.:I’M CONFUSED. WHO IS GOD? I HAVE A CHRISTIAN MOM AND A JEHOVAH’S WITNESS DAD. Who should I believe?
Hi, I’m 16 years old and I have a Christian mother and a Jehovah’s Witness dad. I am super confused! I go to church on Tuesday for my dad and Wednesday for my mom. Every time, I go to my dad’s church (the Kingdom Hall), I’m really bored and I just want to get out of there. When I go to my mom’s church, I like it and I have friends there at the youth group. I don’t want to hurt my dad’s feelings when I tell him I don’t want to go to his church. Well, I met an ex-Jehovah’s Witness who explained to me that some people say Jesus is Jehovah and that doesn’t make sense. Then, I went to my mom’s church and they were talking about the “Father” and the “Son.” Well, who is the Father? I asked my mom and she tried to tell me that Jesus and Jehovah are the same thing. They’re inside your heart. What? Isn’t that what the ex-Jehovah’s Witness friend was telling me that didn’t make sense? So, does that mean my mom doesn’t know who God is either? Now when my dad tries to tell me that mom is wrong, I don’t say anything because I’m confused! Who is God?
Dear friend,
We can only imagine the confusion you must be experiencing having a Jehovah’s Witness dad and a Christian mom. When it comes to the nature of God, both religions teach the opposite of each other, so we can certainly see why you are confused!
The first thing to remember when it comes to discussing “God” is the fact that He is so far beyond our ability to define Him that we will never be able to fully comprehend Him. This is because He is the infinite (unlimited) God and we are his finite (limited) creation. If we could fully comprehend Him, He would not be worthy of our worship. So, this is one reason why your parents are having a hard time coming to an agreement on who He is. Now, while it is impossible to fully comprehend God, He does reveal Himself in the Bible. So, there are certain aspects about His nature that we can know and understand at a limited level.
We will now attempt to describe Him in the simplest way we possibly can. The Bible is un-mistakenly clear that there is only one TRUE God. (see John 17:3; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10-11; 44:6,8; 45:21-22; 46:9) While non-Christians often worship “gods” they create in their imagination (i.e. idols), the Bible makes it clear that these “gods” do not really exist and that they do not compare in any way to the one and only true God. 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 states:
“…we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.” (New American Standard Bible)
The Bible describes this one God as being three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The “Father” is the person of God who is the supreme One in charge of all things. In the Old Testament, He is often called “Jehovah” (or “Yahweh” ─ the ever-present, self-existent One) and in the New Testament, He is called “God the Father” (see Philippians 2:11). The Holy Spirit is another person of “God.” He is called “God” at Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 3:17. “Jesus Christ” is also called “God” and is called the “Son” because He proceeds forth from the Father.
The Bible says that each one of us has sinned (i.e., broken God’s law). The penalty for sin is physical and spiritual “death.” Because God does not want us to be spiritually dead and separated from Him forever, He sent His Son to pay the penalty for us by dying in our place so that we can be forgiven and have eternal spiritual life with Him. Since God by nature cannot die, He sent Himself in the person of His Son to die on our behalf. The Bible states:
“God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” –1 Timothy 3:16 (King James Bible)
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross – Philippians 2:5-8 (New International Version)
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” –2 Corinthians 5:21 (New American Standard Bible)
We know that Jesus is God because He is called “God” numerous places in Scripture. (See John 1:1, 18; 20:28; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 1:1; Hebrews 1:8; Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 9:6; Colossians 2:9) This is where the controversy often starts. Many people get confused over the fact that Jesus is called “God” at the same time that the Father is called “God” when the Bible says there is only one true God. (see John 17:3) They ask if this is a contradiction since there appears to be two “Gods.” They don’t understand how Jesus can be a distinct person from His Father and yet be the same “God” as His Father is. Well, this is how we explain it.
Think of the “God” nature like you would think of “human” nature. Just like you are just as much “human” as your parents are, so Jesus as God’s Son has just as much “God” in Him as His Father does. Just as you and your dad are not the same person, so Jesus and His Father are not the same person. Yet, they are both “God,” just like you and your father are both “human.” Does this make sense?
At John 4:24, the Bible says that God is a “Spirit.” Therefore, He can dwell within believers through the power of His “Holy Spirit.” This is why your mom said that both Jesus and the Father dwell in your heart. She was referring to the Spirit part of God that we receive when we ask Jesus to forgive us for our sins and to be our Lord and Savior.
I know this is a lot to understand and you probably will still have a lot of questions on this, but this is the simplest way we can explain “God” to you. For more information on how Jesus is the same “God” as the Father, please visit our website links below:
Is the Trinity a Biblical Concept?
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