Jehovah's Witness
Out of context: Reply #33
- Started
- Last post
- 169 Responses
- discipler0
fusion, I believe in the Trinity because the Bible teaches the doctrine. It does so not by using the specific word "Trinity," but by teaching the three pillars that make up the doctrine. First, that there is only one true God, Jehovah, Creator of all things. Surely you agree with me there. Next, that there are three divine Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I realize you do not believe the Holy Spirit is a person, but you do agree that the Father and the Son are not the same person, correct? Finally, the third pillar, the point on which we are in direct disagreement, is the Bible’s teaching of the full equality of these divine persons. This would include the deity of Christ and the personality of the Holy Spirit. At this point, it's important that I remove a semantic barrier: when I say "God" I mean, as the Bible teaches, a plurality within the nature of God - 3 persons as 1 God. When JW's hear "God" they immediately think of the person of the Father exclusively.
The New Testament records Jesus Christ’s direct claims to deity. In John 8:58, He claims to be Yahweh, the same one who spoke to Moses at the burning bush. The Jews certainly understood this as a claim to deity because they immediately grabbed stones and tried to stone him for blasphemy. In Mark 14:61, Jesus claims to be the Messiah and expresses the prerogatives of deity.
He receives worship (Matt. 4:10; 28:17), which is an action reserved for God alone. He forgives sin (Mark 2:1-12), another prerogative of God alone. He performs miracles, claims to be equal with Yahweh (John 5:17-18), and is ultimately crucified for the charge of blasphemy. Jesus claimed to be none other than God — in human flesh.
1. Old Testament passages refering to Yahweh applied to Jesus (O.T. passages and then where they are applied to Jesus in the N.T.):
a. Character of Yahweh
(Exod. 3:14 and Isa 43:11 alluded to in John 8:68; Ps. 101:27-28 LXX 1MT 102:28-291 quoted in Heb. 1:11-12; Isa 44:6 alluded to in Rev. 1:17)b. Holiness of Yahweh
(Isa 8:12-13 [cf. 29:23] quoted in 1 Pet.3:14-15)c. Descriptions of Yahweh
(Ezek. 43:2 and Dan. 10:6-6 alluded to in Rev. 1:13-16)d. Worship of Yahweh
(Isa 45:23 alluded to in Phil. 2:10-11; Deut. 32:43 LXX and Ps. 96:7 LXX [MT 97:7] quoted in Heb. 1:6)e. Work of Yahweh in creation
(Ps. 101:26 LXX [MT 102:27] quoted in Heb. 1:10)f. Salvation of Yahweh
(Joel 2:32 [MT 3:5] quoted in Rom. 10:13; cf. Acts 2:21; Isa 40:3 quoted in Matt. 3:3)g. Trustworthiness of Yawheh
(Isa 28:16 quoted in Rom. 9:33; 10:11; 1 Pet. 2:6)h. Judgment of Yahweh
(Isa 6:10 alluded to in John 12:41; Isa 8:14 quoted in Rom. 9:33 and 1 Pet. 2:8)i. Triumph of Yahweh
(Ps. 68:18 [MT v. 19] quoted in Eph. 4:8)Jesus identified as God:
- Isaiah 7:14, 9:16
- John 1:1,14; 20:28; 8:58
- Romans 9:5
- Col. 2:9
- Titus 2:13
- Hebrews 1:8
- 2 Peter 1:1