Passages that call Jesus "God”

Below are 16 verses that explicitly call Jesus “God.” (Compare this to only 6 verses that use either “Michael” or the word “archangel”, none of which call him “Jesus.”) The WTBTS has traditionally rejected the doctrine of the Trinity since their beginning in the 1870’s. Charles T. Russell was adamant that it was not a biblical teaching. So historically it has developed arguments to reinterpret each of the passages which call Jesus “God.” Each verse gets treated differently and this page will examine these arguments and see if they hold water.

The book Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1989, p. 64 q.v. Bible rightly observes that “It is true that some translations of the Bible adhere more closely to what is in the original languages than others do. Modern paraphrase Bibles have taken liberties that at times alter the original meaning. Some translators have allowed personal beliefs to color their renderings. But these weaknesses can be identified by comparison of a variety of translations.”

The Watchtower Organization has given us a wonderful criteria by which to test the validity of their own translation: compare it with other translations and the one that is the outlier is the weaker one.

One of the main reasons the Watchtower Organization produced the New World Translation was to translate key verses so that they can be aligned with their own beliefs.

NT passages

  1. John 1:1,18 (NASB) 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … More 18No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
    (NWT 2013): 1John 1:1 (NWT_2013) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. … 18No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god who is at the Father’s side is the one who has explained Him. 
  2. Tit 2:13 (NASB) looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus More
    (NWT 2013): while we wait for the happy hope and glorious manifestation of the great God and of our Savior, Jesus Christ 
  3. 2Pe 1:1 (NASB) Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: More
    (NWT 2013): Simon Peter, a slave and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have acquired a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and the Savior Jesus Christ: 
  4. John 20:28-29 28Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him: “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
  5. Mat 1:23 (NASB) “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”
    (NWT 2013): “Look! The virgin will become pregnant and will give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,” which means, when translated, “With Us Is God.”
  6. Acts 20:28 (NASB) “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”
    (NWT 2013): Pay attention to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the holy spirit has appointed you overseers, to shepherd the congregation of God, which he purchased with the blood of his own Son.
  7. Php 2:6 (NASB) who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped
    (NWT 2013): who, although he was existing in God’s form, did not even consider the idea of trying to be equal to God.
  8. Rom 9:5 (NASB) whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
    (NWT 2013): To them the forefathers belong, and from them the Christ descended according to the flesh. God, who is over all, be praised forever. Amen.
  9. Heb 1:8 (NASB) But of the Son He says, “YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM.” More
    (NWT 2013): But about the Son, he says: “God is your throne forever and ever, and the scepter of your Kingdom is the scepter of uprightness.
  10. 1Jo 5:20 (NASB) And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
    (NWT 2013): But we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us insight so that we may gain the knowledge of the one who is true. And we are in union with the one who is true, by means of his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and life everlasting.
  11. Acts 16:31,34 (NASB) 31They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” …34And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household.
    (NWT 2013): 31They said: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will get saved, you and your household.” …34He brought them into his house and set a table before them, and he rejoiced greatly with all his household now that he had believed in God.

    12. OT passages

    There are actually many more OT passages that could get used here. One of the clearest sets of evidence that both the biblical writers and many others since then have used to support the divinity of Christ is that OT passages which are used of Jehovah are applied to Christ in the NT.

  12. Psa 45:6-7 (NASB) 6Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 7You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your fellows.
    (NWT 2013): 6God is your throne forever and ever; The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness. 7You loved righteousness, and you hated wickedness. That is why God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of exultation more than your companions.
    A person is never described as being an actual or even symbolic throne! Rev 3:21 says that he who overcomes will be granted to sit with Christ on his throne. If God is Christ's throne does that mean that believers in Christ will also sit with Christ on God (the throne)? Isa 66:1 heaven is God’s throne...
    Further, who is more important, the throne or the one sitting on the throne? Does the actual throne bestow authority on the one who is sitting on it? Does that authority vanish when they stop sitting on it? Or is it merely a symbol of power and authority, one of many such symbols such as the crown, the ring, the clothes, the sceptre, etc. What happens if a new person sits on that throne? If merely sitting on a throne gave anyone that authority, then even a commoner would try to sit on it and could (by sitting on it) usurp the actual king! The WT has weighed the two translation choices and has preferred the one that makes no sense over the one that asserts that Christ is God. If the Watchtower’s translation is correct here, then it means that Christ has the actual power and authority and that the Father is reduced to being only a symbol of that authority. Christ would be greater than the throne he is sitting on, just as the symbolism (and its power) is derived from the authority of the one sitting on it.
  13. Isa 7:14 (NASB) “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”
    (NWT 2013): Therefore, Jehovah himself will give you a sign: Look! The young woman will become pregnant and will give birth to a son, and she will name him Immanuel.
  14. Isa 9:6 (NASB) For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
    (NWT 2013): For a child has been born to us, A son has been given to us; And the rulership will rest on his shoulder. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
  15. Jer 23:5-6 (NASB) “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. 6In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The LORD our righteousness.’”
    (NWT 2013): “Look! The days are coming,” declares Jehovah, “when I will raise up to David a righteous sprout. And a king will reign and show insight and uphold justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will reside in security. And this is the name by which he will be called: Jehovah Is Our Righteousness.”

    16. Seven textual variants that occur in some manuscripts could also be used:

  16. Rom 9:5 (KJV) Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
    (NWT 2013) To them the forefathers belong, and from them the Christ descended according to the flesh. God, who is over all, be praised forever. Amen.
  17. Col 2:2 (NET) My goal is that their hearts, having been knit together in love, may be encouraged, and that they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ,
    (NWT 2013) This is so that their hearts may be comforted and that they may be harmoniously joined together in love and may have all the riches that result from the full assurance of their understanding, in order to gain an accurate knowledge of the sacred secret of God, namely, Christ.
  18. John 17:3 (NASB) This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
    (NWT_2013) This means everlasting life, their coming to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
  19. Eph 5:5 (NASB) For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
    (NWT_2013) For you know this, recognizing it for yourselves, that no sexually immoral person or unclean person or greedy person, which means being an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of the Christ and of God.
  20. 2Th 1:12 (NASB) so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
    (NWT_2013) This is so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in union with him, according to the undeserved kindness of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ."
  21. 1Ti 3:16 (NASB) By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.
    (NWT_2013) Indeed, the sacred secret of this godly devotion is admittedly great: ‘He was made manifest in flesh, was declared righteous in spirit, appeared to angels, was preached about among nations, was believed upon in the world, was received up in glory.’"
  22. Jude 4 (NASB) For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
    (NWT_2013) My reason is that certain men have slipped in among you who were long ago appointed to this judgment by the Scriptures; they are ungodly men who turn the undeserved kindness of our God into an excuse for brazen conduct and who prove false to our only owner and Lord, Jesus Christ.