The God Revealed in the Old Testament Was the One Who Became Jesus Christ!

SPS: to review key scriptures in the Bible where God reveals highly significant things about His nature and actions.

The following is a condensed popular story by the late Paul Harvey:

There was a nonreligious skeptical man who just couldn't swallow the "Jesus story" about an Incarnation, about God coming to earth as a man. But one snowy evening he noticed a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow, not having any shelter. Well, he couldn't let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, and he thought about his barn. That would provide a warm shelter if he could direct the birds to it.

Quickly he went to the barn, opened the doors wide and turned on a light, but the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, found some bread crumbs that he sprinkled on the snow, making a trail to the doorway of the barn. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them... He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms... Instead, they scattered in every direction, except into the warm, lighted barn.

And then, he realized that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me... That I am not trying to hurt them but to help them. But how? Because any move he made tended to frighten them, they just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him.

"If only I could be a bird," he thought to himself, "and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to the safe, warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear and understand."

That thought became an epiphany. Stunned, he remembered the fundamental message: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Suddenly the gospel he had heard made complete sense! He dropped to his knees in the snow.

What Does the Bible Tell Us About the Father and the Son—the God Family?

There is much confusion about this subject. There is only one God, but God is a family, composed of God the Father and God the Son. The Son is also called "the Word" who became Jesus Christ (John 1:1, 14). They are also "one" in the sense that the Father and Son are identical in character.

Genesis 1:26 notice the plural pronouns.. “us” and “our”

The Bible clearly identifies two Beings who make up the one God. But what about the Holy Spirit? The Bible doesn't describe the Holy Spirit as a separate divine Being. It is revealed as the Spirit of God the Father and Jesus Christ—the power that emanates from them that They use for many different purposes.

The idea of God being a "Trinity" became popular centuries after Jesus Christ's time. It is not taught by the Bible. That idea originated in ancient paganism. The Bible is full of many, many proofs that God is not a Trinity. However, disproving the Trinity is not the purpose of today’s message. As a church, we cover that topic very thoroughly in our booklet “Is God a Trinity”- refer them to the table in the foyer.

One widespread misconception is that there was a difference—in fact, a major difference—in the character of the God of the Old Testament (primarily strict and harsh) and Jesus Christ in the New Testament (merciful and loving). But let’s take a look at what the scriptures teach us on this matter.

Can we prove that Jesus existed prior to His human birth?

John 17:5 – before the world began

John 17:24 – before creation

Luke 10:18 – Jesus refers to the “fall of Satan” that occurred before the creation of Adam and Eve. Many other scriptures could be quoted to prove that Jesus existed prior to His human birth. For example, Luke 10:22 shows that Jesus, and only Jesus, had firsthand, intimate knowledge of God the Father. The next section further proves Jesus' preexistence.

Was Jesus Christ also God before and after His incarnation?

Matthew 1:23 – talk about “baby Jesus”… so sweet… and so mild

In John 1, we learn that "in the beginning" there were two Beings who both were God. The rest of the chapter clearly shows that the One called the Word was the One who became Jesus Christ. He became flesh"— at His human birth, but He existed forever prior to that.

John 1:1-2 – the word was God

John 1:14-15 – John the Baptist testified of him (significant that John was will to die for speaking the truth)

John 1:29-34 – makes the connection… Jesus was the one referred to as the Word

John 10:30-33 – Jesus own words make the point very clearly

The New Testament is full of proof that Jesus was God… in word and in deed, Jesus did what only God could do:

• He forgave sins
• He raises the dead
• Most significantly, He allowed people to worship Him

Titus 1:3-4 and 2:13 Paul refers to Jesus as "God our Savior."

Jesus was and is God, meaning also that He has existed for all eternity! But what has He been doing “throughout eternity”. So, where was Jesus… (or at that time the Word) during the days of Abraham, Moses, David or Jeremiah? Since we are talking about eternity here… what was He up to when the universe was created? Was He just waiting offstage until the day He would be born in the flesh and named Jesus… Immanuel, God with us?

What passage most clearly shows that Jesus was the God of the Old Testament?

1 Corinthians 10:1-4

Plainly, the God who was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, through the Red Sea and into the Promised Land was Christ! Christ provided manna to eat (Exodus 16:4, 31, 35) and water to drink, sometimes from solid rock (Exodus 17:6). Calling the food and drink "spiritual" has a dual meaning: It was supernaturally provided, plus it also represented the spiritual sustenance Christ was providing as the bread of life and the water of life (John 4:14; 6:30-35).

What does scripture and Jesus Himself say about God the Father that prove the Father was not the God of the Old Testament?

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

John 5:37 You have never heard His voice… nor seen His form

John 6:46 – in case you were thinking Jesus was only referring to the people standing in front of Him

The God of the Old Testament many times visibly appeared to people and audibly spoke to people, which proves He was not God the Father. Exodus 20:18, 24:9-11

Who was the actual Creator of the universe, the earth, and all things?

Colossians 1:15-17

John 1:3 All things were made through Him [the Word], and without Him, nothing was made that was made.

God the Father authorized the creation, but Christ who actually did the creating or the one it was accomplished through. John 1:3 is clearly referring to the Word, the One who became Jesus Christ, as the rest of the chapter shows. Colossians 1:17 verifies that He had to exist "before all things," since He created all things.

Therefore… who originally made the Sabbath a holy day?

Genesis 2:2-3

Mark 2:27-28 The word sanctify means to set something apart as sacred or holy. When God rested on the seventh day, He made it holy. Mark 2:28 clearly implies that Jesus Christ is the One who made it holy.

How does the name "I AM" help prove that Jesus was the God of the Old Testament?

Exodus 3:13-14 “I exist therefore I exist” hawtaw = exist, be, become

John 8:58-59

For what reason did the Jewish adversaries try to stone Jesus? Because He referred to Himself with one of the names of God, the name by which God revealed Himself to Moses. By Jesus referring to Himself as "I AM," they were angered because He was clearly and pointedly identifying Himself as God.

John 8:24, 28

John 18:5, 8 Notice in verse 6 that when Jesus identified Himself as "I AM" to the arresting party, they were miraculously knocked to the ground.

Notice how "I am" is included when Jesus identifies Himself as "the bread of life" (John 6:48), "the light of the world" (John 8:12), "the door" (John 10:9), "the good shepherd" (John 10:11), "the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25), "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6) and "the true vine" (John 15:1). These are often referred to as the seven great "I AMs." Significantly, in the Old Testament, God identifies Himself in some of the same ways, such as being our shepherd, our light, and our life.