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John 1:1 and the Jehovah’s Witnesses – Episode 2, Creator, Not Helper
The historic Christian view of Jesus, based in part on John 1:1, has been that Jesus is equal to God. He is the Son of God, a member of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Of course, the Jehovah’s Witnesses view is that Jesus is the first and highest created being who came into existence at the beginning and he helped with creation. On their official website they say,
He was God’s first creation, and he helped in the creation of all other things. He is the
only one created directly by Jehovah and is therefore appropriately called God’s “only begotten” Son.
The implication is that Jesus was directly created by the Father, then the Father used him to “help” create all other things. Of course, that is not what John says. He doesn’t say Jesus helped God create. He said, “nothing came into being without him.”
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and nothing that came into being came into being without him. (John 1:1,2)
But, we might ask, if, according to Witnesses, Jesus helped God create, how would he do that? What would he bring to the table? Did he advise God how to do His creation? “Father, why don’t you make a moon for earth, and how about making a billion different kinds of flowers.” Did he actually bring things into existence, create things out of nothing? Can a created being do that? If a being can create something out of nothing, doesn’t that, by definition, make him God? Or did he somehow take something God made out of nothing and add some finishing touches to it?
When we ask the question, “Exactly how did Jesus help God create,” none of the answers
sound very acceptable. God doesn’t need advice on how to order His creation. He very plainly tells Job that in Job 40&41. Jesus couldn’t help by creating things out of nothing because only God can do that, as He indicates in several places:
- Exodus 20:11, For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is
in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day
and made it holy. - Revelation 10:6, and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and
what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay. - Psalm 104:24, O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
- Acts 17:24, The God who made the world and everything in it.
And certainly, Jesus didn’t help God create by taking what God already created it and working with that, because Scripture clearly tells us that Jesus created all things:
- Colossians 1:16, For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Indeed, Jesus has created living beings, certainly included in “all things” and specified in “rulers” and “authorities. And he created us! Can a created being do that? What do you think? What would your reasoning be?
About the Author Randall Johnson
A full-time pastor since 1979, Randall originally graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary (ThM) in 1979 and from Reformed Theological Seminary (DMin) in 1998. He is married with four grown children and a pile of epic grandchildren.
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