3.Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus and the archangel Michael are the same person.
JW believe that Jesus had three periods of existence:
1.In his pre-human existence he was called “God’s only begotten Son because Jehovah created him directly. As the “first-born of all creation, Jesus was used by God to create all other things. Jesus also had the personal name of Michael the archangel at this time.
2.The second stage of Jesus’ life was here on earth. He willingly submitted as God transferred his life from heaven to the womb of a Jewish virgin named Mary.
3.He became the Messiah at his baptism, was executed on a torture stake, and rose again spiritually, but not physically.
Christian Response: There is absolutely no biblical basis for identifying Jesus with Michael the archangel. Also, the bible teaches that Jesus was the Messiah at birth, and coequal with the Father from all eternity:
Philippians 2:5-7 ~ Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men.
1 Colossians 1:15 ~ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. The Greek word used here for first born is Prototokos, which means First in Rank, Supreme.
Hebrews 1:4 ~ become so much better than the angels.
So we see that Jesus did not regard His equality with God as something to be “grasped.” This word means to be utilized or asserted. Instead of asserting His equality with the Father, Jesus “emptied Himself” which means he laid aside His privileges as God and took on the form of a man.
4.Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the Holy Spirit is a “force” and not a real Person.
JW does not believe in the Trinity, much less the Holy Spirit as part of the God-head. The personality and deity of the Holy Spirit is denied.
John 14:16-17 ~ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
The Holy Spirit dwells inside of us, not just an
1 Peter 5:5-7 “If we refuse to humble ourselves and receive His grace, then there is no relationship. As we come to the Lord and tell Him how we are falling short in those areas then He will meet us in that need with His grace. God is not demanding that we change ourselves. Instead He asks us to come to Him in honesty and faith, and cast all our cares on Him.”
God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; I believe God is the creator, ruler, and redeemer. (Genesis 1:1 , Revelation 4:11) Jesus Christ is the Son of God.( John 1:14) Jesus became a man and was conceived by the Holy Spirit, lived a sinless life, and willingly gave himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all
John also reveals Christ’s identity, “In the beginning the Word (logos) already existed. He was with God, and he was God…He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn’t make. Life itself was in him and this life gives light to everyone.” (John 1:1, 3-4)
To Christians he is known as Jesus, and was sent to earth by God (John 3: 1-2). Like a mortal he
Jesus Christ is the central figure of Christianity, the only way of salvation and the second person of the Trinity. (Funk & Wagnalls, 2015) The Gospels Matthew and Luke introduce the birth and childhood of God’s one and only Son, Jesus. His story began when the Angel Gabriel visited His virgin mother, announcing that she would give birth to a son, and that she was to call Him Jesus, for He would be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:30-35) The incarnation of the Messiah, was the Word
Hebrews 1:2-3 says, “But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (NIV). In an article in The Christian Crier, author Jack Wellman gives a great description of Jesus.
Jesus is known by many titles, perhaps most importantly the Savior of the world. Jesus Christ was sent to this earth to pay the price for all of humanities’ sins. According to Merrick, (2015). Scriptures primarily focus on His ministry as an adult however, there is an account of Jesus reading scriptures in the synagogue. Jesus was also known as the Messiah, or anointed one. This title gives further explanation to His divinity and supreme rule. Jesus was also known to be both man and God. This truth is significant because as (Merrick, 2015a) states “one beholds what all human life should look like.” (Section The Image of the Invisible God, para. 1). Bowen, (2014) gave a great explanation of Jesus when he said “This Jesus holds together the atoms in our bodies, keeps the laws of physics constant. Those individuals who believe the earth’s existence and beginning is a scientific occurrence can learn a bit more about the role Jesus played in the
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus lived a humble life, spreading the word of the Lord, and died by crucifixion for the sins of all of humanity. “Jesus is referred to as Savior.
According to dictionary.com (n.d.), Jehovah witnesses are a part of a Christian Sect. Henslin (2012) states that a sect is like a cult, but larger than the cult. Dictionary.com (n.d) states that Jehovah Witnesses were founded in the late nineteenth century,
a: after Jesus died, he rose from the dead and ¨lived¨ for another 40 year teaching his discipline on esrth and after that he went to heaven
Jesus was declared to be the Mighty God and Everlasting Father long before he was ever conceived in the womb of Mary. The Everlasting Father became the child and son born in the manger. Therefore Jesus truly is Immanuel, God with us. Jesus is Almighty God become a man.
often referred to as the Son of God.) I feel that these are the two
Jesus, the son of god, died on the cross and three days later he rose
It is important to note the defined goals of the Trinity. One being that God sent His Son, Jesus did not send God. Jesus tells us in John 6, that He came to do the will of His Father. Jesus was not doing His own selfish will but everything He did was for His Father. Jesus and God sent the Holy Spirit according to Jesus’ words in John 14:26, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you”. It is necessary to recognize the distinctions of the roles of the Trinity as if the roles were not distinctive there would be no Trinity.
However, the concept incarnation is at work in the New Testament. The Greek equivalent of incarnate is found in scripture. The Greek equivalent of incarnate is in carne (en sarki) meaning that God came in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16; 1 John 4:2; 2 John 7). Jesus took on the form of man so that he might bridge the gap between human creation and His father. God sent Jesus as a child to a lost and dying world. Jesus came to us as human. He did not lay down his divinity and pick up humanity. He came to us as both divine and human. Through this act God was revealed in a personal way to humankind, and therefore in a way which is more adequate for a personal God to interact with his creation. God now was an advocate to his people. He no longer had to communicate his words through prophets, lawgivers, or even wise men. It allowed God to be united with humanity, so that he might be able to bear their sins, and make atonement for them in one act of sacrifice and reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19 – 21). What humanity itself could not do was done in human beings by the Son of God (Romans 5:8) .