Re: Is Jesus the Creator God?
John 1:1-3 and the deity of Christ
Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus Christ is not the Creator God but a lesser created angel (Michael2) who was termed “a god” by John in the New World Translation (the Jehovah’s Witnesses translation of the Bible). The NWT says:
According to the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ theology, Jesus is a being that came into existence. But even their own translation says that apart from Jesus not even one thing came into existence. So then, did Jesus create himself? Of course that is a ridiculous proposition, but you see how Watchtower theology contradicts the Bible, even their New World Translation.
Another contradiction surfaces in such a theology: Jehovah’s Witnesses are firm that there is only one God.3 But they also admit that there is at least one other god, though not as powerful as Jehovah. Jehovah’s Witness literature states:
So even though Jehovah’s Witnesses say they believe in one God, they really can’t be called monotheists. If Jesus is not God himself, then there is a plurality of gods, assuming Jesus is to be considered “a god.”
Now let’s compare the New World Translation of John 1:1–3 to other translations:
These translations show that the Word was God, not “a god.” Why such blatantly different translations and, accordingly, different theologies? One starts with the Bible; the other starts from a false theology and takes that view to the Bible.
The original passage was written in Koine Greek. Following is the Westcott and Hort Greek text (1881) for John 1:1-2:
2 ουτος ην εν αρχη προς τον θεον5
Elzevir’s Textus Receptus (1624) is identical:
2 ουτος ην εν αρχη προς τον θεον6
Even non-Greek scholars can use lexicons and other tools to show without much difficulty that an exact English translation is:
2. He was in beginning with God
The Latin Vulgate of Jerome in the 5th Century correctly translates John 1:1–2 into Latin:
2 hoc erat in principio apud Deum7
1 in (in) principio (beginning) erat (was) Verbum (Word) et (And) Verbum (Word) erat (was) apud (with) Deum (God) et (and) Deus (God) erat (was) Verbum (Word)
2 hoc (He) erat (was) in (in) principio (Beginning) apud (with) Deum (God)
If God was the Word, as John 1:1 is literally translated, then it is no problem for the Word to have created all things. As God, He created. How could the Word be with God and God be the Word at the same time? The doctrine of the Trinity (One God, three Persons) is the solution here. The Word was with God (the Father) and God (the Son) was the Word. This understanding, consistent with the rest of Scripture, eliminates any contradiction of multiple gods. There is only one God, revealed in a plurality of Persons. The Jehovah’s Witnesses do not have a solution to that alleged contradiction.
The primary reason Jehovah’s Witnesses do not want John 1:1 translated accurately is due to influences outside the Bible. As the theological descendents of their founder Charles Russell, they arrive at the Bible with the preconceived notion that Jesus the Christ is not God. Therefore, when a passage that clearly contradicts their theology comes up, there are two options: change their belief to coincide with what the Bible teaches or change God’s Word to fit with their current theology. Sadly, they have opted to exalt their theology above Jehovah’s Word. So, who is really the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ final authority? It is no longer a perfect God and His Word but fallible, sinful men and their ideas about God.