong. But let's look at the verse again: What it doesn't say is, "Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because they thought He not only broke the Sabbath, but they also thought that He said God was His Father, making Himself equal with God." What is reported in this verse is not what the Jews thought, but what actually happened. Jesus was actually going around naming God as His Father, which means He was equal to God.
The image of God. Second Corinthians 4:4 reads,
whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.This verse says that Jesus is the image of God. He was the physical manifestation of God upon this earth. In fact, Jesus tells his disciples in John 14:9, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father."
First Timothy 3:16 says,
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:Again, the Bible teaches that God came to earth in the flesh. Also, this verse includes mention of the Spirit, so all three Persons of the Godhead are present, and all three had a part in the Incarnation. It can't be denied: God came to earth as Jesus. Let's look at some more verses.
God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.
My Lord and my God! When the resurrected Jesus shows Himself to Thomas, Thomas puts his hands in the prints of the nails in Jesus' hands. Upon realizing that this is really Jesus, he cries out, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28) The Watchtower Society has tried to cover this up with suggestions about how Thomas may have been using God's name in vain, about how Jesus may have seemed like a god to Thomas, or by admitting that Jesus is actually called "a god" in John 1:1, so the term is applicable. But was this the intent behind Thomas' exclamation?
Jews at this time believed that using God's name in vain amounted to blasphemy, so surely Thomas was not doing that. If he had been, Jesus would have rebuked him for this blatant and obvious sin. The fact that Thomas makes his exclamation personal—"My Lord and my God!"—indicates that Jesus was more than someone who seemed to be like a god. Thomas was emphatically stating not that Jesus is just a god (little g) or just someone who appears to be a god, but He is in actuality God Himself. If this were a case of mistaken identity, surely Jesus would have corrected the situation; rather, he commends Thomas for his belief (John 20:29). Without doubt, Jesus is Lord and God.
To be equal with God. Philippians 2:6 says,
who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,Not only was Jesus in God's form, but He was equal to God, and it wasn't robbery. The Watchtower Society has tried to confuse this verse with its New World Translation, in which it reads,
who, although existing in God's form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God.This makes it sound as if Jesus never even thought he was equal to God. Verse 8 of this chapter tells us that Jesus' life is a story of humility—how Jesus, being God, left the throne of Heaven and came to earth to save us. But how is it humility if He never thought He was God in the first place? Says Tyler Young, "It is hardly a credit to someone who is not God to say that he recognizes he is not God."1 This verse has plainly been twisted by the Watchtower Society, as it was originally meant to teach that Jesus is "equal with God."
The fullness of the Godhead. Colossians 2:9 says, "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." The word for "Godhead" also means "Deity." The New World Translation misinterprets it as "divine quality," making it sound like less than deity. However, the word used definitely "is as strong as possible; Deity, not only Divinity," says H.C.G. Moule.2 This verse says Jesus is God.
Our great God and Savior. Titus 2:13 says,
looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,Jesus is referred to as "our great God and Savior." It really doesn't get much plainer than that. Second Peter 1:1 is quite similar:
Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ,Yet again, Jesus is called "God and Savior." These verses confirm the Deity of Christ. For more, look under the heading titled Going Greek.
To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
The only begotten God. John 1:18, from the New American Standard Version, reads,
No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.Jesus is here referred to as "the only begotten God." It may sound confusing, because it says God is begotten. How can God be born? Well, Jesus was physically born through Mary, so the description fits. The New International Version translates the phrase "God the One and Only," so "only begotten" actually means "unique" more than it means "born." Nevertheless, this verse inescapeably calls Jesus God.
Mighty God. Isaiah 9:6 says,
For unto us a Child is born,The "Child" that was born was Jesus, and Jesus is called "Mighty God." Some try to explain their way out of this description by saying that "Mighty God" is used to differentiate Jesus from the Father, who is the "Almighty God." However, in the very next chapter, in Isaiah 10:20–21, Jehovah is referred to as "Mighty God."
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Me whom they pierced. God speaks in Zechariah 12:10:
"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn."God calls Himself "Me whom they pierced." This, of course, is a reference to the death Jesus suffered on the cross (Matthew 27:35), and can be compared to Revelation 1:7:
Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will morn becase of Him. Even so, Amen.God speaks of being pierced, and we find that Jesus was pierced. This must mean that Jesus is God.
With His own blood. Acts 20:28 says,
"Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with his own blood."This verse says God purchased the church with His own blood, but it was Jesus who came to the earth to die. Jesus and God must be the same.
Besides Me there is no savior. God says in Isaiah 43:11,
I, even I, am the Lord,But Peter says of Jesus in Acts 4:12,
And besides Me there is no savior.
"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."If God is the only Savior, and salvation is only found in Jesus, Jesus must be God.
Your throne, O God. God speaks to Jesus in Hebrews 1:8:
But to the Son He says:God called His Son God, so we have it straight from God's own mouth that Jesus is God.
"Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
God With Us. Matthew 1:23 says,
"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."Oftentimes, a biblical name says something about the person who wears it. Esau was named such because it means "hairy," and he was a hairy guy (Genesis 25:25). His brother Jacob grabbed the heel of Esau as he came from the womb, so he was named "One Who Takes the Heel," which is a metaphor for one who supplants or deceives (Genesis 25:26), and in fact, Jacob did grow up to deceive his father and take his brother's blessing (Genesis 27). Jesus' name is significant because it shows that God came down to earth and dwelt among men. "God" was literally "with us."
Worship the Lord your God. Hebrews 1:6 says,
But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says:Matthew 4:10 says,
"Let all the angels of God worship Him."
Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"God commands the angels to worship Jesus, and Jesus says we're to worship God and God alone, so Jesus must be God.
One Lord Jesus Christ. First Corinthians 8:6 says,
yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.Jesus, in the verse before this last one, Matthew 4:10, calls God the Lord, but we find in 1 Corinthians that there is one Lord, and that is Jesus. They must be the same, then.
Sayings by Jesus
One with the Father. John 10:30 says, "I and My Father are one." Jehovah's Witnesses claim that Jesus is merely stating a unity of purpose—God and Jesus are one in that they want to accomplish the same things. They quote John 17:21–22, in which Jesus prays
"that they [Christians] all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:"Jesus wanted the disciples to be united in purpose, just like Jesus and God. But let's look at the context of John 10:30. In verse 29, Jesus says God is "greater than all things," and in the next verse He claims to be one with Him. In verse 31, the Jews are mad, and they want to stone Him. Jesus asks why, and they say it's for blasphemy. If Jesus were merely saying that He and God have set out to accomplish the same thing, why would the Jews be mad? Didn't they also strive to do what God wanted done? And if Jesus were claiming a commonality of purpose, it certainly wouldn't be blasphemy. As Christians today, we should want to accomplish what God wants to accomplish, and if what Jesus said is blasphemy, we can't do that, because we couldn't even state our mission without sinning. Jesus was telling these Jews that He and the Father really were one. They don't have a unity of mind, they have the same mind. And that is what Jesus was praying for in John 17:21–22: that we today may be as unified as the Father and Son. It is true we can't all be the same person as the Father and Jesus are, but we can all have a like mind.
Going Greek
Since Jehovah's Witnesses are intent on proving their doctrines using the Greek behind New Testament verses, Christians must counter these attacks with the truth. Let's look at some proof for Jesus' Deity in the Greek language.
And the Word was God. The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, a Watchtower Publication, has an appendix in the back wherein it defends the New World Translation's use of "and the Word was a god." The appendix quotes from A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, by Dana and Mantey, page 148, paragraph 3. They use this quotation to defend their perversion of John 1:1. What does this paragraph say? Read on:
(3) With the Subject in a Copulative Sentence. The article somtimes distinguishes the subject from the predicate in a copulative sentence. In Xenophon's Anabasis, 1:4:6, εμποριον δ' ην το χωριον, and the place was a market, we have a parallel case to what we have in John 1:1, και θεος ην λογος, and the word was deity. The article points out the subject in these examples. Neither was the place the only market, nor was the word all of God, as it would mean if the article were also used with θεος. As it stands, the other person of the Trinity may be implied in θεος.Dana and Mantey say that this verse implies the Trinity, a belief that Jehovah's Witnesses deny. The Watchtower Society references a source whose author is advocating the opposite of what they believe! How is that supposed to support their case?
It is also noteworthy that the page preceding the one the Society quotes disagrees with the New World Translation's perversion of 2 Peter 1:1 and Titus 2:13. Page 147, paragraph 1 states:
του κυριου και σωτηρος 'Ιησου ΧριστουThe Watchtower Society quotes from this book to prove its own fallacious doctrine, but instead they tear it down by not reviewing the context of their references. Dana and Mantey believe Jesus is God, and the Bible presents Jesus as God, despite what Jehovah's Witnesses say.
Of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Pt. 2:20
The article here indicates that Jesus is both Lord and Savior. So in 2 Pt. 1:1 του θεου ημων και σωτηρος 'Ιησου Χριστου means that Jesus is our God and Savior. After the same manner Tit. 2:13, του μεγαλου θεου και σωτηρος 'Ιησου Χριστου, asserts that Jesus is the great God and Savior.
And what's more, Dr. Julius Mantey, the same Mantey as mentioned above, calls the New World Translation "a shocking mistranslation."3
In "translating" John 1:1, the writers of the New World Translation take the stance that theos with a definite article preceding it means God, while theos without a definite article means a god. They say that the sentence order necessitates the translation "a god." They are not consistent, then, in following their translating philosphy, as John 10:36 demonstrates. Their version provides the phrase "I am God's Son," but the Greek shows that "son" has no definite article, so according to their method, it should read, "I am a son of God." Well, one of these scriptures has to be translated wrong, and it seems the Watchtower Society has tampered with John 1:1 to further its own teachings, and not those of God.
Perhaps a more shocking inconsistency is the fact that the New World Translation doesn't stick to the same philosophy within the same chapter. Theos appears in John 1 six times—verses 1, 6, 12, 13, and twice in verse 18. The translators have translated it as God only when it doesn't apply to Jesus, and god when it does. Look it up; don't take my word for it.
Before Abraham was, I AM. The New World Translation changes John 8:58 to
Jesus said to them: "Most truly I say to you, Before Abraham came into existence, I have been."The Watchtower Society claims this is a correct translation, but again there are blatant inconsistencies. If this is the correct translation, the New World Translation should read, "I have been the light of the world" (John 8:12), "I have been the door" (John 10:9), "I have been the good shepherd" (John 10:11), "I have been the way and the truth and the life" (John 14:6), "I have been the true vine" (John 15:1), and "I have been the vine" (John 15:5), but it instead says "I am" for each of these. Which translation is correct? Obviously, John 8:58 has been changed to suit the Jehovah's Witnesses' doctrine.
How does the New World Translation defend its perversion? The 1950 edition claimed that the Greek words ego eimi were properly rendered I have been in the perfect indefinite tense. The truth is, however, that Greek has no perfect indefinite tense, and the phrase is an oxymoron. In The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, it says the phrase is rendered in the perfect tense. These changes and inaccuracies do not provide support for the Watchtower Society's precarious position on this verse. Conveniently, the appendix provides no long-winded explanations about how "I have been" is correct. The truth is, therefore, that in John 8:58, Jesus was referring to God's statement in Exodus 3:14: "I AM WHO I AM." Jesus was calling Himself "I AM," and therefore calling Himself God.
By Him all things were created. Properly rendered, Colossians 1:16–17 reads,
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.The New World Translation differs:
because by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All [other] things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is before all [other] things and by means of him all [other] things were made to exist,That was an exact quote. The bracketed words are actually in the New World Translation's text. There is no reason given as to why the translation is distorted so—no footnotes, no articles in the appendix, nothing of the sort. The bracketed words are not in the original Greek, and have been added solely to make Christ appear to be a created thing. When read from a reliable translation, like the preceding reading from the New King James Version, we see that Christ is not created but the Creator. This mistranslation is inexcuseable.
It is beyond the scope of this article to point out further inaccuracies in the New World Translation, as the main point of it is to show that Jesus is indeed God. This section's purpose is merely to provide answer's to common objections proposed by those who deny Jesus' Deity, namely Jehovah's Witnesses.
Conclusion
This list of verses is by no means exhaustive—the whole Bible sets forth the story of how God became man to save us from sin. I hope you have benefitted from this article, and I hope you realize that those who deny the Deity of Jesus simply can't defend their false doctrines. The Bible (and modern Bible scholars) do not support their views, but rather it proclaims that Jesus is God.
Works Cited
- 2002 Spring Bible Institute Lectureship: Jehovah's Witnesses, edited by David P. Brown. Copyright © 2002 by Contending For The Faith. Page 208. Return
- H.C.G. Moule, Studies in Colossians and Philemon. (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1978), page 102. Quoted in Ron Rhodes' Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah's Witnesses, Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1993. Page 82. Return
- Grieshaber, Erich and Jean. Exposé of Jehovah's Witnesses. Tyler, TX: Jean Books, 1982. Page 30. Quoted in Ron Rhodes' Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah's Witnesses, Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1993. Page 97. Return
