John 1:1 and the Jehovah’s Witnesses – Episode 14, Old Testament View of gods

From John’s perspective, could he, would he, describe Jesus as ‘a’ god? Jehovah’s Witnesses claim so in their online commentary:

the Word was a god: Or “the Word was divine [or, “a godlike one”].” This statement by John describes a quality or characteristic of “the Word” (Greek, ho loʹgos; see study note on the Word in this verse), that is, Jesus Christ. The Word’s preeminent position as the firstborn Son of God through whom God created all other things is a basis for describing him as “a god; a godlike one; divine; a divine being.” Many translators favor the rendering “the Word was God,” equating him with God Almighty. However, there are good reasons for saying that John did not mean that “the Word” was the same as Almighty God. First, the preceding clause and the following clause both clearly state that “the Word” was “with God.” Also, the Greek word the·osʹ occurs three times in verses 1 and 2. In the first and third occurrences, the·osʹ is preceded by the definite article in Greek; in the second occurrence, there is no article. Many scholars agree that the absence of the definite article before the second the·osʹ is significant. When the article is used in this context, the·osʹ refers to God Almighty. On the other hand, the absence of the article in this grammatical construction makes the·osʹ qualitative in meaning and describes a characteristic of “the Word.” 

This commentary appears to be taking both the view that “God” should be viewed as indefinite and as qualitative, two very different meanings. Since they believe that Jesus is a created being they cannot mean by “divine” (their qualitative translation) equal in essence, but rather choose to view it as “godlike,” less than God. And to be fair, in English we do use the word “divine” to mean, often, godlike, not equal to God. But is that what John would mean?

To get at John’s intent it would be helpful to understand the Jewish perspective on gods and godlike beings. And helpfully, we have in one place in the Old Testament, a clear teaching from no less than Moses on the nature of gods, and that forms the consistent perspective throughout the rest of the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 32 Moses recites the words of a song to the whole assembly of Israel. His song begins:

32:1 Pay attention, heavens, and I will speak; listen, earth, to the words from my mouth.

Moses is not only speaking the words of this song to earth’s inhabitants, but heaven’s inhabitants, as well. Which inhabitants of heaven would he be addressing? He isn’t instructing God, but other members of the heavens, whom he will describe later.

2 Let my teaching fall like rain and my word settle like dew, like gentle rain on new grass and showers on tender plants.

His song is one of instruction, designed to spark growth in the one’s listening, and that certainly does not include God.

3 For I will proclaim Yahweh’s name. Declare the greatness of our God! 4 The Rock—his work is perfect; all his ways are just. A faithful God, without bias, he is righteous and true.

What is God’s name? Moses states it here, though it is hidden in our English translation. Whenever you see the word LORD with the ‘ORD’ in small capital letters in most English
translations, that is a representation of the Hebrew word for God’s name, Yahweh. So Moses wants to declare Yahweh’s name, which means he wants to declare the character of Yahweh, what it is that makes Yahweh special. Yahweh is a Rock, not shifting sands or drowning waters, and His ways are perfect and just, a Rock who never falters, faithful and without bias, righteous and true.

5 His people have acted corruptly toward him; this is their defect—they are not his children but a devious and crooked generation. 6 Is this how you repay Yahweh, you foolish and senseless people? Isn’t he your Father and Creator? Didn’t he make you and sustain you?

Do you recall how, almost immediately after released by Yahweh from slavery in Egypt, when Israel had come to Mt. Sinai and saw the display of Yahweh’s power on the mountain, that Moses went up on the mountain to receive the ten commandments? While Moses is getting the Law from Yahweh, the people convince Aaron to form out of gold a god or gods for them to worship (Exodus 32). And there were several occasions on which they were “foolish and senseless” about their Father and Creator.

7 Remember the days of old; consider the years of past generations. Ask your father, and he will tell you, your elders, and they will teach you. 8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance and divided the human race, he set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the people of Israel. 9 But Yahweh’s portion is his people, Jacob, his own inheritance.

Yahweh is God of all the nations, determining their boundaries, the lands they inherit. But He is especially the God of Israel, His people, viewing them as His special inheritance who receives His special affection. They are the center of His world, the focus of His attention, the ones He has chosen to use as the example for all the other nations. The people of Israel are the ones Yahweh intended to teach the other nations about Him, the true God.

10 He found him in a desolate land, in a barren, howling wilderness; he surrounded him, cared for him, and protected him as the pupil of his eye. 11 He watches over his nest like an eagle and hovers over his young; he spreads his wings, catches him, and carries him on his feathers. 12 Yahweh alone led him, with no help from a foreign god. 13 He made him ride on the heights of the land and eat the produce of the field. He nourished him with honey from the rock and oil from flinty rock, curds from the herd and milk from the flock, with the fat of lambs, rams from Bashan, and goats, with the choicest grains of wheat; you drank wine from the finest grapes.

Yahweh had done everything possible to make Israel a flourishing nation, without the help of any foreign god. Israel was aware of the various gods the peoples around them worshiped. Egypt worshiped Osiris, Isis, Horus, Re, Amon, and Anubis, among others. The peoples of Canaan worshiped Baal, Asherah, Chemosh, Dagon, El, and Moloch. None of those gods helped Israel make it through the desert.

In Exodus 12:12 Yahweh told Moses, before the eve of Passover and Israel’s departure or exodus from Egypt, “For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.” Whom did Yahweh judge? If these “gods” are not real entities, the entities Moses is addressing in the heavens, there is no real judgment on them. Rather, the judgment is on Egypt, not their gods.

15 Then Jeshurun became fat and rebelled—you became fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation. 16 They provoked his jealousy with different gods; they enraged him with detestable practices.

My wife and I support a young woman in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We had led her to the Lord in 2008. Her parents had died of AIDS and her grandmother could not afford to feed her, so her grandmother gave her to God one day, which means she took her out in the middle of the city and she abandoned her on the street and left her to God to take care of her. Well, He did. She made her way to our ministry there in Addis and she got saved. We helped her with room and board and school and now she is studying accounting in college. What do you think we would feel if we started seeing Facebook posts from her thanking Fred Smith from FedEx for sustaining her? I’m pretty sure Fred is a good guy, but he had nothing to do with Mitu’s rescue from the streets. He hasn’t been taking care of her for 12 years. He hasn’t answered her questions, commiserated with her when she’s down, or prayed for her all this time. What could possibly motivate her to do such a thing? We’ve been faithful and loyal to her. It would be the utmost betrayal.

But that is exactly what Israel did to Yahweh. They gave credit to Baal for making their crops grow, for making their cows birth calves, and for sustaining their lives. They brought sacrifices to Baal and Molech, in some instances even sacrificing their infant children to Molech to move him to act on their behalf. But Moses explains what was really happening.

17 They sacrificed to demons, not God, to gods they had not known, new gods that had just arrived, which your ancestors did not fear.

The gods that Israel began sacrificing to were not who Israel thought they were. Baal was not the god of fertility and storms. He was a fallen angel who was masquerading as a god who deserved worship and to whom you must sacrifice to get his blessing. No doubt this demon was able to persuade his followers with supernatural acts of power. No doubt he was able to communicate to his prophets and priests to express his desires and wishes. But was this demon a Rock, something solid to stand on in a desert storm, not shifting sands or drowning waters. Was everything about him perfection and justice. Was he true and faithful to those who worshiped him and not moved to bias or prejudice when it came to how he treated each and every one of his people. Was the demon representing himself as Baal the standard of what is right and true? No way.

18 You ignored the Rock who gave you birth; you forgot the God who gave birth to you. 19 When Yahweh saw this, he despised them, angered by his sons and daughters. 20 He said, “I will hide my face from them; I will see what will become of them, for they are a perverse generation—unfaithful children. 21 They have provoked my jealousy with what is not a god; they have enraged me with their worthless idols.

So here is the final verdict. Israel has worshiped worthless idols that represent what is not really a god. The demons who masquerade as gods are not really gods in the sense of the true God, Yahweh. They are real, supernatural beings with abilities beyond that of humans, we might even say “divine,” but who are nothing compared to Yahweh. Only Yahweh can create something out of nothing. Only Yahweh knows all things, is everywhere present, is eternal, is indeed uncreated. Only He is capable of providing the rain that gently waters the new grass and tender plants, that causes the crops to produce their yield, that makes plants and animals and humans fertile for reproduction. Only He is capable of rescuing us from the consequences of our rebellion.

This is the perspective Israelites had of gods. The gods are not good things, but bad things. They are evil spirits pretending to be gods who deserve worship. They are what the apostle Paul describes as “so-called gods” (1 Corinthians 8:5) and why Paul says you cannot go to the worship services of idols because that is participating in “the table of demons” (1 Corinthians 10:21). Such gods always demand worship and claim to be the creators, but they are not.

Would the apostle John really have depicted Jesus as a god? Well, it is still possible. Perhaps he is giving a new spin to gods, making a new definition. Jehovah’s Witnesses would define ‘god’ in this sense as one who has the “preeminent position as the firstborn Son of God through whom God created all other things,” thus “describing him as a god; a godlike one; divine; a divine being.” Is this the way John describes Jesus throughout the rest of his Gospel?