I was busied today with many phone calls & trying to catch up with things now that I am finally home. One surprise waiting for me when I got up this morning was a visit from a pair of watchtower society tract distributors (hereafter JWs).
At my home, we almost never get visited by mormons or christadelphians despite their presence in the area, however the JWs will occasionally hazard a visit. I had not had visitors of this nature for many months and as usual was caught offguard by their appearance.
After raising a few questions in response to their pitch, I inevitably approached the issue of Christ's divinity. The important thing here is to remember that no matter how well you know the Word, always have a Bible at hand. I knew their corruption of John 1, knew their Bible retained Thomas calling Jesus "My Lord and my God!" in John 20:28 and a few other tricks, but had I had an open Bible I would have seen how atrocious their translation of 1 Colossians 1:15-6 was.
By changing "firstborn over all creation" to "firstborn of creation" & claiming all other things were created by Christ instead of all things, the New World Translation cements itself as a blasphemous and heretic corruption of the Holy Scriptures, designed to promote the ancient heresy revived by the watchtower society.
Is all this an issue for a site about eusebeia to be concerned with. Most definitely.
Eusebeia is all about correct and rightful reverence towards God, so we should all be precise about how much honour we afford to Jesus Christ. If Jesus was some super-spirit as they claim and we give Him adoration and glory, then He poses a threat to the worship of the True God. But if He is indeed that True God and we fail to give Him the reverence He deserves, we have failed in godliness.
Just as the nature of Christ is pivotal to all areas of the Christian faith, we see that in the case of eusebeia, no one can claim godliness without receiving it from Christ. Jesus gave us the perfect example to follow in giving honour to His Heavenly Father and ours. But we are mistaken if we fall into this deceitful trap of thinking that this reverence of the Father by the Son, somehow makes the Son less divine.
Philippians 2:5-11
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth; And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Matthew 1:23
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
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