JESUS CHRIST IS BOTH JEHOVAH AND THE MANIFESTATION OF JEHOVAH
Many Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but not equal to God. They do, however, readily recognize the truth that Jehovah is God. This study will show from Scripture that Jesus Christ is both Jehovah, Who is spirit, and the manifestation of Jehovah.
JESUS CHRIST IS JEHOVAH AS SPIRIT
We read in Jn. 4:24 that “God is spirit” (not a spirit, as the Greek does not have “a”). The Greek word “Theos” translated “God” is in reference to Jehovah, which is God’s name (this will be proved in a section below). So Jehovah is spirit. As such we can know absolutely nothing of Him except that which He chooses to reveal. And He has, in His infinite grace, revealed Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ Who, as this study will show, fulfills every office of Jehovah. That is to say, Christ manifests all that Jehovah is.
Let us consider Christ’s death on the cross. I believe that as we consider Ecc. 8:8 we will learn that even as Christ died on the cross He was God. We read in Ecc. 8:8, “There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit: neither hath he power in the day of death… .” In other words, no man can determine when he will die by giving up the spirit that gives life. But we read in Matt. 27:50, “Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost”. In other words, Jesus did exactly what Solomon wrote that no man could do, i.e. He determined his own time of death by yielding up the “ghost” i.e. the spirit that gives life. What we learn from this is that Jesus Christ was God even at the very time of His death. (For further evidence of that truth please see the paper on The Lamb of God).
I believe that because there is not one God Who is spirit and another God Who manifests that spirit, logic dictates that there is but one God who is Jehovah/Christ.
So we know that Christ was God during His earthly ministry. Did God die when He gave up the ghost at the cross? Yes and no. That is to say, God manifest in the flesh did indeed die, but at the same time God, Who is eternal, did not die because He is spirit. Again, there was not one God on earth manifesting a different God as spirit: there was, and always has been one God. Christ is that one God: He is both God manifest and at the same time God as spirit. We might say then, that even when Christ was in bodily form in the Old Testament and in heaven after His ascension, and in the flesh during His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ was always spirit. The very nature of God is spirit. Jesus Christ is God, Jesus Christ is now spirit and body
But some might object that because Christ was, and is, in a body, He cannot be spirit. Let us consider the Holy Spirit, Who is, of course, spirit. Matt. 3:16 records the “Spirit of God descending like a dove”. In other words, the Holy Spirit took on the form of a dove so that He could be seen. But His basic nature was one of spirit. So too, because Jesus Christ is Jehovah, Who is spirit, His basic nature is spirit, even though He has taken on a bodily form.*
For further evidence that Christ was both Man and God during His earthly ministry, please see the paper on that subject.
JESUS CHRIST IS THE MANIFESTATION OF JEHOVAH
In Old Testament times Jehovah appeared to some in the form of a man. For example, in Gen. 18 Abraham spoke with Jehovah in the form of a man. Gen. 18:1, “and Jehovah appeared unto him….” (Abraham). Bearing in mind that Jehovah is spirit (John 4:24), Jehovah must have assumed some form in order to appear to Abraham. We learn in the next verse that Jehovah appeared to Abraham in the form of a man, “and he (Abraham) lift up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him”. As the account of this meeting unfolds two of the “men” left and the third remained. Verse 22, “And the men turned their faces from thence and went to Sodom“. As we compare that with 19:1 we will see that only two of the “men” left. leaving one “Man” behind.,”And there came two angels to Sodom….”.
Let us take a brief look at the conversation recorded in Gen. 18:23-32 as I believe it will show that when we read in verses 18:23-32 of Abraham’s conversation, we know that it was indeed Jehovah in the form of man with Whom Abraham was speaking. In verse 22 we read, “The men (two of them, see 19:1) turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before Jehovah“. In verse 26 after Abraham had asked God to spare Sodom for the sake of the righteous, we read, “And Jehovah said“. We learn from this that Abraham was speaking to Jehovah. In verse 27 we read, “I (Abraham) have taken upon me to speak unto Jehovah…..”. Here again, it is clear that Abraham was speaking to Jehovah. In verses 30, and 32 we read Abraham saying “let not Jehovah be angry and I will speak”. My point is that Jehovah took on the form of a man in Old Testament times in order to communicate with certain individuals.
Many assume that Jesus Christ did not exist until He was born to Mary at the beginning of the New Testament. It was then that He took upon Himself “the form of a servant” and it is His being in the form of a servant that leads some to the erroneous conclusion that He is not God. In the next section we will examine that incorrect conclusion that Christ did not exist until He was born to Mary. *
JESUS CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
In Genesis 1:26 we read, “And God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness….”. To correctly understand what is meant by the phrase “in Our image, after Our likeness” let us turn to Gen. 5:3 where we read the same phrase, “And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness after his image….”. When we read of Adam’s son being born in “his own likeness after his image” we understand that Adam’s son looked like Adam. So also, when God created man in His likeness after His image, we must understand that God created Man to look like Himself. Any other interpretation is without scriptural basis.
Since man was created to look like God, Who is spirit, God obviously must have taken on a bodily form, otherwise He could not have created man to look like Himself. As we shall see in the next section, under the title “Savior”, Jehovah is the creator of man. Therefore, when we read of man looking like God, we are reading of man looking like Jehovah in bodily form. Again, I am suggesting that Jesus Christ is Jehovah in bodily form.
Let us continue for now with the scriptural evidence showing that Jehovah took on a bodily form in the Old Testament. In Gen. 3:8 we read, “And they (Adam and Eve) heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…”. The Hebrew translated “voice” is “kohl”. It is often translated “voice”, but it is also translated “sound” and “noise” and “thunder”. In other words, the meaning must be determined from the context. Consider for example, I Kings 14:6, “when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet…”. Obviously the sound of her feet was the sound of her footsteps. Consider also II Kings 6:32, “…….Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?” Here too the sound of His master’s feet were, of course the sound of his footsteps. So too in Gen. 3:8, because we read that Adam and Eve heard the sound (Heb. “kohl”) of Jehovah’s walking, we learn from the context that it was Jehovah’s footsteps that they heard. They could not have heard His footsteps, if He was not in bodily form, i.e. having feet.
JESUS CHRIST IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
The New Testament also testifies to the truth that Christ is Jehovah in bodily form in Old Testament times.We read in John 8:14, “Jesus answered, ‘Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going”. It is clear that Christ was going to return to heaven and therefore must have came from heaven. If He came from heaven, He must have been in heaven before He was born to Mary. In my opinion, this truth, along with the scriptures in the Old Testament which speak of Jehovah in bodily form helps to establish the fact that Jehovah when seen by men in the Old Testament was Christ in bodily form.
It is important to differentiate between Jehovah in bodily form and Jehovah in human form. Jehovah took on bodily form when He created man to look like Himself. He took on the form of a human being, i.e. flesh and blood, when He was born to Mary.
Let us look briefly at a New Testament verse that proves that Christ is Jehovah in human form in the New Testament. We read in Matthew 3:3, “For this is he (John the Baptist) that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His path straight”. This is a quote from Isaiah 40:3 where we read, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah“. (The KJV has “the Lord” but the Hebrew is “Jehovah”.) The one for Whom John the Baptist was preparing the way was Christ. John the Baptist was fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah who wrote that he would prepare the way for Jehovah. By comparing the prophecy (Is. 40:3) with the fulfillment of prophecy (Matt. 3:3) we see one reason for believing that Christ is Jehovah in bodily form. Other, more compelling reasons will be presented as we continue in this study.
O. Q. Sellers has written an excellent article, Call His Name Jesus. I offer the following paragraphs from that article.
“When Moses was directed by God to search out the land of Canaan, he was told to select one man from each tribe who was already a tribal ruler (Numbers 13:2). The one selected from the tribe of Ephraim was Oshea, the son of Nun (Num. 13:8). His name meant “Savior”, and to his name Moses prefixed the shortened form of Jehovah, so that from that time forward he bore the exalted name of Jehovah-Savior (Num. 13:16). Thus Oshea became Yehowshua, and this has been anglicized into Joshua. And it needs to be carefully noted that Oshea was given this name by Moses as a constant reminder and proclamation that it was Jehovah who was saving and delivering, even though He used a human agent to lead Israel over Jordan, conquer the land, and give portions to the tribes of Israel.
When the Old Testament was translated into Greek (The Septuagint Version) several hundred years before Christ a meaningful word had to be found to render Yehowshuwa, and the word used was Iesous.. This was a good choice, for when the New Testament was written the name Iesous is found on almost every page. Then when the English translations were made of the Greek, Iesous became Jesus. So, as already said, whether we say Yehowshuwa, Jehoshua, Joshua, Iesous, or Jesus, we are saying Jehovah-Savior. The change is only in the language, not in the meaning.”
The main thrust of this article is that the English “Jesus” is the same as the translated Hebrew “Jehovah-Savior”.*
“JEHOVAH” IS GOD’S NAME
God has one Name in the sense that it tells us Who He is, and that Name is “Jehovah”. Isaiah 42:8, “I am Jehovah, that is My Name…”. (It is true that many do not agree that “Jehovah” is correct, and offer other alternatives. In point of fact, however, no one can be certain what God’s name is because Old Testament Hebrew did not have vowels, so the vowels of the name were added centuries after the writing of the Old Testament). To continue, please note this verse begins, “I am Jehovah”. This verse tells us much more than what God is called, which is the usual reason for a name. It is important to understand that “name” is sometimes used as a figure of speech metonymy of adjunct, which is defined in the Companion Bible as, “When something pertaining to the subject is put for the subject itself”. In this verse the word “Name” is used as that which pertains to Jehovah, Who is the subject. It is used as a figure of speech for Who God is.
Figures of speech are used to enhance a truth. What truth is being enhanced by the use of the figure of speech in Is. 42:8? In my opinion, it is used to enhance the truth of Who God is. A definition of “Jehovah” might be helpful in making this point. Dr. E.W. Bullinger gives the following definition of the word “Jehovah” in the Companion Bible: “Jehovah means the Eternal, the Immutable One, He Who Was and IS and IS TO COME”. So when we read “I am Jehovah, that is My Name” we are reading, I am “the Eternal, the Immutable One, He Who Was and IS and IS TO COME”, that is Who I am.
Exodus 6:3 is also helpful in establishing how “name” is used as a figure of speech to enhance the truth of Who God is. That verse reads, “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My Name, Jehovah, I did not make Myself known to them”. In other words, God had appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob but not as “the Eternal, Immutable One”, but as “God Almighty”. But when God appeared to Moses, He made Himself known as Who He is, His very essence, i.e. Eternal.
Thus far we have considered “name” in a figurative sense, i.e. the name tells us who a person is. But it is also used in God’s Word in a literal sense, i.e. in the sense of what one is called. In Is. 54:5 He is called “Jehovah-Sabaioth“. And in II Sam. 6:2 we read, “Whose name is called by the name of Jehovah of hosts“. In Is. 54:5 we read, “For thy Maker is thine Husband, Jehovah of hosts is His name.…….the Holy One of Israel, the Elohim of the whole world shall He be called“. And we have in Amos 5:27, “Whose name is Elohim of hosts”. These verses do not use “name” as a figure of speech, they use it quite literally. Note none say that God is……, they say He is “called” or “is His name”. When we read in Is. 42:8, “I am Jehovah”, we are reading of Who God is in His very being. In that sense then, God has only one name, i.e. “Jehovah”.
I have tried to show from Scripture that Christ was Jehovah in bodily form in Old Testament times. However, when we come to the New Testament, when Christ took on a human body of flesh and blood He was the manifestation of Jehovah in human form. We will see that the titles that are ascribed to Jehovah in the Old Testament are also ascribed to Christ in the New Testament. In my opinion, this helps to prove that Christ, in fulfilling the titles of Jehovah, was the manifestation of Jehovah.*
TITLES ASCRIBED TO CHRIST IN THE NEW TESTAMENT AND TO JEHOVAH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
SAVIOR
I John 4:14, “We have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world”. Luke 2:11 “This day in the city of David, a Savior is born”.
REDEEMER
Consider also Eph. 1:6-7, “..He hath made us accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood, …”.
Heb. 9:12, “…. by His own blood He entered once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us”.
That Jehovah is the Redeemer is clear from the passages quoted below.
As discussed in the section above on redeemer, that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer is clear from Rev. 5:9, “…for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood …”.
That Jehovah is the Redeemer is clear from the following passage:
Psalm 19:14, “Let the words of my mouth…be acceptable O Jehovah, my strength and my redeemer“.
Ps. 103-104, “Bless Jehovah, oh my soul……. Who redeemeth my life from destruction”.
Is. 41:14, “Jehovah and my Redeemer”.
My point is this: the Psalmist speaks of the “Most High” as the Redeemer. The passages quoted above show that both Christ and Jehovah are said to be the Redeemer. In order to avoid the conclusion that there are two Redeemers, we must conclude that Christ and Jehovah are One and the same. Because the Redeemer is Christ/Jehovah and the Psalmist tells us that the Redeemer is the Most High, logic dictates that the Most High is Christ/Jehovah.
SHEPHERD
Hebrews 13:20, “May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant, Who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep…”.
I Peter 5:20, “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of glory”.
BRIDEGROOM, HUSBAND
Matthew 9:15, “And Jesus said unto them, ‘Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast”.
In John 3:29 we read of John the Baptist’s answer to those questioning him; “He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled”.
Rev. 21:9, “And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials …and talked with me saying, ‘Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife”. (Please note that the terms “bride” and “wife” are not used in the same way as they are today. In Old Testament culture the espoused woman was the wife and once married was the bride).
Jer. 31:31-32, “Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers…..which My covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith Jehovah”
Confirmation of the fact that Christ is the creator is found in the following verses in the New Testament.
John 1:10, “He (Christ, see verse 9) was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not”.
We have seen that the titles ascribed to Jesus Christ in the New Testament are ascribed to Jehovah in the Old Testament. In my opinion, this shows that Christ is the manifestation of Jehovah. There are other scriptures, besides those that mention His titles, which are applicable to Jehovah and to Christ, proving once again that Christ and Jehovah are one and the same.
We read in Isaiah 45:21-23, “…..Who hath told it from that time? Have not I Jehovah?…. I have sworn by Myself, the word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear”.
And in Phil. 2:10-11, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. The phrase “to the glory of God the Father” will be discussed in a section below.*
“THE FIRST AND THE LAST”
In Rev. 1:17-18 we read, “And when I saw Him I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, ‘Fear not; I am the first and the Last; I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore”. This is obviously Jesus Christ Who is speaking to John in this passage. As we shall in the Old Testament, the title “the First and the Last” is one of the titles of Jehovah.
Is. 44:6, “Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer the Lord of hosts; ‘I am the first, and I am the last, and beside Me there is no God'”.*
THE ANGEL OF THE LORD
We read in Judges 13:17-18, “And Manoah said unto the Angel of the Lord,’What is Thy name, that when thy saying comes to pass we may do Thee honor?’ And the Angel of the Lord said unto him, ‘Why askest thou thus after My name, seeing it is secret?’” It is the Hebrew word translated “secret” that is so compelling. That Hebrew word is “pilee”. This Hebrew word is used only once, other than in Judges 13, that is in Ps.139:6, “such knowledge is too wonderful for me”. “Pilee” is from the same root as is the word “pehleh”. “Pehleh” is the word translated “Wonderful” in Isaiah 9:6. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful.…”. Obviously, Is. 9:6 is referring to Christ. And this verse tells us that one of Christ’s Names shall be “Wonderful”. In other words, in answer to the question as to what is the Name of the One to Whom Menoah is speaking, the Angel of the Lord says that His Name is “Wonderful“. Christ’s Name will be “Wonderful” according to Is. 9:6. This is not accidental. I believe that the Angel of the Lord is telling all those who study God’s Word that He, the Angel of the Lord, is Christ, the Child that was to be born and the Son that was to be given. (Please see the paper on the Angel of the Lord for further proof that Christ is the angel of the Lord).*
I have tried to show in this paper that Jesus Christ is Jehovah of the Old Testament. That He was in bodily form but when He was born to Mary He became flesh and blood. Let us consider the magnitude of His humiliation as we read in Phil. 2:5-8, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal to God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross”.
May I again clarify the point that Christ was in bodily form in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament, when He was born to Mary, He became flesh and blood, i.e. Man. So also, when our Lord ascended into heaven after His resurrection He ascended, not as a human being, i.e. not as flesh and blood, but in the bodily form of a man.
“Father”, “Son” and “Holy Spirit” are titles of Jehovah, and because Christ is the manifestation of Jehovah all titles are ascribed to Him, even the titles “Father” and “Son” and “Holy Spirit”. Let us consider the scriptural evidence of that statement.
Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, the Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace”. That this prophecy refers to Christ is evident from the other titles in this passage, especially “unto us a Son is given”. We know that Christ is “the Prince of Peace”. If “Son” and “Prince of Peace” are titles of Christ, so too, logic dictates, must “Everlasting Father” be one of Christ’s titles.
Isaiah 63:16, “…..Thou O Jehovah art our Father, our Redeemer: Thy Name is from everlasting”. The reader will recall that “Redeemer” is one of the titles of Jehovah that is ascribed to Christ in the New Testament. Again, logic dictates that because the titles “Father” and “Redeemer” are used of one Person, and “Redeemer is used of Christ, so too is “Father” used of Christ.
Isaiah 64:8, “But now O Jehovah, Thou art our Father; we are the clay, and Thou art our Potter; and we all are the work of Thy hand”. Again, the reader will recall that Jehovah is the creator and that title is also ascribed to Christ in the New Testament.
I believe that all confusion will be erased as one keeps in mind that “Son” is a title and “Father” is a title; both titles are ascribed to the one true God, Jehovah. Because the New Testament presents Christ as the “Son”, He must have a “Father”, so the titles only seem to present two different Persons.
As we consider Acts 5:3 and 9 along with II Cor. 3:14-18 we will see that, as is true of all the offices of Jehovah, Jesus Christ fulfills the office of Holy Spirit. Acts 5:3 reads, “Peter said to Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost… .” But Acts 5:9 records Peter’s comment to Sapphira, the wife of Ananias, and reads, “How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?” Note that Peter used the term “Holy Ghost” in his rebuke of Ananias but in verse 9, he used the term “Spirit of the Lord” in his rebuke to Sapphira of the same offence.
Does this passage in Acts 5 allow us to equate the term “Holy Ghost” (or “Spirit”) with the term “the Spirit of the Lord”? Let us examine that thought. Ananias committed the same offence as did his wife Sapphira, i.e. they both lied about what they received in selling a certain possession. (see verses 2 and 8). So both Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit. Because they both lied, they both tempted the Spirit of the Lord. That is to say, one did not lie and the other tempt, they both lied to the Holy Spirit, therefore they both tempted Him. Further, because one did not sin against a different Person than did the other, I believe we may conclude that the term “Holy Ghost” (or Spirit) is the same Person as the Spirit of the Lord. Now let us compare this with II Cor. 3:14-18.
II Cor. 3:14-18 reads, “But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when it (the heart of Israel) shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit (add the ellipsis “that taketh away the vail”) ; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But ye all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Let us, for the sake of clarity, consider a few key phrases. We read in verse 14, “which vail is done away in Christ“. And in verse 17, “Now the Lord is that Spirit (add the ellipsis “that taketh away the vail”). One verse tells us that it is Christ that takes away the vail and another verse tells us it is the Lord’s Spirit that takes it away. There is, of course, no contradiction here. By combining the thought that the vail is done way in Christ, with the thought that it is the Lord’s Spirit that takes away the vail, we learn that we may think of the Lord’s Spirit, as Christ Himself. I believe that because the vail in question is not a literal vail (it is the vail that covers the heart or the spirit of Israel) That which takes away the vail is Spirit, i.e. the Lord’s Spirit.
Going on, let us consider verse 17, “and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty’. What is the “liberty’ spoken of in this verse? That question must, of course, be answered from the context. Because the context has to do with taking away the blindness of Israel in understanding the Old Testament, the liberty, in my opinion, is the correct understanding of the Old Testament that comes when Christ takes away the vail that was causing the blindness. My point is that the “liberty” comes as a result of the taking away of the vail. And since we are told that Christ has done away with the vail, and that the “Spirit of the Lord” gives the liberty, we may conclude that the Spirit of the Lord is Christ’s Spirit.
We are now ready to consider the suggestion that Christ fulfills the office of the Holy Spirit. We have learned from II Cor. 3:14-18 that the term “Spirit of the Lord” is Christ’s Spirit and that we may think of Christ’s Spirit as Christ. And we learned in Acts 5 that the term “Spirit of the Lord” is equated with the term “Holy Ghost” (or “Spirit”). That means that Christ’s Spirit is the Holy Spirit and that Christ’s Spirit may be thought of as Christ. Therefore, we may conclude that Jesus Christ fulfills the office of Holy Spirit.*
CONCLUSION
There is, I believe, no question that Jehovah is God. There is a question in the minds of some that Jesus Christ is God. I believe that much of the confusion comes in not recognizing that “Jehovah” is His Name, and the rest of what we read are titles. It is, unfortunately, quite understandable that there may be some confusion in that regard, as the King James Version does not give us His Name in the original language, but translates “Jehovah” to “Lord”. I have tried to show from the Bible that Jesus Christ is Jehovah in bodily form and is the manifestation of Jehovah in human form, i.e. flesh and blood. Once that is accepted there should be no question as to whether Christ is God.
Another point that has led many into confusion is the thinking that Christ did not exist until He was born to Mary. That assumption leads one to begin the story of Jesus Christ, i.e. Who He is, at the beginning of the New Testament. The New Testament begins with Christ’s humiliation when He took on the form of a servant. So, in one sense, it may be understandable to think of Him as less than God, but only when one begins at the middle of the story.
JEHOVAH IS GOD. JESUS CHRIST IS JEHOVAH. JESUS CHRIST IS GOD.
*The bold type in the quoted passages were added.
This paper was written by Joyce Pollard. If you would like to respond please e-mail me at: janjoyce@aol.com