Jesus 1 The Word Was God

The Word Was God: 

The Word Was God John 1:1

Introduction: 

Introduction There will be times when we must defend the truths in God’s word Sometimes those who we defend against will be honestly mistaken But once the truth is taught they will either no longer be mistaken or will no longer be honest Those in error may be Christians or non-Christians

Introduction: 

Introduction The easiest way to knock down any structure is to undermine the foundation Our foundation rests on Christ and the teachings on the apostles and prophets (Eph 2:20) The church, built on that foundation, is the “pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15) Many who want to destroy the church try to undermine our faith in Christ We are beginning a series of lessons on what the Bible teaches about Jesus Christ

Introduction: 

Introduction In this lesson we limit our study to the nature of Jesus Christ as found in John 1:1 We will compare the Biblical teaching with that taught by Jehovah’s Witnesses Jehovah’s Witness teach Jesus Christ was a created god, and not God Himself The scriptures reveal Jesus Christ was directly involved as the Creator, and is God Himself

J. W.s Doctrine: Jesus Christ: 

J. W.s Doctrine: Jesus Christ That Jesus was a created god; one of many gods. Jn. 1:1; 1 Cor. 8:5 Jn 1:1 (NWT) - In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. 1 Cor. 8:5 (NWT) – For even though there are those who are called “gods,” whether in heaven or on earth, just as there are many “gods” and many “lords”,

J. W.s Doctrine: Jesus Christ: 

J. W.s Doctrine: Jesus Christ While on earth, he was just a man. He is referred to as the ‘Son of God’ meaning he is NOT God. To show his humanity on earth, he is regarded as the Son of man. Matt. 20:28 When resurrected Jesus would be “a spirit person” as he was before he came to earth.

J. W.s Doctrine: Jesus Christ: 

J. W.s Doctrine: Jesus Christ That Jesus is Michael the Archangel. “God’s Word mentions only one archangel, and it speaks of that angel in reference to the resurrected Lord Jesus: ‘The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet.’ (1 Thess. 4:16) At Jude 9 we find that this archangel’s name is Michael.” (Watchtower magazine, April 15, 1991) "The foremost angel, both in power and authority is the archangel, Jesus Christ, also called Michael." (Ibid.)

J. W.s Doctrine: John 1:1: 

J. W.s Doctrine: John 1:1 That the King James Version (and others like it) are wrongly translated. They wanted an updated “modern” English version There were newer discoveries in the manuscripts In 1950 The Watchtower Society put forth the New World Translation of the N.T.: “In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.”

Biblical View of Jesus: 

Biblical View of Jesus The Bible reveals the dual nature of Jesus Christ: as God and man. Jesus was not a created God, but God Himself Isa 43:10 – No “created gods” Isa 9:6-7 – The child is “Mighty God” and “Everlasting Father” Jn 10:33 – Even the Jews understood His claim He is NOT an angel. Heb. 1:1-5 Jesus was “God with us” - (Mt 1:20-23) He could forgive sins - Mk. 2:3-7

Biblical View of John 1:1: 

Biblical View of John 1:1 The translation of John 1:1 The Watchtower did not have a single expert in original languages (4 “translators” have been discovered – only 1 had ANY Biblical language knowledge – 2 years of Greek) Johannes Greber (spiritist) – His 1937 Bible is the basis of the NWT Cited with approval from 1962-1976 Condemned since 1983, but still use his views J.R. Mantey (biblical scholar)

Biblical View of John 1:1: 

Biblical View of John 1:1 The translation of John 1:1 The Watchtower claimed it had expert support for their view "their [The Dana-Mantey Greek Grammar] work allows for the rendering found in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures at John 1:1." (Watchtower) J.R. Mantey (Greek scholar) called the NWT "a shocking mistranslation." "Obsolete and incorrect." "It is neither scholarly nor reasonable to translate John 1:1 'The Word was a god.'" "I have never read any New Testament so badly translated as [the NWT].... it is a distortion of the New Testament . . . . changed the readings in scores of passages to state what Jehovah's Witnesses believe and teach. That is a distortion not a translation."

Biblical View of John 1:1: 

Biblical View of John 1:1 The translation of John 1:1 If the translation of Jn. 1:1 is wrong Greek scholars would easily refute/fix the error What do other scholars say about the NWT? Dr Metzger (Prof. of NT Literature, Chief Editor of NRSV) - "a frightful mistranslation," "Erroneous" and "pernicious" "reprehensible" "If the Jehovah's Witnesses take this translation seriously, they are polytheists." Dr Barclay (Biblical commentator and professor) - "it is abundantly clear that a sect which can translate the New Testament like that is intellectually dishonest."

Biblical View of John 1:1: 

Biblical View of John 1:1 The translation of John 1:1 The best source for being sure of what Scripture means is scripture itself John 1:1 is consistent with the rest of the scriptures. Jn 20:28 Matt 1:23 Col 2:9

Conclusion: 

Conclusion John 1:1 teaches a simple truth, Jesus was God We should teach that truth and defend that truth In later lessons we will look more intently at the implications of this simple truth