Hello everyone!
I’m often asked whether it is proper for us to pray to Jesus Christ. It’s an interesting question.
I’m sure that a Trinitarian would answer: “Of course, we should pray to Jesus. After all, Jesus is God.” Given that logic, it follows that Christians should also pray to the Holy Spirit because, according to a Trinitarian, the Holy Spirit is God. I wonder how you would you start off a prayer to the Holy Spirit? When we pray to God, Jesus told us to start off our prayer this way: “Our Father in heaven…” (Matthew 6:9) So we have a very precise instruction on how to address God: “Our Father in heaven…” He didn’t tell us anything about how to address himself “Jesus God in heaven” or perhaps “King Jesus”? Nah, too formal. Why not “Our brother in heaven…” Except brother is too vague. After all, you can have many brothers, but only one Father. And if we are going to follow trinitarian logic, how do we pray to the third person of the Godhead? I think it is important to maintain the familial aspect of our relationship with God, don’t you? So Yahweh is Father, and Yeshua is Brother, so that would make the holy spirit…what? Another brother? Nah. I know… “Our uncle in heaven…”
I know I’m being ridiculous, but I’m just taking the ramifications of the Trinity to their logical conclusion. You see, I’m not a Trinitarian. Big surprise, I know. No, I like the simpler explanation that God gives us to help us understand our relationship with him—that of a father/child relationship. It’s something to which we can all relate. There’s no mystery to it. But it seems that organized religion is always trying to confuse the issue. Either it’s the Trinity, or it’s something else. I was raised as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and they don’t teach the Trinity, but they have another way of messing with the father/child relationship which God is offering to everyone through his Son, Jesus Christ.
As one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I was taught from infancy that I wasn’t privileged to be able to call myself a child of God. The best I could hope for was to be his friend. If I remained loyal to the Organization and behaved until my death, and then got resurrected and continued to be loyal for another 1,000 years, then when the millennial reign of Christ ended, then and only then would I become a child of God, part of his universal family.
I no longer believe that, and I know that many of you listening to these videos agree with me. We now know that the hope held out to Christians is to become adopted children of God, in line with the provision our Father has made by means of the ransom paid through his only-begotten Son’s death. By this means, we can now address God as our Father. But given the pivotal role Jesus plays in our salvation, should we also pray to him? After all, Jesus tells us at Matthew 28:18 that “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” If he’s the second in command of all things, then doesn’t he deserve our prayers?
Some say, “Yes.” They will point to John 14:14 which according to the New American Standard Bible and numerous others reads: “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
It is noteworthy however that the original American Standard Version doesn’t include the object pronoun, “me”. It reads: “If ye shall ask anything in my name, that will I do,” not “if ye shall ask me anything in my name”.
Neither does the venerable King James Bible: “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
Why do some respected Bible versions not include the object pronoun, “me”?
The reason is that not every Bible manuscript available includes it. So how do we decide which manuscript to accept as faithful to the original?
Is Jesus telling us to ask him directly for things we need, or is he telling us to ask the Father and then he, as the Father’s agent—the logos or word—will provide the things the Father directs him to?
We have to rely on overall harmony in the Bible to decide which manuscript to accept. To do that, we don’t even have to go outside of the book of John. In the next chapter, Jesus says: “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” (John 15:16 NASB)
And then in the chapter after that he again tells us: “And on that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” (John 16:23, 24 NASB)
In fact, Jesus takes himself out of the petitioning process altogether. He goes on to add, “On that day you will ask in My name, and I am not saying to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.” (John 16:26, 27 NASB)
He actually says that he will not request of the Father on our behalf. The Father loves us and so we can talk to him directly.
If we are supposed to ask Jesus directly, then he would have to make a request of the Father on our behalf, but he explicitly tells us that he doesn’t do that. Catholicism takes this a step further by including saints in the petitioning process. You petition a saint, and the saint petitions God. You see, the whole process is intended to distance us from our heavenly Father. Who wants to ruin our relationship with God the Father? You know who, don’t you?
But what about those places where Christians are depicted speaking directly to Jesus, even making petitions to him. For instance, Stephen called out to Jesus directly when he was being stoned.
The New International Version renders it: “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”” (Acts 7:59)
But that’s not an accurate translation. Most versions render it, “he called out”. That’s because the Greek verb shown here— epikaloumenon (ἐπικαλούμενον) which is a general word simply meaning to "call out,” and is not ever used in reference to prayer.
proseuchomai (προσεύχομαι) = “to pray”
epikaloumenon (ἐπικαλούμενον) = “to call out"
I won’t attempt to pronounce it—is a common word simply meaning to "call out." It’s never used in reference to prayer which in Greek is a different word altogether. In fact, that Greek word for prayer is never used anywhere in the Bible on connection with Jesus.
Paul doesn’t use the Greek word for prayer when he says that he pleaded with the Lord to remove a thorn in his side.
“So to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.”” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9 BSB)
He didn’t write, “Three times I prayed to the Lord,” but instead used a different word.
Is the Lord here referred to, Jesus, or Jehovah? The Son or the Father? Lord is a title used interchangeably between the two. So we can’t say for sure. Assuming it is Jesus, we have to wonder if this was a vision. Paul spoke to Jesus on the road to Damascus, and had other visions which he refers to in his writings. Here, we see that the Lord spoke to him with a very specific phrase or very specific words. I don’t know about you, but when I pray, I don’t hear a voice from heaven giving me a verbal response. Mind you, I’m not on a par with the Apostle Paul. For one thing, Paul had miraculous visions. Could he be referring to Jesus in a vision, much like the one Peter had when Jesus spoke to him on the rooftop concerning Cornelius? Hey, if Jesus ever speaks to me directly, I’m going to answer him directly, of course. But is that prayer?
We might say that prayer is one of two things: It is a way to request something from God, and it is also a means of praising God. But I can ask you for something? That doesn’t mean I’m praying to you, does it? And I can praise you for something, but again, I wouldn’t say that I’m praying to you. So prayer is more than a conversation wherein we make requests, seek guidance, or offer thanks—all things we can do of or to a fellow human. Prayer is the means by which we communicate with God. Specifically, it’s the way that we talk with God.
To my understanding, that is the crux of the matter. John reveals about Jesus that “to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.” (John 1:12, 13 BSB)
We don’t receive authority to become children of Jesus. We’ve been given the authority to become children of God. For the first time, humans have been given the right to call God their personal Father. What a privilege Jesus has made possible for us: To call God, “Father.” My biological father was named Donald, and anyone on earth had the right to call him by his name, but only I and my sister had the right to call him “Father.” So now we can call God Almighty “Dad,” “Papa,” “Abba,” “Father.” Why wouldn’t we want to take full advantage of that?
I’m not in a position to make a rule regarding whether or not you should pray to Jesus. You must do what your conscience tells you to do. But in making that determination, consider this relationship: In a family, you can have many brothers, but only one Father. You will talk to your oldest brother. Why not? But the discussions you have with your father are different. They are unique. Because he is your father, and there is only one of those.
Jesus never told us to pray to him, but only to pray to his Father and ours, his God and ours. Jesus gave us a direct line to God as our personal Father. Why would we not want to take advantage of that at every opportunity?
Again, I’m not making a rule about whether it is right or wrong to pray to Jesus. That’s not my place. It’s a matter of conscience. If you want to talk with Jesus as one brother to another, that’s up to you. But when it comes to prayer, there does seem to be a difference that is hard to quantify but easy to see. Remember, it was Jesus who told us to pray to the Father in heaven and who taught us how do pray to our Father in heaven. He never told us to pray to himself.
Thank you for watching and for your support of this work.
For more information about this subject see the link in the description field of this video. https://proselytiserofyah.wordpress.com/2022/08/11/can-we-pray-to-jesus/
Archived Comments
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Comment by James Mansoor on 2022-10-04 20:45:39
Good morning Eric,
Before I started watching this video that you have posted I looked at another video that you have made “should we worship Jesus”.
Your thoughts on both subjects have brought the greatest delight to my heart I truly would like to thank you from the depth of my heart, just to spend an hour and a half or so listening to the two parts it is truly being an enlightenment for my spirituality.
All that you’re doing is making us reason from the Scriptures to see how we fit in, between our heavenly father and the Lord Jesus Christ and their purpose for us.
I recently had a discussion with a Trinitarian woman. This is where the line of your reasoning just in the first few sentences came to my mind, talk about the holy spirit bringing certain logic with the Scriptures to drive a point across.
The woman stated that she prays to Jesus Christ because Jesus is God God is God and the holy spirit is God. I asked her, has she ever prayed to the holy spirit since the holy spirit is God? She stated that she has never been confronted with this question before, as you have stated in the first opening sentences.
I asked her how would she address the holy spirit in her prayer? She did not know how to answer as she said, I have never prayed to the Holy Spirit.
Needless to say she made the statement that we as Jehovah’s Witnesses do not mention Jesus that often in our conversation, and she was wondering if we were ever a Christian organisation.
The scriptures that you used in the two videos I actually used with her, the brother that I was with as we were going from house to house was astounded about my spiritual knowledge that’s based on the Bible, I said to him there are some brothers “referring to you” in my heart and my mind, that have a deeper knowledge of the Scriptures than myself.
You would not believe it Eric he asked me which brother or which elder have I been speaking to that has this incredible wealth of information. Oh if only I could tell.
It hurts deeply to be PIMO, However I have decided to tell my wife and my closest friends that I’m seriously considering of Partaking of the emblems at the next memorial.
Once again Eric thank you very very much from the depth of my heart for the wealth and the spiritual food that you keep dispensing at the right time.
May Jehovah God and his son Jesus Christ be with the spirit that you show
Take care and many thanksReply by Meleti Vivlon on 2022-10-05 07:31:05
Hi James,
I did see a comment yesterday that was sent to my email address, and I wanted to give it a thumbs up, but when I logged into the BP website, it had disappeared and it wasn't in the pending queue either. After seeing your other comment this morning, I looked again and noticed that there was a single comment in the Spam folder. Why, I have no idea. However, I marked it as not spam and here it is. Sorry about that.
Comment by Aleks Kristiani on 2022-09-30 20:01:04
This was also the topic of discussion in our Italian group brother Eric,,,I have reached the same conclusions from my personal study of the Bible,,Hallelujah,,,,
Comment by yobec on 2022-10-01 13:00:49
In Acts chapter 4, we can see that it is the Father that is beeing adressed in prayer, especially when noting that the words " your holy servant Jesus " is employed.
Comment by James Mansoor on 2022-10-05 01:16:10
Hi Eric
I left a comment it’s pending approval I think the system keeps throwing me out every time I’m trying to edit a word.
Take care and once again many thanks for the article very informative
Comment by jwc on 2022-10-09 15:47:16
Eric - many thanks for sharing your thoughts. Prayer to God our Father Jehovah through Jesus Christ is correct.
But as Christians our relationship is with both the Father & His Son, Jesus Christ.
Considering what Christ did for us, at times it is perfectly understandable that we give special thanks to & call upon Jesus for help. Like Stephen, on occasions we feel our love for both The Father & His Son - Luke 19:10.Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2022-10-10 10:12:19
Quite right. We have a relationship with both, as I explain in the video. One is our Father; the other, our brother.
Reply by Ralf on 2022-10-11 14:41:00
I agree, Jesus is our brother. Jehovah is our Father. One of the reasons Jesus became man was to reveal the Father to us. Hebrews 1:3. Jesus said ask in his name (John 14:14). Is asking in his name praying? Does it matter much whether or not we call it prayer? In Acts 2, Stephen asks Jesus to receive his spirit. Prayer? Does all this discussion about how and who to pray to really affect who Jesus is? His nature(s)? His divinity? You have mentioned the Holy Spirit and prayer. The Holy Spirit can be the divine third person of the one true God without ever being prayed to. I don't know if you believe the Spirit to be a force, a person, a god, or what?
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2022-10-11 16:42:33
Okay, so Jesus is God Almighty, right? The Holy Spirit is God Almighty, right? Jehovah is God Almighty also, right?
Let me reword your statement in line with the counsel of Proverbs 26:4.
I agree, God Almighty is our brother. God Almighty is our Father. One of the reasons God Almighty became man was to reveal God Almighty to us. Hebrews 1:3. God Almighty said ask in his name (John 14:14). Is asking in God Almighty's name praying? Does it matter much whether or not we call it prayer? In Acts 2, Stephen asks God Almighty to receive his spirit. Prayer? Does all this discussion about how and who to pray to really affect who God Almighty is? His nature(s)? His divinity? You have mentioned God Almighty and prayer. God Almighty can be the divine third person of the one true God without ever being prayed to. I don’t know if you believe God Almighty to be a force, a person, a god, or what?Reply by Ralf on 2022-10-11 22:27:48
As for the reference to Proverbs 26:4, I take that as a personal affront. But no harm done. Proverbs 26:4 is good counsel, but not a suggestion to insult the one you believe to be saying something foolish or consider a fool. That isn't loving your neighbor or having his best interest in mind. Just make your point, from scripture and allow me to continue to be a fool or as is often stated in Proverbs, benefit from instruction and correction. I believe the saying is "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Or as Peter records, we should be prepared to make a defense with respect and kindness.
As far offering instruction or correction, replacing "Jesus" and "Holy Spirit" with "God Almighty" in my post does in a way make a point I agree with. The supreme being is three distinct persons in one true God. Because you find it impossible doesn't make it impossible. If God's word is inerrant, then when Thomas identifies Jesus as God and Jesus doesn't deny it, when Stephen calls on Jesus to receive his spirit, and when Jesus says that he and the Father are one, I believe it. I not only don't have to be able to explain it, I can't explain it.Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2022-10-12 10:05:27
Think about it. There are many, many scriptures that clearly identify the Father as God. These verses do not imply he is God, but clearly state it. There are many verses that clearly state Jesus is the son of God, and even that he is a god himself, but none that declare he is God Almighty. If there were, then while I might find the logic to be beyond my comprehension, I would accept it. I could acknowledge it as a divine mystery. However, it doesn't say that. I have only the interpretation of men, trinitarians men, to go by. So you are asking me to accept your very human interpretation and overlook the illogic not because the illogic is stated in Scripture, but because it is the result of your human opinion.
Take your reliance on what Timothy says. If an angel were to appear right now in a crowd of evangelical Christians, you know that people would explain "My God!". Now, you and I know they wouldn't be calling the angel God, but would someone two thousand years from now reading a translation of what would by then be ancient English understand that to be merely an exclamation?
Answer me that one question honestly and perhaps we'll have the basis for further honeyed discussion.
Comment by Jose on 2022-10-10 11:01:17
Hallo Eric,
So glaube ich auch. Ein sehr guter Artikel, vielen Dank.
Shalom Jose
Comment by TruthSeekerJohn146 on 2022-10-28 13:07:33
PART 1 of 3
To anyone who reads this, once again know that I am writing solely out of concern for your salvation. I have a few questions and points of clarity I wish to offer concerning this article, and I ask that anyone who reads my comments examine the Bible on these matters. (Note: I am dividing my response into 3 parts to make it more digestible. I respectfully ask that all 3 parts be read.)
To begin with, this article asks—almost as if it is a “trump card” question—“And if we are going to follow trinitarian logic, how do we pray to the third person of the Godhead?” Let us assume for the sake of argument that no Trinitarian has ever even thought of this question, much less given a well-reasoned answer to it. At best, the article has simply identified an area where Trinitarians do not behave consistently with their professed beliefs. At worst, the article has committed a non sequitur fallacy by implying that if Trinitarians don’t act consistently with their doctrine, their doctrine must be false. That does not follow in the least. One could just as easily argue that God must approve of lying, given that every professed believer in God has lied at some point. But our actions (or lack of actions) do not determine whether our beliefs about God are true. Even if a Trinitarian has never prayed to Jesus or the Holy Spirit, that would not in any way suggest that the Trinity is false.
Also, I have to point out that the same author who in this article mocks Trinitarians for their alleged lack of clarity on the Holy Spirit’s identity elsewhere wrote (in Part 2 of the Trinity series), “What is the Holy Spirit? I have no idea.” Since the author of this site “has no idea” what the Holy Spirit is, it seems ironic, to say the least, that he throws rocks at Trinitarians for allegedly not knowing how to address the Spirit in prayer. Why is it that such “mysteries” are seen as damaging to the Trinity doctrine, but mysteries are perfectly acceptable for non-Trinitarian theologies? With respect, I have to ask: Are these articles using the very double standards they accuse Trinitarians of using?
Another problem with this article is that it seemingly takes a rigid (dare I say “hyper literal”?) interpretation of Matthew 6:9. Yes, Jesus taught His followers how to pray, but He was not giving them a narrow list of words that must be spoken at the exclusion of all others. If we are supposed to always pray the words of Matthew 6:9, then what excuse is there for deviating in the slightest from the rest of this prayer? Why didn’t the disciples begin their prayer with “Our Father in heaven” when they prayed for a replacement for Judas in Acts 1:24-25? Why didn’t they request their daily bread, ask for help avoiding temptation, etc.?
(Please note: I do not wish to mischaracterize the author’s view of Matthew 6, and I apologize if I misunderstood it. I simply want to point out that since this prayer is not a rigid formula, it is erroneous to argue from Matthew 6:9 that we should *only* pray to the Father.)
Going back to the disciples’ prayer in Acts 1:24, one could argue they were praying to Jesus here. Notice they addressed their prayer to the “Lord” who has “chosen” the new apostle. The context of this chapter shows Jesus is the “Lord” (Acts 1:21) who chooses the apostles (Acts 1:2). Jesus Himself declared that the apostles are chosen by Him (John 6:70). Thus, Acts 1:24 would be an example where the Greek word for “pray” is used in reference to Jesus.
Note also the end of the prayer teaching in Matthew 6:13, which says, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” If the contents of this prayer (and prayer in general) are only supposed to be directed to God the Father, it is strange that the Bible offers virtually identical praise to Jesus. For instance, 2 Peter 3:18 says, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” Such language makes perfect sense if Jesus and the Father are distinct Persons and yet equally God (analogous to the way height and width are distinct dimensions but equally space). But if Jesus is a separate god, then Peter’s honoring of Jesus without even mentioning God the Father amounts to provoking the Father to jealousy. As Jehovah Himself says, “You shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14).
(Continued in Parts 2 and 3)
Comment by TruthSeekerJohn146 on 2022-10-28 13:13:23
PART 2 of 3
Hello again! In case you come across this comment before my others, please know this will make more sense if you read Part 1 first.
Regarding the above article’s question about how to address the Holy Spirit in prayer, the question seems to assume that we must have a “proper name” for the Spirit in order to do so. But are there not prayers in the Bible addressed simply to “the Lord” (Acts 1:24-25)? “Lord” is not a proper name. So why not simply address the Holy Spirit as “Holy Spirit”?
Since the article concedes that it is permissible to “talk to” or “call on” Jesus, I would argue this logic requires the same conclusion for the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples that the Spirit is “another Helper” (John 14:16), implying that the Spirit is a Person like Jesus. Moreover, Acts 13:2 records the Holy Spirit speaking to the apostles: “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” If the Holy Spirit talks to others and calls Himself “I” and “Me,” surely it is not wrong to talk to Him.
Perhaps the reason some are confused by the notion of praying to the Holy Spirit is that He helps believers with prayer. Romans 8:26 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” We are then told that the Father “knows what the mind of the Spirit is” (verse 27). At minimum, this passage shows that the Holy Spirit is intimately involved in Christians' prayers and that He must be a Person because He has a mind. The Holy Spirit also makes decisions (Acts 15:28). Most notably, He decides which gifts are distributed to which believers (1 Corinthians 12:11). Romans 15:30 also references the “love of the Spirit,” demonstrating (at minimum) that the Holy Spirit is personal. This truth is reflected in 2 Corinthians 13:14 when Paul writes, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” It should be noted the Greek word translated “fellowship” here is the same word used in 1 Corinthians 1:9 to reference the fellowship of Jesus Christ. It seems obvious that we are expected (and therefore able) to have fellowship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Since Trinitarians recognize that God exists as distinct Persons with distinct roles, our prayers take this into account. For instance, a Trinitarian would not pray to the Father and say, “Thank You for taking on flesh and dying for my sins.” It was the Son who did that. Nor would we thank the Spirit for doing this (but we might ask Him to convict people of sin, since John 16:8 says He performs this role). Given the article’s stance on talking to Jesus, I presume you agree there is nothing wrong with thanking Jesus for dying for us (and yet you think this would somehow not count as a prayer of thanksgiving?).
The article seems to imply that we should pray only to the Father and merely “call out to” or “call on” the Son. One then wonders why believers are said to “call on” God the Father (1 Peter 1:17), the same way they are said to “call on” the name of Jesus (Acts 9:14; 1 Corinthians 1:2). In fact, the biblical basis for “calling on” the name of Jesus comes from Joel 2:32, which says, “And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD (YHWH) shall be saved.” As other articles on this site have mentioned, the New Testament quotes Joel 2:32 in reference to calling on Jesus (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13). And the Greek word translated “call on” is the very word that this article claims “is never used in reference to prayer.”
One would be hard-pressed to argue that when Joel said we should “call on” the name of YHWH, he had in mind some indefinable distinction between praying to the Almighty and merely talking to Him. The above article says that the difference between talking to Jesus and praying to Him is “hard to quantify but easy to see.” However, in light of the scriptural evidence I have laid out, I would respectfully disagree that the difference is “easy to see.”
That said, I do appreciate the author’s statement that he is “not in a position to make a rule regarding whether or not you should pray to Jesus.” Both sides would agree that no human can make such a rule; we must discern the truth from Scripture. Yet at the risk of sounding overly critical, I have to ask…is the author admitting that, from his perspective, the question of whether we should pray to Jesus is a mystery? If so, I would ask again why non-Trinitarian “mysteries” are perfectly acceptable, but perceived mysteries of the Trinity are dismissed as “illogic.” If I could respectfully borrow a tactic from your side… “Surely if the Father *did not* want us to pray to Jesus or the Holy Spirit, He would have made that abundantly clear to us.” Right?
The article closes by seemingly suggesting that we should not pray to Jesus because “He never told us to pray to himself.” With all due respect, I must point out that this is an argument from silence. We could use the same logic to argue against pursuing advances in medicine, helping old people cross the street, or even writing articles on websites—all things Jesus also “never told us to do.” Indeed, the “Who Are We?” page of this very website says, “When Jesus departed, he did not commission his disciples to do research. He commissioned them to make disciples for him.” Yet, obviously, the author did research in order to make this site. Since he admits that Jesus never told people to do research, does that make research wrong?
(Continued in Part 3)
Comment by TruthSeekerJohn146 on 2022-10-28 13:19:18
PART 3 of 3
After reading Parts 1 and 2, please know that I do not want anyone to simply start praying to Jesus. If you still think of Christ as a separate and inferior god, praying to Him would actually be a sin. My hope is that you come to honor Jesus just as you honor the Father (John 5:23). Any theology that says Jesus is a separate, lesser god than the Father is necessarily giving Jesus less honor. And that means you are not truly honoring the Father or the Son.
The Bible makes it clear there is only one God—not simply one God who rules over “little gods” but one God in existence, period. Jehovah plainly tells us, “I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me” (Isaiah 43:10). This rules out the idea that Jesus is a lesser, created god. We see this strict monotheism reaffirmed repeatedly throughout Scripture (Deuteronomy 4:39; 1 Chronicles 16:26; Jeremiah 10:10; Isaiah 46:9; Galatians 4:8; 1 Thessalonians 1:9). James 2:19 notes that even demons believe there is only one God, showing how utterly fundamental this truth is to biblical theology. If monotheism is something even demons are afraid to deny, why would we dare to reject it?
Were this the end of the Bible’s teaching about God, I suspect no one would dispute it. Yet we must now look at additional teachings. Solomon—the wisest man besides Jesus—spoke to YHWH and said, “You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men” (1 Kings 8:39; cf 1 Chronicles 28:9). And yet the Bible elsewhere tells us that Jesus “had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man” (John 2:25; cf Revelation 2:23). If *only YHWH* knows the hearts of men, and Jesus knows the hearts of men, who does that make Jesus? And what does it say about the Holy Spirit that He knows the thoughts of God the Father just as thoroughly as a man’s spirit knows the man’s thoughts (1 Corinthians 2:10-11)?
The Bible also teaches that YHWH is present in all places at once (Jeremiah 23:24; John 14:23); Jesus has this attribute (Matthew 28:20; John 14:23) and so does the Holy Spirit (Psalm 139:7; John 14:16-17). According to Psalm 90:2 and Isaiah 40:28, YHWH is everlasting (meaning He always existed); the Bible likewise tells us that Jesus has always existed (John 1:3; 1 John 1:2) and so has the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 9:14). The Bible also tells us the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are omniscient (1 John 3:20; John 16:30; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11).
From this data alone, we might conclude that YHWH perhaps manifests Himself in different modes. Maybe He first appeared as the Father, later showed up as Jesus (the Son), and then came to indwell disciples as the Holy Spirit. However, this view—known as “modalism”—is contradicted by clear interactions between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. For example, the Father spoke to Jesus and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus at His baptism (Luke 3:21-22). This indicates that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit exist simultaneously and are distinct in some way…and yet, given the Bible’s emphatic monotheism, they cannot be separate gods.
If anyone is still reading, please know that my heart goes out to everyone on this website. You have escaped the snare of the Watchtower, yet you are still carrying around its anti-Trinitarian rhetoric. I sincerely hope that, just as Naaman the Syrian honestly desired Israel’s God but mistakenly thought he needed Israel’s dirt, these anti-Trinitarian articles represent an early stage in your reexamination of biblical truth and that you will one day stop rejecting the true Jesus.
For more on these subjects, I would again point readers to irr.org and 4jehovah.org. And, more importantly, test all things by the Scriptures.
Comment by Mersini on 2022-11-12 08:42:07
Speaking to Jesus is different from praying to him. If we read Rev 5,8 we get the impression that prayers are of essential importance. For me prayer is part of sacred service (λατρεία) what is meant for God alone, as JC confirmed in the citation of Mat 4,10
Προσκύνηση can and will be given to JC. He surely deserves all honour we can possibly show him, but he said clearly that he didn't come to be served but to serve.
Actually I feel that Jehova may not get much annoyed in case we pray to Jesus, since he had received this close position to his father, superior to every other power. But for me it is a matter of respect towards God and Jesus, since it's obvious that prayers are meant to be addressed to God alone.
And by the way - have you ever heard anyone saying: Whatever you ask me in my name?? Does this make any sense??