How To Respond To Jehovah’s Witnesses
We’ve likely all had the experience of a knock on the door, two pleasant individuals standing outside and starting a discussion on what seems to be the Bible. And while most of us are aware that Jehovah’s Witnesses are not within the bounds of Christian orthodoxy, few are aware of why that is, and even fewer still are able to give quick responses. So here’s a brief 101 on witnessing to Witnesses.
Who is Jehovah?
Jehovah is the English rendering of The Divine Name, YHWH. And though they claim the same name, one essential test for determining if a religion or group is truly Christian is what they believe about Jesus.
Consider how Jehovah’s Witnesses answer these two questions: 1) Why is Jesus called God’s Son? 2) Is Jesus Almighty God?
Jehovah’s Witnesses’ View
*1) “Why is Jesus called God’s Son?
They do not claim that God has a literal wife with whom he fathered children. But he is the Creator of all life. (Rev 4:11) Therefore, the first human that God created, Adam, is called a “son of God.” (Luke 3:38) Similarly, they argue that the Bible teaches that Jesus was created by God. So Jesus is also called a “Son of God.”—John 1:49.
They say that God created Jesus before he created Adam, citing Colossians 1:15: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” They view this as evidence that Jesus’ life began long before he was born in a stable in Bethlehem.They go on to say that Christ’s “origin is from early times, from the days of time indefinite.” (Micah 5:2), and that Jesus was a spirit creature in heaven before he was born as a human on earth. And they back this up with John 6:38; 8:23: “I have come down from heaven.”
*2) “Is Jesus Almighty God?
They note that Jesus’ opposers accused him of making himself equal to God. (John 5:18; 10:30-33), but say that Jesus never claimed to be on the same level as Almighty God, with His response to these claims being: “The Father is greater than I am.”—John 14:28.
They also posit that Jesus’ early followers did not view him as being equal to Almighty God. They give the example of the apostle Paul, who wrote that after Jesus was resurrected, God “exalted him [Jesus] to a superior position.” Obviously, Paul did not believe that Jesus was Almighty God; otherwise, how could God exalt Jesus to a superior position? —Phil 2:9” (Source).
The Biblical Response
Now consider the Scriptural understanding of who Jesus Christ is.
Yes, God is One, But Jesus Is Included
The Old Testament declares God’s oneness emphatically. Deuteronomy 4:39 states, “the LORD [YHWH] is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.” This is reinforced in the Shema: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deut. 6:4), a daily prayer for faithful Jews.
Astoundingly, the apostle Paul claims that the Shema includes both God the Father and Jesus Christ in YHWH’s identity in 1 Corinthians 8:6, “yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” Here, Paul echoes the Shema’s language—“one God” (theos) and “one Lord” (eis kurios)—but applies kurios, the title for YHWH, to Jesus. This is no mere coincidence. By using eis kurios (“one Lord”) rather than “a lord,” Paul identifies Jesus as YHWH alongside the Father. The Father is the source (ex) of all things, and the Son is the agent (di) through whom all things are made—distinct in role, yet united in essence.
To clarify this, the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament used by early Christians, “YHWH” is rendered as kurios (Lord). The apostle Paul applies this name to Christ in 1 Corinthians 8:6. To alleviate any doubt concerning what he is clearly claiming about Christ, Paul uses eis kurios, “one Lord” instead of “a Lord.” Paul reproduced all the words in the Shema, but he rearranged them to include Christ in the divine oneness. Therefore, Paul claimed that Jesus Christ is YHWH the Son. God the Son had no beginning. God the Son Incarnate, Jesus Christ, is Almighty God.
Conclusion
Christians must decide who they will believe, the apostle Paul or Jehovah’s Witnesses. Choose Paul, for he was divinely inspired by God the Holy Spirit to write inerrant truth. And according to him, Jesus Christ is included in the Divine Identity. Jesus Christ is YHWH the Son.
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Footnotes See Christopher J. H. Wright, Knowing God the Father Through the Old Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2007), 13-14.
See Robert Letham, The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2004), 17-33, for a discussion of the Old Testament soil that prepared the way for the progressive revelation of the Trinity, that God is One and God is Three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
All Greek references from the Old Testament are taken from the Septuagint, “LXX Septuaginta Rahlfs’ (LXT)”, in BibleWorks 9 Software for Biblical Exegesis & Research (Norfolk, VA: BibleWorks, 2011).
Wright, Knowing God the Father Through the Old Testament, 13.
Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the God of Israel: God Crucified and Other Studies on the New Testament’s Christology of Divine Identity (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008), 5.
All Greek New Testament references are taken from the “BibleWorks New Testament (BNT) (Nestle-Aland 27),” in BibleWorks 9 Software for Biblical Exegesis & Research (Norfolk, VA: BibleWorks, 2011).
Wright, Knowing God the Father Through the Old Testament, 16.
See Bauckham, Jesus and the God of Israel: God Crucified and Other Studies on the New Testament’s Christology of Divine Identity, 27-29. Also see Wright, Knowing God the Father Through the Old Testament, 13, f. 2.
Bauckham, Jesus and the God of Israel: God Crucified and Other Studies on the New Testament’s Christology of Divine Identity, 27-29.