Who Was the God of the Old Testament?

Who Was the God of the Old Testament?

Fundamental Belief, the Godhead

God the Father is an eternally existing Spirit, a perfect, personal Being of supreme love, intelligence, knowledge, justice, power and authority… There is one Lord, Jesus Christ, who has eternally existed. God is an eternal family currently consisting of the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is the power of God and the Spirit of life eternal, not a separate entity or being.

The teaching of the Church has been consistent. Jesus is God and He pre-existed His human life. Jesus Christ was the One who interacted with man in the Old Testament.

Either Christ, the Word, belonged to the divine realm (which was the domain of God alone) or He belonged to the fragile created order. Arius placed Him in the “fragile created order” but Athanasius placed Him in the “divine realm.” The Trinity was developed to defeat the argument of Arius. It had no basis in scripture.

We have a choice to make…

Was Christ a Created Being?

• This teaching denies the divinity of Christ and relegates Him to the created order, a little higher than the angels but not on the same level with God.

• Also called Arianism, after its first proponent Arius.

• Today few accept this idea, but it is the teaching of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

• There are various twists to the teaching: Christ was created prior to Genesis 1; Christ was created at the time of Genesis; Christ was created at the time of His human birth.

Was Christ a Created Being?

• Colossians 2:9 In Christ dwells the “fullness of the Godhead.”

• Numerous scriptures declare Jesus Christ to be God, yet there is no scripture that describes His creation.

• Christ has eternally existed. He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

• Christ created all things and nothing was created without Him (John 1:1-3). Christ could not have been created.

Christ was God in the flesh…

When all the evidence is considered, the most logical conclusion is that Christ was who He said He was– God with us (Emmanuel). Before Abraham was He said “I am.” Before the foundations of the world He existed with the Father. No one has seen God, but YHWH and Elohim were seen. This could only be the one who became Christ.

Christ was the God of the Old Testament, the One who appeared to and spoke with Adam, Abraham, Moses, and the prophets, along with others. He appeared most often as YHWH.

Our understanding:

The Father is involved in the OT and is also identified as Elohim and YHWH.

Scriptural Basis for Understanding…

John 5:37 “And the Father Himself, who sent Me,has testified of Me. You have neither heard Hisvoice at any time, nor seen His form.”

John 1:18 “No one has seen God at any time.”

1 John 4:12 “No one has seen God at any time.”

OT Scriptures Confirming that Christ Was Referred to as YHWH in the OT.

Genesis 18:1, 33 “Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.”

OT Scriptures Confirm that Christ Was Referred to as YHWH in the OT.

Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us aSon is given; and the government will be upon Hisshoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful,Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince ofPeace.”

OT Scriptures Confirm that Christ Was Referred to as YHWH in the OT.

Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” [margin, the days of eternity].”

OT Scriptures Confirm that Christ Was Referred to as YHWH.

Zechariah 14:3-4 “Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.”

Psalm 45:6-7 “Your throne O God, is forever andever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepterof Your kingdom.”

OT Scriptures Confirm that Christ was Referred to as YHWH.

Hebrews 1:8 “But to the Son He says: Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.”

Psalm 110:1, 5 “The LORD said to my Lord, Sit at Myright hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool. . .The Lord [from Hebrew YHWH, LORD] is at your righthand. . .”

OT Scriptures Confirm that Christ was Referred to as YHWH.

1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. 2The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. 3Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. 4The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. 5The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. 6He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries. 7He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

Psalm 110

-דע ;ינימיל בש--ינדאל ,הוהי םאנgילגרל םדה ,gיביא תישא

,הוהי חלשי--gזע-הטמ.gיביא ברקב ,הדר ;ןויצמ

:gליח םויב ,תבדנ gמע לט ,gל ;רחשמ םחרמ ,שדק-ירדהב

.gיתדלי ןהכ-התא--םחני אvו ,הוהי עבשנ

;םלועל .קדצ-יכלמ ,יתרבד-לע

ופא-םויב ץחמ ;gנימי-לעינדא .םיכלמ

,שאר ץחמ ;תויוג אלמ ,םיוגב ןידי.הבר ץרא-לע

םירי ,ןכ-לע ;התשי Äרדב ,לחנמ .שאר

hw:hy (YHWH)

yn:doa} (Adonai)

Bullinger’s Companion Bible: “Out of extreme (butmistaken) reverence for the Ineffable Name ‘Jehovah’, theancient custodians of the Sacred Text substituted in manyplaces ‘Adonai’. These, in the AV and RV, are all printed‘Lord’, marking the word with an asterisk in addition to thenote in the margin, to inform the reader of the fact. Theofficial list given in the Massorah (107-15 Ginsburg’sedition) contains the 134.”

Psalm 110:5 is one of the 134 locations that YHWH was replaced with Adonai.

Jesus Christ & YHWH

NT Scriptures OT Scriptures

1. Jesus Christ was called

the creator. So was

YHWH.

John 1:3 “All things were

made through Him, and

without Him nothing was

made that was made.”

Colossians 1:16 “For by Him

all things were created…”

Isaiah 45:11-11 “Thus says

the LORD, The Holy One of

Israel, and his Maker… I

have made the earth, and

created man on it…”

2. YHWH is called Savior

and so is Jesus Christ.

Luke 2:11 “For there is born

to you this day in the city of

David a Savior who is Christ

the Lord.

Hosea 13:4 “Yet I am the

LORD your God ever since

the land of Egypt, and you

shall know no God but Me;

for there is no Savior

besides Me.”

3. Both Jesus and YHWH

are referred to as our

Redeemer.

Galatians 3:13 “Christ has

redeemed us from the curse

of the law…”

Isaiah 43:14 “Thus says the

LORD, your Redeemer…”

Jesus Christ & YHWH


4. Jesus Christ and YHWH are described as delivering man from death.

1 Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

Hosea 13:14 “…I [YHWH] will redeem them from death… O Grave, I will be your destruction!”

5. Bible prophecy predicted the piercing of Christ and refers to Him as YHWH.

John 19:34 “But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.”

Zechariah 12:10 “And I [YHWH] will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace…then they will look on Me whom they pierced.”

6. We are told that Christ was present when Israel left Egypt.

1 Corinthians 10:1-4 “…For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”

Exodus 13:21-22 “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire…”

Jesus Christ & YHWH


7. Jesus is described as the bridegroom and so is YHWH in the OT.

Revelation 19:7 “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”

Isaiah 54:5 “For your Makeris your husband, the LORD of hosts is His name, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. He is called the God of the whole earth.

8. Both Jesus Christ and YHWH are described as Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last.

Revelation 1:8 “I am theAlpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty,”

Isaiah 44:6 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of Hosts; I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God.”

John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word,and the Word was with God, and the Word wasGod.

Revelation 19:13 “He was clothed with a robedipped in blood, and His name is called TheWord of God.”

NT Proof that Christ is eternal and the God of the Old Testament...

Word wasthe in

beginningthe

Word was Godthe

Word wasthe with God

the

John 1:1…

Ἐν (In) ἀρχῇ (beginning) ἦν (was) ὁ (the) Λόγος, (Word) καὶ (and) ὁ (the) Λόγος(Word) ἦν (was) πρὸς (with) τὸν (the) Θεόν, (God) καὶ (and) Θεὸς (God) ἦν(was) ὁ (the) Λόγος. (Word)

John 1:1-2…πρὸς (pros)Definition: 1. To, towards, denoting directiontowards a thing, or position and state, lookingtowards a thing; it is used of the goal or limittowards which a movement is directed. 2. It isused of close proximity-- the idea of direction,though not entirely lost, being more or lessweakened, answering to our at or by. 3. Of relationor reference to any person or thing. 4. At, near,hard by, denoting close local proximity.

Titus 2:11-13 “For the grace of God that brings salvation

has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying

ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,

righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the

blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God

and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us…”

NT Proof that Christ is eternal and the God of

the Old Testament...

Granville Sharpe Rule of Greek Grammar: “…when

two nouns are joined by kai (and) and the first noun

has the article and the second does not, then the

two nouns refer to the same thing; hence ‘great God

and Savior’ both refer to Christ Jesus” (The Moody Handbook of Theology, page 225).

Titus 2:13

“…looking for the blessed hope and glorious

appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus

Christ.”

Study of Greek Grammar…

John 8:57-58 “Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.’”


John 20:28 “Do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ And Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”

John 17:5 “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

1 Timothy 3:16 “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.”


Probability Text Date Type Translation

Certain

John 1:1

John 20:28

30s

30s

Theos

o theos

“And the Word was

God”

“My Lord and my

God”

Very

Probable

Romans 9:5 ca. 57 Theos “… came Christ who

is supreme over all as

God”

Titus 2:13 ca. 63 o theos “our great God and

Savior, Jesus Christ”

Hebrews 1:8 60s o theos “Your throne O God”

2 Peter 1:1 ca. 65 o theos “… of our God and

Savior, Jesus Christ”

Probable John 1:18 90s Theos “The only Son, who is

God”

Who Was the God of the Old Testament?

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Who Was the God of the Old Testament?