How Could Jesus be God if He was Seen by Man?

[RETIREDFAN1]

How Could Jesus be God if He was Seen by Man?

by	Eric Lyons, M.Min.

 

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According to Jehovah’s Witnesses, one of the reasons Jesus could not (and cannot) be God is because Jesus was seen by humankind. The official Web site of Jehovah’s Witnesses (www.watchtower.org) indicates that “[a]s the Son of God, he [Jesus—EL] could not be God himself, for John 1:18 says: ‘No one has ever seen God’ ” (“What Does the Bible Say...,” 2000). The problem with such reasoning is two-fold.

First, it ignores the fact that man only saw Jesus (“the Word”—John 1:1) after “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). He came in a veiled form. No human has ever seen Jesus in His true image (i.e., as a spirit Being—John 4:24—in all His glory and splendor). In his letter to the church at Philippi, the apostle Paul mentioned that Christ—Who had existed in heaven “in the form of God”—“made Himself of no reputation,” and took on the “likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7). Men saw an embodiment of God as Jesus dwelt here in a fleshly form. Men saw “the Word” that “became flesh.” But no one has ever seen God’s true, complete image (as a spirit Being).

The second problem with Jehovah’s Witnesses’ denial of Jesus’ deity (based on the fact that “no one has ever seen God”) is that their argument crumbles when Jehovah God’s appearances to man are considered. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jehovah is God and “is the name of the true God only” (“Identifying...,” 2002). According to their doctrine, Jehovah, not Christ, is God Almighty. Yet, man has seen Jehovah. Genesis chapter 18 records an occasion when “Jehovah appeared” to Abraham near Mamre (vs. 1). Jehovah spoke directly to Abraham (vs. 13), and the faithful servant of God “stood before the Lord” (vs. 22). The final verse of Genesis 18 states: “And Jehovah went his way, as soon as he had left off communing with Abraham. And Abraham returned unto his place” (vs. 33). If Jehovah’s Witnesses were consistent with their argument, Jehovah could not be Almighty God because man has seen Jehovah. If John 1:18 somehow disqualifies Jesus from being God, it must also prohibit “Jehovah” from being God, because they both were seen. What Bible students must understand is that man has only seen manifestations of God (i.e, in human flesh, or in the midst of a burning bush—Exodus 3:2, etc.); he has never seen God (the Father or the Son) in His true spirit image.

[NOTE: If you would like to read further on the subject “Has Man Seen God?” and examine the alleged contradiction between such passages as John 1:18 and Exodus 33:11, click on the following link: http://www.apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=2682.] 

REFERENCES

“Identifying the True God Only,” (2002), [On-line], URL: http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/1999/2/8/article_04.htm, originally appeared in Awake!, February 8, 1999.

“What Does the Bible Say About God and Jesus?” (2002), [On-line], URL: http://www.watchtower.org/library/ti/index.htm.

 

Copyright © 2005 Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

[DaveTV1]

Jesus Christ is God, God the Father is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, but they are three separate beings that act in one accord of each other.  Jesus Christ does sit at the rand hand of God as in Stephen's vision.  What Jehova's Witnesses also fail to understand is that Jesus is Jehova in the Old Testament.  Jesus had yet to obtain His physical body being the first born of God the Father.  While God the Father's name is not said to be mentioned in the Bible it actually is, but you have to read the scriptures to find it.  You can also find it in some Jewish writings, but even most Jews today refer to God as G-d, because to some Jews it is forbidden to say His name.  At Christ crucifixion our Savior says God's name Matthew 27:46, but it is written in Greek and not Aramaic which is the language that Christ spoke, but Christ could speak all languages both past and present.  

[RETIREDFAN1]

12 hours ago, DaveTV1 said:

  Jesus had yet to obtain His physical body being the first born of God the Father.  

Actually, most of the times The Angel of the Lord is mentioned by OT writers, it is their attempt at telling us that God, the Son had appeared.....

Judges 13:17-19 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁷ And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” ¹⁸ And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” ¹⁹ So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching.

[DaveTV1]

13 hours ago, RETIREDFAN1 said:

Actually, most of the times The Angel of the Lord is mentioned by OT writers, it is their attempt at telling us that God, the Son had appeared.....

Judges 13:17-19 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁷ And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” ¹⁸ And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” ¹⁹ So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching.

While some take the scripture of Jacob wrestling with God literally, I think it meant that Jacob sometimes struggled in following God.  Moses was able to see the back or hind parts of God, but until Christ returns the only way we can see God is through our Spiritual eyes.  Exodus 33:20.  

[RETIREDFAN1]

45 minutes ago, DaveTV1 said:

While some take the scripture of Jacob wrestling with God literally, I think it meant that Jacob sometimes struggled in following God.  Moses was able to see the back or hind parts of God, but until Christ returns the only way we can see God is through our Spiritual eyes.  Exodus 33:20.  

It was a literal struggle with AN angel......if you struggle with God's messengers, you struggle with God......