The Jehovah’s Witnesses say Jesus is only a created being. They cite Revelation 3:14 as proof. The passage reads: “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.” We will show that “beginning” does not mean Jesus was a created being.
First, the word “beginning” means “cause” or “origin”. This is seen by reading Revelation 21:6, 7. God is called the “beginning.” Revelation 22:13, 16 definitely shows that Jesus is the “beginning” in this sense.
Second, Jehovah’s Witnesses say the word “firstborn” (Col. 1:15) makes him the “first to be born” in point of time. But this very context (Col. 1:18) shows that “firstborn” does not mean in point of time, but “rank.” Jesus was not the first to come from the grave in point of time, but he did rank over all the others. Hebrews 1:6 sets Jesus above the whole creation and apart from it. This same word is used in Hebrews 1:2; Romans 8:29; Hebrews 12:23; and particularly in this last verse is its meaning clear. We are in the “church of the firstborn” (and “firstborn” here is plural) — “church of the firstborn ones — which means we rank as heirs in Christ Jesus. (See also Romans 8:17). The Greek word here is prototokos and the Jehovah’s Witnesses interpretation would demand the word protoktisis which is not found in any of these verses.
Third, from John 1:1, they argue that Jesus is a “lesser God.” They base this on the fact that no definite article (the) occurs in the Greek, so they opine Jesus is not in a class with the Father. John 1:1-6,12 and 18 the Greek is identical — the word Theos without the article “the.” This means that four times in this chapter John uses the identical Greek construction and three times, Jehovah’s Witnesses admit it refers to “God” and once, they say it does not. See also John 20:28, 1 John 5:20, Romans 9:5, where the article “the” does occur referring to Jesus. There is no such “pattern” of “the” and Theos as Jehovah’s Witnesses assume, which destroys their argument. Furthermore, their concept of two “gods” clearly contradicts Isaiah 43:10 where only “one God” is taught.
Fourth, they mistranslate Philippians 2:5-8 completely. They say, “Jesus . . . never thought of being on an equality with God,” which is just the opposite of the meaning – that he “counted not the being on an equality with God -a thing to be grasped.” Paul used this voluntary humiliation of Jesus (what he left and what he became) as an example of humility to us. He emptied himself of his glorious form (John 17:5) and took another form (man) in which he faithfully died.
It is a denigration of the deity of Jesus of Nazareth to claim he is nothing more than a man, albeit a perfect one, by saying he was a created being. We stand ready to refute the Jehovah’s Witnesses doctrine anywhere, any time. If you have questions about this, or take issue with us, email us. Respectful disagreements always result in good.