Jehovah’s
Witnesses and the Trinity
A
comparison of the historical Christian
The doctrine of the Holy Trinity has been consistently misunderstood, probably
more than any other teaching of the Bible. Frequently investigation into
the doctrine of the Trinity has been dismissed from serious discussion or study
by invoking the time-worn assertions –“It’s a great mystery” or “This
is incomprehensible”- thus discouraging many from investigating the scriptural
basis of the doctrine.
Due principally to this attitude as well as certain complex aspects of the
Trinity doctrine itself, there has been a revival of anti-Trinitarian heresies
during the past one hundred and fifty years, and they have gone largely
unanswered. Prominent among those groups rejecting the historic doctrine
of the Trinity are Mormonism, Christian Science, Unity, Spiritism, Herbert W.
Armstrong and his Worldwide Radio Church of God and Jehovah’s Witnesses--i.e.,
The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.
According to Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Trinity is a Satanic dogma of apostate
Christianity that prevents people from knowing the true God, Jehovah. The
Watch-Tower puts it this way:
The doctrine in brief is that there are three gods in one: God the Father,
God the son and God the Holy Ghost . . . the Holy Spirit is not a person and is
therefore not one of the gods of the Trinity . . . the Trinity doctrine was not
conceived by Jesus or the early Christians . . . the obvious conclusion
therefore is that Satin is the originator of the Trinity doctrine.[i]
Since the Watch Tower denies that the Trinity doctrine is Biblical; and since
they complicate the issue by defining it incorrectly--the task of true
Christians is two-fold: First, a definition in accord with historic
Christianity must be given. Secondly, it must be shown that the doctrine
of the Trinity is both Biblical and essential to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
THE HOLY TRINITY
Definition: Within the unity of the One God there are three Persons, the
Father; the Son and the Holy Spirit; and these three share the same Nature and
attributes. In effect, then, the three Persons ARE the one God.
From this concise statement, similarly set forth in many theological texts,[ii]
it is clear that the Christian Church does not believe that “there are three
gods in One.” Quite to the contrary, we affirm that there is but one
God, as Scripture repeatedly asserts (Deut. 6:4, Isa. 43:10, 1 Tim. 2:5).
Having defined the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, it becomes necessary,
secondly, to demonstrate inductively from the Bible that it is true.
Just how it is possible for three to be One and for that One to be three, will
also be explained. But first, the evidence:
However, we would point out that the word “person” is, by definition,
descriptive of “ego” or “I.” Without “ego,” which
distinguishes man from the beasts, personality as such would cease to exist.
Any reputable lexicon or Greek dictionary will substantiate the fact that the
Greek work, “ego,” is the basis for our English term, “I.” Jehovah
designates His Being as The Great I AM (Ex. 3:14): So the Deity is
Personal and possesses Ego, the hallmark of Personality.
We see, then that one of the three “Persons”--the Father-- is designated
“God.”
A careful study of the first chapter of Revelation (vss. 11-18) will show that
Jesus Christ, the son of Man, identifies Himself as “the first and the last”
and “the one who became dead” and who now lives for all eternity.
It is of no small significance that in verse 13 of the last chapter of
Revelation He confirms this title with great emphasis, identifying Himself in
verse 16 as “I Jesus,” and declaring that He is “the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” The context reveals
that it is Jesus speaking (vs. 12), for He - not the Father - is coming
“quickly” (Rev. 1:7, I Thess. 4:15, 16).
It must never be forgotten that these titles (“the first and the last,”
“the Alpha and the Omega,” “the beginning and the end”) belong only to
Jehovah God (Isa. 44: 6,8: Rev. 1:8, 21:6). But Jesus Christ claims them
as His own, because He, the Son is also Jehovah!
We see, then, that there are either two firsts and two lasts (a hopeless
contradiction of terms), or the Son is Jehovah, the one who was pierced for our
sins (Zech. 12;10; Rev. 1:7, 11, 13) and who is truly “the fullness of Jehovah
in flesh” (Col 2.9).
The angel who showed John the wonder of Revelation forbade the Apostle to
worship him, for he was but a created being, a “fellowservant.” Quite
properly, he declared, “worship Jehovah,” (Rev. 22.9). Yet Jesus
Christ, whom Jehovah’s Witnesses say is also a created being (i.e., Michael
the Archangel), commended the worship of Himself as Jehovah (John 20:28, 28).
This would have been a blasphemous act of presumption on His part and a direct
violation of His Father’s commandments (Ex 20:3, Deut. 6:17), unless He were
in some mysterious sense one in Nature and Being with His Father. In such
a case He would in truth be “equal with God” and entitled to receive worship
as Jehovah (John 5:18,23).
Jehovah’s Witnesses have always taught that Jesus Christ was no more than a
perfect man, “Certainly not the supreme God Almighty in the flesh.”[iii]
They state categorically that He was in no sense both God and man. “Some
insist that Jesus while on earth was both God and man. This theory is
wrong,”[iv]
Jehovah’s Witnesses also maintain that our Lord was “the first and direct
creation of Jehovah God,” and that prior to His earthly life He was an angel.[v]
In contrast to this teaching, Scripture and the Christian Christ declare the
full Deity of Jesus Christ, and His equality with God the Father.
In the first verse of John’s Gospel, Christ is revealed as the eternal Word of
God who became flesh (verse 14)--the “image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Consider the emphasis. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
Note that John 1:1 states that the Word already was in the beginning--it does
not say the Word “became” or “was created” by God, as Jehovah’s
Witnesses teach. The Witnesses incorrectly translate this text to read
“the Word was a god.”[vi]
but their translation is by both context and grammar an impossibility according
to all recognized authorities on Greek. No recognized translation bears
out their error.
Moreover, the Scriptures proclaim that Christ made “himself equal with God”
(John 5:18), and that “in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Deity bodily”
(Colossians 2:9). The Bible further states that Christ claimed to be the
great I AM (Jehovah) of the Old Testament (cf. Exodus 3:13-16 with John 8:58),
and the Jews understood Him so clearly during His ministry that they sought to
stone Him to death for blasphemy (John 8:59; cf. 10:28-33).
Jehovah’s Witnesses pervert these texts and many others in their determined
effort to demote our Lord from His position of God and Creator (Colossians 1;
Hebrews 1); and they compound their error by translating the Greek of the New
Testament, in many places, contrary to all grammatical authorities. It is
certainly true that during His earthly life our Lord voluntarily limited Himself
as a man (Philippians 2:6-8), and thus he never strove to usurp the prerogatives
of Deity; But one does not have to “rob” what is His by inheritance (Hebrews
1). He was true Deity--”the great God” (Titus 2:13).
We must not forget that Christ humbled Himself, even to the death of the cross,
and therefore, as a man, could say, “My Father is greater than I” (John
14:28). However, let us remember that Christ never said, “My Father is
better than I.” “Better” is a term of comparison between natures
(Heb. 1:4), while “greater,” as in the context of John 14, is a term of
comparison relative to positions.
The President of the United States, for instance, is greater in position than
any of his fellow-Americans by virtue of his office, but he would be the first
to insist that he is not better than other human beings. So Christ was
admittedly inferior to His Father positionally while on earth as a man, but the
Scriptures clearly and unmistakably state that he was at all times His
Father’s equal on the spiritual plane of Divine Being or Nature (Heb. 1:3;
John 5:18). Note also that in I Corinthians 15:28 it is function that is
dealt with--not Deity.
Jehovah’s Witnesses always point to Christ’s humanity in the Bible; they
carefully omit mention of His claim to full Deity, and they thus “wrest . . .
the . . . scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16). The
second Person, the Son, is also called God, then, despite the efforts of the
Watch Tower to prove the contrary.
3. THE
HOLY SPIRIT IS JEHOVAH
It is peculiar, to say the least, that Jehovah’s Witnesses can agree with the
Apostle Peter when he declared that the Father is Jehovah--and then contradict
his affirmation that the Holy Spirit is likewise Jehovah, as recorded in Acts
5:3 and 4.
No Christian theologian has ever denied either the person or Deity of the Holy
Spirit, for the evidence to substantiate both is abundant in Scripture.
For instance, a thorough study of the book of Acts, chapter thirteen, reveals
that the Holy Spirit is a Person, because He possesses “ego.” Luke
records therein that the Holy Spirit as a Person has “ego” (13:2, 4) and,
furthermore, that He (not “it”) prophesies to His servants and commissions
them, as well (21:11). See also such verses as John 14:26, 15:26, acts
8:29, 13:2, Romans 5:5.
The Scriptures are clear that the Holy Spirit has a “will” (1 Cor. 12:11,
Heb. 2:4), and since “will” denotes “ego” or personality, as opposed to
the neuter (animals), obviously the Spirit is a person. We have also seen
from Peter’s words that when Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit, he lied to
Jehovah (Acts 5:4). Both the thirteenth chapter of Acts and Isaiah 48 add
to the proof that the Holy Spirit is God, since He answers the prayers of the
Apostles (Acts 13:1-4) and is designated Deity by the prophet Isaiah (48: 16).
Even the Watch Tower admits that God alone answers prayer.
The Bible, then, does indeed teach that the Spirit is a Person and that He is
called God. It is therefore apparent that there are three Persons
mentioned in Scripture and that they are all identified as God: yet there
is only one true God (Isa. 45:22).
“LORDS MANY
AND GODS MANY”
There are two other important points that must be mentioned.
Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that, because the Bible designates some beings and
idols as “gods,” it is proper for them to call Jesus “a god” and worship
him as the angels did (Heb. 1:6). This is an important point and must be
clarified.
Of course, it is true that God made Moses appear as a god in Pharaoh’s eyes
(Exodus 7:1). Moreover, Satan, certain of the judges of Israel, and pagan
idols are described as “gods” in the Bible (John 14:30, Psalm 82:6, 1 Cor.
8:4, 10:19, 2 Cor. 4:4). Nevertheless, they are not deity by nature, as
the Apostle Paul flatly states (Gal. 4:8). They are “gods” by angelic
or human acclamation, and God addresses them in that context. Worshipping
a thing can make it your god; but it is not God by nature--for by nature there
is only one God (1 Cor. 8:4-6, 1 Tim. 2:5).
When this cardinal distinction is made in Scripture, the Watch Tower’s
doctrine is refuted, and the problem of the usage of the term “gods” or “a
god” disappears.
COMPOSITE UNITY
AND THE TRIPLE POINT
The second important fact to be remembered is that of the meaning of the term
“one.”
“How is it possible,” say the Jehovah’s Witnesses, “for Jehovah to be
three and one both at the same time? It is illogical, unreasonable and
confusing; and God is not the author of confusion!”
To answer this all-too-common objection, it should be kept in mind that the word
“one” can denote composite as well as solitary unity. For instance, in
Genesis (chapter 2), Adam and Eve are called one flesh; and Numbers (chapter 13)
speaks of “one” when the context indicates that it was in reality a cluster
of grapes hanging from one stem. Here are bona fide instances of composite
unity.
The same Hebrew word, “echoed” (one) is used in both cases, however, even as
it is in Deuteronomy 6:4 where we are told that God is “One.” The
evident composite unity indicated here is confirmed in the New Testament.
Our Lord spoke of composite unity where marriage is concerned (Mk. 10:8); so He,
too, was aware of this important distinction. See also Joshua 9:2; Judges
10:1, 2 Chron. 30:12, Isaiah 65:25; Nehemiah 7:66 and Ezra 6:20 for further
instances of composite unity.
Finally, let us illustrate--how it is both logically and rationally possible for
three to be one and one to be three simultaneously, since Jehovah’s Witnesses
do NOT believe this is possible.
It is a well-known fact of chemistry that plain water, when placed in a vacuum
under 230 millimeters of gas pressure and at a temperature of 0E Centigrade,
solidifies into ice at the bottom of the container, remains liquid in the center
and vaporizes at the top! At a given instant the same water is both solid,
liquid and gas, yet all three are manifestations of the same basic substance or
nature: H2O--hydrogen: two parts; oxygen: one.
If one of the simplest of all created substances can be three in manifested form
and yet remain one in nature, then the Creator of that substance can surely be
Father, Son and Holy Spirit--three Persons and one Nature--without any violation
of logic or reason whatever if He so wills.
God is not triplex (1 + 1 + 1)--He is triune (1 x 1 x 1), and He has revealed
Himself fully in the Person of our Lord, Jesus Christ (Col. 2:9, John 14:9).
Jehovah’s Witnesses are not confused by the doctrine of the Trinity they are
confused by the Watch Tower Society, from whose power only the Son of God can
liberate. It is our prayer that, in His own time, this will come to
pass--”For ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free . . . and
if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:32, 36).
Once the foregoing data have been understood, the following texts from the Old
and New Testament confirm the doctrine of the Trinity. A prayerful reading
of these passages will help strengthen your faith in this great and truly divine
revelation of the Nature of God. It will promote faith in Him “who is
able to save to the uttermost all who come to Him by faith,” since He alone is
“the Way,” (Heb. 7:25, John 14:6, Acts 16:31, 1 John 2:2, Romans 10:9-13).
Walter
Martin, Ph.D.
TRINITY TEXTS:
1. Old Testament Hints - Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7; Isaiah 6:8, 48:12;
Zechariah 12:9-10. 2. The Creation - Genesis 1:2; John 1:3. 3.
The Incarnation - Luke 1:35. 4. The Baptism of Christ -
Matthew 3:16-17. 5. The Resurrection of Christ - Acts 3:26, 1
Thessalonians 1:10 (the Father) John 2:19-21 (the Son) Romans 8:11, 1 Peter 3:18
(the Holy Spirit) Acts 17:31 (God). 6. The Great Commission -
Matthew 28:19. 7. The Divine Benediction - 2 Corinthians 13:14.
See also, John 14:16, 26; 15:26.
REFERENCES:
[i]. Let God Be
True (New York: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1948 edition; pp. 81, 82,
87). Reconciliation (by Judge Rutherford, New York: Watchtower, page
115).
[ii].
The Trinity (Baker’s Dictionary of Theology; Grand Rapids: page 531).
[iii].
Let God Be True (op. cit., p. 87).
[iv].
The Truth Shall Make You Free (New York: Watch Tower, p. 49) The Harp of
God (J. F. Rutherford; New York: Watch Tower, pp. 101, 123).
[v].
The Kingdom is At Hand (p. 46 - 49).
[vi]. . Let God Be True (op. cit., pp. 34-35).
JEHOVAH'S
WITNESSES
AND THE
"The King, Christ Jesus, was put to death in the flesh and was resurrected
an invisible spirit creature.[i]
Further developing their teaching, the Witnesses proclaim: "In His
resurrection He was no more human. He was raised as a spirit creature."[ii]
In addition to this, the Watchtower has even suggested that Christ's body was
"dissolved into gases" or "preserved somewhere as the grand
memorial of God's love."[iii]
In order to understand the true teaching of the resurrection, it is necessary to
review briefly the Biblical position, which is at considerable odds with the
Watchtower.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is quite literally the historical bedrock upon
which the Christian faith rests. The Apostle Paul indeed tells us that "if
Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also
vain" (1 Corinthians 15:14). He also declares, "If Christ be not
raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins" (verse 17).
From these two statements in the Word of God, we can see the resurrection of our
Lord determines the validity of our faith and even our salvation, for without
His resurrection our faith is "vain" and we are "yet in our
sins."
In this connection, it must also be remembered that every verse in the Bible
which deals with the resurrection of the dead, and of our Lord particularly,
refers exclusively to the human body; i.e., a bodily resuscitation; never a
spirit or spiritual resurrection. In fact, the word
"resurrection" is never applied to the soul or spirit of man.
This fact is born out in the original Hebrew and Greek. Beyond this, our
Lord specifically prophesied that His resurrection would be bodily; that is, in
a glorified form of the body He then possessed. When speaking to the
unbelieving Jews, as recorded in the second chapter of John's Gospel, Christ
stated:
"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (verse
19).
The Jews, however, thought he was referring to the temple in Jerusalem but the
Apostle John clearly declares our Lord's meaning:
"But he spake of the temple of his body" (verse 21).
The Greek work soma is translated "body" throughout the New Testament,
so it is an inescapable fact that Christ was referring to his own physical form
- hence a bodily resurrection.
Two classic New Testament references which corroborate our Lord's prophecy of
His bodily resurrection are in the 20th chapter of John and the 24th chapter of
Luke. In John 20 when our Lord appeared to the doubting Thomas, the same
body in which He died upon the cross is evidenced by His own words:
"Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand,
and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing” (verse 27).
In Luke 24, we again see how the words of Christ refute the spirit resurrection
idea of Jehovah's Witnesses.
"And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and
saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and
affrightened, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto
them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see;
for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had
thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet
believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he
took it, and did eat before them" (verses 36-43).
Not only, then, did our Lord have "flesh and bones," but He showed
them the same hands and feet which bore the wounds of Calvary (verses 39,40).
The fact that He also ate broiled fish and a honeycomb (verses 42 and 43) proves
that He was not a "spirit creature" as Jehovah's Witnesses contend.
Moreover our Lord's words, "it is I myself . . . a spirit hath not flesh
and bones, as ye see me have" (verse 39) was uttered according to verses 37
and 38 because the disciples thought He was a spirit. Jesus, however,
absolutely disproved that by offering His body as tangible evidence (verses
39,40).
Sometimes Jehovah's Witnesses attempt to explain away these appearances of
Christ by asserting that He had a "spiritual body" (1 Corinthians
15:44) or that He merely assumed different bodies to encourage His disciples
which the Witnesses say accounts for the fact that those who knew Him the best
in life did not recognize Him after His resurrection (John 20:11-16; Luke
24:15-30).
The Witnesses also argue that 1 Peter 3:18, which refers to Christ's
resurrection and states that He was "Made alive in spirit" (literal
Greek), establishes their theory, but they are in error.
While it is true that Paul speaks of "a spiritual body" he
nevertheless calls it a "body" (Greek "soma") and we have
already seen how Christ possessed "flesh and bones" (Luke 24:39).
A spiritual body then is not "a spirit" as the Witnesses make out, but
a glorified, immortal, physical form possessing certain spiritual
characteristics or attributes (i.e., the ability to pass through locked doors or
to vanish at will. John 20:19,26; Luke 24:31).
Again, Jehovah's Witnesses' idea that because Mary Magdalene and the disciples
could not recognize Christ on three occasions "proves" that He had
assumed "different bodies" other than the one in which He died upon
the cross, is disposed of by Luke 24:16. Luke there tells us that when the
disciples encountered Jesus their eyes were kept from recognizing Him as a
direct act of Christ's will. When He finished His conversation, He allowed
their sense of vision to perceive who He really was; thus "their eyes were
opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight" (verse 31).
Finally, 1 Peter 3:18, far from "proving" that Jesus was raised a
spirit as the Witnesses insist, only proves that He was raised in or by the
Spirit of God as the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:11. The main
objections, then, that Jehovah's Witnesses raise against the bodily resurrection
of our Lord are all thoroughly answered by the Scriptures themselves and
represent no real threat to the historic Christian doctrine of the resurrection.
The Bible, therefore, does have much to say about the resurrection of Christ as
we have seen, and nowhere supports the spirit-resurrection theory of Jehovah's
Witnesses. In fact, all of it contradicts their teaching.
To the sincere, zealous, yet misled members of Jehovah's Witnesses, the
Christian church must repeat the statement of our Lord Himself: "Why
are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my
hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a
spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Luke 24, 38-39).
The true teaching concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ does indeed
determine a person's eternal destiny (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17). For
"If you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God has raised him from among the dead, you will be saved"
(Romans 10:9, Literal Greek).
[i].Let
God Be True, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, p. 122, Edition 1946.
[ii].The
Kingdom is at Hand, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, p. 258.
[iii].Studies
in the Scripture, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, p. 129, Vol. 2.
This Jude 3 Missions edition is published by permission of Walter R. Martin in 1983. Jude 3 Missions, PO Box 780, Victorville, CA 92393-0780
For more information on
the writings of Walter Martin, contact www.waltermartin.org.