How does the Jehovah’s Witness view of who Jesus Christ is differ from Protestant Trinitarian Christology?
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The Protestant Trinitarian view of Jesus Christ is that he is the only-begotten Son of God – begotten, not made.
JWs believe that there is no distinction between "begotten" and "made". Therefore, "begotten, not made" is meaningless for them.
He is of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made.
The word "of one substance" (h*m*ousios) is not found in the Bible and therefore not accepted by JWs. JWs believe that Jesus is "in the form of God" (Phil. 2:6) since he is a spirit being like the Father (John 4:24).
He is the Word of God who was with God in the beginning and who is God (John 1:1).
As you know, JWs believe the the meaning of this verse is more accurately conveyed by the translation "the Word was a god", or "the Word was divine". (compare with John 1:18 - "no one has seen God at any time")
He came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and dwelt among us (John 1:14). He is both fully human and fully divine.
JWs believe that Jesus was fully human ("born of a woman", Gal. 4:4) when he was on earth, not "fully divine". There is no scripture that says "fully human and fully divine"; to the contrary, Phil. 2:7 says "he emptied himself, by taking the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men." ("became human", NWT 2013). He became "like his brothers in all respects, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God." (Heb. 2:17)
He was bodily resurrected from the dead
JWs believe he was resurrected with a heavenly spirit body, not his human flesh. "Flesh and blood cannot inherit God's Kingdom" (1 Cor. 15:50) Paul addresses the question of "with what sort of body" are the dead raised up at 1 Cor. 15:35-41.
Note that at John 20:26, "Jesus came, although the doors were locked", which would be impossible for a physical human body.
and has ascended into heaven, from whence he came, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father. As he ascended into heaven, so shall he return, in great power and glory, and accompanied by all the heavenly hosts, to judge and to rule.
JWs agree with this.
JW answers to further questions:
Was he created? Yes.
Is he part of the One Being of God? No. (I do not believe that "part of" is even the traditional Trinitarian expression.)
When he came to earth was he God incarnate? No, for reasons given above.
Was he resurrected as a spirit creature or did he ascend into heaven with a physical body? He was resurrected as a spirit creature. Note that Jesus appeared with several different bodies after his resurrection:
Mary did not recognize him, thinking he was the gardener, until he said her name with his familiar inflection (John 20:15-16)
Jesus spent a whole day with two of the apostles, but "their eyes were kept from recognizing him" until he broke the bread and blessed it. Obviously, this body had no recognizable wounds on it. Then "he disappeared from them", which would not be possible for a normal physical body. (Luke 24:15-31)
At John 20:27, Jesus appears in a locked room, and now he has wounds in his hands, feet and side, specifically for Thomas' benefit (see v. 25).
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Source: stackoverflow.com
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