Christ Is God Part VI: John 5:23 Proves Christ's Deity

    In this Article I will be going over John 5:23 and I will show you how not only should the verse be interpreted the way it reads, but it proves that Christ is God alongside God the Father. 

• John 5:23 

    23  so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

    I am quoting from the New World Translation 2013, where they use the language: "just as" but the Jehovah witnesses will argue ,that even though the verse says it and they are the ones who translated it as such, that is does not mean: "in the same exact way/kind." Now, in this area of John 5, Saint John uses this language a few times between the Son and the Father and in those instances, "just as" means: "the exact same way/kind." So why would Saint John in those other instances talk like this, but when it comes to verse 23, it does not mean the same as before? Why would Saint John change the topic of discussion by changing His meaning of, "just as" in the middle of a paragraph? That is because He didn't, the argument of the Jehovah witnesses and other Arianists that "just as" [means that the honor should be similar or close to the same], is a completely bogus and has no ground in the Scriptural Context here in John 5. Now let's take a glance at the Greek Interlinear that the Jehovah witnesses made, and see how they translated the verse in there.

Example 1. The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures jw.org

     It reads similar to the NWT, however the, "just as" is translated to: "according as." The Greek word here is (kathṓs). And this is the definition of kathos according to Strong's Concordance.

Example 2. biblehub.com

    As you read the definition, and usage and the Word-studies, you can see that it does not mean the what the Jehovah witnesses and Arianists argue does not hold up. Verse 23 here is referring to honor, and many debate whether honor in this context is meant to be worship or just plain honor. However, I believe it does refer to worship for a few reasons. Here first is why I believe it honor means worship. 

    According to the C.S Lewis Institute: "Worship means respectful devotion—loving, honoring, and obeying someone who deserves our highest regard." The Institute refers back to Psalms 92; 96; 100, when referring to their definition. However, here is why I am arguing that this honor is worship as well. Here is my reasoning. In Matthew 4:8-10 After Christ is baptized, He went into the wilderness for 40 days, and satan was attempting to tempt Christ and wanted Christ to bow down to him, satan, and Christ says: "Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service." Here satan asks from Christ to bow down to him, yet Christ responded by calling that "bowing down" to be worship.  You can bow to both God and humans, yet both mean totally different things. Christ here quoted Deuteronomy 6:13. This is the first example of where you can something for God and humans, but if you did it with the same intention towards a person just as you do to God, then it would be idolatry. The next example is in Matthew 6:24, where we are told that you cannot serve both God and Money because you will end up loving one over the other. You can devote yourself to worldly things, and you can devote yourself to God, but when your devotion to worldly things is just as the devotion you have for God, it becomes idolatry. In 1 Corinthians 10:14-22 Saint Paul talks to us about sharing the cup of demons or idolatry, and the Cup of the Lord. You cannot do both, if you partake of the cup of demons, idolatry, just as you would take the Cup of the Lord, you are committing idolatry and you incite the Lord to anger. So getting back to John 5:23, if you honor the Son, who according to the Jehovah witnesses and Arianists is not God, just as you would towards the Father, Who is God, would that not be idolatry? So this means, that if you can honor Christ the same way you honor God the Father, this speaks volumes just in this verse alone. I will be going over the second half of this verse in a second Article about Christ and God the Father in connection with each other. 

"The LORD bless you

and keep you;

the LORD make His face shine upon you

and be gracious to you;

the LORD turn His face toward you 

and give you peace." ☦