Does the Reference to Jesus as a "Mighty God" indicate that Jesus is a Lesser God than God the Father?

Last summer, fellow Truthbomber Chase Deener and I went out to a local park to share the gospel.  We came across a few Jehovah's Witnesses on the corner giving out free literature.  We decided to engage them with a few questions. After we introduced ourselves and explained our position, I asked the gentlemen to get out his New World Translation Bible and read Isaiah 9:6 for me.  He read:

"For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us; And the rulership will rest on his shoulder.  His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."

I asked, "Who is that verse referring to?"  He answered, "Jesus."  I then said, "Considering Jehovah's Witnesses reject the deity of Christ, how do you account for Jesus being referred to as 'Mighty God' in this verse?"  He claimed that that Jesus was a 'lesser God' than God the Father.  However, as Norman Geisler and Ron Rhodes explain, this claim is clearly mistaken:

"The folly of the Watchtower position is at once evident in the fact that Jehovah himself is called a 'Mighty God' in the very next chapter of Isaiah (10:21).  That both Jehovah and Jesus are called 'Mighty God' in the same book within the same section demonstrates their equality.

A good cross-reference is Isaiah 40:3, where Jesus is prophetically called both 'Mighty God' (Elohim) and Jehovah (Yahweh): 'A voice is calling, 'Clear the way for the Lord [Yahweh] in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God [Elohim]' (NASB, cf. John 1:23).  Clearly Jesus is not a lesser God than the Father."1

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Footnote:
1. Norman Geisler and Ron Rhodes, Correcting the Cults, p. 78-79.

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