Who Is This Jesus?
In order for us to understand who Jesus was, and is, we have to go back to the Old Testament and learn some things about God himself as creator of all things. And before we go into the Old Testament to find out who Jesus is, we need to understand some things about God’s name.
God has a name but the word ‘name’ in the bible does not always refer to a proper (personal) name. Sometimes the word ‘name’ as used in scripture is defined as having the meaning of ‘authority’; like, ‘in the name of the law’ means ‘by the authority of the law.’ So the phrase “I come to you in the name of the Lord” means “by the authority of the Lord.” The word name in scripture is also used to mean ‘reputation’. A person who often commits crimes or is known for bad ethics or morals is said to have a ‘bad name.’ A person of good conduct who has a reputation for honesty and integrity is said to have a ‘good name.’ In scripture, the attributes of the nature of God that make up His character are also referred to as names, as in Exodus 34:14 that says; “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” But we know that ‘Jealous’ is not God’s proper name, not the personal name of God himself but of one of His attributes. Another use of the word name in scripture (also not referring to a proper name or actual name of which a being is called) is defined as a ‘title’; such as ‘father’.
‘Father’ is not a name; it’s a title. Likewise ‘son’ or ‘daughter’ are not names but titles. If I gave my daughter a thousand dollars to open up a checking account in my name, then the bank would ask her what that name was. If she said ‘father’ they would laugh at her. Father is not my name but it is my title. The word ‘father’ can also be used to relate to authority, just as ‘in the name of the law’ means ‘by the authority of the law’ so likewise does “I come to you in my father’s name” mean “I come to you by the authority of my father”. The name, or names of God are mention many times in scripture, but in many cases do not refer to his personal and proper name of the Being we call God. They refer to His position, His authority, His attributes, His reputation or militarily His rank (i.e., The Lord of Hosts). When studying scripture we would do well whenever it mentions the word ‘name’ that we would determine which usage of the word ‘name’ it’s referring to. There are books available that further clarify which meaning of the word ‘name’ is being used at the various scripture locations.
Two actual names ascribed to God are Jehovah and Yahweh. These names were man-made creations stemming from the four initials used to represent God’s name in the Old Testament. In the King James where the word LORD appears all in caps, you’ll find four Hebrew letters; YHWH. His name is YHWH. Some pronounce it “Jehovah”, but since there was no letter “J” in the Hebrew language, we call Him Yahweh. The terms ‘God’ and ‘Lord’ are synonymous and interchangeable with each other. These four letters are called the tetragrammaton, which is Greek for “four letters”. In Hebrew they’re pronounced yod, he, wah, he, which probably gave rise to the “Yahweh” we use today. Since Hebrew has no vowels early English language translators added an E, an O, and an A, (vowels they took from Elohim, a form of the Hebrew word meaning God and Adonai, Hebrew for Lord) to form the word Jehovah. Some Hebrew traditions claim that the four letters are God’s initials, standing for His real name that contains 72 syllables. It was forbidden to write or even speak God’s actual name except for once a year on Yom Kippur when it was spoken 7 times.
In order to understand who Jesus was and is, we have to understand who the Father is.
There is only one God, (synonymous with one Lord), in the entire universe. The Lord commanded the children of Israel to do many things in the wilderness, and He commanded them to teach certain things to their children, and their children’s children. They were to teach them these things so that they would never forget the Lord their God. The very first of these things that they were to be taught continually is the there is but ONE God. Deuteronomy 6:1-7 says;
“Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his (singular) statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
(Note: in all scripture references I am going to point out everywhere that God is referred to as singular, denoting ONE God, and one God only in the universe. I will use bold print to do so).
Isaiah 45: 5-6 affirms the same view; “I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and thee is none else.” Could it be any plainer than that? There is only one God in heaven, the Father, the Lord. Isaiah 45:18 declares that He is the creator, and no other; “For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself (singular) that formed the earth and made it; he(singular) hath established it, he(singular) created it not in vain, he(singular) formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.” Malachi 2:10 also tells us that there is but One God, our Father, our creator; “Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us?” Isaiah 43:3 says too, that the Lord thy God, is also the Saviour;
“For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour.” Isaiah 43:10-15 specifically declares beyond doubt, and God wanted His people to know, that there will never be another God. Not before Him or after Him. He is the only Saviour there is, there will never be another. “Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he (singular): before me (singular): there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I (singular):, even I (singular):, am the LORD; and beside me(singular): there is no saviour. I (singular): have declared, and have saved, and I (singular): have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I (singular): am God. Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it? Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. I (singular): am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.”
What very explicit words! There was no God before Him, no God shall be formed after Him, and there is none beside Him! He alone is the Holy One of Israel, the redeemer, the Saviour. God Himself; the Father. Isaiah 12:2-6; “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for YHWH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. 3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. 4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. 5 Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. 6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.”
In Isaiah 12:2-6 says that YHWH Himself ‘is become’ my salvation; and this speaks of a future time. We know it speaks of a future time because of the wording in verse 4; “and in that day”. It also speaks of “this is known in all the earth” referring to the spread of the gospel in the New Testament era. And this salvation shall come because of “the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee” (speaking of the time of the ministry of Christ).
God is a Spirit
In John 4:24 it is written, “God is a Spirit.” As a Spirit, God Himself is invisible, but He takes on various physical forms on occasion to reveal Himself for specific purposes. He became a pillar of fire by night and a overshadowing cloud by day to the children of Israel in the desert. He became the fourth figure in the fiery furnace and in the form of a Dove as seen by John the Baptist. Isaiah 42:13 gives us a great revelation of prophecy when he declared that God, (and there’s only one) would one day come…as a man! “The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.” John 1:1-14 explains it this way; “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same (the Word) was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him(God); and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10 He (God) was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word was made flesh (now we have the entrance of the man, Jesus Christ), and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (The Word of God was given a physical life, a body to dwell in).
The coming of the God of heaven into the world in the form of a man was to be given and introduction. The Lord is King of Kings, and kings always receive an introduction. This introduction was prophesied in the old testament by the prophet Isaiah, who said there would a voice crying in the wilderness that make a path straight for a highway four God… Isaiah 40:3-5 says; “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” God Himself, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, the God who said there was no other God in heaven but Him nor was there any with Him and neither would there be another God after Him, was going to come in the form of a man. Malachi 3:1 speaks of John the Baptist when the Lord told Malachi; “Behold, I (Yahweh) will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me (God Himself): and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple.” That ‘temple’ was the very body of the man Jesus Christ. Jesus himself referred to his body as a temple (John 2:19-21). John the Baptist testified of Jesus saying (John 1:32-33) “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew hin not” but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.”
God is a Spirit, and that Spirit lived within the body of the man Jesus Christ, the begotten Son. The Father, the Creator, lived inside that fleshly body. The man Jesus was the temple, the temporal physical housing of an eternal God. Jesus was a willing vessel yielded to the will of the Father to be Gods voice and actions at that time. When people saw Jesus, they saw the human man, born of flesh, the begotten. But as the spokesperson in word and deed for God; his words and actions were that of God Himself. The man Jesus, was born… having a beginning; but the Spirit that empowered Him was eternal, from everlasting. When scripture says “…this day have I begotten thee” it means just that. 2 Corinthians 5:19 also explains that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” Matthew 3:17 records; “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Notice God does not say “with whom I am well pleased, but in whom. You might ask, ‘why does that verse say a voice from heaven since God’s spirit was in Jesus’? The answer is that no one human body can contain the God of the universe. God can be everywhere, simultaneously.
Jesus understood prophecy from God’s word, but as a man did not always know what His Father would do next. Jesus did not lead the Spiri but rather, He let the Spirit of God lead Him. Jesus, in his humanity and as our example, received instruction from His Father through prayer. As the man of flesh he prayed for direction; just as Christians should do. “ Of myself I can do nothing. What I see the Father do, that I do.”
In John 14:7-10 Jesus was speaking to the people and he declares that the Father, the creator, YHWH… lived in him. He declared that the things He did were not done because of his own will or power but that it was the Father himself within him that was doing these things. In many instances the very words that Jesus spoke was not coming from his own making but that it was the Father speaking through him. Jesus became the voice and actions of and for the invisible God. John 14:7-10; “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”
Jesus had a dual nature. He was a man, born of flesh and a human by birth; but Fathered by the One God of heaven instead of an earthly father. In His humanity He was as all men, and even though He was fathered by God, He did not begin his ministry until he had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Christ is our example, and we are to be like Him, but there are two differences between Christ and his followers; Jesus was Fathered by God is one of those differences but the other difference is that Jesus received the infilling of the Holy Ghost ‘without measure’ whereas his followers receive ‘a measure.’ As a man, Jesus had his own will just like we do; but He yielded that will to the will of the Father. When Jesus spoke, sometimes he spoke his own words while at other times it was not his words at all but the Father of Creation speaking through him. Once we understand these things then scripture is so much easier to understand! Sometimes Jesus spoke as a man, sometimes his words were the words of the Father himself speaking through him.
We can see some of the differences of his human side and the Holy Spirit within him in some of these examples: As a man he increased in wisdom (Lk 2:52) but the Spirit in Him knew all things (Jn 21:17). As a man He grew hungry (Mt 4:2) but through the Father in Him He fed multitudes (Mt 14:19-21). As a man he was a servant (Phil 2:7) but the Spirit in Him was King of Kings (Rev 19:16). As a man, He died (Jn 19:30) But because of the Eternal Spirit within Him he arose from the dead (Lk 24:1-6). As a man, he wept over the death of Lazarus (Jn 11:32-37) but through the power of the Father he raised Lazarus from the dead (Jn 38-44).
When Jesus told the Pharisees “Destroy this temple and I will raise it up again” it was not the man Jesus who was talking but was the Holy Spirit, the Father himself talking. The man, Jesus, is a separate being from God (the Father, the Holy One of Israel, the Holy Spirit … [whichever name you choose, they all apply to that one being]). The man Jesus was fathered by God, and is the Son of God. The term ‘Son’ refers to the flesh; the human man Jesus. Only the Father is the Father, and only the Son is the Son, and even though one cannot be the other, what we see in Jesus is one inside the other! What must be understood is the scripture of 2 Corinthians 5:19; “for God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” In that Jesus often spoke the words the Holy Spirit gave Him to speak, and do those things (miracles) the Holy Spirit anointed Him to do, Jesus became the spokesperson for God. He was God’s representative on earth, his actions and words being those of the Father; and by those things we perceive God the Father himself. When Jesus spoke on his own, he spoke as a man. When we see the man Jesus, the Son of God, going through trials and tests, submitting his will in obedience to His father, displaying an inner character pleasing to his Father, then we see Him as our example of how our lives should likewise be lived. It is very important, if we are to have a better understanding of scripture, to know just who is speaking when Jesus spoke. Was it Jesus, speaking as a man, or was it the Holy Spirit speaking through Him? Knowing the difference unlocks the understanding of many verses in the New Testament. The Father was IN him. Residing IN the body of Christ. Jesus, being led by the Holy Spirit and obedient to the Holy Spirit, was a manifestation OF God. 1 Timothy 3:16 reads; “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh…” God can manifest himself in any way He chooses to, and God came to earth in the form of a man. Therefore that form, was God. The flesh was man… but the life, the being, was God. The flesh was the temple, but inside the temple was the Holy of Holies. His flesh, his humanity, was the sacrificial Lamb, but residing in him was the Lion of Judah! Colossians 1:15 refers to Jesus as “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.” Jesus was the incarnate of God in that God, the Father, lived, walked, talked and had his being within the man we see as Jesus the Christ, his Son. Just as when a person would go into the temple there would be the Holy of Holies (God) behind a veil;
so likewise when we see Jesus in the flesh, we see the Son of God; but when we see beyond the veil of that flesh then we see the One True God of all creation; our heavenly Father.
God knew that when He came to visit His people, (fulfilling the prophecy foretold in Isaiah that YHWH would go forth as a man), that most people would not recognize Him as God, because they would not see beyond the veil of flesh that was his Son. In Old Testament prophecy Zechariah 12:10b said of the future visitation and crucifixion, “…and they shall look upon me (the Father) whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him (Jesus), as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” John the Baptist knew, as all Israelites knew, that there is but one God, and that besides Him there is no saviour and never would be. John knew also the words recorded in Isaiah 35: 4-6 that OUR GOD shall come, and certain things would happen when He came; “Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, YOUR GOD will come with a vengeance, even God with a recompense; He will come and save you.” (and look at what will happen when He would come…) “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.” So when John the Baptist, who already knew that Jesus was the sacrificial Lamb, wanted to know if Jesus was the manifestation of “He that should come” (meaning God Himself), Jesus answered John this way, as recorded in Matthew 11:2-5; “Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him,, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them”. To paraphrase, John was asking if Jesus was the One, The Messiah, The Holy One of Israel, The Mighty God Himself, who was to go forth as man; and Jesus responded by pointing out the works that He was doing, which were the fulfillment of Isaiah 35:4.
Jesus was a man by His flesh, but God Himself within that flesh. John 1:1 records it this way;
“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same (the Word) was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him(God); and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10 He (God) was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word was made flesh (now we have the entrance of the man, Jesus Christ), and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (The Word of God was given a physical life, a body to dwell in).
Although the Word of God was with God (and WAS God) from the beginning of creation, the man Jesus never existed before his birth into the world. That’s why scripture says in numerous places, “this day have I begotten thee.”
As I stated earlier, it’s important to know who was speaking when Jesus spoke; Jesus as a man, or the Holy Spirit speaking through him. If we do not understand this then it opens the door to false doctrine. One of the false doctrines is the concept that there are two Gods (many even say three). Many think that the Father is one God and the Son is yet another; rather than understanding 2 Corinthians 5:19 that says “God was IN Christ” and was manifested IN him. Scripture clearly and repeatedly declares that there is but ONE God, and there are none beside, neither will be before Him or after Him. That this ONE God became our saviour who manifested Himself within Jesus.
When Philip said “show us the Father” and Jesus returned with “Have I been so long with you Philip and you still don’t know me?”; it was not the man Jesus who was speaking at that moment but was the Father Himself speaking. The concept of Jesus (the Son) being in heaven with the Father (at the creation or anytime, actually) before his appearance on earth probably comes from the prayer Jesus spoke in John 17:3-5;“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”
But again, that was not the ‘man’ Jesus speaking of himself during that prayer but it was the Holy Spirit speaking through Him. Remember that in creation, God created the world by the power of His word. God spoke… and it came into being. God’s word, which was in the beginning, became flesh in Mary’s womb… not before then. The word was in the beginning with God; not the man. “With the Glory I had with thee from the beginning”; that was the Spirit of God, communing from within Jesus, to the eternal spirit. Isn’t that like God, praying to God? Of course it is, in the same exact way in which a Spirit-filled believer, while praying to God in the Spirit prays. It is the Spirit of God within the believer, praying to the Spirit of God. It is the Holy Spirit within you, praying to the Holy Spirit outside of you. There are many such times when Jesus spoke that it was not His words at all, but the Holy Spirit talking.
The man, the flesh and blood Jesus was the son of God; but the Spirit within that flesh was our heavenly Father, the creator of all. When scripture refers to the Son of God it refers to the man, not the Father within Him. Jesus was the Lamb, the blood sacrifice for the atonement of our sins. When scripture refers to Jesus as God; it refers to the presence, words and actions of the God of Israel within him, no longer the Lamb of God but instead the Lion of the tribe of Judah! Since God Himself is an invisible Spirit, it is only as Jesus that we can visualize a form when we speak of God. It is only when we look through our ‘spiritual eyes’ that when we look upon the flesh of Christ that we can both see and understand our heavenly Father who not only enabled Him, but spoke and did works through Him.
Thomas, one of the apostles of the Lord, walked with Jesus for three years. Thomas was taught by Him and saw His mighty works. Yet Thomas only recognized Him as the Son of God (a man of flesh). Thomas did not really know who Jesus was until Jesus had risen from the tomb and had appeared to Thomas in the upper room. It was then, that Thomas finally understood what was going on. Who Jesus was. It was then that Thomas could see beyond the flesh. John 20:28-29 says; “And Thomas answered and said unto him, ‘My Lord and my God’. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” What did Jesus mean by that? “Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed”? Thomas knew already that Jesus was the son of God. Thomas knew already many things about Him, but not the knowledge of WHO JESUS REALLY WAS! This he did not know, until after Jesus had risen and Thomas gained the understanding he summed up by his exclamation “My Lord and my God!”
“Heaven is my throne” says the Lord. The throne is a place from which deity rules; the seat of power. The apostle John saw that throne in his revelation and wrote about it in Revelation 4:2 and he said; “And there was ONE that sat upon the throne.” If the Father and Son are separate, who sits upon the throne? Jesus? If so, then where’s the Father? Where’s the Holy One of Israel, YHWH who says he will never give His glory to another? But if the Father is on the throne, then where’s Jesus, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings?
The answer is just as while on earth, God was IN Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, so likewise in heaven Jesus will be on the throne but it will be the Father who reigns through Him.
Water, though ONE element can be in the form of water, as ice, or as steam. So likewise the Lord, YHWH, the Almighty God is manifest as the Father (in creation), as the Son (in redemption) and as the Holy Ghost as indwelling Spirit (bringing salvation). These three ARE ONE. Meaning; one and the same. A man can be a father, a son, and also a husband, but he is still just ONE man. The very same is true with God. He manifested Himself in different ways (as His creation had need of Him), but He is still just ONE God. One being. The doctrine of “God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost” implies three separate beings (three Gods) and has no scriptural backing or foundation. Jesus was the son of God, never God the son. The common song called the “doxology” declares ‘God in three persons’ but the ONLY personage of God that ever existed was in the form of Jesus Christ. The ‘trinity’ and Trinitarian concept are totally contrary to the Holy Scriptures and were unheard of until 300 AD and to this very day Trinitarians are viewed as Polytheists and idolaters (those who worship multiple Gods) by those who have an understanding of God that goes back thousands of years, when God Himself declared;
“I am the Lord, there is none else. There is no God beside me. I am the Lord, beside me there is no Saviour. I am the first, and the last and beside me there is no God. Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.”
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, Oh Israel, the Lord our God is ONE LORD.
