more Apologetics Points Against Jehovah’s Witnesses

• Jehovah’s Witnesses use the New World Translation.
• In several important verses, their translation supports their own doctrine.
• John 1:1 is the clearest example.
• Instead of “the Word was God,” they translate “the Word was a god.”
• This changes the meaning strongly.
• It lowers Christ from true God to a lesser divine being.
• But the Bible does not teach many gods.
• Christianity is monotheistic.
• There is one God.
• Jesus shares the divine identity of the one God.
• A translation should not be shaped to protect a group’s doctrine.
• Doctrine should submit to Scripture.
• Scripture should not be altered to fit doctrine.

Bible support:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1:1 NIV

“I and the Father are one.”
John 10:30 NIV

“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
John 14:9 NIV

Apologetic answer:

• Ask:
  • “Does John teach one true God or many gods?”
  • “Why does their translation make Jesus ‘a god’?”
  • “Should we change Scripture to fit doctrine, or change doctrine to fit Scripture?”

12. They reduce the meaning of the cross

• Jehovah’s Witnesses often avoid the word “cross” and speak of a torture stake.
• The exact shape of the instrument is not the deepest issue.
• The deeper issue is the meaning of the death of Christ.
• Christianity teaches that Jesus died for our sins.
• His death is not only an example of faithfulness.
• It is a saving sacrifice.
• Christ bore our sins.
• Christ reconciled us to God.
• Christ defeated death by His death.
• The cross is the centre of apostolic preaching.
• St Paul did not treat the cross as a small matter.
• He preached Christ crucified.
• The Church glories in the cross because through it Christ conquered sin, death, and Satan.

Bible support:

“But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.”
1 Corinthians 1:23 NIV

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross.”
1 Peter 2:24 NIV

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Galatians 6:14 NIV

Apologetic answer:

• Ask:
  • “Why is the cross central in the preaching of St Paul?”
  • “Why does Peter say Christ bore our sins in His body on the cross?”
  • “Is the death of Jesus only an example, or is it the saving sacrifice for sin?”

13. They reject the historic Christian doctrine of the Trinity

• Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the Trinity.
• They say the Trinity is pagan or unbiblical.
• But the Trinity is the Christian way of protecting all the biblical truth together.
• The Bible teaches there is one God.
• The Father is God.
• The Son is God.
• The Holy Spirit is God.
• The Father is not the Son.
• The Son is not the Holy Spirit.
• The Holy Spirit is not the Father.
• This is not belief in three gods.
• It is belief in one God in three Persons.
• The Trinity was not invented to complicate faith.
• It was confessed because the Church had to be faithful to Scripture.
• At Christ’s baptism, the Father speaks, the Son is baptised, and the Spirit descends.
• In the Great Commission, baptism is in the one name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• Notice Jesus says “name,” not “names.”
• One divine name is shared by Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Bible support:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 28:19 NIV

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened… And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’”
Matthew 3:16–17 NIV

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
2 Corinthians 13:14 NIV

Apologetic answer:

• Ask:
  • “Why are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit named together in baptism?”
  • “Why does Jesus use one ‘name’ in Matthew 28:19?”
  • “How can the Son and Spirit be placed with the Father if they are mere creatures or forces?”

14. They misunderstand the meaning of “firstborn”

• Jehovah’s Witnesses often use the word “firstborn” to argue that Jesus was created first.
• But in the Bible, “firstborn” does not always mean “first created.”
• It often means supreme rank, honour, and inheritance.
• Israel is called God’s firstborn, but Israel was not the first nation ever created.
• David is called firstborn, but David was the youngest son of Jesse.
• So “firstborn” can mean highest in position.
• In Colossians 1, Jesus is called “firstborn over all creation.”
• The text then explains why.
• Because all things were created in Him, through Him, and for Him.
• So “firstborn” here means supreme over creation.
• It does not mean part of creation.
• Christ is not the first creature.
• Christ is the Lord over all creation.

Bible support:

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”
Colossians 1:15 NIV

“For in him all things were created.”
Colossians 1:16 NIV

“And I will appoint him to be my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth.”
Psalm 89:27 NIV

Apologetic answer:

• Ask:
  • “Was David literally the firstborn son of Jesse?”
  • “Why does Psalm 89 use firstborn to mean highest rank?”
  • “Does Colossians 1 say Jesus was created, or that all things were created through Him?”

15. They misunderstand Jesus saying “the Father is greater than I”

• Jehovah’s Witnesses use John 14:28 to argue that Jesus is not God.
• Jesus said, “The Father is greater than I.”
• Christians do not ignore this verse.
• We understand it through the Incarnation.
• The eternal Son became man.
• As man, Jesus humbled Himself.
• He took the form of a servant.
• He obeyed the Father.
• He suffered and died.
• This does not mean He is not divine by nature.
• It means He humbled Himself in His mission of salvation.
• Philippians 2 explains this clearly.
• Jesus was in very nature God.
• Yet He humbled Himself and became obedient to death.
• His humility does not deny His divinity.
• It reveals His love.

Bible support:

“The Father is greater than I.”
John 14:28 NIV

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage.”
Philippians 2:6 NIV

“Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.”
Philippians 2:7 NIV

Apologetic answer:

• Ask:
  • “Does humility mean Jesus is not divine?”
  • “Why does Philippians 2 say Jesus was in very nature God?”
  • “Can the Son be equal in divine nature and still humble Himself in His saving mission?”

16. They weaken the Christian hope of heaven and resurrection

• Jehovah’s Witnesses teach a strong division between the 144,000 and the great crowd.
• They teach that only a limited group has a heavenly calling.
• Historic Christianity teaches that all believers are united in Christ.
• The final hope is resurrection life, new creation, and being with the Lord.
• The Bible does speak of 144,000 in Revelation.
• But Revelation is full of symbolic numbers and images.
• The number 144,000 represents the sealed people of God.
• It should not be used to divide Christians into spiritual classes.
• In Christ, all believers are children of God.
• All share one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
• The Church is one body.
• There are different gifts, but not two different salvations.
• The Christian hope is to be with Christ forever.

Bible support:

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called.”
Ephesians 4:4 NIV

“And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
1 Thessalonians 4:17 NIV

“They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.”
Revelation 22:4 NIV

Apologetic answer:

• Ask:
  • “Does the New Testament teach two classes of Christians?”
  • “Why does Paul say there is one hope?”
  • “Is the Church divided into two salvations, or united in Christ?”

17. They reject the fullness of the Church’s historic faith

• Jehovah’s Witnesses are a modern movement.
• Their main organisation developed in the nineteenth century.
• But Christianity began with Christ and the apostles.
• The faith was preached, baptised, celebrated in the Eucharist, and preserved in the Church from the beginning.
• The early Christians worshipped Jesus.
• They baptised in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• They confessed Christ as Lord.
• They received the Eucharist as central worship.
• They suffered martyrdom for Christ.
• The Orthodox Church sees the faith as apostolic, not newly invented.
• True doctrine must connect with the faith once delivered to the saints.
• A modern group cannot erase centuries of Christian witness and claim that the Church disappeared.
• Christ promised that the gates of Hades would not overcome His Church.

Bible support:

“I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
Matthew 16:18 NIV

“Contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.”
Jude 1:3 NIV

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
Acts 2:42 NIV

Apologetic answer:

• Ask:
  • “Did Christ’s Church disappear for 1800 years?”
  • “Did Jesus fail to preserve His Church?”
  • “Where is the apostolic continuity in Jehovah’s Witness teaching?”

18. They reduce the person of Christ, and this changes the Gospel

• The central issue is Jesus.
• If Jesus is only a created being, the Gospel changes.
• If Jesus is Michael the Archangel, the Incarnation changes.
• If Jesus did not rise bodily, the resurrection changes.
• If Jesus is not truly God, worship changes.
• If Jesus is not truly God and truly man, salvation changes.
• Christianity stands on the confession that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who became man for our salvation.
• Only God can save completely.
• Only a real man can represent humanity.
• In Christ, God and man are united.
• This is why the Church confesses Jesus as fully God and fully man.
• Jehovah’s Witness doctrine gives people a smaller Christ.
• The apostolic faith gives us the true Christ:
  • eternal Son,
  • incarnate Lord,
  • crucified Saviour,
  • risen bodily,
  • worshipped by the Church,
  • coming Judge and King.

Bible support:

“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.”
Colossians 2:9 NIV

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”
John 1:14 NIV

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8 NIV

Apologetic answer:

• Ask:
  • “Does your doctrine give Jesus the same honour the New Testament gives Him?”
  • “Is your Jesus the Creator or a creature?”
  • “Is your Jesus worshipped as Lord and God like Thomas confessed?”

Final Summary

• Jehovah’s Witnesses teach a different view of Jesus from historic Christianity.
• They identify Jesus with Michael the Archangel, but the Bible presents Jesus as above all angels.
• They deny the full divinity of Christ, but Scripture calls Jesus God.
• They deny the Trinity, but Scripture reveals Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together in the one divine name.
• They treat the Holy Spirit as a force, but Scripture shows the Spirit speaking, guiding, and being grieved.
• They deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus, but Jesus said He had flesh and bones.
• They connect salvation strongly to their organisation, but the Bible places salvation in Christ alone.
• They use a translation that supports their doctrine, rather than allowing doctrine to be corrected by Scripture.
• They have a modern origin, but the Christian faith is apostolic and historic.
• The deepest problem is not only one doctrine.
• The deepest problem is the identity of Jesus.
• Biblical Christianity worships Jesus as Lord, God, Creator, Saviour, and risen King.

“Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”
John 20:28 NIV