Call Upon the Name of the Lord Jesus
Jesus is not Jehovah. He is a separate, created being. Prayer and worship
belong to Jehovah alone.
Show the chain: (1) In the OT, "call upon the name of Jehovah" is an exclusive worship phrase — , . (2) The Septuagint (Greek OT, translated ~250 BC by Jewish scholars) rendered this as "call upon the name of the Lord." (3) Paul applies this identical phrase to Jesus in — believers are "those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (4) Peter in quotes and applies it to Jesus. The JW's own reverence for God's name makes this argument devastating — the NT authors took the divine worship phrase and applied it to Jesus.
Jewish translators — 250 years before Christianity — created the phrase that Paul later applied to Jesus. This isn't a Christian invention; it's the language of worship that the NT writers deliberately used for Christ.
Calling on Jesus' name just means acknowledging his role
In the OT, "calling upon the name of Jehovah" was never just acknowledgement — it was prayer, worship, and dependence on God for salvation. says "everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved." Paul takes that exact verse and applies it to Jesus in . Same words, same meaning.
Some manuscripts omit 'me' in John 14:14, so the verse may just mean asking the Father in Jesus' name.
The NWT itself includes "me" — "If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it." The NA28 Greek text includes με (me). Even if "me" were omitted, verse 13 already says "whatever you ask in my name, I will do it" — Jesus is the one doing it, which is a divine prerogative. Combined with , the prayer is directed to Jesus and answered by Jesus.
Stephen was just making a request, not praying to Jesus as God.
Compare the exact words. in your NWT says: 'Into your hand I entrust my spirit. You have redeemed me, O Jehovah the God of truth.' Now in your NWT: Stephen says 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Stephen is echoing the Psalmist's prayer to Jehovah — word for word — but directing it to Jesus. And in the very next breath (v60), he asks Jesus to forgive his killers, just as Jesus asked the Father in . Stephen treated Jesus exactly the way the Psalmist treated Jehovah. If Jesus is just a created angel, Stephen committed idolatry with his dying words — and Luke recorded it approvingly.
Acts 2:33 says Jesus "received the promised holy spirit from the Father." Jehovah is the source; Jesus simply passed it on as His agent. That doesn't make him God.
I agree the Father and the Son are distinct, and the Son received the promise from the Father; Christians have never said otherwise. But notice whose act the outpouring is. In Jehovah says, "I will pour out my spirit on every sort of flesh," and Peter quotes it: "'In the last days,' God says, 'I will pour out some of my spirit'" (). Sixteen verses later he says of the exalted Jesus, "he has poured out what you see and hear" (2:33). The act Jehovah claims as His own in Joel, Jesus performs. That's why John the Baptist, a true prophet, said, "I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with holy spirit" (). Jesus speaks of the Spirit the same way: "the helper... that I will send you from the Father" (), and Luke calls it "the spirit of Jesus" (). A messenger can deliver a gift, but God's spirit is not an object that a creature can own and send. Can you think of any prophet or angel in Scripture who says, "I will send you God's spirit"?
This argument works best with JWs who respect the Hebrew Scriptures. Don't assume knowledge of the Septuagint — explain it simply as "the Greek translation of the OT that existed centuries before Jesus."
Read , and , each in its setting, until you can trace 'call on the name' from Joel to Peter to Paul without notes, then read and . Look up and in the NWT side by side, so you can show Stephen echoing the psalmist's prayer. Practise explaining the Septuagint in one plain sentence, the Greek translation of the Old Testament made centuries before Jesus, since many Witnesses will not have heard of it. Expect 'calling on his name just means acknowledging his role'; rehearse showing that Paul takes and applies it to Jesus in .