Jehovah's Witnesses teach that Jesus Christ, before his human birth, existed in heaven as a spirit being—the only being directly created by Jehovah, referred to in Scripture as 'the Word' (John 1:1) and identified as Michael the Archangel. As Jehovah's 'only-begotten Son,' he is a divine being but is subordinate to and distinct from Jehovah God. He is not a member of a Trinity but the 'firstborn of all creation' (Colossians 1:15). Their New World Translation renders John 1:1 as 'the Word was a god'—acknowledging his divine nature while denying his equality with Jehovah.

Jehovah transferred Jesus's life-force to the womb of the virgin Mary, where he was born as a perfect human man—not God incarnate in the traditional theological sense, but a perfect human who fully submitted to Jehovah's will. After his death and resurrection, Jesus was raised as an immortal spirit being and exalted to a position of great authority, sitting at Jehovah's right hand. He now reigns as King of Jehovah's Kingdom, having been enthroned in heaven in 1914 according to JW chronology. He is the mediator between Jehovah and humanity but is not to be prayed to directly.