I have received a few responses to my sermon on Sunday, a little more than the usual “what in the world” and “who let him up on stage” kind of things. One email has struck up some conversation.
A person emailed me about reaching out to some Jehovah’s Witnesses that he works with. He is struggling to know how to share Christ with them. Now, if you know anything about JW, you know their ideas of Jesus are not Orthodox. For them, Jesus is not divine, he is created, he had a beginning, is actually is the angel Michael, and they change John 1:1 from “and the word was God” to “and the word was A God.”
This person asked me about books and resources that could help them share the truth of Christ. He said that they are quick to point out how much immorality exists in our churches as proof that we do not have the truth. He was left unsure about how to prove that their version of church is not what Jesus intended.
I recommended he start with asking himself a few questions before going to the JW.
- Why is it important for him that Jesus be divine?
- Why is important for him that God is a Trinity?
- Why is important for him that Jesus is not created but has always been?
My sense is that most believers do not know how to answer these questions for ourselves, so when we encounter someone like a JW, all we end up doing is debating based on what we think the right answers are. We don’t share the significance our beliefs about Jesus have in the way we relate to God and others. Sometimes, we are the ones who need to be convinced first, before we convince anyone else.
3 comments:
Why is it important for him that Jesus be divine?
I believe that GRACE is the only way I could make it to heaven. With my human nature my works would never over shadow my sins.
The second reason is he is either who he says he is or he is the biggest lier that ever walked the earth and therefore can't have him as a prophet or anything else.
Why is important for him that God is a Trinity?
God is the one DIVINE being and the SON and HOLY SPIRIT cannot exist without HIM.
Without the Trinity Jesus is not who he says he is and the Word is just a book.
Why is important for him that Jesus is not created but has always been?
The most important reason is that he said before Abramham I was and that is good enough for me.
Why is Jesus' divinity important to me? Besides the because-He-said-so reasoning, I think His divinity is compelling for some very poetic reasons.
I find a God who suffers Himself for our sins more interesting than a God who sends a proxy to suffer. That would leave God very emotionally detached from the situation and we would end up with the stone faced God of Islam.
When God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, I believe He was foreshadowing the sacrifice of His own Son. That is not a compelling image if Jesus' son-ship is no different than our own identity as "children" of God. Jesus' son-ship is not like ours, He is truly of the same substance as the Father.
How would God understand peer relationships if he didn't exist in the peer relationship of the Trinity? God created a world in which we can relate to each other in love and friendship. Could these concepts exist within the mind of a monolithic God? If He has no peer, why would imagine a society of peers? I don't suppose it's impossible, but our family and peer relationships are much more interesting as replicas of the inter-reaction of the Trinity.
The Old Testament foretells a Messiah who will be called "Mighty God" and "Everlasting Father" among other things. That must have really blown the Hebrew's mind.
Great comments. I like the poetic answer Michael. I hope more people add to this discussion.
Why is important for me that Jesus be divine?
For me, it's the only way to describe accurately who Jesus really was.
Illustration...if we consider "explanations" to be like circles. (Imagine a circle.)
Some circles are larger than others, and as such can contain more information.
So, let's say we consider Jesus to be a good teacher - that's a circle that contains some information about Jesus, but not nearly everything. Much of his life does not fit into this circle. Ex. Why would a good teacher tell people to love him more than their own families? Why would he tell them to eat and drink his own blood? He lost lots of followers on that one.
Another circle of explanation...Jesus is a good prophet. Well, again that's too small. Good prophets spoke on behalf of God, not as if they were God. Rather than "thus says the Lord" Jesus said "I say."
For me, the only circle of explanation large enough to contain the full life of Christ is that of his being divine, through and through, from beginning to end.
Why the trinity? Like others have said, it explains relationship. I have trouble imagining God as this lonely being all by himself. Jesus demonstrates a unique relationship with the Father and the Spirit. Each one defers to the other. It also explains how we experience God - as Father, as incarnated Son, as Spirit. Seeing all 3 as persons in relationship with each other is what makes Christianity unique.
I echo Michael's answer on this one.
Why a Jesus that was not created? Because I believe in the Trinity.
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