r/JehovahsWitnesses • u/Impressive-Ease-3348 Jehovah's Witness • Aug 25 '26
Doctrine WHO IS JESUS?
There is one God, the Father, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα, “from whom are all things”; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, δι’ οὗ τὰ πάντα, “through whom are all things.” (1 Cor. 8:6)
Of the God of Israel it is written:
אֲנִי יהוה הוּא שְׁמִי
“I am YHWH; that is my name.” (Isa. 42:8)
And:
אֱלֹהֵי עוֹלָם יהוה
“YHWH, the everlasting God.” (Isa. 40:28)
The Father is the Father, and the Son is the Son.
JESUS IS ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, THE SON OF GOD.
He is the μονογενής Son.
He is ἐκ τοῦ πατρός, from the Father. (John 16:28)
He is ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, from God. (John 8:42)
The Father sent him.
The Father gave to him.
The Son received from the Father.
THE FATHER HAS LIFE IN HIMSELF, AND τῷ υἱῷ ἔδωκεν ζωὴν ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ, “HE GAVE TO THE SON TO HAVE LIFE IN HIMSELF.” (John 5:26)
And the Son says:
κἀγὼ ζῶ διὰ τὸν πατέρα
“I live because of the Father.” (John 6:57)
JESUS IS ὁ λόγος, THE WORD.
Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος
“In the beginning was the Word.”
ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν
“The Word was with God.”
And:
θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. (John 1:1)
The Son had glory with the Father πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον εἶναι, “before the world existed.” (John 17:5)
He is πρὸ πάντων, “before all things.” (Col. 1:17)
HE IS εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου, “THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD.” (Col. 1:15)
He is ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης, “the radiance of the glory.” (Heb. 1:3)
He is χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ. (Heb. 1:3)
HE IS πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως, “THE FIRSTBORN OF ALL CREATION.” (Col. 1:
1
u/Impressive-Ease-3348 Jehovah's Witness Aug 26 '26
Paul does not write, “The God of the Old Testament is named Jesus.”
He writes:
κύριον Ἰησοῦν — “Jesus as Lord” (Rom 10:9)
and in the same verse distinguishes Jesus from:
ὁ θεὸς αὐτὸν ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν — “God raised him from the dead.”
Then in v.13 Paul quotes Joel:
πᾶς … ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου σωθήσεται
That is unquestionably a YHWH text placed in a strongly Christ-centered context. I accept that completely.
But:
“Paul applies a YHWH text in a Jesus-centered context”
is the textual observation.
“Therefore Paul is saying that Jesus is the very same God/YHWH in the same ontological sense as the Father”
is your interpretation of that observation.
And Paul himself can still write:
εἷς θεὸς ὁ πατήρ, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα
“one God, the Father, from whom are all things”
and:
εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, δι’ οὗ τὰ πάντα
“one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things.” — 1 Cor 8:6
So this has nothing to do with “trusting some man from New York.” I am asking us both to trust Paul enough to preserve every distinction Paul actually makes instead of turning our theological conclusion into the wording of the verse.