AboutDerrick Holland Expertise I was raised in the religion known as Jehovah`s Witnesses for 13 years. Since becoming a born-again Christian, I have researched extensively this religion, especially their doctrines and their history. I can answer questions about their doctrines from the perspective of Biblical Christianity.
Experience 23 years of Biblical research into the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, and how they differ from the teachings of the Watchtower.
Question It is my understanding that Jehovah's Witnesses have a strange teaching with regard to the spirit of a person. Could you explain what these teachings are and how they differ from true biblical Christianity?
Answer Hello Mike. Finally, I will get you the answer I promised you. Again, let me apologize for the delay. Laurie mentioned that you might be writing me with this question. Your question was in regards to the JW belief about man's spirit. As with most cults, the JWs derive their beliefs by taking Scriptures out of their rightful context, and giving them a meaning that cannot be found in the text itself.
The JWs do not believe that man's soul or spirit is distinct from the physical body. Instead, they believe that man is a combination of body and “breath” that, together, forms a living soul. In other words, man does not HAVE a soul, but rather, man IS a soul. They do not believe that the spirit survives the death of the body, and that when a person dies, they simply cease to exist.
What JWs fail to understand, is that the Bible uses the words “soul” and “spirit” in various ways, depending on the context. There are indeed Scriptures that speak of man as being a “soul” (Gen. 2:7). But there are also many Scriptures which speak of man as HAVING a soul, as part of his inner person (Job 30:25, Gen. 35:18, Gen. 42:21, 2 Kings 4:27, Ps. 43:5). Jehovah's Witnesses typically only use the Scriptures that they can use to support their teaching, and simply ignore the ones that contradict their teaching.
Also, there are Scriptures that clearly prove the soul is something that lives on after the death of the body. One such passage is found in Matthew 10:28....
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy BOTH SOUL AND BODY in hell.”
It is very difficult for anybody to read this verse, and honestly say that the soul is not separate from the body. We are clearly told that man can kill the body, but not the soul. Only God can do that. However, if the soul died at the moment the body died, or if man simply IS a soul as the JWs claim, then man COULD kill the soul. He would kill the soul at the very moment he killed the body.
Watchtower publications have likened man's spirit to an “electrical current”, like that of a car battery (THE TRUTH THAT LEADS TO ETERNAL LIFE, page 39). This WT book also stated that the spirit of man “has no personality”, “cannot think”, etc. The spirit of man is merely a “life force”, similar to electricity. Since the Watchtower Society also denies the personality of the Holy Spirit, and teaches that He is a mere impersonal force, it is no surprise that they would teach that man's spirit is impersonal also.
However, if man's spirit is merely “breath”, or like an electrical current, then this makes for some rather awkward Scriptural passages.
One example would be in Acts 7:59, when Stephen asked Jesus to “receive my spirit”. If the Watchtower is correct, Stephen was asking Jesus to “pull the plug” on his life force. Why would Stephen ask the Lord to receive that which was about to cease to exist? Obviously, Stephen was asking Jesus to receive that part of his being which would live after his body died.
Another example is found in Luke 23:46, where Jesus said....”Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: The verse then says....”and having said thus, He gave up the ghost”.
Exactly what was it that Jesus “gave up”, and committed into His Father's hands? It was certainly something more than “breath” or a life force. A person reading this verse for the first time, having never read any WT publications on the subject, would never arrive at their belief. It seems clear that Jesus' spirit left His body at death, and lived the three days that His body was dead. In fact, there are many other Scriptures that bear this out.
Another point worth mentioning, is that the Bible attributes thought and personality to the spirit of man. In 1 Corinthians 2:11 says....”For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.”
In Matthew 26:41 Jesus said that “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
In these 2 passages, the spirit of man is said to “know”, and be “willing”. How can an impersonal force know anything? How can it be willing?
Obviously the JW teaching on this subject is in error. In contrast, true Biblical Christianity understands that man is NOT just a body, but is body, soul, and spirit. Both soul and spirit are said to leave the body at death, and be in the presence of the Lord. Paul fully expected to be with Christ the very moment his body died (2 Cor. 5:8, Philip. 1:21-23).
Paul also told the Thessalonians not to be “ignorant” concerning the state of the dead (1 Thess. 4:13). Yet, so many are “ignorant” of the Bible's teaching on this matter. In this passage, Paul said that when a person “in Jesus” (a Christian) dies, God will BRING THEM with Him when He comes. He also states that their bodies will rise, so we know their body is not the part of them that will be coming with Christ. So, exactly what is it that God is going to bring “with Him” at His coming (1 Thess. 4:14)? There is no other option. It is their soul and spirit which went to be with Him at the death of the body. If the person ceased to exist at death, then there would be NOTHING for God to bring with Him.
Paul closes this text by telling the saints to “comfort one another with these words”. Can you imagine the great comfort it would be to tell a person who is grieving the loss of a child, parent, sister, etc....”Well, we know that when they died, that was it. They no longer exist anywhere. Since they were not part of the 144,000 who go to heaven, they have simply given up their life force, but just MAYBE God will see fit to bring them back to life one day, and perhaps then they will be granted eternal life.” No, there is not much comfort in the Watchtower teaching, because there is no assurance in it. But God's Word gives us so much more than that. We do have a soul and spirit that is separate and distinct from our bodies, and will either go to heaven or hell, depending on whether we have trusted in the shed blood of Christ as our Savior, and allow Him to be our Mediator to the Father for our sins.
I hope you found this answer helpful. If I can clarify anything further for you, please ask. Take care, and God bless you and your family.
