The God of the Old and New
Many people that claim to be religious find it hard to believe that before Jesus was born of Mary he was in fact God. However, this is nothing new because the Pharisees and other religious leaders of Jesus day found this fact just as hard to believe back then. They even attempted to stone Him on numerous occasions because of statements He made alleging Himself to be God. “The Jews answered Him, saying, for a good work we stone thee not; but for a blasphemy: and because that thou being a man, makest thyself God.” (St. John 10:33) I guess all the uproar has been over the question: How can God be born of a woman? Supposedly rational minded people find this impossibility. Never the less, these same people do not seem to cringe at the idea that God hung the world on nothing (Job 26:7), or that he created man from dirt, (Genesis 2:7) Even the idea that Eve was made of one of Adams ribs does not seem such a hard task for the Almighty God. Well then, why the rejection of the idea of Jesus being God, when the entire bible supports it? Before Jesus came in the flesh, the prophet Isaiah wrote that he (Jesus) would be “despised and rejected of men” (Isaiah 53:3), and “for a stone of stumbling and rock of offence to both the houses of Israel” (Isaiah 8:14). In other words, Isaiah knew that when Jesus came into the world He would not be received graciously, even though He made the world (St. John 1:10-11).
What are some of the things Jesus said that support Him being God? In (St. John 5:37) He said, “And the father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me, ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.” Well, if no man has heard or seen the Father at any time, who did Moses and the elders of Israel see in (Exodus 24:9-11), where the bible says twice that they saw God? They saw Jesus, the God of the Old Testament, the God of Israel. Paul clarifies this in (1 Corinthians 10:1-4) when he has let us know that Jesus was the “Rock” that led the Israelites through the Red Sea. This is the same “Rock” that Isaiah said many would be offended by. Now, what was Jesus doing at the Red Sea if his beginning was with Mary? Here is the explanation; “And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” (St. John 1:14). But prior to that, he was God with God. That’s why St. John 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made.” Jesus is called the Word because He is the spokesman for the Father. Now we can under stand why Jesus said no man has heard the Father’s voice at anytime.
What did Jesus mean when He said, “Before Abraham was, I am?” (St. John 8:58), here not only Jesus is telling us that He was in existence before Abraham was, (Who was born over 1,200 years before Jesus was born of Mary) but He is also telling us that He has always existed. That’s why He said, “Before Abraham was I Am”. Furthermore by saying, “I Am” He repeated what He had told Moses at the burning bush. ”And God said unto Moses, “I AM THAT I AM:” and He said, “Thus shalt you say to the children of Israel, ‘I Am hath sent me unto you’.” (Exodus 3:14) Moses wanted to know God’s name and the Lord told him “I Am that I Am” therefore He called Himself I AM. This is what He told the people in St. John the eighth Chapter. “I AM.”
There are many more examples that I can give proving Jesus was the God of the Old Testament but I’ll only mention one more. When Isaiah prophesied concerning the birth of Jesus by a virgin he called his name Immanuel, (Isaiah 8:14) When Matthew testified of the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:18-23) he let us know that his birth was fulfilling the words of the prophet. He also gave us the meaning of Immanuel. GOD WITH US. The prophet and the apostle here clearly let us know that God had been born of a virgin. So we see that the Old and New Testaments give evidence that Jesus is the God of all times. Remember, Jesus said himself, “Before Abraham was I AM.”
Source: The Israel Of God/Text Lessons
