God of the Old Testament

Dear Brethren,

The Church of God has long understood that Jesus Christ – the Word – was the God of the Old Testament.  If we have not done so, we should prove this for ourselves.  Jesus alone is identified as “the LORD God of our fathers” in the Scriptures.  Paul removed every doubt when he wrote of Israel coming out of Egypt being led by Jesus Christ:

1Corinthians 10:1-4  Brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Our faith has increasingly come under attack.  It should be expected, because in these last days there is a sifting and sorting out of those who are not well founded in the truth.  They are being tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive (Ephesians 4:14).  Paul continued to warn the Corinthians:

1Corinthians 11:19  There must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

There is a heresy sweeping through the Church today that ranges everywhere from “Jesus is not God,” to “the Father is God of the Old Testament.”  This heresy teaches that God the Father married ancient Israel – which is flat-out wrong!  That thinking is simply not a part of the Biblical narrative.  This serious heresy is dangerous, heinous, and must be refuted.  This false belief is as shameful as the apostasy that swept through the Church of God about thirty years ago in that it brings the entire Plan of God into question.  Local congregations are being confused, broken and devastated by this contorted teaching that does not fit into the Plan of God.

God’s Plan is to bring many sons and daughters to glory in the Family of God (Hebrews 2:10).  Mankind was created – but sinned – and was cut off from God the Father (Isaiah 59:2).  Except for the few He is calling, the Father became mostly “hands-off” to this present evil world.  For man to be reunited with the Father, reconciliation is necessary through the blood of Christ, repentance and conversion.  Reconciliation to the Father began with the Prophets and the Church.  It will continue with those in the Millennium and on into the Great White Throne Judgment until the Plan of God is complete.

1Corinthians 15:24-25  Then cometh the end, when [Jesus Christ] shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father.

Lest we forget:  Mankind, including ancient Israel, was cut off from God the Father when the sin of Adam entered the world (Romans 5:12).  It is the Father who is the initiator of reconciliation, and it is only those with whom He is working and bringing to conversion who are privileged to have a relationship with Him.  Because sin has separated mankind from God the Father, a reunion and right relationship must transpire through the blood of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:20).

2Corinthians 5:18  All things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ.

Indeed it is the Plan of God to eventually reconcile the entire world to Himself.  This is the meaning and fulfillment of the Day of Atonement.

2Corinthians 5:19  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.

The adherents of the false doctrine, who teach that God the Father was the God of the Old Testament, overlook the relationship that existed between the Father and the Son.  Because both Father and Son are called in Hebrew, YHVH, they make wrong and improper substitutions in their interpretations.  Jesus revealed to King David the rapport that existed between the Father and the Son.  David wrote it this way:

Psalm 110:1  The LORD [YHVH] said unto my Lord [adoni], Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Today we understand that David was saying in effect, “God the Father said to Jesus Christ…”  Jeremiah 23:5 and Isaiah 11 prophesied that the Messiah would be the offspring of David (Matthew 1:1).  Those Jews of Jesus’ day could not understand how David could refer to his offspring as “My Lord.”  Physically, Jesus is the son of David, but spiritually, He is the Son of God the Most High.  Knowing that “God” consists of God the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ, Paul paraphrased the relationship that exists between them, and us, in this way:

Ephesians 4:4-6  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

The Hebrew word YHVH, like the word “God,” refers to both Jesus and the Father – just like Jesus was God, and Jesus was with God in John 1:1.  Since “God” is a group name like “Family,” it is incumbent on each of us to be able to identify who is meant in each case.   God the Father is always supreme in everything, so Jesus utilizes the subordinate title, “Lord” in order to differentiate between the two.  Paul shows that one “God” consists of both God the Father and the Son:

1Corinthians 8:4-6 … There is none other God but one… To us there is but one God:  The Father… and one Lord Jesus Christ…

Speaking of God the Father, Jesus tells us that no one has ever seen Him.

John 1:18  No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

However, Jesus – the Word – the God of Israel – was seen repeatedly by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, Samuel, and seventy of the elders of Israel – and many others:

Exodus 24:10  They saw the God of Israel: and there was under His feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.

In today’s sermon we will go where no man has gone before… and show incontrovertibly that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament.

***
Today's Sermon:  "God of the Old Testament"  


image
image