John 6:38
John 6:3838For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
Witnesses use this verse to argue Jesus' subordination to the Father — "not my own will, but the will of him who sent me." The phrase is read as evidence that Jesus is a lesser being executing Jehovah's instructions. The "come down from heaven" clause is taken to refer to the descent of Michael the Archangel into the womb of Mary, not to a divine person becoming incarnate.
Two phrases in this short verse cut against the JW reading. First, "I have come down from heaven" describes origin, not mission. Compare ("the one who descended from heaven — the Son of Man"). The same Greek verb (katabainō) describes a pre-existent person crossing the heaven-earth boundary. Second, "not my own will, but the will of him who sent me" assumes a distinct will of the Son alongside the will of the Father — and unity of action in the work of redemption, not absence of identity. The contrast is the broader frame: the first man is from the earth; the second man is from heaven. Adam is earthy in origin; Jesus is heavenly in origin. That is a statement about who he is, not just about where he was sent.