December 15, 2002, Vol.2,
No.24.
Two new articles every two weeks.
Bible Question? E-mail
us.
THIS ISSUE: "Was
Jesus Created by God?" (see below)
and "Legalism"
ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS:
Was Jesus Created
by God?
by Tom Rainwater
 QUESTION:
You claim Jesus is God. Actually, Jesus was created by God,
believe it or not (John 1:1; Revelation 3:14).
ANSWER: Hello! Thanks
for examining the material on our web site. You are correct in
saying that I affirm Jesus is God. I do so because that's exactly
what Scripture affirms. (For more material on this subject,
see the article "Is Jesus God?"
and the radio program "Is
Jesus God?".)
However, you are incorrect in your assumption that the Father
created Jesus. The verses you cited do not prove what
you claim. Let's look at each one.
John 1:1
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with
God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any
thing made that was made....And the Word was made flesh, and
dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
(John 1:1-3,14, KJV)
There is nothing in the entire context of John 1 that remotely
indicates Jesus was created. In describing Jesus as "the
Word," the Apostle John plainly says that Jesus was "in
the beginning" "with God," and was God's agent
of Creation. Jesus Himself created "all things." "Without
Him was not anything made that was made." In other words,
everything that was created was made by Jesus. Under those conditions,
Jesus could not have "made" Himself. He could not be
the "Creator" and the "created" at the same
time. Consider Colossians 1:16:
"For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven,
and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things
were created by Him, and for Him."
It takes the power of God to create all things in heaven and
on earth (Genesis 1:1). Jesus has that power.
It's interesting that you cite John 1:1 to try to disprove
Jesus' Divinity when this is one of the most powerful texts in
proof of His Divinity. It plainly says "the Word was God."
Indeed, Jesus is of the same Divine Nature as the Father. John's
affirmation here of the Deity of Christ is so direct that it
offends a great many non-believers today. For instance, the group
calling themselves the "Jehovah's Witnesses" intentionally
and dishonestly mistranslates John 1:1 to read "the Word
was a God." Muslims, when examining the Bible, also
prefer using the same Jehovah's Witness mistranslation because
they cannot bear the fact that Jesus is God.
John 1:1 does not disprove that Jesus is God -- it affirms
it clearly and loudly.
Revelation 3:14
"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans
write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the beginning of the creation of God..." (KJV)
In this verse, Jesus describes Himself by three titles including
"the beginning of the creation of God." Our Jehovah's
Witness friends say this means Christ had a beginning -- that
the Father created Jesus first before anything else was created.
However, the word "beginning" in this verse is the
Greek word arche, which does not indicate order,
but cause. Thayer's Greek Lexicon defines arche
in Revelation 3:14 as "that by which anything begins
to be, the origin, active cause" (p.77). Ardnt and Gingrich
say that arche here means "the first cause"
(p.112). Correctly understood, the verse is telling us that Jesus
is the beginning first Cause of all God's Creation. It originated
with Him. (This is exactly what John 1:1 says.)
The Watchtower Society, in its effort to hide the truth about
Jesus from its followers, also mistranslates this passage to
read: "the beginning of the creation by God."
This is not how the Greek reads.
"For 'by God' to be a correct translation, the Greek
would have to be hupo theou. But we do not have the 'hupo
theou.' We simply have the word for 'creation' in the genitive
case. 'Of God' is correct." (Cline 6).
Revelation 3:14 does not disprove that Jesus is God, nor does
it devalue His nature. On the contrary, Jesus is teaching us
that He deserves glory, honor, and praise as the Creator of all
things.
Conclusion
The truth about Jesus Christ as the Divine Son of God is the
most important thing you can understand and believe. Friend,
don't let the doctrines of men lead you away from salvation in
Jesus.
"...for unless you believe that I am {He}, you shall
die in your sins." John 8:24 (KJV)
____________
Cited Works:
Thayer's Greek Lexicon.
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Arndt and Gingrich.
Ted Cline, Questions for Jehovah's Witnesses.
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