False religions often use the name of Jesus while denying Christ's divinity.(1)
It's important for Christians to understand how to refute these cultist errors, and John 1 is a great place to start.
John 1:14 identifies Christ as the Word and John 1:1-3 says:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
“In the beginning” is the first phrase in the Bible, the first words in the creation story (Genesis 1). The Father and Spirit are clearly defined in this passage as preexistent and present at creation.(2)
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2).
John 1 and the passage below confirm that Christ was also preexistent and present at creation.
Colossians 1:15-17: “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
It's important to understand that Christ is fully God, a member of the Trinity, one God in three persons. I discuss other pertinent Scriptures in More Proof of Christ's Deity and the Trinity.
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Footnotes:
(1) Groups defined as “Christian cults” use the same words and phrases Christians use, but they redefine biblical words to fit their false teachings, and they always deny the true character of God.
✔ The Bible Love Notes Collection of Articles on Mormonism – I especially recommend When Angels Tell Lies, Cults Are Formed.
✔ Beware of Ex-vangelical Teachings – Also called "progressive Christians," these people redefine Christ in a number of different ways.
(2) Please note that in Genesis 1:26 God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.…” This is a good illustration of the Trinity, one God in three persons. We'll discuss the Trinity more tomorrow.
If you enjoy Bible Love Notes one-minute devotions, I think you'll enjoy my devotional Wisdom for Life. It's a hard-cover book priced lower than most paperbacks. ~ Gail
Bible Love Notes
Beware: I had a Jehovah's Witness who would often come to my door for several years. She would try to convince me of her ways by speaking of verses from the King James Version. However, one day she attempted to explain who God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were according to their religion. She said that God was God, Jesus was a god, and the Holy Spirit was "just" the spirit of God. Then she showed me in her Bible John 1:1. Hers read, "In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was a god." , not "the Word was God." Evidently the JW are taught to proselytize speaking the name of the KJV but personally use something else.
ReplyDeleteYes, they have their own version of the Bible called The New World Translation. It changes a number of verses, but I've heard that there is still enough of the original Bible in their translation to prove the Christ is God. Not sure if that's true, but it's definitely not a valid translation.
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