96 - The Identification of Jesus with YHWH

The Identification of Jesus with YHWH; John 17:1-5

The New Testament ascribes to Jesus the work of Yahweh. In Psalm 83:18 we see that the Bible clearly asserts that Yahweh is pre-eminent. He is the pre-eminent one in the Old Testament, he has priority over all creation and is distinct from creation, and he is unique: ^NASB "That they may know that You alone, whose name is the LORD [Yahweh], Are the Most High over all the earth."

Along with this there are a number of other things that the Old Testament affirms about Yahweh. In Zechariah 12:10 we are told that Yahweh is pierced: ^NASB "I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn." Here it refers to the one pierced as an only son, and also firstborn. The term "firstborn" is used in Colossians 1:16, 17 to refer to Jesus, and it doesn't mean first in the sense of time but first in the sense of priority. So the point is that the Old Testament speaks of Yahweh being pierced and this is fulfilled through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross, and that is in all of the Gospels.

The Old Testament speaks of Yahweh as the first and the last. Isaiah 44:6 ^NASB "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me." Even here there seems to be a distinction of person in this verse. When we come to the New Testament we find that this is ascribed to Jesus in Revelation 1:8 ^NASB "'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty'." [17] "When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, 'Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last'." So to Jesus in the New Testament is ascribed the same titles as to Yahweh in the Old Testament.

Isaiah saw and described the glory of Yahweh in Isaiah chapter six. Who is this King, the Lord of the armies? We discover that John identifies Him for us in the Gospel, John 12:41 ^NASB "These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him." John is talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. So Isaiah saw the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, identified as Yahweh.

Yahweh is described in the Old Testament as the shepherd of Israel. Psalm 32:1 ^NASB "The LORD [Yahweh] is my shepherd, I shall not want." This is an important psalm because the inference is that because the Lord is my shepherd I have no need. God has supplied everything, He is sufficient in His grace, His revelation is sufficient, and he has provided everything in life. So we have no need anymore, no matter what our circumstances, no matter how difficult is may be, no matter how hard things may be. He is the great shepherd. Hebrews 13:20 ^NASB "Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, {even} Jesus our Lord." This is what He claimed in John 10:11.

Yahweh in the Old Testament is called Israel's rock. This is a picture of His steadfastness, of His omnipotence, His power, and that God is unshakeable, nothing is more powerful; He is a fortress for us. In Deuteronomy 32:3, 4 ^NASB "For I proclaim the name of the LORD; Ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He." Psalm 18:2 ^NASB "The LORD [Yahweh] is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." It is God who gives us the protection in whatever situation we are in. He is the one who completely surrounds us and protects us and when we take refuge in Him then there is nothing greater. Psalm 62:1, 2 ^NASB "My soul {waits} in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken."

In the New Testament Jesus is identified as this rock in 1 Corinthians 10:4 ^NASB "and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ."

Every creature will bow down before Yahweh. Isaiah 45:23 ^NASB "I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear {allegiance.}" This is the same thing picked up by Paul and ascribed to Jesus in Philippians 2:9-11 ^NASB "For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Yahweh is described in the Old Testament as the only saviour. Isaiah 43:10 ^NASB "'You are My witnesses,' declares the LORD, 'And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. [11] I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me'." Isaiah 45:21 ^NASB "Declare and set forth {your case;} Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me."

When we come to the New Testament Jesus is stated to be the only way of salvation. Acts 4:12 ^NASB "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."

Yahweh Himself will reign personally in Jerusalem in the promised kingdom. Isaiah 24:23 ^NASB "Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, For the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, And {His} glory will be before His elders." This is also expressed in Zephaniah 3:15-17 ^NASB "The LORD has taken away {His} judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more. In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: "Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp. The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy." This is the victory of Jesus Christ at the battle of Armageddon as he comes at the second advent to establish His kingdom on rhe earth. This is spelled out in Revelation 19:11ff ^NASB "And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it {is} called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes {are} a flame of fire, and on His head {are} many diadems; and He has a name written {on Him} which no one knows except Himself. {He is} clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white {and} clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, 'KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS'." Revelation 20:4 ^NASB "Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I {saw} the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years." So clearly the New Testament ascribes to Jesus the ruling and reigning of Yahweh in the Old Testament, they are viewed as one and the same person.

Furthermore, the coming of Yahweh in the Old Testament, the foretold coming of Yahweh, was announced by a forerunner. Isaiah 40:3 ^NASB "A voice is calling, 'Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God'." In the Gospel of Mark this passage in quoted and applied to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and to John the Baptist.

Yahweh is prophesied in the Old Testament to be a stumbling block to Israel. Isaiah 8:13,m 14 ^NASB "It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread. Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, {And} a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem." 1 Peter 2:7 ^NASB "This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER {stone,}' and, 'A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE'; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this {doom} they were also appointed." What we have seen here is how many times we see Old Testament ascriptions to Yahweh applied in the New Testament to Jesus Christ.

When did Jesus become the Son of God? Did He become the Son of God or has He always been the Son of God? The Scriptures ascribe to Jesus three different titles. He is called the Son of God, the Son of Man, and the Son of David. It is clear that he becomes the Son of Man and the Son of David at His incarnation. Son of Man indicates His humanity. Son of David is a title for His Jewish royalty and identifies Him with the Davidic covenant. When Jesus is called the Son of God it is not talking about physical descent, it is not talking about birth. It is talking about deity, about what is ascribed to Him, i.e. full deity. The emphasis is on the fact that He shares the same attributes as God. So the question we have to ask is: when did He become the Son of God?

Scripture defines God as existing eternally as a Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They share the same identical essence. They are one in essence but three indistinct persons. How do they relate to one another throughout all eternity? We know that when Jesus becomes a man He is subordinate to the Father. We know that in terms of the Holy Spirit's ministry that He proceeds from the Son and he proceeds from the Father. But is this just something that is related to their function toward man or is it related to the eternal relationship of the Trinity? The reason this is important is because it defines and provides a basis for understanding role relationships in almost every sphere in human society.

Psalm 2 is a royal psalm related to the coming of the King, the royalty of the Messiah and His relationship to the nation. It pictures the time when Jesus comes back at the Second Advent and establishes His rule and reign at the beginning of the Millennium.

Psalm 2:1, 2 ^NASB " Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying…" Our whole view of history should be transformed once we read that passage because what we see is when nations are establishing themselves in independence they are doing it against God. The divine view of history is that they are taking their stand against the Lord, whether they realise it or not. When you start rejecting divine absolutes you are in rebellion against God.

They say: [3] "Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us! [4] He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. [5] Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, [6] 'But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.' [7] "I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You'." What does this mean? "Today I have begotten you." When we get into the New Testament we are going to discover that that is applied at different phases in the Lord's life.