{"id":794,"date":"2011-01-30T21:51:06","date_gmt":"2011-01-30T20:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christian-gospel.info\/"},"modified":"2011-01-30T21:51:06","modified_gmt":"2011-01-30T20:51:06","slug":"are-you-a-jehovahs-witness","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/?page_id=794","title":{"rendered":"Are you a JEHOVAH’S WITNESS?"},"content":{"rendered":"

That many, if not all, of the Jehovah’s Witnesses are earnest in what they believe\u00a0to be\u00a0the service of God is undoubtedly true.\u00a0 It is also true, however, that many Jews were in a similar position to this in New Testament times, yet they persecuted the early preachers of the gospel.\u00a0 This shows that they were misguided, for they had “a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge”, <\/span>Romans 10:2. It is possible to be like this today, and be led astray into error.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Make no mistake, no group that denies the full and underived Deity of Jesus Christ is in line with the Word of God, but is at variance with it.\u00a0 <\/strong>If you think this to be an outrageous statement, then I would urge you to read the following article.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is based on the words of The Gospel of John, Chapter 1, and Verse 3.\u00a0 Up until fairly recent times, the Jehovah’s Witnesses used the Authorised Version of the Scriptures, otherwise known as the King James Version,\u00a0but then produced their own version.\u00a0 Even by reading the verse in that modern version, however, it is possible to learn of the Deity of Christ.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Please read on, laying aside prejudice and bias.\u00a0 May the Spirit of God enlighten you as you read.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The opinions of men are often astray, especially on matters to do with God, whereas the Word of God is sure and steadfast. “But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.\u00a0 And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you”, <\/span>1 Peter 1:25.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bible is like no other book, for it carries within itself the proofs of its own genuineness as the Word of God.\u00a0 Those who read it with a sincere desire to know the truth will find that its integrity impresses itself upon them.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In it God makes predictions, which always come to pass.\u00a0 Only God can foretell the future accurately.\u00a0 Many of His predictions relate to the coming of the Lord Jesus, His Only begotten Son.\u00a0 The nation, tribe and family into which He would be born; the place and unique manner of His birth; the holy and gracious character of His life; that He would be despised and rejected of men, these were all foretold centuries beforehand.\u00a0 Furthermore, the prophets spoke of His betrayal, trial, and death by crucifixion, and also gave the reason for His death, for “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities”, <\/span>Isaiah 53:5.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

They went further, and prophesied of His resurrection and ascension as well.\u00a0 None of these things could have happened by chance; but happen they did, and their precise fulfilment is convincing proof that the Bible is the Word of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The second good reason for believing the Bible to be the Word of God is the effect it has on those who read it honestly and without bias.\u00a0 The scriptures tell us frankly about our sin, and that “God\u2026now commandeth all men every where to repent: because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead,” <\/span>Acts 17:30,31.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the Bible brings such truths to our attention, those who earnestly desire to be in a right relationship with God will find that they come under deep conviction of sin, as the Holy Spirit applies the truth to their hearts.\u00a0 No other book can produce such an effect.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A third good reason is the change the Word of God produces in the lives of those who believe it.\u00a0 Instead of a life dominated by sin and ending in the Lake of Fire, there is a life governed by God and ending in His presence in heaven.\u00a0 Such a change cannot be\u00a0produced by any book of man’s authorship.<\/strong><\/p>\n

With these thoughts in mind, we confidently turn to the Word of God, and concentrate our attention on John 1:3, which reads:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0“All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made”, <\/span>John 1:3.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We need to notice certain things about the words in this verse in order to understand the truth it contains.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

First, the phrase, “all things”, being the neuter plural without the article, means “all things severally”.\u00a0 In other words, the totality of all things, but considered one by one.\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n

Second, the expression “were made”.\u00a0 The verb used here is the one which means “to come into being”.\u00a0 We are being told about the origin of things, not about them being fashioned after having come into existence.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Third, “by” Him.\u00a0 This preposition signifies “by means of”.\u00a0 This same preposition, (translated as “through”), is used in connection with God in Romans 11:36, where we are told: “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever.\u00a0 Amen.”\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Fourth, “Him”.\u00a0 This refers to the person spoken of as “The Word” in verse 1 of John chapter 1, and as Jesus Christ later on, in verse 17.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fifth, the expression “without Him” means “apart from Him”, “without the intervention or participation of” Him.\u00a0
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>Sixth, the words “not any thing”, single out any one thing, and indicate that not even one thing came into being in any other way.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

We are now in a position to think of the immensity of this statement.\u00a0 John is saying that the Person we now know as Jesus Christ is the one through whom all things that have come into being, have derived their existence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now the use of this phrase “through Him” about God in Romans 11:36 shows us that it cannot mean simply a case of one acting for another, for we immediately ask “Who was God acting for when He produced all things?”\u00a0 Clearly no-one.\u00a0 And so it must be here.\u00a0 The Word is not simply the agent through whom a work is done, but He is the one who initiates and carries out the work of bringing all things into being.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is no way denies the Father and the Holy Spirit their due honour, but it does ensure that the honour due to Jesus Christ is maintained.\u00a0 God the Father will see to it that all men honour the Son even as they honour Himself, John 5:23, so it is important for us to be in line with the thoughts of God on this matter. Think of the implications of the words of John 1:3.\u00a0 If <\/strong>all things that have come into being, (in accordance with the first half of the verse), with no exception, (in accordance with the second half of the verse), have come into being through the person now known as Jesus Christ, then He must be totally separate from all things that have come into being.\u00a0
\n<\/strong>THIS MEANS HE DID NOT COME INTO BEING.\u00a0 <\/strong>Unless, that is, He brought Himself into being, which is impossible.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

When we read the words of John 1:3, then, we are left with the inevitable conclusion that since the one by whom all things came into being cannot Himself be a created being, then He must be the Creator.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This explains why the word used for God in Genesis 1:1 is a plural word, yet is coupled to a singular verb! For the Triune God acted as one in the creation of all things, so that each member of the Godhead may be credited with the action.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0
\n<\/strong>The persons of the Godhead cannot act independently of one another, or else there would not be one Jehovah as Scripture states there is, in the words “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord”, <\/span>Deuteronomy 6:4.\u00a0 This the Lord Jesus reaffirmed in Mark 12:29.\u00a0 The Jews forgot to take account of the fact that the word for “one” in that quotation is a compound unity, allowing for distinctions of Persons, but not division of Persons.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now the principal consequences of these things are as follows:
\nFirst, that Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the carpenter, is also the Creator.\u00a0 He who made ploughs in His workshop also made the constellation of The Plough.\u00a0 Scripture says “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible”, <\/span>Colossians 1:16.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Second, that since He claimed equality with God the Father when He was down here as a man, He cannot have lost anything of His Godhood by becoming man.\u00a0 As the apostle Paul wrote, “For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”, <\/span>Colossians 2:9.\u00a0 And because those words were written after He had ascended back to heaven, and the verb is in the present tense, we can also say that He has not lost anything by suffering the death of the Cross, for He is raised from the dead bodily, in accordance with the verse from Colossians just quoted which refers to His body now.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Third, that as one who is Himself God, He is the answer to the longing of the patriarch Job when he said despairingly, “For He is not a man, as I am, that I should answer Him, and we should come together in judgement.\u00a0 Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both”, <\/span>Job 9:32,33.\u00a0 Jesus Christ, God and man in one Person, is the perfect answer to Job’s need, being the one mediator between God and men, 1 Timothy 2:5.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course there will always be a mystery about His Person, as the apostle readily admits in the words “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh”, <\/span>1 Timothy 3:16.\u00a0 And as the Lord Jesus Himself said, “All things are delivered unto Me of My Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him”, <\/span>Matthew 11:27.\u00a0 There is a mystery about the Son that there is not about the Father.\u00a0 The Father is revealed by the Son, but the Son is not revealed in the mystery of His Person by the Father.\u00a0 The Father can be revealed because He is God and nothing else.\u00a0 The Son, however, is God and man, and is therefore beyond the bounds of knowledge by finite minds.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is why natural reasoning destroys itself, whereas those who are prepared to believe even though they do not understand, are blessed.\u00a0 The mind that rests on the Scriptures, and accepts them in their entirety, is not confused by this mystery.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fourth, that since He is God, the Lord Jesus knew perfectly the requirements of God with regard to sins,\u00a0and dealt with them accordingly in His sacrifice.\u00a0
\n“Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high”, <\/span>Hebrews 1:3.\u00a0 It would be impossible for Him to sit down on the right hand of God if His work at Calvary had been in any way deficient.\u00a0 He purged sins in full accord with the majesty of God.\u00a0 His death for sins can be relied upon, therefore, and full forgiveness of sins is freely available through Him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fifth, that since He is God, He can be entrusted with every blessing His death and resurrection has secured.\u00a0 So it is that He has been given by God the Father the task of bestowing eternal life on all who are prepared to acknowledge Him for who He is.\u00a0 He said this, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life”, <\/span>John 5:24.\u00a0 The word that must be heard is the word or topic He was speaking on at that time, namely the subject of His equality with God the Father.\u00a0 We see then how vital this truth is, for those who hear and believe His testimony about Himself, are by that same act believing the testimony of the Father about Him.\u00a0 Those who do this are promised the present possession of eternal life, and all that involves.\u00a0 They are also promised the transition, again as a present reality, out of a state of death in trespasses and sins, into a state of life before God.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is blessing indeed!\u00a0 Yet it can be known by all who will bow the knee to Jesus Christ as Son of God, turn away from self and sin in true repentance, and plead the sacrificial work He did at Calvary for their sins, believing in Him to the saving of the soul.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is important to understand that rejection of this truth has its consequences also.\u00a0 The Lord Jesus made clear, “if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins,” <\/span>John 8:24. Tremendous issues are involved, therefore, in the matter of who Christ is.\u00a0 It is nothing less than a matter of heaven or hell.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

May God give you help to see the truth and act upon it.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you need further help and guidance, please do not hesitate to\u00a0leave a message in the box below.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That many, if not all, of the Jehovah’s Witnesses are earnest in what they believe\u00a0to be\u00a0the service of God is undoubtedly true.\u00a0 It is also true, however, that many Jews were in a similar position to this in New Testament times, yet they persecuted the early preachers of the gospel.\u00a0 This shows that they were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"iawp_total_views":4,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-794","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/794\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}