Divinity of Jesus

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Charlemagne_II

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I’m interested in developing a complete list of passages from Scripture that attest to the divinity of Jesus. Please contribute if you are so disposed. I’ll start with this passage from Paul.

Colossians 2:8-9
“See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”
 
And as they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”–Acts 7:59
 
John 14:8-11
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied.” 9* Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11* Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me; or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves.
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Snerticus said:
Wow, that’s a great website! Thanks!
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Yes, it’s indispensable for Catholics who want to defend the faith, especially against Bible-only Protestants. Thank John Salza! And go forth and fight the good fight of faith. 👍

:knight2:
 
Thanks, Luke.

After all the sources given at that site, it’s hard to believe there was not unanimous belief among the early Christians that Christ is divine.
 
Psa 16:4 Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their libations of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips.

Isa 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isa 53:4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
 
I like the OP cite on Col 2:8-9 and the helpful website provided by Luke65. This is just the subject that I am researching on, and I need some help.

My Jehovahs Witness friend and I agreed that our meetings will not be about conversion, but as an “iron sharpens iron” type of exercise. We agreed that both of us are truth seekers. The Catholic / JW doctrinal divide is huge, but we decided to tackle just the divinity of Jesus for the time being. This has been going on for an estimated two months. We provided each other with a list of proof text. It was easy for her to come up with her list, being very Bible-versed, supporting that Jesus is the Savior, but not equal to God. My list came from a hardy research on Catholic websites and CAF features, i.e., Stumpers for JWs, Christ’s Divinity proved by the JW Bible, etc., and an excellent Catholic Critique of Jehovahs Witnesses publication by the Knights of Columbus. As with many Catholics, I have only scratched the surface with the Bible, and apologetics does not come easy, not for me.

To JWs , Jesus is the Son of God, but not God the Son, as this was never stated in the Bible. She asserts with conviction and sincerity that JWs do not diminish Jesus, that as firstborn creation, He is over the angels, prophets, and all creation. He was, and is, the Big Kahuna, so what is the problem she asks? She agrees that salvation would not have been possible without Jesus, but Jesus is not equal to God, based on numerous passages she provided.

Our exchange on John 1:1 led to an impasse. Not surprising with the NWT rendering of “and the Word was a god.” The same with Col 1:15 (with me maintaining firstborn - “prototokos” meaning of pre-eminence, eternal pre-existence). We simply have a clashing theology.

Our exercise will probably peter out, with frustration greater on my part than hers, but I would like to see at least how far I can challenge her certitude and her claim to discernment. I feel that she is sincere, just sincerely wrong. The prologue of John’s Gospel says it all for me, and Revelation 1 is clear that Jehovah God and Jesus Christ are both referred as the Alpha and Omega, the first and last.

Among other passages, I also offered John 8:58 and John 10:30. She agrees that Jesus has been around for a long time, but not before all time as with the Father.

To anyone who might help with my situation: Are there clearer, stronger verses I can cite that my good friend can chew on that perhaps that the JW premise is weaker than she believes? Any advice or tip in dealing with my friend?

I am new to the Forum so please bear with me if I make posting errors and the like.

Thank you.
 
Sorry, Charlemagne II, if I submitted an inappropriate post or was being insensitive. I am not sure if I violated a forum rule by just grabbing on to the title, and inserting my question, without thinking first how I can add to your objective of compiling passages on the divinity of Jesus.

Since I have been researching on the same subject, and if you have not yet opened the feature Christ’s Divinity Proved by the JW Bible, here is the link:

catholic.com/thisrock/1996/9612fea2.asp

It lists a good number of passages according to subheadings, but the website provided by Luke65 might be just as, if not more, exhaustive.

Blessings!
 
InSearchofGrace said:
To anyone who might help with my situation: Are there clearer, stronger verses I can cite that my good friend can chew on that perhaps that the JW premise is weaker than she believes? Any advice or tip in dealing with my friend?

I am new to the Forum so please bear with me if I make posting errors and the like.

Thank you.
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I find these passages to be very powerful (all quotes from NWT unless otherwise noted):

John 20:28
“28 In answer Thomas said to him: ‘My Lord and my God!’”

Hebrews 1:6-9
“6 But when he again brings his Firstborn into the inhabited earth, he says: ‘And let all God’s angels do obeisance to him.’ ** 7** Also, with reference to the angels he says: ‘And he makes his angels spirits, and his public servants a flame of fire.’ 8 But with reference to the Son: ‘God is your throne forever and ever, and [the] scepter of your kingdom is the scepter of uprightness. 9 You loved righteousness, and you hated lawlessness. That is why God, your God, anointed you with [the] oil of exultation more than your partners.’”

The previous quotes are taken from the NWT, the first quote is accurate but the JWs purposely destroyed the Hebrews passage, that’s why I linked it to the KJV, usually JWs will accept the KJV as a reliable translation.

**Obeisance: **The actual words (the one’s included in the KJV link) are “let all God’s angels worship Him” [KJV]. The thing about this part is God said in the first commandment that we are not supposed to worship anyone but God 🤷 . . . I’m sure you can make the connection there.

**God is your throne forever and ever: **The translators (if you can call them that) of the NWT butchered this verse too, what it says in virtually all other translations is this - “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever” [KJV]. You can clearly see in this verse that God the Father calls Jesus Christ God, but JWs cannot have something that damaging in there Bible!

That is why God, your God: This bit of the passage was left relatively unscathed; the meaning of the passage is clear in other translations - “[T]herefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” [KJV]. Here we can see a very clear representation of Trinitarian Theology. Again, the Son is called God, but is distinguished from God the Father; but that, again, is too damaging to say straight forward!

Here are some other good ones:

John 5:18
“18 On this account, indeed, the Jews began seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath but he was also calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God.”

John 10:33
“33 The Jews answered him: “We are stoning you, not for a fine work, but for blasphemy, even because you, although being a man, make yourself a god.”

This is another verse they make obscure; in real translations, the end of the verse does not read “a god,” it simply says “make Yourself God.” I’m sure you can say how this would be damaging. I provided the link to the KJV again for this verse.

Philippians 2:5-6
“5 Keep this mental attitude in YOU that was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although he was existing in God’s form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God.”

Besides these “proof-texts,” there are numerous comparisons between the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. One straight forward comparison between Jesus and the Father is something which has been pointed out by a poster already, I believe:

Revelation 1:8; 21:6
“‘8 I am the Al´pha and the O·me´ga,’ says Jehovah God, ‘the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty.’”

“6 And he said to me: ‘They have come to pass! I am the Al´pha and the O·me´ga, the beginning and the end. To anyone thirsting I will give from the fountain of the water of life free.’”

Revelation 1:17; 22:13
“17 And when I saw him, I fell as dead at his feet. And he laid his right hand upon me and said: “Do not be fearful. I am the First and the Last. . . . 13 I am the Al´pha and the O·me´ga, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

The second set of quotes from Revelation refer to Jesus, while the first ones refer to the Father.

I hope I’ve helped you and the OP some!
 
Thanks, Zach Dunn.

Your post is very helpful and it’s much appreciated! :tiphat:

There is a slew of proof text for and against the doctrine and I’ve offered many to my JW ‘opponent’ already. Even if 2 or 3 are repeats, I could re-state them with the new ones from the handful you provided.

I agree that they are powerful passages, the kind that might make my ‘opponent’ pause. With improved strategy, such as the use of the cross reference with KJV rendering of word/phrases at issue, as you included, I might make some headway with my friend.

May God bless you, and thanks again.
 
Of all men born of woman John the Baptist is greatest. Jesus reveals that He is not of the generation of Adam born of woman by announcing John as the greatest man born of Eve.
 
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