Worship the Lord Your God

This past March, I answered the doorbell one Saturday morning to find two Jehovah’s Witnesses making their door-to-door rounds in my neighborhood. It was only days before their annual memorial service, so they were blanketing the area to invite people to attend. Following brief introductions (this was the third time I had spoken with one of the gentlemen), I shared with them that I had grown up from birth as a Jehovah’s Witness and that the Lord had saved me when I was 26 years old. They were quiet as I related to them the things the Lord had revealed to me through His Word, and about my understanding of the gospel as it is taught in the Bible. What followed was a 30-minute conversation about Jesus’ true identity and about what it means to be a Christian. Among the topics we discussed were whether Jesus was Almighty God, whether Jesus was created by the Father, or whether he was Creator of all things. We also discussed whether Jesus received true worship or only a reverential worship (what the New World Translation and the Watchtower Society refer to as “obeisance”).

Regarding the issue of worship, both men agreed that only God can and should receive true worship from His followers. With regard to Jesus, however, both men assured me that Jesus did not receive the same kind of worship as Jehovah God. One of the gentlemen even gave me a document that explained the word “obeisance” and its use in the Bible as it relates to Jesus. I told him I would read the document and get back with him once I had performed a more in-depth study of this topic. The information below is what I discovered as I studied the terms “obeisance” and “worship” as they are used in the Bible.

Changing With the Times
One of the first things I discovered was that the Watchtower Society’s teaching on this topic has changed significantly over the years. An early issue of THE WATCHTOWER stated that “to worship Christ in any form cannot be wrong.”1 Another early issue of the magazine concluded, “Yes, we believe our Lord Jesus while on earth was really worshipped, and properly so. While he was not the God, Jehovah, he was a God.”2 Almost 75 years later, however, THE WATCHTOWER ushered in a new edict regarding the “worship” of Jesus. The magazine stated, “it is unscriptural for worshipers of the living and true God to render worship to the Son of God, Jesus Christ.3 This view is still consistent with the Watchtower Society’s teaching on the subject. But the bigger issue is whether it consistent with the Bible?

Defining Terms
The New Testament frequently uses the term “worship” (proskuneo in Greek) to indicate an act of homage men give to God and even to others such as men and idols. And, although the word may be used to describe the act that was occasionally given to men and idols, the Bible clearly teaches in Exodus 34:14 that men are to offer their worship only to the one true God. For example, Exodus 34:14 says, “for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”

Vines Expository Dictionary defines the term proskuneo as “to make obeisance, do reverence to...is the most frequent word rendered ‘to worship.’” In other words, to worship is to do obeisance is to worship. The companion book to the New World Translation, called the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, indicates the word proskuneo is used 55 times in the New Testament. Unfortunately, the New World Translation never – not once – translates proskuneo as “worship” when referring exclusively to Jesus Christ. Whenever the word is used in reference to Jehovah, however, it is always translated as “worship.” It is as if the Watchtower Society is trying to draw a distinction between “worship” and “obeisance,” when there is no difference from the perspective of the original Greek word. While there is no grammatical explanation for this inconsistency within The New World Translation, the Watchtower Society insists their translation of this word is accurate because (according to the Watchtower Society) Jesus is a created being. Therefore, they believe they are justified in translating the word differently when referring to the Son.

Other Scriptural Evidence
All of the major translations (e.g., KJV, NKJV, NASB, NIV, etc.) translate the word proskuneo as “worship” whenever it is used in reference to God or Jesus. And, more importantly, not only was Jesus worshiped as God in many places in scripture, but He always accepted the worship that was offered to him. For example:

• A leper worshiped Jesus in Matthew 8:2.
• Jairus bowed before Jesus in worship in Matthew 9:18.
• A woman worshiped Jesus in Matthew 15:25.
• Mary Magdalene worshiped Jesus in Matthew 28:9.
• The disciples worshiped Jesus in Matthew 28:17.
• A blind man worshiped Jesus in John 9:38.
• Jesus readily accepted Thomas’ worship and recognition as Lord and God in John 20:28.

Since Jesus was sinless and always sought to glorify the Father, He would have been the first to correct His followers if they had inappropriately given Him any form of worship that should have been reserved only for God. If the angel in Revelation 22:8-9 was quick to correct John when he inappropriately fell at the angel’s feet, how much more would Jesus have rebuked the disciples had they been guilty of committing sacrilege? Instead of correcting his followers, however, Jesus readily received their worship without ever correcting them for the worship or obeisance they offered.

Interestingly, the New World Translation does not translate proskuneo as obeisance in Revelation 5:11-14. In these verses, we see all of heaven bowing before “the Lamb that was slain.” In verse 14, we are told the elders “fell down and worshiped.”

Even the Angels Worship Him
Another clear indicator of the Bible’s mandate to worship Jesus comes from Hebrews 1:6, which says, “And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.” Although the New World Translation translates “worship” as “do obeisance,” the implications of the verse are clear.* The Father himself is commanding the angels to give His Son what the Bible clearly teaches should be reserved for God alone – worship or obeisance. If the Watchtower Society is correct in its assertion that Jesus is only a created being and someone not to be worshiped, then the Father is guilty of committing a terrible sin by telling others to worship or do obeisance to a mere creature. To make things worse, if the Watchtower Society is correct in saying that Jesus was Michael the Archangel prior to his birth and then again after His death, then the angels in heaven are being told to worship another angel! Considering that the Bible clearly commands men to worship only God (Exodus 34:14, Deuteronomy 6:13), the Watchtower Society’s interpretation of this verse cannot be correct, nor can its teachings that Christ is just a created being be correct.

Conclusion
Ultimately, the distinction drawn by the Watchtower Society between “worship” and “obeisance” makes little difference since Greek word is the same and essentially means the same thing. Jesus’ response to Satan in Matthew 4:10 was emphatic and to the point: “Go Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.” Jesus himself made it clear that worship was only to be rendered to God and God alone. But we cannot escape the fact that Jesus himself readily received and accepted worship or obeisance from His followers. More importantly, Jesus never corrected His disciples when they did so. When combined with the reality that even the Father commands His angels to worship Jesus, it becomes clear that not only can Christians worship Jesus, but we are completely justified in doing so. The conclusion we draw from scripture is also clear: if Jesus received/accepted worship, and the Father commands others to worship His Son, then Jesus must be the true God.** Otherwise, the disciples in scripture are committing blasphemy and the Father is commanding his angels to do likewise.

Bibliography and Notes
1. THE WATCHTOWER, March 1880, p. 83
2. THE WATCHTOWER, 15 May 1892, p. 1410
3. THE WATCHTOWER, 1 November 1964, p. 671

For Further Reading
Other verses indicating Jesus is God:
• Jesus is identified as fully God (John 1:1, 14; John 8:58; John 20:28; Phil. 2:6; Col. 2:9)
• Jesus is called the Alpha and Omega, as well as the Almighty in Revelation 1:8, and Revelation 22:12-13, 20.
• Jesus created all things, including the heavens and earth (John 1:3, Colossians 1:16). Compare with Isaiah 44:24 where Jehovah states that He spread out the earth all alone.
• Jesus knows all things (John 16:30; 21:17).
• Only God knows the future, yet Jesus knew in advance those who would reject him (John 10:64) and those who would follow him (John 10:14).

* The 1961 edition of the New World Translation used the word “worship” in reference to Jesus in Hebrews 1:6, while the 1971 edition changed the same word to “do obeisance.”

** When Christians say the Bible teaches that Jesus is God, they are not saying that the Bible teaches that Jesus is the Father. This distinction is difficult for many Jehovah’s Witnesses to understand since they are taught that only the Father is God. Scripture clearly teaches that there is only one God, but that there are three persons (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) that make up the Godhead. While this scriptural teaching is not easily comprehended (similar to the way we don’t understand how God could not have a beginning), Christians believe it because it is taught in scripture.