How can Jesus Christ be the Son of God and God the Son?

We basically have two very important questions.

How can Jesus Christ be the Son of God?

In English, we have only one word for Son, which is “Son” meaning a boy derived from his parents. The New Testament was written in the Greek language, and Greek has two words for “Son” being: 

1. TEKNON means a boy, derived from his parents. This word, TEKNON is never used in the New Testament to describe Jesus as the “Son of God,” because we all agree, both Muslims, Christians, Quran and the Bible, that God does not have sex, does not have a wife, girlfriend, or babies. True? 

2. HUIOS means same nature as, eg. Son of peace (Luke 10:6) means you have the nature of peace, or sons of disobedience (Eph 5:6). Jesus as “Son of God” means that He has 100% the same nature as God. Jesus is also called in the New Testament the “only begotten”(Greek: mono genes) Son (huios) of God. 

1. “mono” means “one and same”, for example the monorail travels on one rail. 

2. “genes” means “genetics”. We have about 23,600 genes which determine our every detail. So, Jesus as the “only begotten Son of God” means that He has the same genetics and the same nature as God. 

How can Jesus Christ be God? 

 

In Genesis 1:26, “God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” 

This shows that man has a similar image or likeness to God. What is it? Thinking about yourself, you are one man, with three parts. 

1) You have a body giving you world consciousness through your 5 senses. Your body is 100% human. It allows you to interact with the physical universe. 

2) You have a soul made up of your mind, emotions and will, also known as your personality. This gives you self consciousness. It is 100% human. 

3) You have a spirit giving you God consciousness making you think that there is a God. It is your “God detector.” It is 100% human. You are 1 man with 3 parts. You are a trinity, meaning 3 in one. I Thes 5:23 

►We can represent God in a similar manner with 3 circles. Islam, Quran, Christianity and the Bible all believe in one God. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus teaches that there is only one true God by the singular word name, not names, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”. The one true God has three parts known as the Father, the HUIOS Son and the Holy Spirit. 

1) As we have a spirit that is 100% human, so God has a Spirit called the Holy Spirit, who is 100% God. 

2) As we have a body that is 100% human that interacts with the physical universe, so God has something like a body through which He interacts with the physical universe, called the Huios who is 100% God. It was God the Huios Son that spoke and appeared to Adam, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Solomon, Isaiah and who was conceived into Mary as Jesus Christ. Before His conception, the Huios Son was only 100% God, but after His conception He was both 100% God and 100% man. It is like you having both an Iranian passport and an Australian passport. This makes you 100% Iranian and 100% Australian. 

3) As you have a soul which is 100% human that tells your body what to do, so God has something like a soul called God the Father who tells the Huios Son what to do, such as to be conceived in Mary. 

Therefore, as you are one man with a spirit, soul and body, each being 100% human, so there is one true God made up of the Father, the Huios Son, and the Holy Spirit, each part being 100% God. As you are a trinity, so God is the Trinity, made up of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

This is in Proverbs 30:4;  Psalm 2:12; Isaiah 9:6; 48:12,13,16; Daniel 3:25; Micah 5:2; Exodus 3:3-15; 24:9-18; John 8:58,59,24.

Reprinted with permission from Pastor Keith Piper.   http://www.keithpiper.org/

Dean. www.calvarystudy.info

http://calvary-study.blogspot.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-53GaMT9JMtMPzukkeD6MA

Psalm 110:1 ‘The Lord (YHWH3068) said to my Lord (Adonai136) sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.’

Psalm 110:1 ‘The Lord (YHWH3068) said to my Lord (Adonai136) sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.’

Watchtower teaching: JWs say that since Jehovah is speaking in this verse and since the ‘Lord’ is a distinct person from Jehovah, then Jesus must not be Jehovah God Almighty.

In Matthew 22:41-45 Jesus claims that He Himself is the ‘Lord’ referred to by David in this Psalm. They therefore conclude that Jesus is not Jehovah, but the one Jehovah speaks to.

Bible Teaching: This verse proves the deity of Christ.

Question 1: Christ asks the Pharisees, ‘Whose Son is he (Christ)?’ regarding the deity of the Messiah. (Matthew 22:42)

Answer: The Pharisees reply, ‘The son of David’. Their answer was correct but incomplete. II Samuel 7:12-16 shows the Messiah to be the human son of David.

Psalm 110:1 shows the human Messiah also to be God (Adonai), a fact that Christ wanted the Pharisees to acknowledge. Christ anticipated the Pharisees’ half-answer.

That’s why Christ then asks a question regarding Psalm 110:1.

Question 2: ‘The LORD (YHWH 3068) said unto my Lord (Adonai 136), sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. If David then call him (Messiah, Christ, Son of David) Lord (Adonai 136), how is he (Adonai=God) his (David’s) son?’(Matt 22:44,45)

Answer: Here the first person of the Trinity (God the Father) invites the second person of

the Trinity (God the Son) to sit at His right hand.

It seems odd that David would call his own son ‘My Lord’ (Adonai, a title used exclusively of God). The Messiah would be David’s son, but He would also be David’s God. He would be both God and man.

Question 3: Jesus drove the point home to the Pharisees by asking,  ‘If David then call him Lord (Adonai, Deity), how is he his son?’ (Matthew 22:45)

Answer: The Pharisees should have replied that ‘David called his son Lord because He is God as well as man.’ But they would then be trapped into allowing Christ to be the Messiah, being both man and God. The Pharisees realised their dilemma, so they refused to answer.

Key: Psalm 110:1 proves the undiminished deity of Jesus Christ, because the same word used for ‘Lord’ (Adonai) in Psalm 110:1 of Jesus Christ (Adonai the Son) is also used of the Father (Adonai the Father) many times in Scripture, such as:

1) ‘Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord (Adonai) God (YHWH 3068)’. (Exodus 23:17).

2) ‘For the Lord (YHWH 3068) your God (Elohim 430) is God (Elohim) of gods, and Lord (Adonai 136) of lords, a great God (El 410), a mighty, and a terrible’(Deuteronomy 10:17)

3) ‘Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord (Adonai 136) of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan’. (Joshua 3:11)

4) ‘And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord (Adonai) God (YHWH)...’ (Joshua 7:7)

5) ‘I prayed therefore unto the Lord (YHWH 3068), and said, O Lord (Adonai) God (YHWH 3069), destroy not thy people . . .’ (Deuteronomy 9:26)

Other references to Lord (Adonai136) God (YHWH) are:

Deuteronomy 3:24; Exodus 34:23; 15:17; 4:10,11; 5:22; Judges 6:22; 13:8; 16:28;

II Samuel 7:18,28,29; I Kings 2:26; 8:53; Psalm 68:20; 69:6; 71:5,16; 73:28; 109:21; 141:8;

Isaiah 3:15; 28:16; 22:5,12,14,15; 25:8; 40:10; 48:16; 49:22; 50:4; 52:4; 56:8 etc.

Ask: Did you know that ‘Adonai’ (Lord) used of Jesus Christ in Psalm 110:1 is also used of the Father in Exodus 23:17; Deuteronomy 10:17; Joshua 3:11?

Ask: Can you see that Jesus’ statement to the Pharisees in Matthew 22:42-45 was that the Messiah (Christ) would be David’s son as well as David’s God (Adonai)?

Question: Does ‘Adonai’ mean Jehovah God?

Answer: Yes, for these reasons:

1) It is linked together with ‘YHWH’ (Exodus 23:17).

2) Jehovah calls himself ‘Adonai’ in Isaiah 8:7, ‘The LORD (YHWH) spake also unto me again saying:. . . Now therefore behold the Lord (Adonai) bringeth up ...’

3) WE Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of OT and NT Words, p.140 states that ‘Adonai’ applies to God:

The JW claim that Jesus cannot be God because Jehovah spoke to Him, is faulty because we who are from the finite earthly realm cannot assume that God who is of infinite heavenly realms must fit into our earthly logic patterns with which we are familiar. God’s ways aregreatly above our ways. For example, in Genesis 18:1-3 Abraham addressed the three visitors as ‘Jehovah’. The two who left to visit Sodom, Lot called them ‘Jehovah’ (19:18), yet the one who remained, Abraham continued to address Him as ‘Jehovah’

(18:22,26,27,30,31,32,33).

Note: JWs often mockingly ask the question when Jesus prays to Father: ‘Does God talk to Himself?’ Yes He does, as in Genesis 18:17-19 where God asks Himself a question: ‘And Jehovah said, Am I keeping covered from Abraham what I am doing?’ Later in v. 22 Jehovah separates.

Hence the Father can talk to the Son, with the Son still being 100% God.

Ask: If you reject the Trinity because you can’t understand it, then how do you explain how a brown cow by eating green grass gives white milk?

THE 144,000 ANOINTED CLASS and OTHER SHEEP

THE 144,000 ANOINTED CLASS and OTHER SHEEP

Watchtower Teaching:

They claim that only 144,000 JWs go to heaven, as the ‘Anointed class’.(Rev. 7:4 & 14:1-3).

They claim that all other JWs are part of God’s ‘other sheep’, and will live forever on a paradise earth.

They claim that only the 144,000 are born again as sons of God to share in the heavenly Kingdom. 

These will have a spiritual existence in heaven, not a physical resurrection, as they claim that ‘flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s Kingdom’.

JWs teach that only a few enter this spiritual Kingdom as a ‘little flock’ of believers (Luke 12:32).

JWs claim that this 144,000 began with the apostles and was filled in 1935.

The WT claims that the 144,000 will rule from heaven over the great crowd on earthly paradise (Rev 7:9), where the earth will remain forever (Ecclesiastes 1:4; Psalm 104:5).

The great crowd (Revelation 7:9) is the same as the ‘other sheep’ of John 10:16, who hope to survive Armageddon and enjoy Christ’s rule on a perfect earth.

Salvation for both classes is by works of witnessing or distributing WT literature door to door.

Consider these verses the WT uses and the correct Bible replies:

1. Luke 12:32 - The ‘Little Flock’ as the 144,000 ‘Anointed class’

Watchtower teaching: ‘Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give

you the Kingdom.’ JWs claim that only this group go to heaven . WT teaches that Old

Testament saints such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and prophets are not part of this ‘little

flock’, but are part of the ‘other sheep’ of John 10:16, the ‘great crowd’ of Revelation 7:9.

Bible Teaching:

1) The WT interpretation of Luke 12:32 violates the context. Luke 12:22-34 shows Jesus

speaking to His disciples on earth in the first century, not to another 144,000 anointed

class that might develop from 30 AD to 1935. JWs are reading something into the

passage that is not there.

2) Elsewhere Jesus referred to His disciples as sheep in His flock:

(a) Matthew 10:16 - ‘I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves’

(b) Matthew 26:31 - ‘I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.’ (Spoken to the disciples before His crucifixion.)

Jesus called His disciples a ‘little flock’ because they were a small, defenceless group that could be easily preyed upon. They need not to worry because Christ would protect them.

Ask: In Luke 12:22, who is Jesus speaking to? (His 12 disciples)

Ask: Where in Luke 12:32 does it say that the little flock is the 144,000 of Rev 7:14?

Ask: How do you know that the 144,000 was completed in 1935?

3) Jesus never once restricted the Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven to 144,000 people.

Ask: Can you think of any verse in the Bible where Jesus limits the citizenship of heaven

to 144,000?

4) I John 5:1 ‘Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.’. The words

‘whosoever believeth’ are open ended, including everybody who believes, not just

144,000.

Ask: Doesn’t the ‘whosoever’ in I John 5:1 include everyone and not just 144,000?

5) The Watchtower teaching that Old Testament saints are not part of the heavenly class is wrong, as seen from Hebrews 11:13-16 where Abel, Enoch, Noah and Abraham all sought a heavenly country (v.16), not an earthly one.

6) Matthew 8:11 shows Abraham, Isaac and Jacob sitting down in the Kingdom of heaven.

Ask: Who is right here, the Bible or the Watchtower?

Revelation 7:4 and 14:1-3 - Are the 144,000 in the ‘anointed class’?

Watchtower Teaching: The WT claims that the 144,000 are a literal number of people, but that  12,000 people from each of the 12 tribes of Israel are not literally national Israel.

We ask,‘Why would 144,000 be literal, but the 12,000 in each tribe be figurative?’

WT reply:

a) There never was a tribe of Joseph in the OT, even though it is mentioned in Rev. 7:4-8;

b) The tribes of Ephraim and Dan are not included in Revelation 7;

c) The Levites, not reckoned as an OT tribe, are mentioned as a tribe in Revelation 7.

Bible Teaching:

1) Ask: Why does the WT switch interpretation in Revelation 7:4 from literal (144,000 as a precise number of people) to figurative in the last part of the verse where they say the 12,000 do not represent precise numbers of people from each of Israel’s 12 tribes?

2) Women are excluded from this group of 144,000 in Revelation 14:4 ‘These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.’ Masculine pronouns used show that this group are all men.

3) Heaven awaits all who believe in Christ, not just the 144,000. Check these verses:

1. Philippians 3:20 ‘For our conversation is in heaven; . . .’

2. Colossians 3:1 ‘Seek those things which are above.’

3. Hebrews 3:1 ‘Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling.’

4. Hebrews 12:22 ‘But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem . . .’

5. II Corinthians 5:1 ‘We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved (physical death),we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.’

6. Colossians 1:5 ‘For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel.’

7. Hebrews 11:16 ‘But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly . . .’

8. Hebrews 10:34 ‘Knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.’

9. I Peter 1:4 ‘To an inheritance . . . reserved in heaven for you.’

10. Revelation 19:1 ‘I heard a great voice of much people in heaven.’

11. Matthew 6:20 ‘Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.’

12. John 12:26 ‘. . . where I am (heaven), there shall also my servant be.’

13. John 14:3 ‘I go and prepare a place for you...that where I am (heaven), there ye may be also.’

Key: Making a difference between those with an earthly and heavenly destiny has no warrant in the Bible anywhere.

1. God has chosen the poor of this world who are rich in faith to inherit the kingdom, not just the 144,000. ‘Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him.’ (James 2:5). There is no distinction made here between 2 classes, only the poor of this world,(more than 144,000).

2. All who believe in Christ receive God’s righteousness. ‘The righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.’ (Romans 3:22)

3. John 10:16 ‘there shall be one fold (flock), and one shepherd.’ - not two folds, one on earth and one in heaven, but ONE FLOCK (NWT).

Ask: How do you reconcile WT teaching of two flocks (WT: one earthly and one heavenly) with John 10:16 which says that all believers will be together in one flock (NWT)?

Question 1: ‘Are the 12 tribes of Israel in Revelation 7:14 literal or figurative?

Nowhere else in the Bible are references to the 12 tribes of Israel figurative. They are always a literal, ethnic group.

Ask: Can you see that the WT interpretation of Revelation 7:4 goes against common usage of literal ‘tribe’ and literal ‘Israel’?

Question 2: Why are the OT tribes of Dan and Ephraim omitted in Revelation 7?

The OT has 20 varying lists of tribes of Israel.

a) Dan’s tribe was omitted because they were guilty of idolatry, and were largely wiped out. (Judges 18:1,30). Dan became one of two centres of idolatry in the Northern Kingdom (I Kings 12:29).

b) Ephraim is omitted from Revelation 7, while Joseph and Manasseh are included. Why? Ephraim was also involved in idolatry and pagan worship (Judges 17; Hosea 4:17).

Ask:

1) What is the Watchtower’s position on idolatry?

2) If the tribes of Dan and Ephraim were guilty of idolatry, do you think that these tribes should be listed in Revelation 7 as God’s servants? (No).

3) So you agree that there is a good reason for omitting Ephraim and Dan in Revelation 7?

4) Can you see that the Watchtower’s figurative interpretation of the 12 tribes is wrong, because it is based on the rightful omission of Dan and Ephraim?

Question 3: Why was the tribe of Levi included in the Revelation 7 list?

In the Old Testament, the tribe of Levi were not part of the 12 tribes because of their priestly separation under the Mosaic Law. Now that their tribe’s priestly functions have ceased with the first coming of Christ, our Great High Priest, there is no further need for their services as priests. Hence there is no reason for keeping them separate from the other tribes any longer.

They will be properly included in the tribal listing in Revelation 7 and 14.

Therefore the WT’s view of the 144,000 as a specially anointed class is twisting of scripture.

Note: JWs insist that the 12,000 from each tribe of Israel are figurative or symbolic.

Question: How is it that the sum of 12 symbolic numbers equals a literal 144,000? How can 12 times a symbolic 12,000 equal a literal 144,000? The total should also be symbolic, according to their reasoning, to be consistent. 

Their interpretation again gives a contradiction.

3. John 10:16 - The ‘Other Sheep’

'hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.’

Watchtower Teaching: JWs believe in two classes of people: the 144,000 heavenly class, and the ‘other sheep’, great crowd class who will receive eternal life and live forever on an earthly paradise.

Bible Teaching: The ‘other sheep’ in John 10:16 refers to Gentile believers, as opposed to Jews who are the ‘lost sheep of Israel’. (Matthew 10:6 and 15:24).

The one flock and one shepherd of John 10:16 agrees with Galatians 3:28 with ‘neither Jew nor Greek . . . ye are all one in Christ Jesus.’

All believers will dwell together as ‘one flock’ under ‘one shepherd’.

There will not be one flock of believers in heaven, and one flock of believers on earth.

Ask: How do you reconcile WT teaching of two classes, ,when the Bible clearly states that God’s people are one in Christ, and are part of ‘one flock’ under‘one shepherd’?

4. Revelation 7:9 - The ‘Great Crowd’ as the ‘Other Sheep

‘After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude (‘great crowd’ in NWT), which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb . . .’ (Revelation 7:9)

Watchtower Teaching: JWs teach that in 1935 God stopped calling people to a heavenly hope with Christ. They say that in 1935 he began gathering a secondary class of believers, outside the body of Christ, who would live forever on earth in the flesh, as the great crowd of Revelation 7:9-17.

This is one of the WT’s major doctrines, because it is the basis for convincing JWs that:

1) They cannot become members of the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:27)

2) They cannot be born again (John 3:3)

3) They cannot go to heaven (II Timothy 4:18)

4) They cannot be baptized by the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 12:13)

5) They are not entitled to share in the communion loaf and cup (I Corinthians 10:16-17)

6) They are not in Christ’s New Covenant (Hebrews 12:24)

7) They cannot be fully justified by faith in Christ (Romans 3:26)

Hence the WT uses this ‘1935 Doctrine’ to rob its followers of the NT relationship with God.

Ask: Where does the Bible teach that entrance to the Christian congregation would be closed in 1935, with a secondary great crowd being gathered after that? Nowhere!

They can find no Biblical support for the 1935 date.

They refer to Rutherford’s ‘flash of light’ on 31 May 1935 at the Washington JW Convention.

Note: The verses JWs cite actually locate the great crowd as ‘before the throne and before the Lamb’ (Revelation 7:9), ‘before the throne of God’ (7:15), and ‘in his temple’ (7:15), all heavenly locations, rather than on the earth as the WT teaches. 

This is similar to the wording of the only other mention of the ‘great crowd’ in Revelation 19:1 ‘I heard . . . a loud voice of a great crowd in heaven’ (NWT).

Ask: Where is this great crowd? In heaven! Emphasize that the WT has taught them wrongly. Jesus in John 17:20-24 prayed that all His present and future disciples would ‘be with me where I am’ in heaven regardless of whether they were saved before or after 1935.

Consider the following conversation with a JW:

Q1: You: I’ve heard that you believe that you are part of a great crowd who will receive everlasting life on earth, instead of going to heaven. Is that true? Can you show me the Great Crowd in the Bible?

JW:Yes, it is in Revelation 7:9,‘look! a great crowd...before the throne and before the Lamb’

Q2: You: But Revelation 7:15 places the great crowd before the throne of God in heaven, doesn’t it? ‘...they render him sacred service day and night in his temple’.(NWT).

JW: Well, the throne of God is in heaven, but the great crowd is on the earth. All creation stands before the throne of God.

Q3: You:Would you read Rev 19:1 in your Bible to see where it locates the great crowd?

JW: It says, ‘After these things I heard a loud voice of a great crowd in heaven.’

Q4: You: A great crowd where?

JW: The great crowd is on earth.

Q5: You: Is that what the verse says? Read it again.

JW: It says heaven, but the great crowd is on earth.

Q6: You: How can you say that the great crowd is on earth, when your Bible plainly says ‘a great crowd in heaven’?

Conclusion:

Ask: Where in the Bible does it say that the great crowd is exempt from heaven?

Ask: Where does it say that the great crowd is relegated to live on earth?

Ask: Since the great crowd serves God in His temple (7:15), where is God’s temple located?

Answer: Revelation 11:19 and 14:17 say ‘the temple which is in heaven

Reprinted with permission from Pastor Keith Piper.   http://www.keithpiper.org/

Dean. www.calvarystudy.info

http://calvary-study.blogspot.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-53GaMT9JMtMPzukkeD6MA

The Trinity and Bible Proofs that Jesus Christ is God

 The Trinity and Bible Proofs that Jesus Christ is God

1. Matthew 28:17-20 “they worshipped him”, “All power is given to me”, “I am with you always” and “baptizing them in the name (one God) of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” = Trinity.

2. In Matthew 3:1-3, Jesus Christ fulfils Isaiah 40:3 to ‘Prepare the way of Jehovah’ and our God.

3. John 1:1 “the word was God” (KJV, NIV), not ‘a god’ (NWT). a) Isaiah 44:8 ‘Is there a God beside me?’ b) The absence of the article before “theos” (God) identifies “word” as the subject (Colwell’s rule)Ans855

‘The subject is identified by the article (ho logos) and the predicate (theos) without it.’ AT Robertson 5,4.

John did not use the word for “Godlike or a lesser god” (theios) to describe Jesus, but used “theos” (God).

All early writers disagree with JWs. (Irenaeus,Theophilus, Clement,Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, Tatian).

All modern Greek experts disagree with JWs. (Zodhiates, AT Robertson, Wuest, Vine, Vincent, Mantey)

4. John 1:3 “All things were made by him” Malachi 2:10 “Hath not one God created us?” Jesus is Creator.

5. John 3:13 “Son of man which is in heaven.” Jesus is omnipresent (on earth and in heaven at same time)

6. John 4:42 “Christ, the Saviour of the world.” Isaiah 43:11 “Jehovah; beside me there is no saviour.”

7. John 5:18 “said God was his Father, making himself equal with God”. John believed it and quoted it.

8. John 5:23 “all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father” Do you honour the Son as God?

9. John 6:46 “Not that any man hath seen the Father.” Who did OT saints see who they said was God? Is6:5

10. John 8:24 “If ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins.” Jehovah is “I am” in Exodus 3:1-14.

11. John 8:58,59 “Before Abraham was, I am. They took up stones to cast at him.” Jesus said He is God.

12. John 10:30 “I and my Father are One. They took up stones to stone him.” No stoning if agree with God.

13. John 10:33 “thou being a man, makest thyself God. They sought again to take him (39)”. Why?

14. John 16:15 “All things that the Father hath are mine:” All the Father’s attributes as God are Christ’s.

15. John 17:5 “the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” Isaiah 42:8 “I am Jehovah: my glory will I not give to another.” Jesus is Jehovah because he alone shares Jehovah’s exclusive glory.

16. John 20:28 “Thomas said unto him (Jesus), My Lord and my God.” No rebuke for blasphemy or error.

17. Acts 20:28 “Feed the church of God, which he (God) hath purchased with his own blood.” Jesus =God

18. I Cor. 1:2 “all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ.” Prayer to Jesus makes him God.

19. I Corinthians 15:47 ‘the second man is the Lord from heaven’ This is Jesus. No man is from heaven.

20. II Corinthians 13:14 is the Apostolic Benediction:“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” (II Corinthians 13:14).

Why is there a change in the order of the persons of the Trinity, compared to Matthew 28:19, if not to show that in this Trinity none is before or after the other, and none is better than another?

21. Philippians 2:6 “Who being in the form of God (in His pre-incarnate state Christ had the form of God) thought it not robbery to be equal with God.” (a prize to be held on to, not a prize to be won. AT Robertson).

22. Colossians 2:9 “In him (Christ) dwells all the fullness (exhausts the limits) of the Godhead bodily.”

23. I Thes 4:14 “them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” Jesus returns as God at rapture.

24. I Timothy 3:16 “God was manifest in the flesh.” Jesus is God the Son conceived in Mary.

25. Titus 2:13 “the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” Granville-Sharp rule: Jesus is God and Saviour.

26. Hebrews 1:6 “Let all the angels of God worship him.” Only worship God. Matt 4:10, Ps97:7 Son is God

27. Hebrews 1:8 “To the Son he saith, ‘Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever’” Psalm 45:6,7. Son is God.

28. Hebrew 1:10 “And (to the Son he saith), Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:.thou art the same.” Son is unchangeable creator. Ps102:24

29. Hebrews 1:13 To which of the angels said he, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? 35

30. I John 5:7 “There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” 

The heavenly and earthly witnesses in v.7,8 are confirmed in v.9 by God and men.

The masculine article (oi) for “that” in v.7 is derived from the masculine nouns “Father and Word” in v.7.

31. Revelation 1:17,18 “I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth and was dead;” Jesus = first and last.

Revelation 1:11 “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last:” Jesus = first and last = Alpha and Omega.

Revelation 22:12,13 “I come quickly; I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.” Jesus=Alpha & Omega.

Revelation 1:8 “I am Alpha and Omega, the Almighty.” Jesus = first & last = Alpha & Omega =Almighty

32. Revelation 22:3 “the throne of God and of the Lamb.” Both God and the Lamb equally own the throne.

Revelation 22:3 “his servants shall serve him:” Both God and the Lamb equally own the same servants.

Revelation 22:4 “they shall see his face.” Both God and the Lamb have the same face.

Revelation 22:4 “his name shall be in their foreheads.” Both God and the Lamb have the same name.

Revelation 20:6 “they shall be priests (of God and of Christ), and shall reign with HIM a thousand years” Revelation 21:22 “for (the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb) are the temple of it.” Both are temple of NJ Revelation 21:23 “for (the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light) thereof.” Both light of NJ

33. God identifies Himself as “us” (a Trinity) in:‘God said “let us make man in our image”’ Genesis 1:26 ‘Jehovah God said, “Behold the man is become as one of us . . .’ Genesis 3:22. ‘Jehovah came down … the Lord said, let us go down.’ Genesis 11:5,7 ‘who will go for us?’ Isaiah 6:8. 34. Exodus 3:14 “I AM hath sent me unto you.” ‘I AM’ is the name of the angel of Jehovah, Jehovah, God (2,4,6) & Jesus in John 8:58 “Before Abraham was, I AM” & John 8:24 “If ye believe not that I AM”

35. Psalm 110:1. God told David that David’s son would be David’s God. ‘The LORD (Jehovah) said unto my Lord (Adonai), Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.’ Jesus applied this to Himself in Matthew 22:41-45 as a question: ‘If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?’ This shows that Jesus Christ would be both a man descended from David and David’s God.

36. Isaiah 6:1-8,5. “Mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts” on the throne in heaven. God asked Isaiah “who will go for us?” (‘us’ = trinity). In John 12:37-41, John said, “These things said Esaias when he saw his (Jesus) glory, and spake of him (Jesus).” Jesus was the King, Jehovah of hosts that Isaiah saw.

37. Isaiah 9:6 ‘Unto us a child is born (human Jesus),unto us a son is given (God the Son): his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God.” Jehovah is Mighty God in Isaiah 10:21;Jer32:18; Ps 50:1

38. Isaiah 44:6 ‘Thus saith Jehovah the King of Israel (Father) and his redeemer Jehovah of hosts (Son)”

39. Isaiah 48:12,13,16 “Hearken unto me…Mine hand also has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has spanned the heavens:…Come ye near unto me,..the Lord GOD, and his Spirit has sent me.”

Me, mine, my and me is God the Son describing his two works of creation and of incarnation to save man.

40. Ezekiel 44:1,2 “This gate shall be shut…because Jehovah, the God of Israel has entered in by it.”

In Luke 19:45-47 Jesus, who is Jehovah, fulfilled this prophecy, entering the east gate on a colt in 33AD.

41. Hosea 4:1 and 5:15. Jehovah will return to ‘my place’ (heaven), till the Jews admit their offence of killing Jesus. “Hear the word of the LORD (Jehovah) (4:1),.I will go and return to my place (heaven), till they (Jews) acknowledge their offence (of killing Jesus), and seek my face: in their affliction (7 year tribulation) they (Jews) will seek me early.” Jehovah the Son came from heaven to be born of Mary as a man, he was rejected and crucified by the Jews. The resurrected Lord Jesus returned to heaven. Jesus will return when the Jews acknowledge their offence of killing Jesus. This occurs after the 7 year tribulation.

42. Zechariah 11:4,12,13. “Thus saith the LORD (Jehovah) my God; (v.4). If ye think good, give me my price; So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver (v.12)….I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD’ (Zechariah 11:4,12,13). (silver, temple floor, potter field) These three prophecies were fulfilled in Judas betraying Jesus Christ in Matthew 26:14-16 and 27:3-10.

43. Zechariah 12:9-10. When Jesus Christ returns to earth, He is identified as Jehovah God whom Israel pierced on the cross. “I (Jehovah) will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem (v.9). They (Israel) shall look upon me (Jehovah) whom they have pierced.” Jesus fulfilled this in John 19:37.

44. Zechariah 14:3,4,5,9. When Jesus Christ returns to earth on the Mount of Olives, He is identified as Jehovah God (Zechariah 14:3,4). ‘Then shall the LORD (Jehovah) go forth and fight against those nations, And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives (v.3-4)....the LORD (Jehovah) my God shall come, and all the saints with thee (v.5)….the LORD (Jehovah) shall be king over all the earth.’ When Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives, two angels told those witnesses present that “this same Jesus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:10-12).

45. In Zechariah 2:8-11, Jehovah the Son states twice that Jehovah the Father has sent Him to Israel. This proves that there are at least two persons in the Godhead, both called Jehovah.

“For thus saith Jehovah of hosts (the Son).. (v.8) Ye shall know that Jehovah of hosts (the Father) hath sent me (v.9). ‘I (Jehovah the Son) will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that Jehovah of hosts (Father) hath sent me unto thee.” (v.11).

Lesson: Jehovah (the Father) sends Jehovah (the Son). Two persons here are named Jehovah. This clearly proves that Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate state is fully Jehovah God.

46. In Zechariah 3:2 “Jehovah said unto Satan, Jehovah rebuke thee, O Satan”.

One person in the Jehovah Godhead speaks about another person in the Jehovah Godhead. See Isaiah 48:16 Rules of Grammar dictate that: “Jehovah (the first person = person speaking) said unto Satan (the second person = person spoken to), Jehovah (the third person = person spoken about) rebuke thee.”

Reprinted with permission from Pastor Keith Piper.   http://www.keithpiper.org/

Dean. www.calvarystudy.info

http://calvary-study.blogspot.com/

John 17:3 ‘know thee the only true God’

John 17:3 ‘know thee the only true God’

The Watchtower says that, because the Father is called ‘the only true God’, then Jesus cannot be the true God.

The context is Jesus as a man, praying the great high priestly prayer to the Father, and as such it was proper for the man Christ Jesus to call the Father ‘the only true God’.

Christ would not have said this if it was spoken from the viewpoint of His deity.

Ask: Since Jesus being called our only Lord (Jude 4 NWT) does not exclude the Father (Matthew 11:25) and the Holy Spirit from being called Lord, why must the Father being called ‘the only true God’ exclude the Son and Holy Spirit from being called God?

Ask: According to John 17:3, how many true Gods are there? (One).

Do you agree that whatever is not true is false?

If there is only one true God, all other gods must be false gods.

In John 1:1 NWT says that Jesus is a god, right? Is Jesus a true God or a false god?

He cannot be a false god, can He, since that would mean John was guilty of falsely honouring Jesus as a god. Therefore Jesus must be a true God.

But Jehovah is the only true God. Therefore Jesus must be Jehovah.

Reprinted with permission from Pastor Keith Piper.   http://www.keithpiper.org/

Dean. www.calvarystudy.info

http://calvary-study.blogspot.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-53GaMT9JMtMPzukkeD6MA

John 14:28 - ‘The Father is greater than I’.

 John 14:28 - ‘The Father is greater than I’.

Watchtower teaching: The JW book Let God be True, 1946, p.110 says that Jehovah is greater than Jesus in his office and person. Jehovah they say is intrinsically greater than Jesus, and hence Jesus cannot be God Almighty. The JW book Reasoning from the Scriptures, p.410, says, ‘The fact that Jesus is lesser than Jehovah proves that He cannot be God in the same sense that Jehovah is’.

The Bible Teaching: In John 14:28 Jesus is not speaking about His nature or being (Christ had earlier said in John 10:30, ‘I and the Father are one’), but about His lowly position of incarnation as a man. The Athanasian Creed says that Christ is ‘equal to the Father as touching His Godhood, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood’. Christ was here contrasting His human humiliation, shame, suffering, rejection, opposition by enemies, and soon crucifixion, with the Father’s majesty, glory and worship by the angels in heaven.

Key: Jesus said, ‘The Father is greater (Greek: meizon) than I’, not ‘The Father is better (Greek: kreitton) than I’. ‘Greater’ refers to the Father’s greater position (in heaven), not to a greater nature. If the word ‘better’ had been used, this would indicate that the Father had a better nature than Jesus.

i) The distinction is made clear in Hebrews 1:4 where ‘better’ (Gk: kreitton) is used to teach Jesus’ superiority over the angels in His nature and position.

ii) This difference between ‘greater’ and ‘better’ is seen in this example:

‘The President of a country is greater (Greek: meizon) in position than his people, but as a human being he is not better (Greek: kreitton) in nature than his people’.

iii) Jesus in becoming a man, not only took on a lower position than the Father, but also took on a lower position than the angels. ‘But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death’. (Hebrews 2:9)

QUESTION:‘Do you agree that a President is greater in position but not better in nature than his people?’

QUESTION: ‘In view of greater (meaning higher in position) and better (meaning higher in nature), is it not clear that in John 14:28 Jesus is speaking of the Father’s temporary higher position and not his higher nature than Jesus?

QUESTION: How did Christ make Himself of no reputation when He became a man? (Phil. 2:6-9)

1. He veiled His preincarnate glory in order to dwell among men, but never surrendered His deity or divine glory. On the Mount Transfiguration He allowed His glory to shine briefly. If Christ had not veiled His glory, mankind would not have been able to look at

Him. When John saw His glory on Patmos he said, ‘I fell at His feet as dead’. (Rev. 1:17).

2. He submitted to a voluntary non use of some of His divine attributes (on some occasions) in order to achieve His objectives. He never surrendered His attributes, but He did voluntarily cease using some of them on earth. Jesus showed His divine attributes of:

i) omniscience (‘He knew all men’ John 2:24; 16:30;‘Lord thou knowest all things.’ 21:17

ii) omnipresence (John 3:13 ‘the Son of man which is in heaven’).

As God He was everywhere at once, but as man He chose to walk there.

iii) omnipotence (Matthew 28:18 ‘all power is given unto me’.)

3. He condescended to take on the likeness (form, appearance) of man and the form of a servant. (Phil 2:7). His becoming a man involved gaining human attributes (subject to weakness, pain, sorrow and temptation), but not giving up his divine attributes.

Conclusion: ‘The Father is greater than I’ (John 14:28) said Jesus from the vantage point of His incarnation as a man. This verse relates to Christ’s voluntary subordination to the Father to accomplish His work on earth.‘Greater than’ refers to His greater position not His nature.

Reprinted with permission from Pastor Keith Piper.   http://www.keithpiper.org/

Dean. www.calvarystudy.info

http://calvary-study.blogspot.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-53GaMT9JMtMPzukkeD6MA

HOLY SPIRIT: Is He a PERSON or an ACTIVE FORCE? II Cor 3:17

HOLY SPIRIT: Is He a PERSON or an ACTIVE FORCE? II Cor 3:17

Watchtower Teaching: The WT claims that the HS is neither a person nor God, but an impersonal ‘active force’ to achieve God’s will, like electricity or radio waves.

Bible Teaching: The Holy Spirit is fully God and has personality as He can be blasphemed.

The Holy Spirit has the three attributes of personality, those being: mind, emotions and will.

An ‘active force’ does not have personal attributes. The WT’s claim of the Holy Spirit being an active force is disproven if the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit has mind,emotions & will.

1. The Holy Spirit has a mind.

(1) ‘He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit’. (Romans 8:27). The word ‘mind’ means ‘way of thinking’, something which is only true of a person.

(2) ‘The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.’ (I Corinthians 2:11).

QUESTION: How can the Holy Spirit know the things of God if the Spirit does not have a mind? A force does not know things. To know requires a mind.

(3) The Spirit searcheth all things’ (I Corinthians 2:10). The Greek word for ‘search’ means to thoroughly investigate a matter, something only a mind can do.

2) The Holy Spirit has emotions

(4) The Holy Spirit loves: ‘I beseech you..through the love of the Spirit’.(Rom 15:30 NWT).

(5) ‘Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God’. (Ephesians 4:30) The Holy Spirit is grieved (made sad) when believers sin. Grief is an emotion that one feels. A force can’t be grieved.

3) The Holy Spirit has a will. He performs personal acts.

(6) The Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts ‘to every man severally as he will.’(I Cor.12:11) The phrase ‘he wills’ in Greek means ‘a decision of the will after previous deliberation’. The Holy Spirit chooses which gifts each believer receives. A force has no such will,

nor ability to make decisions.

(7) The Holy Spirit commands: ‘The Spirit bade me go with them’ (Acts 11:12)

(8) The Holy Spirit forbids:‘forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia’.Acts 16:6

(9) The Holy Spirit speaks: ‘The Spirit said to Philip, Go near.’ (Acts 8:29)

‘The Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabus and Saul’. (Acts 13:2)

‘The Spirit speaketh expressly’. (I Timothy 4:1).

QUESTION: How do you explain the WT view of the Holy Spirit being an impersonal force, with the Bible’s teaching that the Holy Spirit has a mind that can know, emotions that can feel love and grief, and a will to make decisions?

(10) The Holy Spirit testifies: ‘He shall testify of me’. (John 15:26).

The same Greek word for testify (or bear witness) used here, is also used of:

a) The disciples testifying about Christ in John 15:27.

b) John the Baptist bearing witness to the truth in John 5:33.

c) God the Father bore witness to Cornelius’ (and Gentiles’) conversion by giving them the Holy Spirit. (Acts 15:8)

Just as the disciples, John and God the Father (who are all persons) testified or bore witness, so the Holy Spirit bears witness about Christ. A force cannot bear witness, only a person can. (The Holy Spirit bears witness in heaven and on earth - I John 5:7,8)

(11) The Holy Spirit intercedes or prays for believers.‘The Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings’. (Romans 8:26). 

Just as Jesus Christ (a person) intercedes for believers (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25), so the Holy Spirit (as a person) intercedes

(same Greek word) for believers. A force cannot pray for another; only a person can pray.

(12) The Holy Spirit teaches believers. (‘he shall teach you all things’. John 14:26)

(13) The Holy Spirit hears. ‘Whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak.’ (John 16:13)

(14) The Holy Spirit shows us things. ‘he....shall show it unto you’. (John 16:15)

(15) The Holy Spirit restrains sin. ‘My Spirit shall not always strive with man’(Genesis 6:3)

(16) The Holy Spirit can be blasphemed.‘he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost’.Mk3:29

People cannot be blasphemed. We can only be slandered. Only God can be blasphemed.

By Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit being blasphemed means we’ve proved the Trinity.

(a) God the Father can be blasphemed. (Revelation 13:6; 16:9)

(b) God the Son can be blasphemed. (Luke 22:65)

‘And many other things blasphemously they spake against him’.

(c) God the Holy Spirit can be blasphemed. (Matthew 12:31)

‘Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men.’

(17) The Holy Spirit can be lied to (Acts 5:3). Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit.

QUESTION: Have you ever lied to electricity and asked electricity to forgive you?

(18) The Holy Spirit cries in our hearts, Abba, Father. (Galatians 4:6)

(19) The Holy Spirit approves some decisions:

‘It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us’. (Acts 15:28)

(20) The Holy Spirit invites people to be saved:‘The Spirit & the bride say Come’Rev 22:17

(21) The Holy Spirit fills us (Ephesians 5:18) just as God may fill us (Ephesians 3:19).

(22) The Holy Spirit uses personal pronouns to describe Himself: John 15:26; 16:13;(he):

‘The Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabus. . .’ (Acts 13:2).

The Holy Spirit considers Himself a person, not a personification.

Watchtower Objection:

The main reason the JWs say that the Holy Spirit is an ‘active force’ is because the Greek word for ‘spirit’ (pneuma) is neuter.

Answer: This is faulty reasoning, because 1)the gender of a word relates to the grammatical form of the word, not to its sex or physical gender. Because a word is grammatically neuter does not mean that the object is an ‘it’ or of neuter sex. (Source: Elements of NT Greek, J W Wenham, 1979, p.8).

For example, in Greek, ‘children’ is a neuter word, ‘desert’ is a feminine word, etc.and

2) In John 15:26 and 16:13, the neuter noun ‘pneuma’ is referred to by the masculine pronoun ‘ekeinos’ (1565=that one, masculine) recognising the Holy Spirit’s masculine personality. ‘He (ekeinos) shall testify of me’ (15:26); ‘when he (ekeinos), the Spirit of

truth shall come’ (16:13). Note: ‘ekeine’ is feminine ‘that one’, and ‘ekeino’ is neuter).

(23) The Holy Spirit comforts (Gk: parakletos) believers. John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7. This same Greek word ‘parakletos’ (3875) is used of Christ who has personality in John 14:16 and I John 2:1. ‘Another Comforter’ (Gk: allos parakletos, John 14:16) means

‘another of the same kind’ as Christ, in contrast to ‘heteros’ (2087) meaning ‘another of a different kind’. As Christ has Deity and Personality, so does the Holy Spirit. To comfort requires empathy, understanding, love, compassion and concern for another’s

well-being, all being attributes of personality.

Conclusion: Hence,the Holy Spirit is a person because 1) He has mind, emotions,& will. 2) Personal pronouns are used of Him. 3) He performs personal acts.4) He associates with the Father and Son in the Baptism formula, Apostolic benediction and as Church

Administrator (I Cor. 12:4-6). 5) He can be personally mistreated (tempted, lied to, grieved, resisted, insulted and blasphemed). The New Testament clearly shows the Holy Spirit to have a personality and to be God. (‘Jehovah is the Spirit’ II Cor. 3:17 NWT).

Reprinted with permission from Pastor Keith Piper.   http://www.keithpiper.org/

Dean. www.calvarystudy.info

http://calvary-study.blogspot.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-53GaMT9JMtMPzukkeD6MA

Firstborn or First created?

 Firstborn or First created?

Colossians 1:15 - ‘the firstborn (Greek: prototokos 4416) of every creature’.

JWs use this verse to teach that Jesus was created at a point in time as an angel.

They ignore the evidence and insist that the word ‘firstborn’ here means ‘first created’, ‘the eldest in Jehovah’s family of sons’.

The Bible teaching:

1) ‘Firstborn’ (Greek: prototokos) does NOT mean ‘first-created’ (Greek: protoktisis). First-created (Protoktisis) is never used of Christ in New Testament.

Question: Where is it used of Jesus in New Testament?

Question: Why didn’t Paul use the term ‘first-created’ (protoktisis) in Colossians 1:15 if he meant that Christ was the first one created by Jehovah?

2) Ask: What does ‘firstborn’ (Greek: prototokos 4416) mean?

Answer: ‘Pre-eminent, Ruler, Sovereign, First in rank’.

It is used in other passages which refer to Christ:

i. Romans 8:29 ‘that he might be the firstborn among many brethren’. ‘Prototokos’ presents Christ as the pre-eminent member of the group (S. Zodhiates NT, p 1249).

ii. Colossians 1:15. ‘The firstborn of every creature’ Christ is the one pre-eminent and supreme ruler over all creation (S Zodhiates NT, p 1250). v.16 ‘By him were all things created’ means that Christ Himself is not part of Creation (John 1:3).

iii. Colossians 1:18 ‘He (Christ) is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning (arche), the firstborn (prototokos=Ruler) from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence (proteuon)’.

‘Arche’ means ‘first cause’ (Revelation 3:14, Colossians 1:18) and is parallel to ‘prototokos’ in Colossians 1:15,18, both asserting Christ’s pre-eminence.

Note: ‘Proteuon’ (pre-eminence) present tense is used only in Colossians 1:18 and indicates not an acquired right to be ruler and pre-eminent, but an inherent right by virtue of His nature. Christ, being the Creator, deserves to have pre-eminence.

iv. Hebrews 1:6 ‘And again, when he bringeth the firstbegotten (prototokos=Ruler) into the world, he saith ‘And let all the angels of God worship Him’.

Alternately, translate this as ‘And when He again brings the firstborn into the

world’, refers to Christ’s second coming when Christ as King will be worshipped by the angels. Christ is exalted even above all the angels.

v. Revelation 1:5 ‘And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the

firstbegotten (prototokos=Ruler) of the dead, and the prince (arche = chief) of the kings of the earth.’ Here ‘prototokos’ means that Christ is first of those to be resurrected, and prince (arche) means ruler of earth’s kings at His second coming.

Note: JWs compare Christ as the firstborn of all creation with the firstborn son of Pharaoh. This is nonsensical, because it is true that Pharaoh parented his son, but it is not true that ‘all creation’ parented Jesus.

3) We must understand what the original speaker or writer intended by the words which he used. The ancient Hebrews used the term ‘firstborn son’ when referring to the preeminent son, regardless of whether or not he was the first son born to the parents. The son with the title ‘firstborn’ had the right of primogeniture which meant that:

i) He acquired a special blessing (Genesis 27);

ii) He became heir of a double share of the father’s wealth (Deuteronomy 21:17);

iii) He replaced his father as the family head. He had authority over his brothers;

iv) He represented the father in civil and religious matters;

v) He had some holiness because through him flowed the common blood of the tribe (Genesis 49:3; Deuteronomy 21:17).

Key: The term ‘firstborn’ does not refer to the first one born, but to the pre-eminent one in the family. Consider these examples where the son with the title ‘firstborn’ was not born first:

(1) David was the last born son of Jesse, yet Psalm 89:27 says of him: ‘Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth’. (v.20 onwards refers to David).

(2) Ephraim was the second born son of Joseph: ‘The name of the second called he Ephraim.’ (Genesis 41:50-52). Yet ‘Ephraim is my firstborn’ (Jeremiah 31:9). This was because of his pre-eminent position. Manasseh was born first to Joseph, but Ephraim became the firstborn because of his pre-eminence.

(3) Jacob (Israel) was the second son born to Isaac, after Esau, yet God says of Israel, ‘Israel is my son, even my firstborn.’ (Exodus 4:22). Esau says of himself, ‘I am Esau thy firstborn’. (Genesis 27:19). Esau means that he was born first and should have the birthright. God means that Israel, though born second, took the pre-eminent position. Hence, in this sense Christ is firstborn because of His pre-eminence, not because He was created first as JWs think.

(4) Solomon was born to David later, and the line of the kings came through Solomon,yet Amnon was born first (I Chronicles 3:2).

(5) Isaac was born 13 years after Ishmael, yet Isaac took the pre-eminent position in the family.(Genesis 17:19).

(6) Judah was the fourth son born to Jacob (Genesis 29:35), yet Judah received the dominion and line of Christ, even though Reuben being born first forfeited his right of primogeniture due to fornication (Genesis 49:3,4)

4) Firstborn can be rendered metaphorically, not meaning born first. 

Examples include:

i) Job 18:13 ‘the firstborn of death shall devour his strength’. As the firstborn son held the chief place, so Job refers to the chiefest (most deadly) disease that death possessed;

ii) Isaiah 14:30 ‘The firstborn of the poor shall feed’, means the poorest of the poor.

Conclusion: Firstborn does not mean born first or created first. Rather, it is a title of first rank, or pre-eminent position. Paul calls Christ the firstborn (prototokos = Ruler).

Ask: What does Psalm 89:27 mean by calling David firstborn, when he was the last born son?

Ask: Why didn’t Paul use ‘first created’ (protoktisis) of Christ in Colossians 1:15 if he intended to teach that Christ was the first one created by Jehovah?

Reprinted with permission from Pastor Keith Piper.   http://www.keithpiper.org/

Dean. www.calvarystudy.info

http://calvary-study.blogspot.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-53GaMT9JMtMPzukkeD6MA