CAF Answers the WATCHTOWER
Booklet
“Should You Believe In The Trinity?”
(Should, subtitled Is Jesus Christ the
Almighty God? Published by
The WATCHTOWER Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc. [WTBTS], 1989.)
Our headings and comments
are in black. Should headings, quotations are blue. Scripture quotes are
from the King James Bible (KJV) unless indicated.
NOTE: The interested reader is referred to the following
hyperlink for an annotated listing of Scriptural evidence for the Trinity. http://www.caftucson.org/trinityscriptures/
Introduction, Purpose,
Definition.
Jehovah’s Witnesses have
consistently rejected the Trinity. Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916) taught that
Christ was a merely created being, and that the Holy Spirit is merely God’s
“active force.” In 1872 Mr. Russell began the WATCHTOWER movement and
all subsequent WTBTS leaders have advanced Mr. Russell’s claims.
Should lays out the WTBTS’ favorite
anti-Trinity attacks. Its opening flyleaf asks What,
exactly, is the Trinity? Does the Bible teach it? Should You Believe It? Is
Jesus Christ the Almighty God and part of the Trinity?
Should then says;
DO YOU
believe in the Trinity? Most people in Christendom do. After all, it has been
the central doctrine of the churches for centuries.
In view of
this, you would think that there could be no question about it. But there is,
and lately even some of its supporters have added fuel to the controversy.
Why should
a subject like this be of any more than passing interest? Because Jesus himself
said: “Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom you have sent.” So our entire future hinges on our knowing the true nature
of God, and that means getting to the root of the Trinity controversy.
Therefore, why not examine it for yourself? – John 17:3, Catholic
Should is not an
unbiased study but a broadside of misleading arguments that either contend or
imply that the Trinity doctrine is -
·
Rooted in
polytheistic paganism and immoral religious practices
·
Diametrically
opposed to Old Testament monotheism as taught by the prophets
·
Contrary to
teachings by Christ, the apostles and the early Christians
·
A damnable,
confused, unbiblical, illogical, apostate satanic heresy
·
Antithetical to
proper worship, and deserving of God’s eternal rejection.
Should page 31 concludes, Reject the Trinity.
Should’s back
cover invites readers to request WTBTS literature to study with Jehovah’s
Witnesses.
Ephesians 4:13-15; 2
Timothy 4:2-4; 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 and Jude 3 exhort Christians to be
doctrinally sound and to earnestly contend for the faith. Titus 3:9-11
also warns, But avoid
foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings
about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. A man that is an heretic after
the first and second admonition reject, Knowing that he that is such is
subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself. (Our emphasis.)
Should’s anti-Trinity attack is based on foolish questions and contentions. Should
also subverted history and plain Bible truths by material
misrepresentations. While seeking to avoid foolish questions and contentions we answer ten of Should’s worst errors - and a host of its attending heresies - to earnestly
contend for the faith. Our purpose is not to attack a person or
organization but to stand for the truth, to defend the Trinity and to point the
lost to the truth of the gospel.
Should page 3 says,
Various Trinitarian concepts exist. But generally the Trinity
teaching is that in
the Godhead there are three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost;
yet, together they are but one God. The doctrine says that the three are
coequal, almighty and uncreated, having existed eternally in the Godhead.
Others, however, say that the Trinity
doctrine is false, that Almighty God stands alone as a separate, eternal, and
all-powerful being. They say that Jesus in his prehuman existence was, like the
angels, a separate spirit person created by God, and for this reason he must
have had a beginning. They teach that Jesus has never been Almighty God’s equal
in any sense; he has always been subject to God and still is. They also believe
that the holy ghost is not a person but God’s spirit, his active force.
After a brief
description of the Trinity doctrine, Should cites the opinion of Others who distort the Trinity. We first look to Unger’s
Bible Dictionary, page 1118 for an outstanding definition of Trinity:
[T]he term by which is
expressed the unity of three persons in the one God. The Christian doctrine is:
1. That there is only one God, one divine nature and being. 2. This one divine
being is tri personal, involving the distinctions of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit. 3. These three are joint partakers of the same nature and
majesty of God. This doctrine is preeminently one of revelation. And while it
brings before us one of the great mysteries of revelation, and transcends the
finite comprehension, it is essential to the understanding of the Scriptures;
and, as we shall see, has its great value and
uses. (M. F. Unger, Th.D. Ph.D, Moody Press, 1974)
In his sermon
“Understanding The Trinity” the late D. James Kennedy said,
“The concept of
Trinity means a . . . distinction of three co-existing Persons with an absolute
unity and oneness and essence. If we fail to understand the Trinity, we cannot
possibly understand the Christian religion. A misunderstanding of the Trinity
will inevitably distort every other doctrine.”
God the Father, God the Son
and God the Holy Spirit are sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and
unchanging members of a unique, united and eternal Godhead. In the power of God
the Holy Spirit and in perfect obedience to His Father, the eternal Son was
conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Through the Virgin
birth the Son was fully human and fully divine. To redeem mankind from sin,
Jesus (the God-man) offered Himself as a vicarious substitute for a world of
lost sinners.
On the third day Jesus rose
bodily from the grave and showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs (Acts
1:3). After Jesus ascended back to His Father in heaven, the Father sent the
Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name, to convict the world of sin and to comfort and
teach believers (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7, 13). Today Jesus is seated at the
right hand of Majesty. One day He will return in power and glory to rule earth
for 1,000 years. At the end of the 1,000 years God will make a new heaven and a
new earth wherein
dwelleth righteousness (2 Peter
No Bible verse teaches that
Jesus was created or that Jesus is inferior to Almighty
God. The Hebrew El Shaddai (translated God Almighty) occurs in forty-seven Old Testament texts. As Shad
means “breast” El Shaddai describes God’s care for His creation, and His
provision, protection and blessing for His chosen people.
The Koine Greek word Pan·tok·rat´·ore
(translated God
Almighty) occurs nine times in the New
Testament and means “omnipotent, absolute sovereign.” It first appears in
Revelation 1:8 where it introduces the risen, glorified Christ.
No
New Testament verse uses Pan·tok·rat´·ore to teach that the Son is inferior to the Father. For the purpose of
securing our redemption the Son voluntarily placed Himself in subjection to the
will of the Father. But that does not imply that the Son is inherently inferior
to the Father.
We now expose and refute Should's ten most serious errors.
Error 1: The Trinity is
pagan, polytheistic and confusing.
After asking How Is The Trinity Explained? Should pages 1-5, 11 implied
that the Trinity is a Roman Catholic assimilation of ancient pagan triads such
as Osiris-Isis-Horus and Brahma-Shiva-Vishnu.
We reply.
Osiris was the Egyptian agriculture god who with Isis his wife begat Horus –
the god of the underworld. These were put to everlasting shame in the days of
Moses during the Exodus. Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu are said to create, sustain
and destroy. Hindu works of art portray such in intimate (pornographic?)
embrace.
1 Corinthians
Trinitarians historically
have not only shunned that kin of idolatry but have led the way opposing its
attending vices (unbiblical superstitions, temple prostitution, pedophilia and
human sacrifices). Trinitarian Roman Catholic teachings are based on church
councils which harmonize with the teachings of the Bible and apostolic
teachings and the teachings of the early church fathers. No Roman Catholic Pope
has ever stated that
Polytheism may distort but it does not explain the Holy Trinity.
Historian Dr. Peter Hammond
notes,
“Most of the languages
of the world were first codified and put into writing by Christian
missionaries. More schools and universities have been started by Christians
than any other religion, nation or group. Christian Reformers and missionaries
have succeeded in bringing about the abolition of slavery, cannibalism, child
sacrifice and widow burning [
Under What Influenced It, Should page 11
called the Trinity “a corruption borrowed from
the heathen religions, and in-grafted on the Christian faith.”
Should concluded that “The origin of the Trinity is entirely pagan.”
We reply. The Bible, not anti-Bible spin, is the foundation for
truth about God. In Paganism there is no Triune, loving God Who is Father, Son
and Holy Spirit. No Pagan religion has an Eternal Son Who entered time to be
born of a virgin, live a sinless human life and die to redeem all humanity.
No pagan religion offers
Spirit-breathed, prophetic Scriptures (2 Timothy
What polytheistic, pagan religion
tells of a benevolent Creator Who became man, died a vicarious death, and rose
from the dead to redeem a lost, sinful race?
Paganism offers no risen Savior
Who ascended to heaven as a glorified redeemer, Great High Priest, KING OF
KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. No polytheistic
religion has a Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin, illumine the mind to
Bible truths, indwell true believers and empower them to live uprightly.
Where outside of
Christianity is there pardon for sin, a peace that endures and the sure hope of
eternal bliss in God’s presence? Who but the Biblical God could preserve both
His church and His chosen people?
Appendix A further contrasts Trinitarian teachings with
extra-biblical worldviews
Should page 4 said The Encyclopedia Americana notes
that the doctrine of the Trinity is considered to be “Beyond the grasp of human
reason.” Should said this confusion is widespread.
We reply. The Encyclopedia Americana, 1977, page 116 concedes
that the Trinity is thought to be ‘beyond the grasp of human
reason,’ but then says the Trinity is no more contrary to human reason
than physical phenomena which are not entirely comprehended. This is one of
many instances where Should attacks the
Trinity by misrepresenting and misquoting ‘authorities.’
Should page 4 asks, Is such reasoning hard
to follow? Many sincere believers have found it confusing, contrary to normal
reason, unlike anything in their experience. How, they ask, could the Father be
God, Jesus be God, and the holy spirit be God, yet there be not three Gods but
one God?
We reply. When it suits their purposes the WTBTS instructs people
to accept things not humanly comprehended (like eternity or the size of the
universe). On page 148 of their Reasoning From The Scriptures (1989),
the WTBTS discusses God’s eternity thus: “Is that reasonable? Our minds
cannot fully comprehend it. But that is not a sound reason for rejecting it . .
. We do not reject the idea of time because there are aspects of it that we do
not fully comprehend . . .”
Yet Should implied that because the Trinity
doctrine is not fully comprehended, it must be false. Should
page 4 further implied that Trinitarians are unsatisfied and divided amongst themselves in widespread confusion.
Under “Not a God of Confusion” Should page 4 cites Catholic theologians Karl Rahner and Herbert
Vorgrimler: “The Trinity is a mystery...in the strict
sense ...which could not be known without revelation, and even after revelation
cannot become wholly intelligible.”
Should page 5 quips: However, contending
that since the Trinity is such a confusing mystery, it must have come from
divine revelation creates another major problem . . . “God is not a God of confusion.” – I Corinthians
14:33, Revised Standard Version (RS).
We reply. The above misrepresents Trinitarians and misuses the
word mystery. Regarding the latter, Unger’s Bible Dictionary page 769 says:
The N. T. use of the
term “mystery” has reference to some operation or plan of God hitherto
unrevealed. It does not carry the idea of a secret to be withheld, but to be
published (I Cor. 4:1). Paul uses the word 21 times. The term mystery,
moreover, comprehends not only a previously hidden truth, presently divulged,
but one that contains a supernatural element which still remains in spite of
the revelation.
1 Corinthians 14:33, For God is not the author of
confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints, is
not about the Trinity but an orderly use of spiritual gifts in the church. No
mortal man fully understands God but His born-again children find His Triune
Being awe-inspiring, rational and consistent with monotheism. While the WTBTS considers
a Trinity three gods (1+1+1), the Biblical Trinity is One God in Three Persons
(1x1x1=1).
Error 2: How Did the Trinity Doctrine Develop? Is It Clearly a Bible Teaching? (Should pages 5 and 7)
Should then said, First-century
believers accepted the Scriptures as the authentic revelation of God. It was
the basis for their beliefs, the final authority . . . Jesus, Paul and first-century believers used the Scriptures
as the foundation for their teaching.
Should page 6 claimed, Thus, neither the . . . Hebrew
Scriptures nor the . . . Greek Scriptures provide any clear teaching of the
Trinity. To back that claim Should
pages 5-12 posted third
party quotes, historic revisions and odd arguments to imply that Jesus, the
Bible, Paul and first-century believers rejected the Trinity doctrine.
We reply. Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail
against His church (Matthew
For this belief the church
was persecuted by Jews (ca. 33-70) and Romans (90 to 313). Multitudes of Christians
endured death by torture rather than dishonor the Deity of Christ by emperor
worship (then required by Roman law).
Rev. 2:10 says Fear none of those things which thou
shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may
be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death,
and I will give thee a crown of life.
Diocletian tried to rid the
world of Scriptures. Nero executed Paul and killed the Christians for sport.
All of the apostles were persecuted and most were martyred. Nevertheless,
Christians did not compromise but boldly contended for the faith that was once for all time
delivered to the holy ones (Jude 3,
The early church also
prevailed against heresies such as Gnosticism, Sabellianism and Arianism. In
the 4th and 5th centuries as
Following leaders like Huss and Luther many Bible-based congregations endured
through the “dark ages” (~AD 500–1500) until the Reformation provided liberty
for the modern evangelical movement and today’s Trinitarian denominations.
Through these historical
events the Trinity doctrine was preserved.
Should page 8 scoffs: For many years, there had been much opposition on Biblical
grounds to the developing idea that Jesus was God. To try to solve the dispute,
Roman emperor Constantine summoned all bishops to
We reply. Contrary to Should’s
claims, the ante-Nicene church fathers believed in the Trinity and the
deity of Christ. For example, Ignatius, around AD 110-120 wrote, “We have also
as a Physician the Lord our God, Jesus the Christ, the only-begotten Son and
Word . . . .” Similarly, the church historian Irenaeus wrote in Against
Heresies: “ . . . . in order that to Christ Jesus, our Lord, and God, and
Savior, and King, according to the will of the invisible Father, ‘every knee
should bow . . . .’” Numerous other examples can be found in Beisner (1978).
According to Christianity
Through the Centuries, the deity of Christ was taught by the apostles and
early church fathers, and the first serious opposition to the Trinity arose in
318-319. At that time Alexander, bishop of
Because Christians composed
a sizable portion of Roman citizenry, the Roman emperor Constantine called for
a church council at
But as Dr. Cairns noted in Centuries, pages
144-145:
“Between 325 and 361
under
“…
After Arius’ death in 361
Athanasius championed Christ’s deity through 381. At the councils of
Dr. Cairns calls these
councils and decisions “providential.” Should
page 9 called this
portion of church history disreputable. The
Error 3: God Is One, Not Three.
Should page 12 asks, What Does the Bible Say About God and Jesus? IF PEOPLE were to read the Bible from cover to cover
without any preconceived idea of a Trinity, would they arrive at such a concept
on their own? Not at all.
We reply. The Trinity doctrine is the result of just
that kind of Bible study!
Should pages1-12 primarily
attack the Trinity by slanting or distorting extra-biblical references or by
proffering anti-Trinity thought. Starting on page
12 Should began to attack the Trinity primarily by
twisting and/or distorting Bible texts. Under headings God Is One, Not Three and Not a Plural God, Should implied
that neither the Jewish culture nor the Old Testament Scriptures will tolerate
the Trinity doctrine.
We reply. The angel of the Lord told Mary’s espoused husband,
Joseph,
fear
not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of
the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of
the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and
shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being
interpreted is, God with us (Matthew
1:20-23).
Luke also says,
And
in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of
To
a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and
the virgin's name was Mary.
And
the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly
favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
And
when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind
what manner of salutation this should be.
And
the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
And,
behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call
his name JESUS.
He
shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God
shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
And
he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall
be no end.
Then
said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
And
the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon
thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also
that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son
of God.
And,
behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and
this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
For
with God nothing shall be impossible.
And
Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy
word. And the angel departed from her
(Luke 1:26-38 (our emphases)).
Isaiah
John
Romans 10:3 says that Jews being ignorant of God’s
righteousness, and going about to establish their
own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Romans
Romans
11:25 says, For I would not, brethren, that ye
should be ignorant of this mystery, least ye should be wise in your own
conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of
the Gentiles be come in.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (NWT)
says,
If,
now, the good news we declare is in fact veiled, it is veiled among those who
are perishing, among whom the god of this system of things has blinded the
minds of the unbelievers, that the illumination of the glorious good news about
the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through.
1 Thessalonians 2:15-16
says unbelieving Jews
both
killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they
please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the
Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath
is come upon them to the uttermost.
1
Cor.
These verses may help
explain why men reject the Trinity but human unbelief does not make void a
biblical truth. We know of no good reason for rejecting the Bible or the
doctrine of the Trinity.
Deuteronomy 6:4
Should pages 12-13 quote anti-Trinitarian L. L. Paine saying that Jesus “accepted as his own belief the great text of Jewish
monotheism: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one God.”’ Should thus contended that Jesus was not God.
We reply. Deuteronomy 6:4 says, Hear, O
The NWT reads: Listen, O
There is both unity and
plurality in the plural noun Elohim, Who is one YHWH.
Even the NWT says one Jehovah and not “one
God.” Deuteronomy 6:4 presents God as a
compound unity: a unified Being consisting of a plurality of persons.
Should page 13 protested, In the grammar of that verse, the word “one” has no plural
modifiers to suggest that it means anything but one individual. Should
also insisted that the -im suffix in Elohim did not
denote plurality in Deut. 6:4.
We reply. The Hebrew
renders nouns plural by adding -im. For example, the plural for the
Hebrew word “cherub” is “cherubim” (Exodus 37:9). In Deut. 6:4 the Hebrew word
for “one” is echad. Numbers
Jesus a
Separate Creation—refuted!
Should
page 14 claimed that in Genesis
1:26 Jehovah said “us” and “our” to the prehuman Jesus…
his first spirit creation, the master craftsman.
To teach that Christ was a
created being, Should page 14-16, 26 misrepresented
Colossians 1:15-17, Revelation 3:14 and Proverbs 8:1-12, 22, 25, 26 & 30.
We answer. Where Genesis
And
I began to hear the voice of Jehovah saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will
go for us?” And I proceeded to say: “Here I am! Send me.”
And
he went on to say: “Go, and you must say to this people, ‘Hear again and again,
O men, but do not understand; and see again and again, but do not get any
knowledge.’
Make
the heart of this people unreceptive, and make their very ears unresponsive,
and paste their very eyes together, that they may not see with their eyes, and
with their ears they may not hear, and that their own heart may not understand
and that they may not actually turn back and get healing for themselves.” (Isaiah 6:8-10, NWT)
Matthew 13:14-15 indicates
that Isaiah
Jesus a
Separate Creation—refuted
again!
Should pages 14, 16 and 26 cite (but do not quote) Colossians 1:15-17 and
Revelation 3:14 as basis to teach that Jesus was created by God, as the
beginning of God’s invisible creations. Should
said Jesus had a beginning and could never be coequal with God in power or eternity.
Should identified Jesus as a created spirit being and the only one directly begotten by God as a junior partner in the creation.
Colossians 1:15-17 and Revelation
Colossians 1:13-19 (NWT) calls the Son firstborn
of all creation and the beginning. The Koine´ Greek word firstborn (protótokos)
can mean chronological firstborn or a position of honor, depending on the
context. Similarly the Koine´ Greek word beginning (arché)
can mean chronically first, or first in the sense of prominence.
The context indicates the
proper interpretation.
Colossians 1:13-19 reads,
Who
hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into
the
kingdom of his dear Son:
In
whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Who
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
For
by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and
invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers:
all things were created by him, and for him:
And
he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
And
he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
For
it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell (our emphases).
Here firstborn and beginning
declare the Son’s prominence over all creation. He is the Origin, Ruler,
Sustainer and Redeemer of all creation!
The NWT Colossians
1:15-17 reads, because
by means of him all [other] things were created. The intent of the [other] is
to reduce the Son to a created “thing” (i.e. according to WTBTS reasoning the
Son created all “other” things, being a created “thing” himself). But that
position violates the meaning of the original language.
According to the Greek
scholars H. E. Dana and J. R. Mantey, Colossians 1:16 presents Christ as the
active agent in creation. (A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament,
pages 91, 201.)
In The Expositors’ Greek
Testament, Vol. 3, pages 503-504 A. S. Peake states:
Paul now gives the
ground for the designation of the Son as prototokos pasas ktisews [firstborn
of all creation]. In Him all
things (ta panta) were created. From this it follows that the Son
cannot be a creature, for creation is exhausted by the “all things” which were so created in
Him. (Brackets, emphasis ours.)
Thus Greek-English Interlinear New Testaments translate
Col. 1:16-17 in
Him, not by
Him –as seen in the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation and Emphatic Diaglott (both of which exclude the [other] injections in
the NWT’s Col. 1:16-17).
That
the Son made all things is also seen in John 1:1-3, 12-14.
Exodus 20:11; Acts
Revelation 14:7 commands
earth dwellers to worship
the One who made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters (NWT).
Therefore worship is due to
the Son!
Colossians 2:8-10 warns,
Beware
lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition
of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
For
in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (Our emphasis).
And
ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
(If Jesus were a creature
He could not contain all
the fulness of the Godhead. But Jesus
is God incarnate.)
Respecting Col. 2:9, Arndt
& Gingrich’s English-Greek Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early
Christian Literature, page 359 defines Godhead [theotatos]
as the fullness of deity. This is recognized by The Emphatic Diaglott’s Colossians 2:9 also.
Colossians 2:8-9 (NWT) says
in Christ all the fullness of the divine quality
dwells bodily. The WTBTS
distinguishes between the fullness of deity and the fullness of the divine quality.
By so doing the WTBTS advances Arius’ polytheistic notion that the God Jehovah
created a lesser “Mighty-God” who is a created divinity and “Eternal-Father” but not eternal Deity (Isaiah 9:6;
John 1:1, NWT).
Revelation
Hence, the WTBTS vigorously
insists that Jesus is the beginning of God’s
invisible creations.
Once again, we look to the
context to see if arche´ means chronological beginning or a pre-eminent
Being. For help we look back to Revelation 1:7-8:
Behold,
he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which
pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so,
Amen. (Revelation 1:7)
I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which
is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. (Rev. 1:8 our emphasis)
The WTBTS admits Jesus is
speaking in Rev. 1:7 but claims Jehovah (not Jesus) speaks in Rev. 1:8:
“I am the Alpha and
the Omega,” says Jehovah God, “the One who is and who was and who
is coming, the Almighty.” (NWT)
The same Individual speaks
in Rev. 22:12-13 (NWT): “‘Look! I am coming quickly, and the reward I give is with
me, to render to each one as his work is. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first
and the last, the beginning and the end.”
We ask Jehovah’s Witnesses
who is the Alpha and
the Omega who is “coming quickly.” Revelation
Obviously, it is Jesus who
is coming quickly as the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last and the beginning. Thus Jesus is the beginning in
the sense of Creator…and the Almighty. Otherwise, the Alpha and the Omega (Whom the WTBTS claims is Jehovah God) is a creation!
The following verses
also present Jesus as Jehovah God:
In John’s encounter with
the risen Christ (Rev 1:9-18) Jesus calls himself as the first and the last. (Rev. 1:17) The NWT margin notes link Rev.
1:17 to Isaiah 44:6 and 48:12–where Jehovah (YHWH) reserves for Himself the
exclusive title of the
first and the last.
The Alpha and Omega; first and the last and the beginning
describe One Who is Ruler over creation – not one who is the first of created
beings.
We thus find the WTBTS’
aversion to the Trinity based on bias – alone.
Chambering its last round Should page 14 quoted NJB Proverbs 8:22, “Yahweh
created me, first-fruits of his fashioning, before the oldest of his works.” Should claimed,
While the term “Wisdom” is used to personify the one
whom God created, most scholars agree that it is actually a figure of speech
for Jesus as a spirit creature prior to his human existence.”
We reply. To conclude that the Son created Should applied circular reasoning and a
literal spin on a symbolic text. But personification is a literary tool to
bestow living attributes to non-living objects. The Son is alive, not an
object or concept to be personified.
Regarding Proverbs 8:22, Charles
John Ellicott’s Bible Commentary, page 470 says,
“When in Christian
times it was observed how well the description of Wisdom in Job and Proverbs
harmonized with that of God the Son in the New Testament, such passages as this
were universally applied to Him, and the present one was rightly interpreted as
describing his eternal generation from the Father.” (Emphasis ours.)
No conservative Bible
scholar considers the Son a creature. Furthermore, the Son was not called
‘Jesus’ until after His incarnation.
Proverbs
Certain Old Testament
teachings about wisdom harmonize with New Testament descriptions of Christ. But
if we limit the interpretation of Wisdom in the
Proverbs to the one whom God created then Wisdom (Christ) becomes a literal sister (see Proverbs 7:4) who was literally brought forth as with labor pains (Proverbs 8:23-25 (NWT)).
It is more reasonable to
recognize in Proverbs 8:1-36 wisdom’s role in the creation set forth poetically
and symbolically, to encourage the reader to seek the wisdom and her attending
benefits.
Psalms 2:2, 12; 110:1;
Proverbs 30:4; Isaiah 42:1 and Daniel 7:13, 14 directly refer to the eternal
Son–but not to a spirit creature or to one whom God created.
Error 4: How Much Was the Ransom?
Should page 15 says,
Jesus, no more and no less than a
perfect human, became a ransom that compensated
exactly for what Adam lost – the right to perfect human life on earth.…If
Jesus, however, were part of a Godhead, the ransom price would have been
infinitely higher than what God’s own Law required.…It was only a perfect
human, Adam, who sinned in Eden, not God. So the ransom, to be truly in line
with God’s justice, had to be strictly an equivalent - a perfect human, “the
last Adam.”
According to the WTBTS’ *Knowledge
That Leads To Everlasting Life, Christ’s ransom
enables “a great multitude” to rise from
the dead, recover perfect human life and obtain the chance to prove their merit
in an perfect earth ruled by Christ. Those deemed worthy will then live on
earth forever. Another 144,000 live with Jehovah in heaven. *(1995. See
pages 50, 60, 64-65, 68-69, 87-89, 186, 178-180, 185-187, 190)
We reply. We later deal with the 144,000. For now we object to
the suggestion that Jesus is “part of a Godhead.” The word part refers to things. The Father, the Son and
the Holy Spirit are not objects but eternally and equally divine Persons.
Together they make the Triune Godhead. And Christ was not merely a perfect
human being to balance Adam’s sin and loss of perfect
human life on earth. Redemption’s cost was the penalty for all sins
committed against an infinitely Holy God.
Romans 5:12 says, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered
into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that
all have sinned.
Romans
Romans 3:23-26 says,
For
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;
Being
justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Whom
God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God;
To
declare, I say, at this time, his righteousness: that he might be just,
and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Jesus’ sacrifice on
Isaiah 53:6 says, All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own
way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Jesus tasted death for
every man (Heb. 2:9-10). Adam and Eve were privileged (not entitled) to
live in the Garden of Eden where they disobeyed God’s command to not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). God confronted Adam and Eve, then told
the serpent, And I will put enmity between thee
and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and
thou shalt bruise his heel (Genesis
3:15).
Expelled from the garden (Genesis
Because God is infinitely
righteous, holy and perfect all sin is infinitely offensive. God is light (1 John 1:5). He will by no means give exemption from punishment (Exodus 34:7, NWT). Those who die in sin are
eternally lost (Rev. 20:13-15).
God’s justice and God’s own Law
require that those who die in their sins suffer endless torment (Revelation
However 2 Corinthians
The WTBTS erroneously cites
John 17:3 to declare the Father as the only true God
in contrast to Christ. But John
The Father, while
invisible, is seen in the undiminished divinity and true humanity of Christ.
Jesus is the all-knowing, all powerful, eternal, infinitely righteous Son.
As the righteousness of God Christ was made sin for us. Those who trust in Him are
made the
righteousness of God in Him. By this
we have peace with
God (Romans 8:1) and fellowship with God (I John 1:6).
Romans 5:15-19 (NWT) agrees;
:15
But it is not with the gift as it was with the trespass. For if by one man’s
trespass many died, the undeserved kindness of God and his free gift with the
undeserved kindness by the one man Jesus Christ abounded much more to many.
:16
Also, it is not with the free gift as it was with the way things worked through
the one [man] that sinned. For the judgment resulted from one trespass in
condemnation, but the gift resulted from many trespasses in a declaration of
righteousness.
:17
For if by the trespass of the one [man] death rules as king through that one,
much more will those who receive the abundance of the undeserved kindness and
of the free gift of righteousness rule as kings in life through the one
[person], Jesus Christ.
:18
So, then, as through one trespass the result to men of all sorts was
condemnation, likewise also through one act of justification the result to men
of all sorts is a declaring of them righteous for life.
:19
For just as through the disobedience of the one man many were constituted
sinners, likewise also through the obedience of the one [person] many will be
constituted righteous.
Adam’s sin destroyed human
innocence, severed man’s fellowship with God and brought condemnation to all.
Jesus’ obedience imputes a permanent righteousness.
For as
in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Cor.
Now to
the man that works the pay is counted, not as an undeserved kindness, but as a
debt.
On the
other hand, to the man that does not work but puts faith in him who declares
the ungodly one righteous, his faith is counted as righteousness.
“Happy
are those whose lawless deeds have been pardoned and whose sins have been
covered.”
(Romans 4:4, 5, 7 NWT)
Romans 4:5 KJV says, But to him that worketh not, but
believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for
righteousness.
By
this undeserved kindness, indeed, YOU have been saved through faith; and
this
not owing to YOU, it is God’s gift. No, it is not
owing to works, in order that no man should have ground for boasting (Ephesians 2:8,
9, NWT).
We add. Ephesians 2:8, 9 explains that salvation is present,
not just future, and by faith alone apart from works. This is good news for
those who are in distress over their sins. Good works follow salvation
and are evidence of salvation but do not qualify us for God’s acceptance, or
add to the finished work of His Christ.
WTBTS teachings about grace
and works are discussed in Appendix D.
Jude 24, 25 says to
believers,
Now
unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless
before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our
Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
Christ’s death and
resurrection is complete salvation. Romans 5:10 says, For if, when we were enemies, we
became reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, now that we
have become reconciled, we shall be saved by his life (NWT).
When He took our place on
the cross Christ came under the curse of the broken law. Christ hath redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is
every one that hangeth on a tree:
(Galatians
Our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ satisfied God’s justice and met the
righteous demands of God’s Law. God freely
offers eternal life to all who admit their sin and accept by faith His perfect
sacrifice. There is nothing else that man can do to be saved. Reconciliation is
a gift to be received by faith alone.
We are not reconciled by the death of his Son plus our merit. Salvation is by a new birth
regeneration (see John 3:3-5,18-21, 36, 1 Peter
Norman Clayton wrote, “Once
I was lost in sin’s degradation, Jesus came down to bring me salvation, Lifted
me up from sorrow and shame, Now I belong to Him.”
Isaiah 53:11 says, He shall see of the travail of his
soul and shall be satisfied (KJV). My servant . . . will bring a righteous standing to many people (NWT).
Revelation
2 Corinthians
Hebrews 2:3 says, How shall we escape if we neglect so
great salvation?
Error 5: How the “Only-Begotten Son”?
Should page 15 says,
The Bible
calls Jesus the “only-begotten Son” of God. (John 1:14;
Should page
16 says,
So Jesus,
the only-begotten Son, had a beginning to his life. And Almighty God can
rightly be called his Begetter, or Father, in the same sense that an earthly
father, like Abraham, begets a son. (Hebrews 11:17)
Hence, when
the Bible speaks of God as the “Father” of Jesus, it means what it says—that
they are two separate individuals. God is the senior. Jesus is the junior—in
time, position, power, and knowledge.
We answer.
God is
a Spirit (John
God has not formed another Elohim.
Ye are my witnesses,
saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen, that ye may know and believe
me, and understand that I am he; before me there was no God formed, neither
shall there be after me (Isaiah
43:10). The Son is called Mighty God in Isaiah 9:6 (NWT),
so the Son is eternal and not formed.
Furthermore, Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God
(Hebrews 7:1, NWT) was made like the Son of God in that he was fatherless, motherless, without genealogy, having neither a beginning of
days nor end of life.
No one can be a father any
longer than their son’s age. To be an eternal Father requires an eternal,
unchanging Son. Jesus
Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
Should page16 cites Gerhard
Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament: “[Mo·no·ge·nes´] means ‘of sole descent,’ i.e., without
brothers or sisters.” Should claimed: This book also
states that at John
We checked these verses
and theological reference books:
John
John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.
John 3:18: He that believeth on him is not
condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
1 John 4:9: In this was manifested the love of
God toward us, that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might
live through him.
These verses describe the
Son’s role in redemption. It was not a created being who was offered on the
cross but the Only begotten (Mo·no·ge·nes´).
(See W. F. Arndt and F. W. Gingrich’s Greek-English Lexicon (Univ. of
Chicago Press, 1957) and Vines Expository Dictionary, page 812.)
Genesis 16:4, 15-16 says
Hagar bore Abraham Ishmael. Genesis
21:1-5 says that years later Abraham and Sarah had a son, Isaac. Genesis 22:2 and Hebrews 11:17 call Isaac Abraham’s only begotten son. There, the Mo·no·ge·nes´
was not of sole descent, or without brothers or
sisters.
Heb. 11:17-19, Genesis 22:8
and John 8:56 teach that Abraham’s offer of Isaac pre-figured the Father’s
offer of His Son. Jesus and Isaac were not Mo·no·ge·nes´ by creation but by their unique and intimate relationship with their
respective fathers. Christ was a unique, incomparable Person in a special
relationship with His Father that had no beginning.
Should pages 15-16 admitted that Isaac was “only-begotten”
in his relationship to Abraham –but refused to acknowledge the
Son is an eternal Mo·no·ge·nes´.
Appendixes B and C
show how the LDS and WTBTS teach a procreated Christ. But according to Vines
Expository Dictionary, page 812,
The [Apostle]…is not
merely making a comparison with earthly relationships
…The glory was that of
a unique relationship and the word “begotten” does not imply a beginning of His
Sonship, It suggests relationship indeed, but must be distinguished from the
creation as applied to man. We can only rightly understand the term “the only
begotten” when used of the Son in the sense of un-originated
relationship…He…possesses every attribute of pure Godhead.”
Hence Mo·no·ge·nes´ in respect to Christ means ‘one and
only;’ ‘unique in kind;’ ‘incomparable.’
Error 7: Is God Always Superior to Jesus?
Should
page16 said Jesus never claimed
to be God. Should pages16-20 say
Jesus did not declare deity for Himself because He could
never be co-equal with God in power or eternity.
We reply. John 5:17-47 refutes the notion that the Father’s superiority.
John 5:17: But he answered them: “My Father has
kept working until now, and I keep working.” (NWT)
John 5:18: On this account, indeed, the Jews
began seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the
Sabbath but he was also calling God his own Father, making himself equal to
God. (NWT)
Should pages 24-25 said, But who said that Jesus was making himself equal to God? Not
Jesus. …. Can we
imagine someone equal to Almighty God saying that he could “do nothing by
himself”?
We reply: Should’s
rejected John’s claim that Jesus is equal to God. The Son’s voluntary subjection
was necessary to redeem man. That the Father and the Son are eternally united in
their actions and their essence is seen in John
Therefore,
in answer, Jesus went on to say to them: “Most truly I say to YOU, The Son
cannot do a single thing of his own initiative, but only what he beholds the
Father doing. For whatever things that One does, these things the Son also does
in like manner.
For
the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all the things he himself
does, and he will show him works greater than these, in order that YOU may marvel.
For
just as the Father raises the dead up and makes them alive, so the Son also
makes those alive whom he wants to.
For
the Father judges no one at all, but has committed all the judging to the Son,
in
order that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He that does
not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
Most
truly I say to YOU, He that hears my word and believes on him that sent me has
everlasting life, and he does not come into judgment but has passed over from
death to life.
(See also John 5:30;
The Bible does not teach
that the Father is superior to or m ore excellent to the Son, but that both the
Father and the Son deserve infinite honor.
In John 8:44-47 (NWT) when
the Jews rejected His claims Jesus said, .…YOU are from YOUR father the Devil, and YOU wish to do the desires of YOUR father. He that is from God listens
to the sayings of God. This is why YOU do not listen, because YOU are not from God.
Should
page 17 says Since Jesus had a
God, his Father, he could not at the same time be that God.
We reply. This confuses rank with essence. In Hebrews 1:8 (KJV)
the Father calls the Son “God.” In Acts 5:3-4 Peter calls the Holy Spirit
“God.”
In John
·
His miraculous,
unique works (John
·
John the Baptist
(John
·
The Father (John
·
The Old Testament
Scriptures (John
Should page 17 posts the heading Jesus distinguished from
God. Underneath is Jesus’ quote in Mark
We reply. In Mark 10:17-27 and Matthew 19:16-22 a young man ran
to Jesus, calling Good
Master and asking what good thing shall I do, that I
may have eternal life? The greeting
was a normal salute to a rabbi. The young man had sidestepped Jesus’ claims to
deity and demands for perfect righteous (Mt. 5-7). Jesus exposed the young
man’s misconceptions: Jesus was not merely a good man. Man is not capable of
earning eternal life by perfect obedience to God’s law.
Jesus exposed the man’s
covetousness (Mk.
Should pages 18-20 insisted
that the Father is superior to the Son. Page 18 repeats
the WTBTS battle cry that Jesus Never Claimed to
be God.
Jesus said: Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the
words that I speak unto you I speak not for myself: but the Father that
dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. My Father is greater than I (John 14::10, 28).
Jesus’ subordinate role as
Son of man did not confer personal inferiority. A loyal, submissive wife
is not inferior to her husband. Jesus was subject to His human mother and
foster father when He was young (Luke
Pride, envy and arrogance
prompt men to rule others in lower ranks. Men vie for prominence, power,
prestige, privileges and possessions. The world deems loving obedience and
selfless service as weakness and deficiency but Jesus said,
Ye
know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they
that are great exercise authority upon them.
But
it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be
your minister;
And
whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
Even
as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give
his life a ransom for many (Matthew
John
James 3:14-17 says,
But
if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory
not,
and lie not against the truth.
This
wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
For
where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil
work.
But
the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and
easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and
without hypocrisy.
God so loved the world that
He sacrificed His Son for undeserving, lost sinners (John
The Bible does not quote
Jesus saying ‘I am God.’ Such words would confuse the ancients and would blur
the roles of Father, Son and Spirit. But Jesus did declare Himself to be
deity in terms understandable to men of his day – and for all time. For
example, Jesus said sins are forgiven on the basis of His name (Luke 24:46-47;
Matthew 9:1-18; Mark 2:5-12).
Jesus raised Himself from
the dead and Jesus raises the dead as the Father does (see Mark 5:35-42; Luke
7:14-15; John
Jesus said:
All men
should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth
not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
(Jesus deserves the same
honor as does the Father.)
Verily,
verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent
me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed
from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and
now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that
hear shall live (John 5:23-25).
(Jesus role in our redemption
is not that of a creature.)
Jesus said I and my Father are one (John
We reply. According to http://www.Bible.ca
John Calvin did not think lost, un-regenerate men could understand
the concept of “divine substance.” While arguing that Jesus had as much a claim
to deity as the Father, Calvin preferred to say that both the Father and the
Son were eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and immutable.
John 10:34-39 says,
Jesus answered them, Is it not
written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If
he
called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture
cannot
be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent
into
the world, Thou blasphemest; because I
said, I am the Son of God? If I
do
not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe
not
me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is
in
me, and I in him. Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped
out
of their hand.
John Calvin’s Institutes
of the Christian Religion Book 1, chapter 8, sections 1- 29, pages 120-159
teach the following Trinity topics:
Terms used in the
doctrine of the Trinity by the orthodox fathers
The eternal deity of the
Son
The eternal deity of the
Spirit
Distinction and unity of
the three Persons
Refutation of
anti-Trinitarian heresies
These sections use
keen logic, accurate history and Biblical truths to refute anti-Trinity
teachings such as that used by the WTBTS. Should did not mention
Calvin’s Institutes. The WTBTS does not encourage people to read the Institutes.
Many Bible commentators
believe that John
No created being could make
the claims that Jesus did. John Calvin believed that Christ’s works manifested
His eternal Divinity more powerfully than His claims (such as John
(If the Jews did not
protest when God gave their unjust judges divine titles, why should they take
offense when the Son of God assumes human form and proves equality with God by
performing divine works?)
Regarding John 10:36,
Calvin said,
“Do you say that I
blaspheme? The Arians anciently tortured this passage to prove that Christ
is not God by nature, but that he possesses a kind of borrowed Divinity. But
this error is easily refuted, for Christ does not now argue what he is in
himself, but what we ought to acknowledge him to be, from his miracles in human
flesh. For we can never comprehend his eternal Divinity, unless we embrace him
as a Redeemer, so far as the Father hath exhibited him to us.”
Hence John Calvin taught
that John
When Jesus said I am the Jews took up stones to cast at Him (John
After His arrest Jesus told
the Jewish high priest Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of
power, and coming in the clouds of heaven (Matthew 26:63-65).
In Luke
But
he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and
said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I
am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and
coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, and
saith, What need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: what
think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death (Emphasis ours.)
The Jewish leaders
considered the
Christ, the Son of the Blessed to be
divine in essence and not merely angelic. Hence they charged Jesus with blasphemy.
Isaiah 48:16 declares; Come ye near unto me, hear ye this;
I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was,
there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me. Here, the eternal Son was sent by the Lord GOD (Adonai
Elohim) and his
Spirit. Three Persons. One Deity.
Error 8: Jesus is not
“Almighty God.”
The NWT Isaiah 9:6
reads, For there has
been a child born to us, there has been a son given to us: and the princely
rule will come to be upon his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Jesus’ mighty words and
deeds prove He is the Mighty
God. Should
page 28 lamely
protested:
But does
not “Mighty God” with its capital letters indicate that Jesus is in some way
equal to Jehovah God? Not at all. Isaiah merely prophesied this to be one of
four names that Jesus would be called, and in the English language such names
are capitalized. Still, even though Jesus was called “Mighty,” there can be
only one who is “Almighty.” To call Jehovah God “Almighty” would have little
significance unless there existed others who were also called gods but who
occupied a lesser or inferior position.
We reply. Nowhere in the New Testament is Jesus called any of
the four names. It strains credulity to think
that Isaiah 9:6 lists names that Jesus would be called
by people who would mistake Him for or likened him to the Mighty God.
The WTBTS assumes Jehovah
is ‘Almighty’ while lesser beings are ‘Mighty.’ We note, however, that several NWT passages call Jehovah God mighty. For example:
Nehemiah 9:32: And now, O our God, the God great,
mighty and fear inspiring . . .
Isaiah 10:21: A mere remnant will return, the
remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God.
Jeremiah 32:18: the mighty One, Jehovah of armies.
Zephaniah 3:17: Jehovah your God is in the midst of you.
As a mighty One, he will save. He will exult over you with rejoicing . . .
According to the WTBTS, God
could not be ‘Almighty’ unless there were others who
were also called gods but who occupied a lesser or inferior position. Hence
God Almighty created the Mighty (but lesser) God. The Gnostics taught a similar world view, in which a
superior god created inferior gods. Colossians chapters 1 and 2 refute that
polytheistic heresy.
The God of the Bible exists
from eternity to eternity as a unique, omnipresent,
omnipotent, all knowing,
unchanging God. Isaiah 45:5 (NWT) says, I am Jehovah, and there is no one else. With the exception
of me there is no god.
The ‘gods’ are not divine
by nature. They are but mythical (1 Cor. 8:5-6; Gal. 4:8). Angels and men are
called ‘gods’ (Psalm 8:5; 82:6; 2 Corinthians 4:4) but are not eternal,
omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent or immutable. Such attributes are only
possessed by the one true God who alone is inherent divine.
Error 9: Thy throne is God.
Hebrews 1:1-8 declares
Jesus’ deity:
1.
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the
fathers by the prophets,
2.
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir
of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3.
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person,
and
upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged
our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:
4.
Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a
more excellent name than they.
5.
For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day
have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to
me a Son?
6.
And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And
let all the angels of God worship him.
7.
And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his
ministers
a flame of fire.
8.
But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a
sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
That the original Greek
Hebrews 1:8 is an articular vocative is demonstrated even in the WTBTS’ Emphatic
Diaglott, which says Thy throne, O God. The NWT mistranslates Hebrews 1:8 thy throne is God but the NWT
pronounces that Jesus -
Made the system of things and the earth’s foundations and the heavens (1:2,10)
Is the
reflection of [his] glory, and the exact representation of His very being (1:3)
Sustains
all things by the word of His power, made purification for sins, sat down on
the right hand of the Majesty in lofty places (1:3).
All of those descriptions clearly
and powerfully affirm Jesus’ Deity.
Jude 9 (NWT) supports
this, saying, But
when Michael the archangel had a difference with the Devil and was disputing
about Moses’ body, he did not dare to bring a judgment against him in abusive
terms, but said: “May Jehovah rebuke you.” Jesus did
rebuke the devil (Matt.
Should pages 20-23 call the Holy Spirit God’s
Active Force, citing theologians who place human reason ahead of
the Bible. We answer this later.
Error 10: “Equal With God?”
Should page 25 says,
AT
PHILIPPIANS 2:6 the Catholic Douay Version (Dy) of 1609 says of
Jesus: “Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God.” The King James Version (KJ) of 1611 reads much the same. A number
of such versions are still used by some to support the idea that Jesus was
equal to God. But note how other
translations render this verse:
Should then
posted excerpts of Philippians 2:6 from lesser- read translations and the NWT: “who, although he was existing in God’s
form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that He should be
equal to God” (New World
Translation of the Holy Scriptures, emphasis
ours).
Should proffered,
Some claim, however, that even these more
accurate renderings imply that (1) Jesus already had equality but did not want
to hold on to it or that (2) he did not need to grasp at equality because he
already had it.
In this regard, Ralph Martin, in The Epistle
of Paul to the Philippians, says of the original Greek: “It is
questionable, however, whether the sense of the verb can glide from its real
meaning of ‘to seize,’ ‘to snatch violently,’ to that of ‘to hold fast.’” The
Expositors’ Greek Testament also says: “We cannot find any passage
where άrpάzw [har·pa´zo]
or any of its derivatives has the sense of ‘holding in possession,’
‘retaining’. It seems invariably to mean ‘seize,’ ‘snatch violently,’
Thus it is not permissible to glide from the true sense ‘grasp at’ into one
which is totally different, ‘hold fast.’”
From the foregoing it is apparent that the
translators of versions such as the
Thus Should
implied that the active Greek verb har·pa´zo
is found in Phil. 2:6 and improperly rendered ‘robbery’ in KJV and
Under this logic Christ was not equal to God and did
not try to seize equality.
We reply. Should misrepresented Dr. Martin and the quote by Dr. H.A.A.
Kennedy in Expositors Vol. 3, page 436. The two quotes do NOT concern
Christ’s deity–in which both scholars believed and which the text teaches.
Should’s quote by Dr. Kennedy is lifted from the following
paragraph:
“Lft.,
Hpt., Vinc. and others, regarding άr ·pάg ·mόs [har·pάg·mos´]
as =
άr ·pάg ·ma [har·pάg·ma´], translate,
‘Did not look upon His equality with God as a prize to be clutched’. That is to
say…something which He already possessed and resolved to not cling to. But will
άr ·pάg ·mos admit of
this meaning? We cannot find any passage where
άr · ά · ζώ
[har·pά·zo]
or any of its derivatives has the sense of ‘holding in possession,’ ‘retaining.’”
Drs. Kennedy and Martin
note har·pag·mos
in Phil. 2:6 and argue that it should not be interpreted actively - as
if it were har·pά·zo.
Har·pag·mos is a noun within a passive setting in Philippians 2:6, where the KJV and
Phil. 2:2-11 describes
Christ’s deity, humanity, obedience and exaltation:
Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being
of
one
accord, of one mind.
Let nothing be done through strife
or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than
themselves.
Look
not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with
God:
But
made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of
a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
And
being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every
name:
That
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things
in earth, and things under the earth;
And
that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.
This fulfills Isaiah
45:22-23 (NWT); to me every knee will bend down, every tongue will swear to Jehovah God.
While eternally existing in the form (essence) of God, the Son
obeyed His Father and yielded His Divine rights to become a sinless servant and
endure crucifixion to pay the price for all human sins. Three days later He
arose bodily from the dead (Mt.
The
WTBTS cannot fathom absolute unity. It seems WTBTS leaders anticipate a contest
of wills in the Godhead from which is to be determined “the greatest” (Almighty)
and the lesser (inferior) god. But Christ said “Not my will, but Thine be
done.”
Page 28 of Dr. F. Gingrich’ Shorter Lexicon of the Greek
New Testament,
Dr. H.A.A. Kennedy
concluded,
“He has always (in
Paul’s view) shared in the Divine nature. . . . But it is only as a result of
His Incarnation, Atonement, Resurrection and Exaltation that he appears to
men as on an equality with God, that He is worshipped by them in the
way in which Jehovah is worshipped….
“This equality with
God, therefore, consists of the kurioths,
the Lordship to which He has been exalted.”
“It is to be noted
that the increased glory that Paul and all the N. T. writers regard as
pertaining to Christ after His Resurrection has only to do with His dignity,
His “theocratic position,” [appearing to others as equal with God] not with His
essential personality [His nature is Divine]. . . . He has simply become en
dunamaei [in power], that which He already was substantially” [in substance] (The
Expositors’ Greek Testament, Vol. 3, page 437 brackets
ours).
Jesus was always equal with God by nature. He demonstrated the equality by His incarnation,
perfect human life, vicarious death, resurrection from the dead and exaltation.
After His ascension He was declared to be LORD by God the Father, and recognized as equal to God by men who
worship Him.
Our high priest
Hebrews 4:15 says, For we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all
points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 2:9, 14-18 says,
But
we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of
death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste
death for every man.
Forasmuch
then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise
took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the
power of death, that is, the devil;
And
deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to
bondage.
For
verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the
seed of Abraham.
Wherefore
in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he
might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to
God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
For
in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
The eternal Son entered
time, became human by miraculous conception, grew to manhood and experienced
human limitations of thirst, hunger, fatigue, etc. yet without sin. As
the God-man He walked on water, healed the sick, forgave sins, cleansed lepers,
cast out demons, raised the dead, tasted death for every man and bore
away the combined sins of all men.
After His exaltation Jesus
became our merciful
and faithful high priest.
No greater love
John
God keeps His own in this
life then glorifies them in the next (Romans
Available to all
The WTBTS has taught
that only 144,000 will be in heaven with Jehovah.
We reply. Revelation 7:1-8 says John saw 144,000 resurrected
Jews worshipping God in heaven. But Rev. 7:9 says, After this I beheld, and, lo, a
great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and
people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with
white robes, and palms in their hands;
This multitude worships God
before the throne and this throne is in heaven!
After His 1,000-year reign
on earth Jesus makes a
new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness (2 Peter
No Condemnation
Romans 8:1 says, There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit. The NWT
translates this, Therefore
those in union with Christ Jesus have no condemnation.
They shall never perish
John 10:27-30 says, My sheep hear my voice, and I know
them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall
never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father,
which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to
pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.
Jesus offers to pardon,
adopt and ransom you (Ephesians 1:4-7) and make you His child (John
No annihilation.
Should page 12 denies hellfire and the immortality of the soul.
We reply. The Bible does not teach annihilation. Mt. 25:41, 46;
Mk. 3:29; Lk. 16:20-31; Jn. 3:36; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 14:9-11; 20:10-15 and
other verses teach that everlasting, conscious suffering and punishment await
those who reject God’s offer of salvation. In these Bible passages the same
Greek word describes the duration of eternal life and everlasting punishment. The Koine´ Greek of the New Testament includes
“punishment” (kólasin) and “destruction” (ňlethros). Neither word means cutting off or annihilation.
The word ‘annihilation’ does not occur in the Bible, in English, Hebrew, Greek
or any other language we know.
“The Word was God”
John 1:1 says, In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The NWT and Emphatic Diaglott interpret John 1:1 to say In [the] beginning the Word was, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.
Should pages 26-28 defended
the translation a god by citing
principles of Greek grammar and saying the testimony
of the entire Bible is that Jesus is not Almighty God.
We reply. The original Koine´ Greek reads,
’En
άrcή ήn ó lógos kaě ó
lógos ήn prňs tón qeón
In [the] beginning was
the Word, and
the Word was
with - God,
kaě qeňs ήn
ó lógos.
and God
was the Word.
Drs. H. E. Dana and Julius
R. Mantey say in A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, page 140,
“Prňs tón qeón refers to
Christ’s fellowship with the person of the Father; qeňs ήn ó
lógos emphasizes Christ’s participation in the essence of the divine
nature.”
The Manual Grammar,
pages 148-149 emphasizes that qeňs hn ó lógos means “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 qeós. . . . Sometimes with a noun which the context proves to be definite
the article is not used. This places stress upon the qualitative aspect of the
noun, rather than its mere identity.”
In
the beginning was the Word
describes Christ as eternal; the Word was with God pertains to Christ’s locality; the Word was God stresses Christ’s essence.
The Expositor’s Greek
Testament, Volume One, page 683
offers Dr. Marcus Dods’ John 1:1 insights. “He who
was in the beginning, became in time; He who was with God, tabernacled
among men; He who was God, became flesh.” Dr. Dods
said the Logos was “of Divine nature” and “eternal” (Expositor’s Vol. 1,
pages 683-684).
The renowned Greek scholar
Julius R. Mantey also declared that the Word was God.
Dr. Mantey also called the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek
Scriptures “Diabolical deceitfulness.” In Depth Exploration in The New
Testament pages 136-137 (Vantage Press, N.Y. 1980) Dr. Mantey said,
“I have never read any
New Testament so badly translated as The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of
the Greek Scriptures . . . it is a distortion of the New Testament. The
translators used what J.B. Rotherham had translated
in 1893, in modern speech, and changed the readings in scores of passages to
state what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe and teach. That is a distortion not a
translation.”
We concur with Drs.
Mantey and Dods. We have shown that the Bible teaches the Deity of the Son (Isaiah
6:8-10; 7:14; 9:6; 48:16; Matthew 1:20-21; 13:14-15; Mark 14:61-64; Lk.
1:26-38; 24:47; John 5:17-47; 8:58, 59; 14:9; 15:13; 20:27-28; 2 Cor. 4:3-4;
Phil. 2:6; Col. 1:13-19; 2:8-10; Hebrews 1:8 and Rev. 1:12-18).
The WTBTS has never
included a single Koine´ Greek scholar. That may explain why the WTBTS does not
divulge the names of those who produced the NWT.
The
Word was God!
My Lord and my God!
John 20:27-28 (NWT) says,
Next he said to
Thomas: “Put your finger here, and see my hands, and take your hand and stick
it into my side, and stop being unbelieving but become believing.” In answer Thomas
said to him: “My Lord and my God!” Should page 29 says,
But what
about the apostle Thomas’ saying, “My Lord and my God!” to Jesus at John
We reply.
The Koine´ Greek of John
20:27-28 indicates Jesus and Thomas are talking to each other. Thomas called
Jesus ó kurios mou kai ó qeňs mou (“the Lord of me and the God of me.”) John 20:29-31
encourages everyone to believe in Christ as did Thomas. There is no ground to
speculate that Thomas was emotionally misguided or considered Jesus like “a god.” Thomas called Jesus “the God of me.” Should said “the God” meant “Almighty God” in
John 1:1. Why not here also?
We have already responded
to Should’s misinterpretation of
John 17:3, which says And
this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom thou hast sent. John
17:3 does not contradict what the Bible teaches about the deity of the Son and
His union with His Father. Only through the Son can we know the Father.
Should page 20
is headed The Holy Spirit— God’s Active Force
Jehovah’s Witnesses claim
the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force. J. F. Rutherford wrote, “After
the resurrection of Jesus from the dead the holy spirit, which is the invisible
power of God, came upon the faithful apostles . . . ” (Enemies, page147,
J F Rutherford, WATCH TOWER
BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY, 1937).
We reply. The Bible describes the Holy Spirit as a Person. For
example:
Mark
And
grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of
redemption (Ephesians
Romans
The Holy Spirit is the
Comforter Who testifies of Christ (John
The Holy Spirit dwelt in
Christ and the Holy Spirit indwells Christians: But ye are not in the flesh, but in
the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his (Romans 8:9).
The
Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that
we are the children of God: (Romans
Likewise
the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know
not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered (Romans
Christians commune with the
Holy Ghost (2 Corinthians
(It is impossible to
commune with an impersonal force.) The Spirit speaks to the churches (Rev.
2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13, 22;
Conclusion
In the Bible there is a
Person called the Father, Who is also called God. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten
us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3).
The Bible also speaks of a
Person called the Son, Who also is called “God” (See Hebrews 1:8).
The Bible then speaks of
the Holy Spirit as a Person and “God.”
Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to
keep
back part of the price of the land?
While it remained, was it not
thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast
thou
conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not
lied unto men, but
unto
God (Acts 5:3-4, our emphasis).
[You can’t lie to an
impersonal force. You can only lie to a person.]
So the Bible teaches that
the Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God. Since the Bible
teaches that God is One, the eternal God consists of three Persons Who are each
of the same divine substance and each fully God.
Annotated
Listing of Scriptural Evidence for the Trinity
This document contains a
partial listing of scriptural references that support the Trinity
doctrine. All quotes are KJV. Our
comments pertaining to the Scriptures are in italics. All emphases are ours.
1. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are
Called “God,” but There is Only One True God.
It is
true that the word “trinity” is not found in the Bible. However, the doctrine
of the Trinity can be summarized in a series of four statements which, in
turn, are directly supported by Scripture. These statements are:
A.
There is a Person called the “Father” who is also called “God.”
B.
There is a Person called the “Son” who is also called “God.”
C.
There is a Person called the “Holy Spirit” who is also called “God.”
D.
There is one, and only one, true God.
If these
four statements can be shown to be true from the Bible, then the doctrine of
the Trinity is supported. If any of the statements is not supported by
Scripture, the doctrine of the Trinity is false.
NOTE: Scripture should always be studied in
context. Never be content to simply read a verse and think you know what it
means. For the verses presented here,
please study them in context.
A.
There is a Person called the “Father” who is also called “God.”
“...One
God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all” (Eph.
4:6).
[This point hardly needs to be made, since no one
argues that the Father is not God.]
B.
There is a Person called the “Son” who is also called “God.”
1.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God... And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and
truth” (John 1:1,14).
2.
“And Thomas answered and said unto him [Jesus], ‘My Lord and my God’ ”
(John
3.
“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the
Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God which he hath
purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).
4.
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of
no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men” (Phil. 2:5-7).
5.
“And we know that the Son of God is come, and has given us an understanding,
that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his
Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (1 John
6. [The
writer to the Hebrews quoted from the Psalm 45:6,7;] “But unto the Son, He
saith; Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the
sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity;
therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above
all thy fellows” (Hebrews 1:8-9).
C.
There is a Person called the “Holy Spirit” who is also called “God.”
1.
[The Holy Spirit is a Person since He has a mind (Rom.
“As
they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, ‘Separate me
Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them’ ” (Acts 13:2).
“...the
Spirit said unto him, ‘Behold three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get
thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them’ ” (Acts
2.
“But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine
heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and to keep back part of the price of the land?
. . . thou hast not lied unto men but unto God’ ” (Acts 5:3-4). [You can’t
lie to a title, manifestation or attribute. The Holy Spirit is a Person Who is
called God.]
3.
“...Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is
liberty” (2 Cor.
D.
There is one, and only one, true God.
1.
“Hear O Israel, the LORD our God is one LORD” (Deut. 6:4). Literally,
it reads; “The YHWH our Elohim (plural God) is one LORD.” [The
Hebrew word “one” is Echod, the same word used in
Genesis 2:24, where God said Adam and Eve “…shall be one flesh.”]
2.
“Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that
ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no
God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD, and beside
me there is no saviour” (Isaiah 43:10-11).
3.
“Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I
am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God” (Isa. 44:6).
4.
“. . . Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any” (Isa. 44:8).
5.
“Thou, even thou, art LORD alone . . .” (Neh. 9:6).
2.
The Persons of the Trinity Possess the Characteristics of God.
A. Eternity
1.
The Son is eternal.
a. “In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. The same was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2).
b.
“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little
among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that
is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting”
(Micah 5:2).
c.
“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me ...I am Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (
2.
The Holy Spirit is eternal.
“How
much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to
serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14). [In Rom.16:26 the same word “aionios” is used with “God” and translated “...the
everlasting God.…”.]
B.
Omnipresence
1.
The Son of God is Omnipresent.
“For where two or three are gathered together
in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt.
2.
The Holy Spirit is Omnipresent.
“Whither
shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I
ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou
art there” (Psalm 139:7-8).
C.
Omniscience
1.
The Son of God is omniscient.
“...Lord,
thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee” (John
2.
The Holy Spirit is omniscient.
“For
what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit
of man which is in him? Even so, the
things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God”
(1 Cor.
D.
Omnipotence
1.
The Son of God is omnipotent.
a.
“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was
made” (John 1:3).
b.
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth,
visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers; all things were created by him and for him” (Col.
1:16). [Creation of the universe demands omnipotence.]
2.
The Holy Spirit is omnipotent.
“The
Spirit of God hath made me...” (Job 33:4).
E.
Sinlessness
[Only God is sinless]
1.
Jesus is sinless.
a.
“For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made
the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians
b. 1
John 2:1: “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous.” [Compare with Jesus’ own statement in Matt.
2.
The Holy Spirit is sinless.
“And
declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness,
by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). [Again, this point hardly
needs to be made - the perfect holiness of the Spirit is everywhere evident in
Scripture. He can be sinned against
(Acts 5:3-4) but He is utterly without sin Himself. The Bible never even hints
at the possibility that He could sin.]
3. Other Biblical Evidence.
A.
The Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20)
“Go
ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost...”
B.
The Incarnation (Luke
“And
the angel answered and said unto her, ‘The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and
the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.’ ”
C.
Jesus' Baptism (Matt.
“And
Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the
heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a
dove and lighting upon him. And lo a voice from heaven saying, ‘This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ ”
D.
The Promise of the Spirit (John
“And
I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter,
[like I am, on the same par with Me], that He may abide
with you forever.”
E.
The Corinthian Blessing (2 Cor.
“The
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the
Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”
F.
The Praise of the Seraphim (Isaiah 6:3)
Isaiah
6:3 records the
seraphim calling, “Holy, holy, holy.” [Might not each
“holy” be directed at One of the three Persons present in the Godhead?]
G.
Peter’s Greeting to Christians (1 Peter 1:2)
“Elect
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification
of
the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”
H.
Biblical References to the Plurality of the Godhead
Gen.
1:26 “Let us make
man in our image, after our likeness.”
Gen.
1:7 “Come, let us
go down and confound their language.”
In Eccl.
12:1 we read: “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.” [The
word “Creator” is “Boreacho,” which means “Creators”
(plural).]
4. Other Verses to Consider
Psalm
110:1 “The LORD
(Yahweh) said unto my Lord (la-Adonai), ‘Sit Thou on My
right
hand until I make thine enemies Thy footstool.’” [These
are God’s words.
They
describe two Persons, not one.]
Heb.
1
Peter 3:21-22 “ . . . by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and
authorities and powers being made subject unto him.” [Angels are subject to
Jesus.]
Prov. 30:4 “What is his (God’s) Son’s name, if thou canst tell.” [Even in the
Old
Testament, the Bible refers to God and His Son.]
Isaiah
53:2,6,10,12
“For
He [Jesus] shall grow up before Him [The Father] as a tender
plant, and as a
root
out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see
him,
there is no beauty that we should desire him.” “All we like sheep have gone
astray;
we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD [God the Father]
hath laid on him [Jesus] the iniquity of us all.” “Yet it pleased
the LORD to bruise
him;
He hath put Him to grief: when Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin,
he
shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD
shall
prosper in His hand.” “He [The Father] shall see of the travail of his [The
Son’s] soul, and shall be satisfied: by
His knowledge shall my righteous servant
justify
many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” “Therefore will I [Father]
divide
him [Son]
a portion with the great, and he [Son] shall divide the spoil with the
strong; because He [Son, Jesus] hath poured out his soul unto death: and
He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made
intercession
for the transgressors.”
Daniel
7:13,14
“And
I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man [God
the
Son] came with the clouds of heaven, and
came to the Ancient of Days [God the
Father], and they brought Him [Jesus]
near before Him [God the Father]. And there was given Him [Jesus]
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people,
nations,
and languages should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting
dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom
that which shall not be destroyed.”
John
14:10-11 “Believest
thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak
unto you I speak not for myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth
the works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me: or else
believe me for the very works’ sake.”
Appendix A: The
Trinity v unbiblical worldviews.
Outside of Christianity, no
worldview, religion or ism accepts -
·
the Trinity, and
the hypostatic union (God was in Christ)
·
a vicarious
atonement, and the way of the cross
·
salvation by
grace
·
justification by
faith
·
the Bible as
their final word.
This is true for the more
populous world religions and philosophies, such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism
and Humanism, as well as “New Age” religions and the innumerable, small cults.
Latter-day saints (Mormons/LDS) and Jehovah’s Witnesses are more oriented to
their leaders’ teachings than they are to the Bible.
In keeping with
unbiblical/cult teachings, Should calls
Christ divine but not Deity; a god but not God; Mighty God but not Almighty God;
Son of God but not God the Son; a good man but not the God-man. The WTBTS
teaches that the Father eternally dwelt alone as a solitary Being until He
created the Son. So the WTBTS’ Jesus is a creature.
But the Bible teaches that
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all co-eternal. (Discussed in more detail
in our Conclusion).
Appendix B: A
Comparison of WTBTS and LDS Distinctives.
The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WTBTS)
have similarities and mirror differences. Both of these organizations were 19th
century American reactions against Bible orthodoxy. The Mormon founder, Joseph
Smith, Jr. and the WTBTS founder, Charles T. Russell both abandoned
denominational churches to start “new” religions.
But the LDS and
the WTBTS both claim to be the restoration of the original faith of the
early church.
LDS and WTBTS
teach warmed-over versions of ancient, defunct heresies that the early Church
rejected 2000 years ago.
LDS and WTBTS leaders
profess to believe the Bible but ignore basic Bible truths and basic principles
of Bible interpretation.
LDS and WTBTS doctrines
attack orthodoxy by abusing logic, revising history, misrepresenting the original Bible languages and twisting selected Bible
texts.
While teaching unbiblical
heresy, LDS and WTBTS leaders blacklist Bible-centered churches as heretical.
According to WTBTS leaders the early Church apostatized by forsaking monotheism
for polytheism. LDS leaders claim that Trinitarianism
distorts the true plurality of gods.
LDS and WTBTS
leaders expect obedience and unquestioning loyalty from their followers.
Lay LDS and lay
Jehovah’s Witness
are expected to accommodate their leaders’ heresies, contradictions, false prophetic claims and mispredictions.
Both the LDS and the WTBTS
teach that unbelievers may have a second chance to repent after death. (This is
not a Bible teaching [see Hebrews
Both organizations reject
the others’ claim to be “the” restored church.
Appendix C
A Comparison of Major
WTBTS, Mormon and Bible Doctrines
The WTBTS says: Mormonism Says:
The Bible says:
Only the Father is God. There are millions of gods. Father, Son and Holy
Spirit are the One God.
Jesus is God’s first creation. Jesus is the spirit-brother Jesus is the eternal Son
of Lucifer, the devil. of God (God the Son).
The Holy Spirit is God’s The Holy Spirit is “Spirit The Holy Spirit is a
“Active force.” Person” God. member of the Godhead.
Salvation by works. Salvation by works. Salvation by grace.
No eternal hell, but Some measure of salvation Eternal hell for
annihilation for unbelievers. for almost all persons. unbelievers.
The Bible is biased. Bible translations full The Bible is infallible.
of errors.
Two classes of Christians - Multiple classes of Christians One Lord, one faith, the 144,000 and the “Great depending upon works. one hope.
Crowd.”
After death a second chance After death, a second chance After death, judgment
to recover perfect human life to hear and respond to the
gospel.
Appendix D: Watchtower Teachings on Grace
Aid To Bible
Understanding (1971), a WTBTS’ dictionary of Bible terms lacks
grace. Instead, it substitutes undeserved
kindness. The WTBTS Jesus is a perfect man whose death is an undeserved
kindness to pay for the effects of Adam’s sin.
The WTBTS teaches that at
death the soul forever sleeps unless resurrected by Jehovah to live in a
perfect human body in a perfect earthly kingdom. Those thus selected have the
opportunity to live in perfect obedience to Jehovah in paradise.
Aid To Bible
Understanding page 1399 says:
“The provision of a resurrection for humankind is
indeed an undeserved
kindness of Jehovah
God, for he was not obligated to provide a resurrection.
Love for the world of
mankind moved him to give his only-begotten Son
so that . . . millions
who have died without a real knowledge of God might have
opportunity to know
and love him, and so that those who love and serve him
can have this hope and
encouragement to faithful endurance, even as far as
death. . . . Jehovah
God has the right to refuse to accept a ransom for anyone he
deems unworthy.
Christ’s ransom covers the sins an individual has due to being
a child of sinful
Adam, but a person can add to that by his own deliberate, willful
course of sin, and
thus die for such sin that is beyond coverage by the ransom.”
We reply. Romans 5:6 says while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 4:5 says, But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him
that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness (Romans 4:5).
Salvation is by grace, not
works (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). God regenerates the ungodly but repentant,
believing sinner and imputes His righteousness (John
Psalm 19:1-3 and Romans
1:16-25 teach that God is known by the creation and human conscience. But men
are dead in trespasses
and sins (Ephesians 2:1). None seeks
after God (Romans
The WTBTS considers it willful
sin to trust Christ alone for salvation. But Christ shed His blood so
that those willing to admit their lost condition might receive eternal life by
trusting God’s eternal Son as personal Lord and Savior. We invite everyone,
especially Jehovah’s Witnesses, to do just that.
Christian Awareness
Fellowship