--- title: Whoever Denies the Son Does Not Have the Father url: https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/1john2-23-deny-son-deny-father/ markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/1john2-23-deny-son-deny-father.md type: argument perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching topics: [Deity of Christ, Salvation] challenges: [Jesus Is a Created Being, The Trinity Is a False Pagan Doctrine] verses: [1 John 2:22, 1 John 5:20, John 1:1, Colossians 1:15-17, 1 John 2:23, 1 John 4:1, John 17:3, 1 John 5:13, 1 John 4:2, 2 John 7] strength: Very Strong tone: Good attribution: Revealed Apologetics — Eli Ayala (Yes, the Bible Teaches the DIVINITY of Jesus) added: '2026-05-23' last_reviewed: '2026-05-23' index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt --- # Whoever Denies the Son Does Not Have the Father *1 John 2:22-23* ## Doorstep Question > "The apostle John wrote that "no one who denies the Son has the Father." If Jesus is just a created angel, why would denying the truth about him cut someone off from God the Father? What does this verse mean for someone who says Jesus is not God?" ## JW Claim Jehovah's Witnesses say they honour the Son as a created being and so still have a relationship with Jehovah the Father. They argue that "denying the Son" only means denying Jesus is the Messiah — not denying his deity — so their Christology leaves the Father intact. ## Strategy This is a hard verse to soften. Open the NWT to 1 John 2:22-23. The NWT reads: "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist — the one who denies the Father and the Son. Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also." Two moves matter. First, read verses 22 and 23 together — they are one sentence. The "denial" of v.22 is not a one-off claim about Messiahship; John defines it in v.23 as a denial that links Father and Son. To deny one is to deny the other. They are paired so tightly that having one without the other is impossible. Second, read 1 John 5:20 in the same NWT: "we are in union with the true one, by means of his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and life everlasting." The pronouns are deliberately tight — the "true God" John has been talking about throughout the letter is reached only through the Son, and v.20 finishes by calling that one "the true God." Whether the NWT footnote points the antecedent to the Father or to the Son, the verse forces the JW into the same conclusion as 2:23: you cannot have one without the other. Then ask gently: "If a Watchtower-corrected Jesus — created, not worshipped, called 'a god' — turns out to be a different Jesus, what does John say happens to the Father? Can you have Jehovah without the right Jesus?" The argument cuts because it does not rest on the disputed verses (John 1:1, Col 1:16). It rests on John's plain pastoral claim: the Father and the Son are inseparable in confession and inseparable in possession. Get one wrong, lose both. ## Key Insight Confess the right Son or you lose the Father. The Christology is not optional. Denying who Jesus really is is not a small theological mistake — John calls it antichrist. ## JW Responses & Counters ### Response 1 **JW says:** "Denying the Son just means denying Jesus is the Christ. We confess him as the Messiah, so the verse doesn't apply to us." **Counter:** Read v.22 and v.23 as one sentence. John says the antichrist denies "the Father and the Son." Denying Jesus is the Christ is the surface example — but John generalises in v.23: anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father. So the question becomes: what does it mean to deny the Son? Is denying his deity not also denying who the Son is? When the Sanhedrin convicted Jesus of blasphemy in Mark 14, they understood "Son" to mean far more than "Messiah." If they understood the title that way, can we afford to reduce it? ### Response 2 **JW says:** "We have the Father — we know Jehovah's name and worship him as the only true God." **Counter:** John 17:3 calls Jehovah "the only true God" — and immediately adds "and Jesus Christ whom he sent." Eternal life is knowing both. In 1 John 5:20 John defines the "true God" as the one we are in union with "by means of his Son." So the test of whether someone really knows Jehovah is whether they know him through the right Jesus. What if the Jesus the Watchtower presents is not the Jesus John knew? ### Response 3 **JW says:** "Our Jesus is the biblical Jesus. We follow what the Bible actually says." **Counter:** Then we should both be able to read 1 John together. Notice how John frames it: he wrote so that "you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13). His test is confession of the Son. Read 1 John 4:2-3 — every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; the spirit that does not is the spirit of antichrist. Then read 2 John 7-11 — anyone who does not hold to "the teaching of the Christ" does not have God. John keeps circling back. He thought the Christology was that serious. Why did he? ### Response 4 **JW says:** "You're saying we worship a false God. That's offensive." **Counter:** I'm not saying that to hurt you — I'm saying it because John says it. Verse 23 is not my verse. It is John's verse, in your Bible, and it is one of the most uncomfortable sentences in the New Testament. I would rather we both wrestle with what John meant than have either of us discover later we got it wrong. Can we read it together one more time? ## What to Avoid Don't accuse the JW of being a hell-bound apostate — quote John, not yourself. The verse is sharp enough; do not sharpen it with tone. Don't bring in the word "antichrist" with a wagging finger; let John's text do the work. Don't pivot too fast to John 1:1 — finish 1 John 2:23 first, because this argument is independent of the disputed translation verses. ## Homework Read 1 John 2:22-23, 1 John 4:1-3, 1 John 5:20, and 2 John 7-11 in your NWT. Notice how John keeps tying Father and Son together as one inseparable confession. Ask: what would it take to "deny" the Son in the sense John means? Is denying his deity a possible answer? ## Next Moves - [Honour the Son Just As You Honour the Father](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/john5-equal-honour.md) - [Jesus Receives Worship](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/worship-of-jesus.md) - [The Trial That Proved Jesus Claimed to Be God](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/mark14-trial-deity-claim.md)