Is Jesus still a man?

This article will take the form of a simulated discussion between a Jehovah's Witness named Joe and a Christian named Chris.

Chris: Joe, I was very concerned when I found out that your organization denies the humanity of Jesus.

Joe: What do you mean? We believe that Jesus was a man.

Chris: I know that you believe that Jesus used to be a man. The concern I have is that your religion teaches that Jesus isn't a man right now.

Joe: Well, Jesus can't be a man right now because he sacrificed his humanity at death so that he could be recreated as a mighty spirit creature.

Chris: I really have a problem with that teaching.

Joe: Why?

Chris: Well, if Jesus isn't a resurrected man right now as historic Christianity has always taught, then how could he fill his roles as mediator, judge and king?

Joe: I don't see any problem at all with Jesus being a spirit.

Chris: Well I do. Maybe you can explain some biblical passages to me that conflict with your teaching that Jesus is a spirit.

Joe: Sure I would be happy to.

Chris: Well, the first one is about Jesus being our mediator. In 1 Tim. 2:5 the Bible says that there is one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. How could Jesus be mediator if he is a spirit and not a man?

Joe: This passage must refer to Jesus before he died.

Chris: But doesn't this passage say that there is one mediator - the Man? That's present tense and this was written long after Jesus died.

Joe: I never saw it that way before. I will have to do some research on that. What is your second problem?

Chris: The second passage I have questions on is Acts 17:31. Here the Bible says that God "Has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom he has ordained." That is a prophecy about the future. If Jesus wasn't resurrected as a man thus retaining his humanity, wouldn't this prophecy from Acts 17:31 make God a false prophet?

Joe: Of course not, God can't be a false prophet. Everything that he prophesies comes true.

Chris: Well, then if Jesus has given up his humanity, how can the man be designated to judge the world?

Joe: Well, Michael the Archangel used to be called Jesus when he was a man on earth and he has retained the name Jesus to show his connection with the man Jesus.

Chris: Having a man's name doesn't make you a man. If you say that Jesus gave up his humanity then your Jesus isn't human any more. Hebrews 2:5 say that God has not put the world to come in subjection to angels. No spirit qualifies to judge the world.

Joe: I will have to do some research on that. What was that last problem you have with Jesus being a spirit?

Chris: The last contradiction that really bothers me is Jesus being a spirit king.

Joe: That one is easy. The Watchtower teaches us that Jesus was enthroned as king in 1914. We have lots of books and literature written to prove this.

Chris: Joe, please tell me, what throne did Jesus take in 1914?

Joe: What do you mean "what throne did Jesus take"?

Chris: Do you remember the promises that Jehovah God make to David? Acts 13:23 says that "From this man's seed (that's David's seed), according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior - Jesus".

Joe: Sure, I remember. Jehovah promised the Messiah to come through the line of David. We know that Jesus was a physical descendent of David.

Chris: That's right. The Messiah had to be born of the line of David. But Jesus' birth was not the only prophecy made concerning his ancestral lines. One of the most important prophecies concerns Jesus' role as king and the throne that he was to inherit. In Psalms 132:11 Jehovah God swears to David that his seed shall sit upon his throne. This promise is repeated in Acts 2:30: "God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne". When did the man Jesus sit on the throne of David?

Joe: He didn't.

Chris: Then did God lie to David?

Joe: Of course not.

Chris: Then when will the man Jesus sit on David's throne?

Joe: He is sitting on the throne right now.

Chris: But your Jesus is a spirit being, not a man. Can you explain how a spirit qualifies to be the seed of David?

Joe: Well, he used to be.

Chris: Used to be's don't count. Jesus must sit on the throne as a man according to the prophecy. The Watchtower says that the man Jesus is dead and dissolved into gases. It isn't possible for a spirit to sit on David's throne. If Jesus the man doesn't sit on David's throne, then the Watchtower makes Jehovah God out to be a false prophet.

Joe: Well, I have never seen that before, but I know that Jesus has to be a spirit because the Bible says that Jesus was put to death in the flesh and made alive in the spirit.

Chris: I'm glad that you brought that up. Let's discuss that passage next week.

Go to Part 2 Was Jesus put to death in the flesh?

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