About Janko Expertise I am a qualified minister of Jehovah`s Witnesses and fully capable of answering any or all questions on our faith as well as others too, and the correct understanding of the Bible,which is God`s Word.
Experience My experience with our faith is quite substantial and was introduced to it in the 1960's as a child.
Question Thank you for the excellent and detailed response which outlines the JW position on the nature and role of Jesus as creator. However you did not address the first point of my rather long question namely that the JW position appears to contradict Isaiah 44:24 and 45:18 both of which indicate that Jehovah "alone" created "all things" "by Myself" yet John 1:3 and Colossians 1:16 indicate that Jesus is the creator. The mainstream Christian view that Jesus is Jehovah erases the contradiction while the JW position maintains it.
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Followup To
Question -
JW's take the position that Jehovah is responsible for the creation while Jesus did the actual work after having been created. Isaiah 44:24 and 45:18 both indicate that Jehovah "alone" created "all things" and that the creator is God, Yet John 1:3 and Colossians 1:16 indicate that Jesus created all things. From a JW perspective this appears to be a contradiction; how can Jehovah create "all things" "all alone" and "be God" and also Jesus create "all things" and not be God? I've heard the analogy of a home builder who takes credit for building the house while in reality the work was subcontracted but this implies that the passages in Isaiah are ambiguous which they are not. They specifically state the Jehovah created all things "alone" and "by myself" - no subcontractor used. The NWT inserts the word "[other]" several times to support the notion that Jesus is a created being who then created "all [other] things". The NWT presents "other" in brackets indicating the word is not present in the Greek. Bracketed words are supposed to be added only to make for readable English syntax not to modify meaning. Without the editorial use of "[other]" Collosians 1:16 reads: "by means of him all things were created." which is neither poor English syntax nor ambigous. The NWT does not use "[other]" in John 1:3 translating it "All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence.". This passage makes it clear that Jesus could not have come into existence apart from himself - the Creator cannot be created.
Answer -
Hello Robert,
Thank you for your question.It just takes a little common sense if you put all the Scriptures in their proper context when trying to discern an issue you might have in a particular area as this one.For example a little common sense will tell you that Jesus was created by Jehovah as His firstfruit and as His only-begotten son also first born of all creation.Anyhow here is an article that discusses this topic more thoroughly and I hope you learn from it:
The Bible’s View
Jesus Christ as “the First-Born of All Creation”
TO THE congregation at Colossae, Asia Minor, the apostle Paul wrote concerning Jesus Christ, according to the Common Bible: “He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”—Col. 1:15-17.
What did the apostle mean by calling Jesus Christ “the first-born of all creation”? Paul’s further words enlarge on the matter: “He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent.”—Col. 1:18, CB.
Answer We don't contradict any the Bible says.Again you have to keep all things in their proper context.Yes in Isaiah Jehovah is the only creator and besides him there is no God,
but in the Greek Scriptures Jesus is mentioned as being the creator of all things.This is true as far as himself is concerned because everything after his own creation was created for him and through him.He didn't create himself but was created by Jehovah,so all things except himself he created.
