JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

AND THE TRINITY

by

WALTER MARTIN

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity has been consistently

misunderstood, probably more than any other teaching of the

Bible. Frequently investigation into the doctrine of the Trinity

has been dismissed from serious discussion or study by invoking

the time-worn assertions - "It's a great mystery" or "This is

incomprehensible" - thus discouraging many from investigating the

scriptural basis of the doctrine.

Due principally to this attitude as well as certain complex

aspects of the Trinity doctrine itself, there has been a revival

of anti-Trinitarian heresies during the past one hundred and

fifty years, and they have gone largely unanswered. Prominent

among those groups rejecting the historic doctrine of the Trinity

are Mormonism, Christian Science, Unity, Spiritism, Herbert W.

Armstrong and his Radio Church of God and Jehovah's Witnesses -

i.e., The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.

According the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Trinity is a Satanic dogma

of apostate Christianity that prevents people from knowing the

true God, Jehovah. The Watchtower puts it this way:

The doctrine in brief is that there are three gods in one:

God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost...the

Holy Spirit is not a person and is therefore not one of the

gods of the Trinity...the Trinity doctrine was not conceived

by Jesus or the early Christians...the obvious conclusion

therefore is that Satan is the originator of the Trinity

doctrine. 1

Since the Watchtower denies that the Trinity doctrine is

Biblical; and since they complicate the issue by defining it

incorrectly - the task of true Christians is two fold: First, a

definition in accord with historic Christianity must be given.

Secondly, it must be shown that the doctrine of the Trinity is

both Biblical and essential to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

THE HOLY TRINITY

Definition: Within the unity of the One God there are three

Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and these three

share the same Nature and attributes. In effect, the three

Persons ARE the one God.

From this concise statement, similarly set forth in many

theological texts,2 it is clear that the Christian Church does

not believe that "there are three gods in One." Quite to the

contrary, we affirm that there is but one God, as Scripture

repeatedly asserts (Deut. 6:4, Isa. 43:10, 1 Tim 2:5).

Having defined the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, it becomes

necessary, secondly, to demonstrate inductively from the Bible

that it is true.

To accomplish this, we begin with one basic premise: If it can be

shown from Scripture that there are three persons, all of whom

are called Jehovah (God), then, since there is only one Jehovah

(Isa. 44:6, 48:12), those three Persons are the one God. Things

equal to the same thing are equal to each other.

Just how it is possible for three to be One and for that One to

be three, will also be explained. But first, the evidence:

1. THE FATHER IS JEHOVAH

Jehovah's Witnesses are quick to agree with the Apostle Peter

that the Father is called Jehovah. Moreover, Peter and many

other Biblical writers identify Him as a "person" (2 Peter

1:17). It is therefore unnecessary to press this point, the

Witnesses having already conceded it.

However, we would point out that the word "person" is, by

definition, descriptive of "ego" or "I." Without "ego," which

distinguishes man from the beast, personality as such would cease

to exist. Any reputable lexicon of Greek dictionary will

substantiate the fact that the Greek word "ego," is the basis for

our English term, "I." Jehovah designates His Being as The Great

I AM (Ex. 3:14): So the Deity is Personal and possesses Ego, the

hallmark of Personality.

We see, then, that one of the three "Persons" - the Father - is

designated "God."

2. THE SON IS JEHOVAH

A careful study of the first chapter of Revelation (vs. 11-18)

will show that Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, identifies Himself

as "the first and the last" and "the one who became dead" and who

now lives for all eternity.

It is of no small significance that in verse 13 of the last

chapter of Revelation, He confirms this title with great

emphasis, identifying Himself in verse 16 as "I Jesus," and

declaring that He is "the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and

the end, the first and the last." The context reveals that it is

Jesus speaking (vs. 12), for He - not the Father - is coming

"quickly" (Rev. 1:7; 1 Thess. 4:15,16).

It must never be forgotten that these titles ("the first and the

last," "the Alpha and the Omega'" "the beginning and the end")

belong only to Jehovah God (Isa. 44:6,8; Rev. 1:8, 21:6). But

Jesus Christ claims them as His own, because He, the Son is also

Jehovah!

We see, then, that there are either two firsts and two lasts (a

hopeless contradiction of terms), or the Son is Jehovah, the one

who was pierced for our sins (Zech. 12:10; Rev. 1:7,11,13) and

who is truly "the fullness of Jehovah in flesh" (Col. 2:9).

The angel who showed John the wonder Revelation forbade the

Apostle to worship him, for he was but a created being, a "fellow

servant." Quite properly, he declared, "worship Jehovah," (Rev.

22:9). Yet Jesus Christ, whom Jehovah's Witnesses say is also a

created being (i.e., Michael the Archangel), commended the

worship of Himself as Jehovah (John 20:28,29). This would have

been a blasphemous act of presumption on His part and a direct

violation of His Father's commandments (Ex. 20:3; Deut. 6:17),

unless He were in some mysterious sense on in Nature and Being

with His Father. In such a case He would in truth be "equal with

God" and entitled to receive worship as Jehovah(John 5:18,23).

Jehovah's Witnesses have always taught that Jesus Christ was no

more than a perfect man, "certainly not the supreme God Almighty

in the flesh."3 They state categorically that He was in no sense

both God and man. "Some insist that Jesus while on earth was

both God and man. This theory is wrong."4 Jehovah's Witnesses

also maintain that our Lord was "the first and direct creation of

Jehovah God," and that prior to His earthly life He was an

angle.5

In contrast to this teaching, Scripture and the Christian Church

declare the full Deity of Jesus Christ, and His equality with God

the Father.

In the first verse of John's Gospel, Christ is revealed as the

eternal Word of God who became flesh (verse 14) - the "image of

God" (2 Corinthians 4:4). Consider the emphasis "in the

beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word

was God" John 1:1).

Note that John 1:1 states that the Word already was in the

beginning - it does not say the Word "became" or "was created" by

God, as Jehovah's Witnesses teach. The Witness incorrectly

translate this text to read "the Word was a god,"6 but their

translation is by both context and grammar an impossibility

according to all recognized authorities on Greek. No recognized

translation bears out their error.

Moreover, the Scriptures proclaim that Christ made "himself equal

with God" (John 5:18), and that "in him dwelleth all the fullness

of the Deity bodily" (Colossians 2:9). The Bible further states

that Christ claimed to be the great I AM (Jehovah) of the Old

Testament (cf. Exodus 3:13-16 with John 8:58), and the Jews

understood Him so clearly during His ministry that they sought to

stone Him to death for blasphemy (John 8:59; cf. 10:28-33).

Jehovah's Witnesses pervert these texts and many others in their

determined effort to demote our Lord from His position of God and

Creator (Colossians 1; Hebrews 1); and they compound their error

by translating the Greek of the New Testament, in many places,

contrary to all grammatical authorities. It is certainly true

that during His earthly life our Lord voluntarily limited Himself

as a man (Philippians 2:6-8), and thus He never strove to usurp

the prerogatives of Deity; But one does not have to "rob" what is

His by inheritance (Hebrews 1). He was true Deity - "the great

God" (Titus 2:13).

We must not forget that Christ humbled Himself, even to the death

of the cross, and therefore, as a man, could say, "My Father is

greater than I" (John 14:28). However, let us remember that

Christ never said, "My Father is better than I." "Better" is a

term of comparison between natures (Heb 1:4), while "greater," as

in the context of John 14, is a term of comparison relative to

positions.

The President of the United States, for instance, is greater in

position than any of his fellow-Americans by virtue of his

office, but he would be the first to insist that he is not better

than other human beings. So Christ was admittedly inferior to

His Father positionally while on earth as a man, but the

Scriptures clearly and unmistakably state that he was at all

times His Father's equal on the spiritual plane of Divine Being

or Nature (Heb. 1:3; John 5:18). Note also that in 1 Corinthians

15:28 it is function that is dealt with - not Deity.

Jehovah's Witnesses always point to Christ's humanity in the

Bible; they carefully omit mention of His claim to full Deity,

and they thus "wrest...the...scriptures, unto their own

destruction" (2 Peter 3:16). the second Person, the Son, is also

called God, then, despite the efforts of the Watchtower to prove

the contrary.

3. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS JEHOVAH

It is peculiar, to say the least, that Jehovah's Witnesses can

agree with the Apostle Peter when he declared that the Father is

Jehovah - and then contradict his affirmation that the Holy

Spirit is likewise Jehovah, as recorded in Acts 5:3 and 4.

No Christian theologian has ever denied either the Person or

Deity of the Holy Spirit, for the evidence to substantiate both

is abundant in Scripture. For instance, a thorough study of the

book of Acts, chapter thirteen, reveals that the Holy Spirit is a

Person, because He possesses "ego." Luke records therin that the

Holy Spirit as a Person has "ego" (13:2,4) and, furthermore, that

He (not "it") prophesies to His servants and commissions them, as

well (21:11). See also such verses as John 14:26, 15:26, Acts

8:29, 13:2, and Romans 5:5.

The Scriptures are clear that the Holy Spirit has a "will" (1

Cor. 12:11; Heb. 2:4), and since "will" denotes "ego" or

personality, as opposed to the neuter (animals), obviously the

Spirit is a person. We have also seen from Peter's words that

when Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit, he lied to Jehovah (Acts

5:4). Both the thirteenth chapter of Acts and Isaiah 48 add to

the proof that the Holy Spirit is God, since He answers the

prayers of the Apostles (Acts 13:1-4) and is designated Deity by

the prophet Isaiah (48:16). Even the Watchtower admits that God

alone answers prayer.

The Bible, then, does indeed teach that the Spirit is a Person

and that He is called God. It is therefore apparent that there

are three Persons mentioned in Scripture and that they are all

identified as God: Yet there is only one true God (Isa. 45:22).

"LORDS MANY AND GODS MANY"

There are two other important points that must be mentioned.

Jehovah's Witnesses claim that, because the Bible designates some

beings and idols as "gods," it is proper for them to call Jesus

"a god" and worship him as the angels did (Heb. 1:6). This is an

important point and must be clarified.

Of course, it is true that God made Moses appear as a god in

Pharoah's eyes (Exodus 7:1). Moreover, Satan, certain of the

judges of Israel and pagan idols are described as "gods" in the

Bible (John 14:30, Psalms 82:6, 1 Cor. 8:4, 10:19, 2 Cor. 4:4).

Nevertheless, they are not deity by nature, as the Apostle Paul

flatly states (Gal. 4:8). They are "gods" by angelic or human

acclamation, and God addresses them in that context. Worshiping

a thing can make it your god; but it is not God by nature - for

by nature there is only one God (1 Cor. 8:4-6, 1 Tim. 2:5).

When this cardinal distinction is made in Scripture, the

Watchtower's doctrine is refuted, and the problem of the usage of

the term "gods" or "a god" disappears.

COMPOSITE UNITY AND THE TRIPLE POINT

The second important fact to be remembered is that of the meaning

of the term "one."

"How is it possible," say the Jehovah's witnesses, "for Jehovah

to be three and one both at the same time? It is illogical,

unreasonable and confusing; and God is not the author of

confusion!"

To answer this all-too-common objection, it should be kept in

mind that the word "one" can denote composite as well as solitary

unity. For instance, in Genesis (chapter 2), Adam and Eve are

called one flesh; and Numbers (chapter 13) speaks of "one" when

the context indicates that is was in reality a cluster of grapes

hanging from one stem. Here are bona fide instances of composite

unity.

The same Hebrew word, "echod" (one) is used in both cases,

however, even as it is in Deuteronomy 6:4 where we are told that

God is "One." The evident composite unity indicated here is

confirmed in the New Testament. Our Lord spoke of composite

unity where marriage is concerned (Mk. 10:8); so He, too, was

aware of this important distinction. See also Joshua 9:2; Judges

20:1; 2 Chron. 30:12; Isaiah 65:25; Nehemiah 7:66 and Ezra 6:20

for further instances of composite unity.

Finally, let us illustrate how it is both logically and

rationally possible for three to be one and one to be three

simultaneously, since Jehovah's Witnesses do NOT believe this is

possible.

It is a well-known fact of chemistry that plain water, when

placed in a vacuum under 230 millimeters of gas pressure and at a

temperature of 0 degrees Centigrade, solidifies into ice at the

bottom of the container, remains liquid in the center and

vaporizes at the top! At a given instant the same water is both

solid, liquid and gas, yet all three are manifestations of the

same basic substance or nature: H2O - hydrogen: two parts;

oxygen: one.

If one of the simplest of all created substances can be three in

manifested form and yet remain one in nature, then the Creator of

that substance can surely be Father, Son and Holy Spirit - three

Persons and one Nature - without any violation of logic or reason

whatever if He so wills.

God is not triples (1+1+1) - He is triune (1x1x1), and He has

revealed Himself fully in the Person of our Lord, Jesus Christ

(Col. 2:9; John 14:9).

Jehovah's Witnesses are not confused by the doctrine of the

Trinity they are confused by the Watchtower Society, from whose

power only the Son of God can liberate. It is our prayer that,

in His own time, this will come to pass - "for ye shall know the

truth and the truth shall set you free...and if the Son shall

make you free, you shall be free indeed." (John 8:32,36).

Once the foregoing data have been understood, the following texts

from the Old and New Testament confirm the doctrine of the

Trinity. A prayerful reading of these passages will help

strenghten your faith in this great and truly divine revelation

of the Nature of God. It will promote faith in Him "who is able

to save to the uttermost all who come to Him by faith," since He

alone is "the Way," (Heb. 7:25; John 14:6; Acts 16:31; 1 John

2:2; Romans 10:9-13).

 

 

 

 

1. Let God Be True, Watchtower Society, Edition 1946, pp. 81, 82,

87, Reconciliation J.W. Rutherford, p. 115.

2. The Trinity, Baker's Dictionary of Theology, p 115.

3. Let God Be True, p. 87

4. The Truth Shall Make You Free, Watchtower Society, p. 49, The

Harp of God, J.W. Rutherford, pp. 101, 128.

5. The Kingdom Is At Hand, pp. 46, 47-49.

6. Let God Be True, pp. 34, 35.

 

 

TRINITY TEXTS: (1) Old Testament Hints - Genesis 1:26, Genesis

3:22, Genesis 11:7, Isaiah 6:8, 48:12, Zech. 12:9,10. (2) The

Creation - Genesis 1:2, In 1:3. (3) The Incarnation - Lk. 1:35.

(4) The Baptism of Christ - Matt. 3:17,17. (5) The Resurrection

of Christ - Acts 2:26, 1 Thess. 1:10 (The Father), Jn 2:19-21,

(The Son),

Rom. 8:11, 1 Pet 3:18 (The Holy Spirit), Acts 17:31 (God). (6)

The Great Commission - Matt. 28:19. (7) The Divine Benediction -

2 Cor. 13:14. See also John 14:16,26, 15:26.