Jehovahs Witnesses: Is Jesus a true god or a false god?

Greetings,

Actually, it is the Trinitarian interpretation of Jn.1:1 which teaches polytheism since it makes two capital "G" Gods: One God is *WITH* another God.

But Jehovah's Witnesses have no problem with Jesus being called God and yet not being “the only true God” because 1st we understand the grammar of Jn.1:1, and 2nd we accept the definition of the word "God" found in the Bible.

1st, the anarthrous THEOS, “the Word was God,” is a predicate noun indicating a "quality" and NOT an identification of the Word as God.

So, your argument doesn’t work here because there is only ONE who is *identified* as God in Jn.1:1 and it is NOT Christ.

2nd, when we use the word God today we are usually referring to the one true almighty God, but this was not the case in Bible times. Bible dictionaries define the word God as: "great, mighty ones, rulers, divine ones, angels."

So in the Bible the title “God” was also predicated of men, angels, Moses and Satan: (Ex.4:16; 7:1; 21:6; 22:8-9,28; Ps.8:5/Heb.2:8; Ps.82:1,6; 97:7; 136:2; Jn.10:34; 2Cor.4:4).

“God” simply denotes that these individuals share some quality as a god or a mighty person in relation to others. This does not put these individuals down on the same level as false gods nor does it mean that they are equal to the Almighty since they still have a God over them.

Likewise Heb. 1:8,9 clearly shows that even when Jesus is called “God” he is in a position less than Almighty God. Because it states that Jesus still has a God over him: "therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions."

"In the OT...the noun "god" is used of men. Ps 45:6 provides a significant example, because here the GREATER AND LESSER SENSES OF THE SUBSTANTIVE God appear side by side, namely, "God" in the usual sense of the supreme God of Israel and "god" denoting Israel's king. This same passage appears in Heb 1:8 as a testimonium related to Christ, where it is "god" in its LESSER CONNOTATION."—Jesus as Theos, G.H. Boobyer

So, your question commits the logical fallacy of an "Appeal to Selective Evidence" because it fails to mention that the Bible clearly shows that others can *PROPERLY* be called "God."

Now obviously Jesus is not a "false God." He is "a true god" but he is not "THE True God" (in the sense of Jn.17:3).

The distinction in Jn 17:3 between the "only true God" AND Jesus as "the one who [God] sent" explicitly excludes Jesus from being "The True God." The "only true God" is the God and Father of Jesus Christ. This same demarcation is repeatedly made (1Thes.1:9,10; 1Cor.8:6).

The questioner here commits the logical fallacy of "Unwarranted Restriction of the Semantic Field."

In order to mitigate the unambiguous words of Jesus that his father was "the only true God," Trinitarians will attempt to limit the semantic field of the word ALETHINOS (true) between two arbitrary but self-serving choices. They try and claim that if Jesus is excluded from being "The true god" then we must believe he is a "false" God. This is a Logical Fallacy.

Limiting the semantic sense in this way ignores the fact that there are also many "real" or "true" gods who simply represent or resemble Almighty God. These angels and humans cannot be called "false" gods since God Himself appointed them as such. They were true gods yet they were not God in the *absolute sense* of "The True God" of which Jn.17:3 is speaking.

Other Scriptural examples show that the sense of the word "true" is not limited to an absolute "true" and "false":

At Jn 1:9 Jesus is called "The true light." Does this mean that Jesus' disciples are "false" lights? (Mt 5:14) No. It means they are not the original light, but copies or representatives of divine light.

Heb 8:2,5 calls the Tabernacle in heaven the "true tent" as opposed to the Tent in the wilderness (9:9,24). Does this mean that the earthly Tabernacle was a "false tent"? Of course not! The Bible says that the earthly one was a "copy." Not a false one but just not as great.

All these texts contrast ALETHINOS not with something "false," but describes the archetype as opposed to copies of the original.

It is clear then, that Jn.17:3 teaches us that only ONE can be called "God" in the *absolute sense* while still acknowledging others as "god/s" in a *secondary sense*. Jesus, as God's divine son and His foremost representative can quite properly be called god, but he is not God Almighty himself!

Yours,

BAR-ANERGES

EDIT:

Τιμοθέῳ, maybe you should develop better reading skills. But, I’ll have to respond in the comments.

I am a JW. In here however is a copy of the King James Version Of The Holy Bible. Now... you have never read the entire bible I gather?

2 Corinthians 1:19

"For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea."

I guess that if you have a son he will be a... duck? No? How about a human!

Jehovah is the A#1 God. Eternal. Psalms 83:18 "That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth."

Jesus Christ is his son, thus obviously he is a... duck? DUH... he is a god!

Jesus is a God. And Satan is also a God. But a God-like being, and being God are two different things. Jehovah is the Almighty God. The only one we should worship. Even though Jesus is a God-like being, Jesus did not want people to worship him because he said that glory belongs to his father, Jehovah God.

But some people wrongly worship the God of this system of things, which is Satan.

Neither.

The concept of true god versus false god pertains to those that are OBJECTS OF WORSHIP. A false god is an illegitimate object of worship. The true God is the only god truly worthy of worship -- Jehovah.

However, you seem to be lost to the fact that there is another kind of usage of the word god in scripture -- one that does not involve worship. "God" is also used in scripture to refer someone who has great power or authority but who is not an object of worship. Moses was such a god as great miracles were made to occur at his beckoning. (Exodus 4:16; Exodus 7:1) Ancient judges were such gods because of the great authority they wielded. (Psalm 82:1-8) Jesus is such a god because of his great power as a spirit being and because of his elevated position over the rest of creation. (John 1:1,3)

First of all, it was not us who came up with the idea that Jesus' Father Jehovah was the only true God. Jesus said it firs, in John 17:3.

Second, the opposite of "true" is not necessarily "false."

For example, the owner of a company can make all the final decisions, but he also can have subordinate supervisors with decision making power that he has granted them. He is the true Boss; but they are not false bosses. They can tell other employees what to do, maybe even fire them, and the true Boss supports the other bosses' decisions.

Still, because he he is the only true Boss, he can over rule them if he so chooses, and no one can over rule him.

He is the True Boss.

The others are real bosses.

There may be some pretenders who try to fool others into thinking they are bosses, but they are only false bosses.

Jehovah is the only true God. (John 17:3)

Jesus is a real god. There are other real gods also. Isaiah 9:6, 7; Psalm 82:1-6; John 10:34, 35)

Idols, etc., are false gods. (2 Kings 19:18; 2 Chronicles 13:9; etc.)

Strong's H430 - 'elohiym

1) (plural)

a) rulers, judges

b) divine ones

c) angels

d) gods

2) (plural intensive - singular meaning)

a) god, goddess

b) godlike one

c) works or special possessions of God

d) the (true) God

e) God

Please note 2c.

Strong's G2316 - theos

1) a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities

3) spoken of the only and true God

a) refers to the things of God

b) his counsels, interests, things due to him

4) whatever can in any respect be likened unto God, or resemble him in any way

a) God's representative or viceregent

1) of magistrates and judges

Please note #4 above

You will also notice that 'false' is not included in the definition of the Greek or the Hebrew words for God.

You will also notice that both have a third definition that states that the word 'god' can apply to people and things that are not the only true God, but are from Him.

Thus John wasn't teaching falsehood by calling Jesus a god.

This does not make him a false god unless you worship him.

.Those who try to attack the NWT only reveal their own ignorance.

1 John 5:.20But we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us intellectual capacity that we may gain the knowledge of the true one. And we are in union with the true one, by means of his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and life everlasting.

We are in union with the true God by means of his (the true ones) Son.

It would help if you would actually read what is written.

The answer is a simple one just by reading the Bible.

2 Corinthians 4:4(NIV)- "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

When you look at this verse, it calls Satan a god. What's the definition of "god"?

In the Bible, it speaks of one with mighty power, not one to be worshiped in the same way as the Almighty God.

So, he is neither a true nor a false god. He is just a mighty person, since he is the son of God.

There is only one true God as Jesus pointed out at John 17:3.

He is "a god" .........if Jehovah wants to give him the title of "a god" then who are we to argue....did you know that people in the OT were called gods? In what way was Moses "a god" as that is what the bible calls him at Exodus? (bet you did not know that)

Trinitarian Moffatt's highly acclaimed New Translation of the Bible and (2) trinitarian Smith-Goodspeed's An American Translation both say that the Word "was divine.

Even the very trinitarian Greek expert, W. E. Vine, (although, for obvious reasons, he chooses not to accept it as the proper interpretation) admits that the literal translation of John 1:1c is: "a god was the Word". - p. 490, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1983 printing.

Trinitarian Dr. Robert Young admits that a more literal translation of John 1:1c is "and a God[2] (i.e. a Divine Being) was the Word" - p. 54, (`New Covenant' section), Young's Concise Critical Bible Commentary, Baker Book House, 1977 printing.

Certainly a trinitarian scholar such as Dr. Young would interpret John 1:1c to mean "the Word was the true God" if he could honestly do so! Obviously he felt there was something wrong with that interpretation.

Highly trinitarian NT scholar Murray J. Harris also admits that grammatically John 1:1c may be properly translated, `the Word was a god,' but his trinitarian bias makes him claim that "context" will not allow such an interpretation! - p. 60, Jesus as God, Baker Book House, 1992.

Professor Jason David BeDuhn tells us, “Grammatically, John 1:1 is not a difficult verse to translate. It follows familiar, ordinary structures of Greek expression. A lexical (‘interlinear’) translation of the controversial clause would read: ‘And the Word was a god.’ A minimal literal (‘formal equivalence’) translation would rearrange the word order to match proper English expression: ‘And the Word was a god.’ The preponderance of evidence, from Greek grammar, from literary context, and from cultural environment, supports this translation….” - p. 132, Truth in Translation, University Press of America, 2003.

Many trinitarian scholars, in fact, are forced to reject the interpretation that John 1:1c says that Jesus was the same "God" that he was with. Famed trinitarian scholars A. T. Robertson and B. F. Westcott, for example, were both forced to that conclusion - p. 96, Selected Notes On The Syntax Of New Testament Greek, Wallace, 3rd ed., 1981. Prof. Philip B. Harner also came to that conclusion, p. 85, JBL, vol. 92, 1973.

Prof. Felix Just, S.J. - Loyola Marymount University, "and god[-ly/-like] was the Word."

Revised Version-Improved and Corrected, "the word was a god."

Moffatt's The Bible, 1972, "the Logos was divine"

Reijnier Rooleeuw, M.D. -The New Testament of Our Lord Jesus Christ, translated from the Greek, 1694, "and the Word was a god"

Abner Kneeland-The New Testament in Greek and English, 1822, "The Word was a God"

Robert Young, LL.D. (Concise Commentary on the Holy Bible [Grand Rapids: Baker, n.d.], 54). 1885, "[A]nd a God (i.e. a Divine Being) was the Word"

Belsham N.T. 1809 “the Word was a god”

J.N. Jannaris, Zeitschrift fur die Newtestameutlich Wissencraft, (German periodical) 1901, [A]nd was a god"

Joseph Priestley, LL.D., F.R.S. (in A Familiar Illustration of Certain Passages of Scripture Relating to The Power of Man to do the Will of God, Original Sin, Election and Reprobation, The Divinity of Christ; And, Atonement for Sin by the Death of Christ [Philadelphia: Thomas Dobson, 1794], 37). "a God"

Andrews Norton, D.D. (in A Statement of Reasons For Not Believing the Doctrines of Trinitarians [Cambridge: Brown, Shattuck, and Company, 1833], 74). "a god"

Paul Wernle, Professor of Modern Church History at the University of Basil (in The Beginnings of Christianity, vol. 1, The Rise of Religion [1903], 16). "a God"

Ernest Findlay Scott, The Literature of the New Testament, New York, Columbia University Press, 1932, "[A]nd the Word was of divine nature"

Philip Harner, JBL, Vol. 92, 1974, "The Word had the same nature as God"

Maximilian Zerwich S.J./Mary Grosvenor, 1974, "The Word was divine"

If they (trinitarian translators) had honestly believed that John was saying that Jesus is God, they certainly would not have hesitated to say "the Word was God." Why, then, did some Trinitarian translators of Christendom, some of the best Bible scholars and translators in the world, choose the word "divine" or the word was a god? Can you explain that ?

Most Greek scholars laugh at the way Trinitarians try to use John 1:1 to support the trinity !

I say false god...

He is not Jehovah. Jesus calls the Father the only true God (John 17:3)

Since Jesus is not the Father....

While it probably is a waste of time trying to convince most JWs that (John 1:1 ) is correctly rendered as "The Word was God" -- no matter what evidence you provide them from any Greek text or bible scholar.

Regardless of that, there are still many scriptures proving Christ's deity which most JWs will find difficult to explain.

Jesus STATED to the unbelieving Jews in (John 2:19 )

"Destroy this temple, and in three days I WILL RAISE it up"

Jesus was prophesying on his own death, burial, and resurrection from the dead -- which is the gospel (1Cor 15:1-4 )

The JWs will try and weasel out of this by saying Jesus was talking of a literal temple -- rubbish !

v:21 "But he spake of the temple of his BODY"

We read (Acts 2:32)

"This Jesus hath GOD RAISED UP"

Now the JWs have a terrible dilemma here with (John 2:19 and Acts 2:32 ) because they will have to either admit Jesus was LYING by saying he would raise himself from the dead or that Peter was LYING by stating God raised up Jesus.

Wouldn't commonsense (biblically speaking ) tell a JW that BOTH verses are correct and that Jesus is truly God manifest in the flesh (John 1:14 and 1Tim 3:16 ) ?

Sadly most JWs will never make this decision or will rationalize it away.

Also in (John 10:18 ) Jesus said he had the POWER to take his life back AFTER his crucifixion and in (John 5:18 ) Jesus made HIMSELF equal with the Father which could only mean that he was God in the flesh.

So yes, Jesus is the one and true God and not a small human god -- all humans are sinners by nature (Rom 3:23 ) Jesus NEVER sinned ( 2Cor 5:21 )

Finally here is a interesting view that I have discovered from Gods word that I have never read anywhere else but is well worth considering on Christ's deity.

In (Luke 18:32-33 ) Jesus told his disciples on his death, burial, and resurrection. But when we read v:34 it says..

"And they understood none of these things: and this saying was HID from them"

Christ's death, burial, and resurrection was NOT understood by his disciples and it was HID (in God ? ) from them during his entire life on earth until he rose from the dead (John 20:9 )

In (1Cor 2:8 ) we read...

"Which none of the princes of this world knew; for had they KNOWN it, they would not have CRUCIFIED the Lord of Glory.

Now we know why Jesus kept his death, burial, and resurrection a secret from EVERYONE on earth because Satan would have found out and would never of crucified him.

v:7 We read that this secret was hidden in GOD before the world was made.

So how did Jesus know all this if it was HIDDEN in God before the world was made ?

The only answer is that Jesus is God !

Neither. Why?

There is only ONE True God and his name is Jehovah.

Jehovah is the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ and true Christians.

>"Blessed be the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of tender mercies and the God of all comfort."

>Jesus said, "I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."

Jesus is called a god because he is a mighty one. Jesus is godlike. Is Jesus a false god (mighty one or godlike one)? No. So Jesus is not the true God nor is he a false god.

>Jesus would be a false god if sacred service is rendered to him.

Note the "g" is lower case when referring to Jesus as a god.