Philippians 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

All Angels Were Created at the Same Time:

The doctrines of the Jehovah Witnesses tend to go into a bit of a loop during this topic of discussion. They teach that Jesus is an angel and the first created of God. The Bible however teaches differently.

In Psalms 148:5 we see how God commanded those things in the previous verses (such as angels in 148:2) to be, and they were.  

Psalms 148:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.

Psalms 148:2 Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.

Psalms 148:3 Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.

Psalms 148:4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.

Psalms 148:5 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.  

Each of these came into existence by a single command. For example in 148:3 we see the sun and the moon. These are shown as being created by a single command (Genesis 1:14-16). The same holds true with the stars of light (Genesis 1:16), heavens of heavens (Genesis 1:1), & waters that be above the heavens (Genesis 1:7&8). Considering the context of these verses the same would hold true for His angels and His hosts, a single command to bring forth all. If Jesus were an angel, as the Jehovah Witnesses believe (Michael - one of the chief princes), then this is when He would have been created and not separately. Here is the problem that the Jehovah witnesses face, if Jesus (Michael), who according to them, is an angel and was commanded into existence at the same time as His fellow princes then Jesus (Michael) would have had to create Himself. As we see below in verse 16, by Jesus were all things created, including the angels. The Jehovah Witness will try to solve this problem by saying that Jesus is special, unique, and was created first. If this is the case then Jesus cannot be Michael since Michael is not unique but just one of the chief princes (Daniel 10:13), who is shown as equal with the angel that speaks to Daniel (Daniel 10:21).  

The Bible mentions the creation of the angels, it talks about them being created by the LORD, not an angel. In Colossians, however, we see that Jesus was the one who created angels and therefore can only conclude that Jesus and the LORD are both the creator:  

Colossians 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

Colossians 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.  

Verses 13 and 14 show us that it is Jesus Christ we are speaking about, 15 says that He is the image of God (Not angels), 16 says that all things were created by Him (compare with Isaiah 44:24) and 17 show us that Jesus is preeminent. 

I realize that Jehovah Witnesses teach that in verse 15, “firstborn” is evidence of Jesus’ having been created. This however is completely out of context with its true meaning. In the days when this was written the expression “firstborn” was commonly used to denote the one who is preeminent, or above all others in position.

Scholar J.B. Lightfoot notes, ”The fathers of the fourth century rightly called attention to the fact that the Apostle writes not protoktisis [‘first created’], but prototokos [‘first born’]”. If Paul’s intention were to show Jesus as being the first “created” then he would have used the word ‘protoktisis’ and not ‘prototokos’. The word ‘protoktisis’ (First created) is never used of Christ in the New Testament. Prototokos in this case means preeminent and above all others as is shown in verse 17 where Paul writes that Jesus is ‘before all things, and by him all things consist.’

If Jesus is an angel he could not have created the angels. In the Psalms and in Colossians we see that the angels (thrones, dominions, principalities, powers – See ‘Ranks among Angels section’) were created all at the same time and that they were created by Jesus (Colossians 1:16), the Lord (Psalms 148:5).

If Jesus is an Angel Then Why is He Mentioned Separately

It is interesting to note that throughout all of scripture not once is Jesus mentioned as being an angel or being equal to an angel. The verses that do mention Jesus continuously put Him on the same level as God or, as in his incarnate state, separate from the angels.  

Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.  

As to his incarnate state the preceding verse explains how he became a little lower than the angels by taking on the form of man in all its weaknesses and limitations. Jesus came to earth not only as a sacrifice for our sins but also to give man the perfect example of the way we should live. As our example, he showed us how to worship God and lead a life that is pleasing to God. In his incarnate state Jesus showed us the perfection that every man should attempt to achieve. It is written that no man is perfect and that we all fall short but nowhere is it written that we should not try to follow Christ’s example.

Near the end of Jesus’ time on earth, just before his ascension, Jesus taught the disciple to baptize in the name (singular) of the Father, Son & Holy Ghost.  

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  

Can you imagine Jesus telling the apostles to baptize in the name of the almighty God and the name of the Holy Spirit and the name of an angel as if they were equal! Would any angel dare do such a thing as this? The answer is No. Jesus, however, is not an angel and therefore he can and does say this.

If Man Can Speak With the Tongue of Angels Then Why Not Christ:

Someone once said to me, “Jesus speaks with the voice of an archangel” and that, “this is proof that Jesus is an angel.”  

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  

If descending with an angels voice is proof that Jesus is an angel then, clearly, descending with a shout must prove that He is a loud voice and descending with the trumpet of God must prove he is a trumpet player. The truth is that this verse no more proves Jesus to be an angel than the following verse proves its writer to be.  

1 Corinthians 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.  

Does this verse prove that he is an angel? It does say that he can speak with the tongues of men and angels. If Paul could speak with the tongues of angels, then why not Jesus Christ? This feat would not make Paul an angel any more then it would make Jesus an angel.

Part 2: More than an angel

Why Does it Say God Gave Jesus Glory and Power

We Should Not Pray or Worship Angels

Will Man Judge Christ or Christ Man

Conclusion

Why Does it Say God Gave Jesus Glory and Power

Some say that because God exalted Jesus and gave him the glory that the glory was not Jesus’ to begin with.  

Philippians 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:  

If we look closely at the gospel of John we see that this is not so.  

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.  

In John 1:1 we see the verse that is so often mistranslated by the Watchtower. James White however covers this in another essay on the translation and meaning of “HO THEOS”. The point I wish to make here however is that it unarguably says, ’In the beginning’ Jesus was with God. Not sometime afterwards but right from the beginning. This is such an important statement that John repeats it again in verse 2. It then goes on to say that it is the Word who made all things and that nothing was made without Him. In John 14 we see that the Word is Jesus Christ.

From these few verses we know that Jesus existed before He became incarnate (Took on a body as we have) and that He had Glory and Power enough to create all things. As a matter of fact in Philippians 2:5&6 we see that Jesus, at this point, considered Himself equal with God.  

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Philippians 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  

There came a point however where Christ came to earth as our redeemer. In order to do this He needed to become as we are. Subject to our weaknesses and temptations but without falling prey to these things. In doing this Jesus had to put aside his great glory and power and pay our debt for us. The Bible says in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death. Jesus being sinless and perfect in our form died for our sins that we would not have to (John 3:17). Please understand that the price paid was not for our physical selves, after all we all still die physically, but rather it was for our eternal souls. Just as Adams sin made it so that our souls might be separated from the presence of God, Jesus gave us the opportunity to once again come into the presence of God by the sacrifice of His sinless existence on earth. This is what Jesus was doing in Philippians 2 when it says:  

Philippians 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

Philippians 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.  

After His death Jesus when returning to Heaven came back into His Glory and power, which He had put aside on our behalf.  

Philippians 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

Philippians 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

Philippians 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  

Philippians 2:9 does not means that Jesus received something from God that was not His. As we see in the following verse the Glory of God has been Jesus’ since before even the world was created.  

John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

We Should Not Pray or Worship Angels

Exodus 20: 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

Exodus 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.  

Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.  

Isaiah 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

Isaiah 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.  

I believe that from these scriptures we can easily see that God wants us to pray and worship only Him. He is the most holy of all; even the angels refuse worship of any kind.  

Revelations 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Revelations 22:8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.

Revelations 22:9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God  

Now we know that God is the only one who should be worshipped, that there is no other but Him, even the angels refuse worship and God is a jealous God who will punish anyone who does otherwise. How then do you explain the following verses where people worshipped Jesus and He did not correct their mistake? But wait, not only was their mistake not corrected but they also were blessed and healed because of it, as we’ll see in the examples taken from Matthew.  

Revelations 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

Revelations 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.  

Here Jesus said only, ‘fear not’. Nowhere did He correct john for the worship He was being given.  

Matthew 8: 2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

Matthew 8:3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  

When this man worshipped Jesus he was healed, not condemned or rebuked.  

Matthew 9:18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

Matthew 9:19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples.

Matthew 9:20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:

Matthew 9:21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.

Matthew 9:22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

Matthew 9:23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,

Matthew 9:24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.

Matthew 9:25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.  

When this ruler worshipped Jesus, Jesus went immediately and healed the mans daughter.  

Matthew 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Matthew 14:32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

Matthew 14:33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

Matthew 14:34 And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret.

Matthew 14:35 And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased;

Matthew 14:36 And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.  

After being saved from the storm by the miracle of Jesus Christ they worshipped Him and were not rebuked for this. Furthermore they spread word of the person whom they had worshipped and others came and were healed by Him.  

Matthew 15:25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

Matthew 15:26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.

Matthew 15:27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.

Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.  

This woman was not of the Jewish nation (Children) but a gentile (Non-Jew – Dog) and yet even she after worshipping Jesus had her daughter healed by Him.  

Matthew 20:20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.

Matthew 20:21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.  

Again Jesus was worshipped and the person was not rebuked.  

Matthew 28:9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.  

These are the women who went to the tomb and found Jesus gone. While on their way to tell the disciples of the news they met Jesus and worshipped Him at His feet. Again they were not rebuked or corrected.  

Matthew 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

Matthew 28:17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.  

Here we see the 11 disciples worshipping Jesus. Again not being rebuked. In verse 18 we see that Jesus is given, once again, that which was his since before the world began, now that His work on earth is done. (John 17:5)  

That which I have shown is just the instances that are recorded by Matthew. The same holds true, however, throughout the entire Bible. No one is ever rebuked or corrected for worshipping Christ. However, none of these people were healed because of their worship, rather they were healed because of the faith they had in Jesus which made them want to worship Him. Jesus before returning to heaven even says that when you pray that you should do so in His name and that He will answer the prayer. No angel would ever say such a thing nor would they accept worship as we have seen Jesus do.  

John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

John 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

John 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

Will Man Judge Christ or Christ Man  

It is written in the Bible that man shall judge angels. If Jesus was an angel as the Watchtower claims then this means we will judge Jesus as well.  Had the Apostles believed this then they would have made it clear that Jesus would be an exempted angel. They do not. So either we judge Jesus too or Jesus is not an angel as the Watchtower claims.

1 Corinthians 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?  

On the matter of judgment however the Apostles are very clear. Jesus is to be the judge of man and not man of Jesus. Therefore Jesus cannot be an angel.  

Acts 10:42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.

2 Timothy 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;