They might as well call Jesus "God".

[Elijah John]

John has Jesus saying

"if you abide in me, and my words abide in you".

In spite of John 17.3, where John has Jesus defining the Father as the only true God, John here with Jesus "abide" statements has Jesus, in effect, assuming the role of God in the life of the believer.

Otherwise, why wouldn't he have Jesus say: "if you abide in God, and His words abide in you...".

And with Paul:

"for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain"

If "Christ" does not fill the role of God for Paul, why doesn't he say something like:

"for me to live is YHVH, and to die is gain"?

Faber, I will grant you these things, I'll grant you that much. The questions are open to all, but I would be especially interested in how Jehovah's Witnesses would answer these questions.

For all practical purposes, does Jesus fill the role of God for John and Paul? Do they see Jesus as God functionally if not theologically?

[Elijah John]

Allow me to rephrase just a bit. Has John's extremely high Christology exalted Jesus to the point of near idolatry?

After all, how different is a pre-existent Being who was present at Creation from God Himself?

Is their any Biblical evidence outside of John's writings and possibly Paul's that Jesus was such a Divinely supernatural Being?

[onewithhim]

John has Jesus saying

"if you abide in me, and my words abide in you".

In spite of John 17.3, where John has Jesus defining the Father as the only true God, John here with Jesus "abide" statements has Jesus, in effect, assuming the role of God in the life of the believer.

I have had enough of this straining out of gnats and splitting of hairs. John has never inferred that Jesus is God, and I have argued for this repeatedly. I see that you keep accusing John of things that he never intended, no matter what I say, and no matter what the Scriptures clearly show us. Jesus plainly said that Jesus' words CAME FROM THE FATHER. He never assumed the credit for what he said. So none of his disciples ever suggested that Jesus was the source from which his teachings came.

John 12:49,50


.

[onewithhim]

Allow me to rephrase just a bit. Has John's extremely high Christology exalted Jesus to the point of near idolatry?

After all, how different is a pre-existent Being who was present at Creation from God Himself?

Is their any Biblical evidence outside of John's writings and possibly Paul's that Jesus was such a Divinely supernatural Being?

Jesus was a pre-existent Being that was very different from God Himself, and none of Jesus' disciples taught any different. Jesus was God's very first creation and then from thenceforth Jesus was instrumental in the creation. How can the Son be on the same level as his Creator and God? (Colossians 1:15; John 20:17; Revelation 3:12)

Luke 1:35
Matthew 1:20,21
Matthew 28:18
I Peter 1:3
I Peter 2:5,6; 3:18,19