A Comparative Analysis of the Apostle John’s Theology of the Incarnate Christ and Contemporary Christological Views (Seventh-day Adventists versus Jehovah’s Witnesses)

Abstract

Scholars have viewed the doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ differently. Those who argue against the teaching, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs), emphasize that the Word “Incarnation” is not found in the Bible and that Jesus never claimed to be an incarnate being. On the other hand, those who support the teaching, such as Seventh-day Adventists (SDAs), argue that though the term “Incarnation” is not found in the Bible, the teaching is there, basing their argument primarily on the theology of the Apostle John. These contrasting views prompted the research to be undertaken. The study takes into account John’s theological view as the basis for establishing the biblical stand and thereafter compares the contemporary teachings of the JWs against the SDA Church view. Bible commentaries, lexicons and other syntactical resource materials have been used to establish a balanced and correct understanding of the teaching. According to the JWs, the teaching of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ does not exist and only false religions teach it. They argue that God cannot become a human being, and that Jesus was never God but a spirit creature, the first born of all created beings and for that reason His coming to live among human beings cannot translate to an incarnation. They explain their position using John 1: 1, they translate the “The Word was God” as “The Word was a god”. Their position is not new in the history of Christological debates, which started as far back as the first century A.D. The teaching of Arius was similar. To the contrary, the SDA Church teaches and emphasizes that Jesus is the second person of the Godhead and is the Incarnate Son of God. Their position resonates with teachings of the early Church Councils such as those of Nicaea (325 A.D.) and Constantinople (381 A. D.). The position of the researcher is that Jesus preexisted as God the Son together with God the Father before He was born on earth. The aspect of God becoming flesh is what is known as Incarnation. Accepting and understanding this teaching has a bearing on how one perceives God’s free gift of salvation to humanity. Rejection of the same leads the Bible student to have a wrong concept of God’s plan of salvation for humanity.