God Is Jesus (Part 6) What Did Jesus Reveal About Himself

In the Old Testament and New Testament writings before Jesus was born, the Lord God revealed who He was.  He said that He was the only God, the only Lord and the only Savior.  The Lord God revealed who he was and who He would become.  He said that he would become flesh.  He said that when He would come into the world that He would be born to a virgin.  He said that He would be Immanuel, meaning, 'God With Us'.  He said that He, as this child who would be born to us, would be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  He said that He, the only Savior, would come through Mary and told her to name Him Jesus (Yeshua) the Lord Our Salvation.  Did God when He was here as Jesus reveal who He was?

One of the very last words that Jesus spoke in the last book of the Bible, in the Book of Revelations, was spoken by God to the house of Jacob, in the book of Isaiah.  Isaiah wrote this in his 48th Chapter, in verses 12 and 18;

             (12)" Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first and,
             I am also the last. (13) Surely My hand founded the earth.  And My right hand spread
             out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together."

When we look at what Jesus spoke in the last Chapter of Revelation, we see Him revealing the same thing about Himself that God spoke in Isaiah.  Jesus claims to be the first and the last, when He says this in Revelation Chapter 22, verses 12 and 13;

             (12)" Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man
             according to what he has done.(13) I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last,
             the beginning and the end." 

Jesus is either God or He is making a false claim.  If we go back one Chapter to Revelation Chapter 21, we see Jesus telling the overcomers that He is God and not just God, but a Father, in verses 6-7;

              (6)" And He said to me, 'It is done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning
              and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life
              without cost.(7) He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God
              and He will be My son.

Jesus did not say here that He was a Father, but He did say that the overcomers would be His sons.
If there is any questions as to if this was Jesus speaking in these passages, we have to make a simple deduction.  The One who was talking in Chapter 22, verse 13, said that He was, "the Alpha and the
Omega, the first and the last.'  The Alpha and the Omega is the one who said in Chapter 21, verse 7, that He will their God and they His sons.  If we go to the first Chapter of Revelation, verse 8, we see this;

             " 'I am the Alpha and the Omega', says the Lord God, 'who is and who was and is to
             come, the Almighty'."

So we know that the Alpha and the Omega is the first and the last.  We saw where God in Isaiah said that He was the first and the last.  We see this again if we look at what Jesus said in the 1st Chapter of Revelation in verses 17-18;

              (17)" ................'Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last.(18) and the living One;
              and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and
              Hades'."

And again in Revelation Chapter 2, verse 8;

              "................'The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this':"

So we see what Jesus spoke here through the apostle John after His resurrection and ascension, but did Jesus ever claim to be the Father while He walked the earth.  To if this ever occurred we have to look at the first recorded scripture that would begin to point to Jesus being the Father.  We have to note that when Jesus was here, he did not go around saying, "I am the Christ", "I am God", "I am the Father".  He wanted His disciples to come to that conclusion who He was by what He did and what He proclaimed apart from just coming right out and saying it.  Jesus first hint, that He was God and Father, was given during an exchange He had with a group of Jews who had questioned Him as to who He was.  We find this in the gospel of John, in the 10th Chapter, in verses 24-33;

              (24)"The Jews therefore gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, 'How long
              will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ tell us plainly.' (25) Jesus answered
              them, 'I told you, and you do not believe; the works I do in my Father's name, these
              bear witness of Me.(26) But you do not believe, because you are not my sheep.(27)
              My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;(28) and I give eternal
              life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.
              (29) My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one shall snatch
              them out of the Father's hand.(30) I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE.' (31) The Jews
              took up stones again to stone Him.(32) Jesus answered them, 'I showed you many
              good works from the Father, for which of them are you stoning Me?'(33) The Jews
              answered Him, 'For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because
              You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God'."

The Jews understood what He was saying to them and for Jesus making the claim He and the Father are One, they wanted to stone Him to death.  They understood that He was telling them that He was God.  Also, when Jesus said that no one will snatch his sheep out of His hand and then saying that no one will snatch His sheep out of His Father's hand, He was saying that it was His hand and the Father's hand.  It was the same hand.  When Jesus said the works I do in my Father's name, what was the Father's name?  Of course doing the works as Jesus, Jesus is the name that the works are being done in.  God chose to be called Jesus.

We can look at these verses and say Jesus did or didn't claim to be the Father here.  Although, the Jews knew He was making this claim.  Right after Jesus had told His disciples that He was going away and where He was going they could not follow, but that they could follow later,  He comforted them and revealed to them who He was, with these words He spoke in John's gospel, Chapter 14, verses 1-9;

              (1)" 'Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.(2) In My
              Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for
              I go to prepare a place for you.(3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
              again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.(4) And you
              know the way where I am going.'(5) Thomas said to Him, 'Lord, we do not know
              where you are going, how do we know the way?'(6) Jesus said to him, 'I am the way,
              and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. (7) If you had
              known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and
              have seen Him.'(8) Philip said to Him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for
              us.'(9) Jesus said to him, 'Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to
              know Me, Philip? HE WHO HAS SEEN ME HAS SEEN THE FATHER; how do you
              say, "Show me the Father?' "

The key to Jesus claim to being the Father is even greater than Him saying, "he who has seen Me has seen the Father.  The key is in verse 7, "If you had known Me, you would have know My Father also;".  Now because of what Jesus said in verse 7 and says next, He has now revealed to them that He is the Father and from now on they will know Him that way and will look at Him knowing that to be so.  Jesus completes verse 7 telling them, 'from now on you know Him and have seen Him.

What I have written is not my opinion.  It is what is written.  I have always said that if I cannot show you then do not believe me.  If I have shown you, then it is your choice to either believe or not.  The one great thing about Jesus is that He will always reveal who He is to people who really seek to know Him.

May Jesus peace and grace and His revealing of Himself be with you.

God is Jesus (Part 5) God Chose His Name To Be Jesus

The God of the universe chose to be called Jesus (Yeshua).  Yeshua in Hebrew means, The Lord Our Salvation.  We saw that when the angel of the Lord instructed Joseph as to what  name the baby that Mary would deliver should be called, Joseph was told this in the 1st Chapter of Matthew's gospel, in verses 20 and 21;

             (20)"Joseph, son od David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which
             has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. (21) And she will bear a Son; and you
             shall call His name Jesus (Yeshua), for it is He who will save His people from their sins."

The One who saves is of course a Savior.  This was pointed out in the gospel of Luke in his 2nd Chapter, verses 10 and 11, when the angel of the Lord spoke this to the shepherds in the field;

              (10) "And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news
              of a great joy which shall be for ALL the people;(11) for today in the city of David
              there will there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

So Jesus (Yeshua) is The Lord Our Salvation.  When we go back to the writings of the prophet Isaiah, we see this written in his 45 Chapter, in verses 5 and 6;

              (5)"I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God, I will gird you
              though you have not known Me;(6) That men may know from the rising to the setting
              of the sun that there is no one besides Me.  I am the Lord and there is no other."

So if the God of Israel is speaking this trough Isaiah that there is only One Lord and there is no other, then how can Jesus be Lord unless they are one and the same?  In verse 15 it says this;

             "...............................O God of Israel, Savior!"

So if the God of Israel is Savior, then how can Jesus be Savior unless they are one and the same?  For there is just one Savior.  Isaiah writes this latter is the same Chapter 45, in verses 20-23;

             (20) "Gather yourselves and come; Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations;
             They have no knowledge, who carry around their wooden idol, and pray to a God
             who cannot save.(21) Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult
             together.  who has announced this from old?  Who has long since declared it?  Is it
             not I the Lord?  And there is no other God beside Me, a righteous God and a Savior;
             There is none except Me. (22) Turn to Me and be saved, ALL the ends of the earth:
             For I am God and there is no other.(23) 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."

So what the only God is saying is that He is the only Lord and the only Savior and there is no other.
If God says this and therefore it must be true, then Jesus cannot be Lord and Savior unless they are one and the same.  This means that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the great I Am, became flesh in the person of Jesus, who is Lord and Savior.  God is Jesus.  Are there writings in the new testament that are in agreement to this?  Or course there is or I would not have asked the question.  It is actually one of most revealing passages in the new testament as to who Jesus really is.  This was written by the apostle Paul, who remember was a former Pharisee well aware of Isaiah's writings, in his letter written to the Philippians in the 2nd Chapter, verses 1-11;

             (1)"If therefore there is any encouragement in the Messiah, if there is any consolation
             of love, if there is any fellowship in the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,(2) make
             my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit,
             intent on one purpose.(3) Do nothing out of selfishness or empty deceit, but with
             humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself;
             (4) do not merely look out for your own interests, but also for the interests of others.
             (5) Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in the Messiah Jesus,(6) who,
             although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be
             grasped,(7) but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in
             the likeness of men.(8) And being found in the appearance as a man, He humble Himself
             by becoming obedient to the point of death, on a cross.(9) Therefore also God highly
             exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,(10) that at
             the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and
             under the earth,(11) and that every tongue should confess that Jesus the Messiah is Lord,
             to the glory of God the Father."

So we saw earlier in Isaiah's writings that to the only God, Lord and Savior will every knee bow to and swear allegiance to.  We just read here in Paul's writings that to the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.  There is only one Lord.  Jesus is a name above all names because it is the name that God chose for Himself.  When all will bow and confess that Jesus is Lord, they are acknowledging that Jesus is Lord of all, which will in turn by giving Jesus glory will also give the Holy Spirit of God, who is the Father, glory.  For they are one and the same.  The Lord Our God is One.

May Jesus' grace, understanding and peace be with you.