Jehovah's Witnesses, what is meant by the statement of "a corresponding ransom"?

Question

Only the death of another perfect man could pay the wages of sin. Jesus was such a man. Indeed, Jesus was "a corresponding ransom" for the saving of all redeemable mankind descended from Adam. If indeed a corresponding ransom, who is this ransom paid too? Or was it paid in full upon Jesus' death?

Answer 1

In 1 Timothy 2:6 the Greek word "antilutron" simply means a ransom. The Watchtower definition "corresponding ransom" does not fit well with Greek Lexicons and Greek Definitions, and they are trying to overtranslate a simple Greek word and adding a "corresponding" which means "no more and no less", they explain it as a substitution of Adam, which is a gross misinterpretation and mistranslation. Look at these three other verses in the same New World Translation Bible and see the word "corresponding" was not at all used...



Matthew 20:28 (NWT) Just as the Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.”



Mark 10:45 (NWT) For even the Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.”



Hebrews 9:15 (NWT) So that is why he is a mediator of a new covenant, in order that, because a death has occurred for [their] release by ransom from the transgressions under the former covenant, the ones who have been called might receive the promise of the everlasting inheritance.



The ransom that Christ gave was meant to be a substitution, or a replacement of "OUR" sins, not a replacement of Adam's sins. The JWs of the Org always seem to forget that we are the ones who sinned and we are the ones who need this Mediator, not the first sinner Adam! So the Christ is taking "OUR" place, not Adam's place!

Answer 2

1 John 5: 11-12

God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.



1 John 2: 22-23

Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.



Jesus is God and the Bible contains the truth.



It would be difficult to explain everything in a short answer.



I would suggest you visit the below website. You will get all the answers, for the below questions and many more.



1) Did Jesus really exist?



2) Is Jesus God?



3)Why should I believe that the Bible is accurate, or the word of God?



4) What is the Holy Trinity?



5)What is so special about Jesus? Why cant I just view him as an ordinary man or a teacher or a prophet? Why should I see him as God?





There are also lot of song videos, sermons and videos from the movie Passion Of Christ.



http://jesustrinity.blogspot.com

Answer 3

The man Adam was created perfect without sin .It was jehovah`s purpose for man to continue living forever . The bible tells us that God saw his works that he had created and they were very good ,

So , What Jehovah purposes must come to pass . under the Mosaic Law blood sacrifices were required for the nation of Israel (sin offering ) Jehovah sent Jesus who willingly gave his life which replaced the Mosaic law blood sacrifices.

This ransom was paid so that Gods purposes for mankind could be full filled.

Answer 4

Just the definition of the word 'corresponding' helps to understand it. It means Jesus needed to correspond to someone else. That being Adam. He paid the ransom to buy back what Adam lost in the garden of Eden. This is needed to satisfy Justice, one of his Father Jehovah's main qualities. So the ransom is/was paid to Jehovah. It is a huge argument against the Trinity because one of the ways that Jesus corresponded to Adam was that he was completely human. Not some part of God in human form. He died and had to be resurrected by his Father. If he was part of God then he never truly died and therefore no ransom was paid. The Trinity is not a Bible teaching.

Answer 5

Jesus Christ paid the full Ransom for man's sins and only through His sacrifice on Calvary;s Cross

is there forgiveness for mankinds sins

Answer 6

Put simply, the ransom is Jehovah’s means to deliver, or save, humankind from sin and death. (Ephesians 1:7) To grasp the meaning of this Bible teaching, we need to think back to what happened in the garden of Eden. Only if we understand what Adam lost when he sinned can we appreciate why the ransom is such a valuable gift to us.



When he created Adam, Jehovah gave him something truly precious—perfect human life. Consider what that meant for Adam. Made with a perfect body and mind, he would never get sick, grow old, or die. As a perfect human, he had a special relationship with Jehovah. The Bible says that Adam was a “son of God.” (Luke 3:38) So Adam enjoyed a close relationship with Jehovah God, like that of a son with a loving father. Jehovah communicated with his earthly son, giving Adam satisfying assignments of work and letting him know what was expected of him (Genesis 1:28-30; 2:16, 17).



Adam was made “in God’s image.” (Genesis 1:27) That did not mean that Adam resembled God in appearance. Jehovah is an invisible spirit. (John 4:24) So Jehovah does not have a body of flesh and blood. Being made in God’s image meant that Adam was created with qualities like those of God, including love, wisdom, justice, and power. Adam was like his Father in another important way in that he possessed free will. Hence, Adam was not like a machine that can perform only what it is designed or programmed to do. Instead, he could make personal decisions, choosing between right and wrong. If he had chosen to obey God, he would have lived forever in Paradise on earth.



Clearly, then, when Adam disobeyed God and was condemned to death, he paid a very high price. His sin cost him his perfect human life with all its blessings. (Genesis 3:17-19) Sadly, Adam lost this precious life not only for himself but also for his future offspring. God’s Word says: “Through one man [Adam] sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned.” (Romans 5:12) Yes, all of us have inherited sin from Adam. Hence, the Bible says that he “sold” himself and his offspring into slavery to sin and death. (Romans 7:14) There was no hope for Adam or Eve because they willfully chose to disobey God. But what about their offspring, including us?



Jehovah came to mankind’s rescue by means of the ransom. What is a ransom? The idea of a ransom basically involves two things. First, a ransom is the price paid to bring about a release or to buy something back. It might be compared to the price paid for the release of a prisoner of war. Second, a ransom is the price that covers, or pays, the cost of something. It is similar to the price paid to cover the damages caused by an injury. For example, if a person causes an accident, he would have to pay an amount that fully corresponds to, or equals, the value of what was damaged.



Since a perfect human life was lost, no imperfect human life could ever buy it back. (Psalm 49:7, 8) What was needed was a ransom equal in value to what was lost. This is in harmony with the principle of perfect justice found in God’s Word, which says: “Soul will be for soul.” (Deuteronomy 19:21) So, what would cover the value of the perfect human soul, or life, that Adam lost? Another perfect human life was the “corresponding ransom” that was required (1 Timothy 2:6).



How did Jehovah provide the ransom? He sent one of his perfect spirit sons to the earth. But Jehovah did not send just any spirit creature. He sent the one most precious to him, his only-begotten Son. (1 John 4:9, 10) Willingly, this Son left his heavenly home. (Philippians 2:7) As we learned in the preceding chapter of this book, Jehovah performed a miracle when he transferred the life of this Son to the womb of Mary. By means of God’s holy spirit, Jesus was born as a perfect human and was not under the penalty of sin (Luke 1:35).

Answer 7

Adam lost perfect human life when he sinned. Since he didn't have this gift, he could not pass it down to his offspring. So he lost perfection for us. (Perfection = no sin). The Bible tells us that the "wages sin pays is death". The Bible tells us of God's perfect standard of justice that only LIKE for LIKE can be paid back in the case of something lost. The statement in the old testament "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" etc illustrates this point.



For perfect justice to take place a perfect man (with no sin) had to die to buy the sinful offspring of Adam back from sin and death. Jesus was that "corresponding ransom". He was perfect and sinless, like Adam was (before he sinned). when he paid the undeserved penalty of death, his life ransomed ALL mankind who would exercise faith in him and in the value of his blood sacrifice for us.



His death opens the way for any of mankind who wants to receive this free gift and act upon it to dedicate his own life to God. To have the ability to approach God without condemnation in the name of Jesus Christ and using Jesus as an intermediary between man and God, to approch God and be heard by him.



God is perfect, sinless holy. Only a holy person or a person who has offered sacrifices for his sins can appear before God and be heard by him. In ancient times it was animal sacrifices that were offered. but since an animal is not equal to a man, these sacrifices had to be offered often. Jesus WAS equal to what Adam lost and so by offering his life in sacrifice (to GOD) the legal requirements of God's perfect sense of JUSTICE were fulfilled.



God in effect paid the price for us by sending his son. HE made the sacrifice on our behalf. To whom did he make the sacrifice? To himself. "but this does not reduce the ransom to a pointless, mechanical exchange—like taking money out of one pocket and putting it into another. It must be appreciated that the ransom is, not a physical exchange, but a legal transaction. By providing for the payment of the ransom, even at enormous cost to himself, Jehovah affirmed his unwavering adherence to his own perfect justice." (Draw Close to Jehovah ---chapter 14)



The thing we must understand is that Jehovah God is a God of perfect wisdom, love, justice and power. His Justice sets the STANDARD for Justice to all the universe. He cannot violate his own sense of justice, because to do so would be to pervert justice and there would be no justice. HE MUST set the example and so he has by being merciful in his wisdom and love, while at the same time satisfying the requirements of perfect justice.



Yes the ransom price was paid in full. Not all will benefit from it because not all want to. But for those who WANT the value of the ransom to apply to them enough that they are willing to honor Jesus and what he stood for and his Father who offered him as payment for our sins who are willing to be obedient to them and to exercise faith in them and to ACCEPT their rulership? These will inherit the kingdom of God and of his Christ. In this kindom the benefits of that ransom will be applied to all. Old will grow young, sick will be healed, dead will be raised, all will grow to perfection and each us us can hope or even to KNOW (as long as we remain faithful) that we NEVER have to die.



What a wonderful promise. How clearly and precisely it corresponds to the perfect sinless everlasting life that Adam lost for himself and his offspring when he chose to disobey his Father.

Answer 8

"Corresponding ransom" was lifted almost bodily out of the Greek reference works as the definition of the word used at 1 Tim. 2:5-6, when Paul wrote under inspiration,



"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all—[this is] what is to be witnessed to at its own particular times."



The ransom was paid by God, to God, to satisfy, not God, but justice coupled with mercy.



Why it was needed is shown by Romans 6:23:



"For the wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord. " (NW)



That it was paid to God is shown by Psalm 49:6-9:



"Those who are trusting in their means of maintenance,

And who keep boasting about the abundance of their riches,

7 Not one of them can by any means redeem even a brother,

Nor give to God a ransom for him;

8 (And the redemption price of their soul is so precious

That it has ceased to time indefinite)

9 That he should still live forever [and] not see the pit. (NW)



So humans could not come up with the price necessary to "live forever and not see the pit."



It is also shown by Hebrews 9:22-26:



"Yes, nearly all things are cleansed with blood according to the Law, and unless blood is poured out no forgiveness takes place. 23 Therefore it was necessary that the typical representations of the things in the heavens should be cleansed by these means, but the heavenly things themselves with sacrifices that are better than such sacrifices. 24 For Christ entered, not into a holy place made with hands, which is a copy of the reality, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the person of God for us. 25 Neither is it in order that he should offer himself often, as indeed the high priest enters into the holy place from year to year with blood not his own. 26 Otherwise, he would have to suffer often from the founding of the world. But now he has manifested himself once for all time at the conclusion of the systems of things to put sin away through the sacrifice of himself."



Notice that Jesus had to "appear before the person of God for us."



A perfect human, Adam, got us into this mess, and it would take a perfect human to get us out, thus, a "corresponding ransom." Our parent, Adam, lost the right to perfect, eternal human life, and so did not have it to pass on to his children. Jesus offers to became our adoptive parent, sacrificing his right to perfect, eternal human life to make up for Adam's loss. Romans 5:18-19 puts it:



"So, then, as through one trespass the result to men of all sorts was condemnation, likewise also through one act of justification the result to men of all sorts is a declaring of them righteous for life. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man many were constituted sinners, likewise also through the obedience of the one [person] many will be constituted righteous."



Who, then, paid the ransom to God to satisfy justice? Man couldn't, according to Psalm 49 above, because there could never be another perfect man "corresponding" to Adam, per Romans 5 above. So God paid the ransom, Himself, at great sacrifice to Himself, to satisfy justice and not have to pay the wages of sin--death--to all imperfect, sinful humans:



"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16 KJ/AV)



"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and it is as a free gift that they are being declared righteous by his undeserved kindness through the release by the ransom [paid] by Christ Jesus. 25 God set him forth as an offering for propitiation through faith in his blood. This was in order to exhibit his own righteousness, because he was forgiving the sins that occurred in the past while God was exercising forbearance; 26 so as to exhibit his own righteousness in this present season, that he might be righteous even when declaring righteous the man that has faith in Jesus." (Romans 3:23-26 NW)



Someone perfect had to come to earth as a perfect human corresponding to Adam, and sacrifice that right to life to make up for Adam's loss. God sent his own Son, and Jesus came willingly:



"No one has love greater than this, that someone should surrender his soul in behalf of his friends." (John 15:13 NW)



Best regards,

Mike