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If the God of the Old Testament were the Father,
why then did Jesus have to come and reveal the Father?
Fred R. Coulter—February 17, 2018
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False doctrines come along and they present things that look really good. Referring to the Study Paper recently put out by the Pacific Church of God; they give all 'four' quotes: 'And a voice said: This is My Son, the Beloved, in Whom I am well pleased.'
When were the two times that it was said? Baptism and transfiguration! How many times was it said? Once, each time! So, you write a paper and you stack up all four and say, 'Look at this.'
They say, 'This is the voice of the Father.' Yet, that contradicts what Jesus said, 'You have never heard His voice, nor seen Him at any time. And no one has seen God except He Who comes down from heaven.' But then they say that doesn't mean what it says.
1-John 4:12, written after the Gospels, late—we don't know how late—but it was when the apostasy was already beginning where there were those in 1-John that were leaving. John called them antichrists.
He said in 1-John 4:12: "No one has seen God at any time…."—period! Think about all the years from the time that they were called, became apostles, did their preaching, did their writing, did their teaching, and so forth. The Greek there is very strong.
Let me tell you about two Greek nots, translated not in English. The first one is 'me.' That means don't think it. Where do you find that in Matt. 5? 'Think not…' Don't think it! What does that mean? Don't think it!
The other word is 'ou,' sometimes 'ouk,' and sometimes 'oux.' That Greek word means the utter impossibility of that stated fact occurring.
So when John writes in 1-John 4:12: "No one…" it's a compound word of 'ou' and one. No one has seen God! We covered last time that Jacob wrestled with God and said, 'I've seen God face-to-face and lived.' Remember the sermon that I gave on flesh and bone: News, Flesh & Bone, N.T. Fraud. How did Jesus appear to the disciples after He was resurrected? He said that a spirit—a demonic spirit—does not have flesh and bone 'as you see Me.'
How did He appear to the two disciples walking to Emmaus? He appeared in a form that they didn't know Him! That's after His resurrection.
When Moses said, 'Show me Your glory,' God's answer was, 'No one can look upon My face and live.' So, the supposition is with this, that this had to be the Father. But God said—when Aaron and Miriam sinned against Moses—'Don't you dare to presume to put yourself above Moses, because him I speak face-to-face. Any prophet I will appear in a dream or a revelation.'
How did He appear to Moses face-to-face? Couldn't be in His glory because He'd burn him up. How did God appear to Adam and Eve? Flesh and bone! They don't even bring this up in the papers that they produce.
Psalm 110:1: "The LORD said unto my Lord…" We're going to see Jesus quoted this. In the Hebrew it was originally YHVH said to my YHVH. But the Jews couldn't handle that after Christianity came on the scene. So, they reduced this to another form of Lord: Adonai. But since those are the keepers of the Masoretic text, always keep track of any changes. They noted 134 instances where they changed YHVH to Adonai.
It's just like a forensic investigation. Somebody's going to make a mistake along the way. They did the right thing in writing it down, but then they revealed their mistake and didn't even realize it because they probably figured if they don't note the change, they'll probably be struck with a bolt of lightning for changing the Word of God without making a notation.
"…'Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies as Your footstool'" (v 1).
Where is this quoted in the New Testament, the second half? Who quoted it? It also says, 'You're a priest after the order of Melchizedek forever.' 1-Cor. 15 says that Jesus is going to carry out the plan of God until every enemy is put under His foot and then He delivers the Kingdom to the Father.
So, the Lord, being the One Who is the Most High. The Most High was known in the Old Testament, but never revealed. Nowhere does it say in the Old Testament, 'And the Most High spoke.' If it looks like He spoke, it was through the One Who became Jesus Christ.
We'll see some other very interesting Scriptures, because know this. In order to bring about a false doctrine, you must change the meaning of the Scriptures! So, they say, 'It doesn't mean that no man would see Him.' Matt. 22 is also parallel in Mark, Luke, and in Acts 2.
- Are there some things in the Bible that are hard to understand? Yes!
- Are there some things in the Bible that are an overview with no details? Yes!
Here's something hard to understand. That's very interesting because Matt. 22 comes after, 'What is the first and greatest commandment? Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and being! And 'Your neighbor as yourself.' On these two hang all the Law and the Prophets.' So, the Pharisees have to come with another question.
Matthew 22:41: "While the Pharisees were assembled together, Jesus questioned them, Saying, 'What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose son is He?' They said to Him, 'The Son of David'" (vs 41-42)—because there are a lot of prophecies that you find that show the Son of David!
Sidebar on the two genealogies: Why do we have two leading up to Christ? Matt. 1 is the legal one! Luke was the physical lineage. The names of the name begin with the father of Mary: Eli. Joseph was the son-in-law of Eli, the father of Mary. It comes down through the line from there all the way to Adam.
But when you get to David, it is David and then the son of Nathan. Solomon's lineage was cut off leading to the Christ because of his sins. So, it came through Nathan.
How are you going to figure the Son of David?
Verse 43: "He said to them, 'How then does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, "The LORD said to my Lord…"'" (vs 43-44). In the Greek the words are the same, 'kurios,' the Lord says to my Lord.
"'…"Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet"? Therefore, if David calls Him Lord…'" (vs 44-45).
All you smart people out there—you Pharisees and everybody—how is He His Son? Does God do things that people don't know about? The genealogy written in Luke 3 wasn't even in existence when He asked this question. There's no way they could check it.
- you have two Lords, the Old Testament
- you have in the beginning 'Let Us…'
- you have the One Who became the Lord God
- you have the One Who became the Most High
Nothing is revealed about the Most High because that's not revealed until Jesus comes to reveal the Father!
If the God of the Old Testament were the Father, why then did Jesus have to come and reveal the Father? The answer is in Matt. 11! I imagine at that time—and before the completion and compilation of the New Testament—there were a lot of things that were difficult to understand.
I'll give you a little assignment for reading the book of Psalms. As you read the book of Psalms pick out the verses that relate:
- directly to Christ as a person
- the inspired words that He would say
Remember when the apostles started preaching they were preaching Christ from the Old Testament. You look in the Psalms and remember what Jesus told the disciples after He was resurrected and appeared to them: 'And He opened the Scriptures to their understanding,' showing the prophecies of Himself in the Law, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms. The Lord said to my Lord!
Matthew 11:25: "At that time Jesus answered and said, 'I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth…'"
- Was He Lord of heaven and earth as the Most High?
- Was Christ Lord of heaven and earth having that authority delegated to Him?
- Yes!
What did Jesus say when He was on the earth? I do nothing of My own, but I do the will of the Father! Do you not suppose that was the same under the Most High that He did the will of the Most High? Yes!
"…that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent..." (v 25). God hides things but it's the honor for the king to search it out (Prov. 25). A lot of hidden things in the Bible!
The only book in the world that you can read the Scriptures and apply it to today's world and society. Is there any other book in the world that doesn't quote the Scriptures that can convict you of sin? Maybe wrong doing. This is fantastic. The Bible is the greatest, greatest book of all time, not just in the world.
"…You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent…" This will become important when we get to a particular Scripture a little later. All the philosophies we have today came from Babylon through Greece. All their ideas of the leaders of the world being immortal come from Satan the devil. But they all died. Every time you see them open a coffin from one of the pyramids, they're still dead.
Verse 26: "Yes, Father, for it was well pleasing in Your sight to do this"—because He wants us to seek Him! That's where Christ comes in.
Verse 27: "All things were delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one… [apply this verse to you personally] …to whom the Son personally chooses to reveal Him."
How does God do that without the world knowing? He does it with His Spirit! He does it in your life! Remember what it says: 'No one can come to Me unless the Father draw him.' How does God do that? Why did you all of a sudden get interested in God and the Bible? Look at all the millions of people out there, billions of people out there.
- Why did you get interested?
- How did that happen?
- How did it happen that you wouldn't stop until you found the true answers?
- That's a miracle from God!
How many people are searching for whatever? Christ reveals it! That's a fantastic miracle in your life. Think about that. Don't get lifted up and say, 'Look at me; I'm better than anybody.' No, that's a very humbling experience that God would do that.
When was it that the two of Elohim… Remember at the very beginning, what did it say in the making of mankind? Let US make man in OUR image. That includes the Father and that includes the One Who became the Son.
But in the meantime, the word God itself is a plural meaning more than one: 'Elohim.' It does talk about God in the singular: 'Eloh' in certain places. But the Lord God is 'Jehovah Elohim.' In every place where the word God is, it's telling you there's more than one, though only one is speaking.
Psalm 2:7: "I will declare the decree of the LORD. He has said to Me, 'You are My Son; this day I have begotten You.'"
What did all of that require? This becomes very important in understanding why Christ is our Savior. "…This day I have begotten You.' That's obviously a quote from the Most High. Have to be!
What did it take? He had to divest Himself of His glory and His power (Phil. 2)! If you want to know another false doctrine: 100% God and 100% man, same body—impossible!
He had to give up His glory, have Him reduced or reduce Himself—however God the Father and Christ worked that out—and He became a pinpoint of life. Was there still enough God in Him to be the Son of God? Yes!
Let's see how this occurred and why this is so great. Think about what you know about God, which really is very little, but like Paul says, 'We look through a glass darkly but then face-to-face.' Think of what Christ gave up:
- all the glory
- all the power
- upholding the universe
- all the authority that He had to become a pinpoint of life
If you think you've been humbled through different things, hey, we don't even get into the dugout, let alone get up to bat.
Luke 1:26: "And in the sixth month of her pregnancy… [Elizabeth] …the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth."
Isn't it interesting how God worked it out for Jesus to be born at Bethlehem but didn't live there. Even the scribes and Pharisees couldn't figure it out. Remember when Herod called all the priests, the wise men, and said, 'The king of the Jews, where is he to be born?' Bethlehem—no record, hidden.
Verse 27: "To a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the lineage of David; and the name of the virgin was Mary. And after coming to her, the angel said, 'Hail, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you; blessed are you among women'" (vs 27-28).
Women are a very special creation of God, perhaps the finest. God works with them to bring forth children into the world. Is that important? We wouldn't be here without her!
Verse 29: "But when she saw him, she was greatly perplexed at his message, and was considering what king of salutation this might be."
I guess! All of a sudden an angel shows up in your house. What are you going to think? In today's world, if you had one of these emergency buttons, you would have reached up and pushed 9-1-1 immediately.
Verse 30: "Then the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found grace with God; and behold, you shall conceive in your womb and give birth to a son; and you shall call His name Jesus…. [already stated what His name would be] …He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest…'" (vs 30-32).
Who is the Father? The Most High! Not revealed in the Old Testament. Known of, but not revealed.
"'…and the Lord God shall give Him the throne of David, His forefather'" (v 32). That's how 'the Lord said to my Lord.'
Verse 33: "'And He shall reign over the house of Jacob into the ages… [on into eternity] …and of His kingdom there shall be no end.' But Mary said to the angel, 'How shall this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?' And the angel answered and said to her… [tie in with v 32] ….'The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest… [the Most High] …shall overshadow you, and for this reason, the Holy One being begotten in you…'" (vs 33-35).
In the Greek that is present tense passive—occurring—meaning it was being done at the very instant he uttered those words.
How many times have I said to take a pen, put a dot on a piece of paper. Make it so small you can't even see it with your glasses. You were less than that when you were conceived. How much did the One Who became Jesus Christ—the One of Elohim, where it said there in Psa. 2, 'today I have begotten You,'—this is the day He did it. This is the day the Most High became the Father and the one of Elohim became the Son!
Some people like to translate it with different words, but there can be no human reproduction without the seed from the father. There can be no human reproduction without the egg from the mother.
Jesus was reduced to this pinpoint of life, put into the womb of virgin Mary and then He was born at the set time, everything in the Scriptures.
Mary had to really take care of Him. Joseph—stepfather of Jesus—had to be a great provider. Why did it have to be this way? So that we would have a Savior whose eventual sacrifice can cover the sins of all mankind! That could not be done unless the One Who created and formed Adam and Eve became the Son of God, and became a man. Could not have happened!
This girl was giving this speech up in Canada and she talked about 'mankind' and Trudeau Jr. told her to say 'people-kind.' You can't change the reality of creation by changing the name. We are mankind, and the word woman has man in it because she came from man. That's just the way it is.
So, He was born. We won't go through anymore of that, but let's come over to Col. 1. Here's a Scripture that may have caused you difficulties in the past, but let's see if we can clear it up here.
Colossians 1:15: "Who is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation." Therefore, Jesus did not exist as a spirit being—that's another false doctrine! He was born! What does this mean, "the Firstborn of all creation"?
Verse 16: "Because by Him were all things created, the things in heaven and the things on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether they be thrones, or lordships, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all, and by Him all things subsist. And He is the Head of the Body, the Church; Who is the Beginning, the Firstborn from among the dead…" (vs 16-18). Why does it say Firstborn twice?
Could we not say that His human birth, which was Mary's firstborn? Why then the Firstborn of all creation? Because no other being was created the way that Jesus was! Being born in the flesh made Him the Firstborn of all creation, because none others came before and none others came after like that. He's called the Firstborn in Matt. 1 and He's called the Firstborn from among the dead here and in Rev. 1. This also tells us that the One Who became Jesus Christ did the creating!
Let's look at some other things to go along with this. How many times have we heard that when God laid the foundation of the world, the sons of God and the stars of God rejoiced and sang for joy. And that Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world, etc.
We have, in many cases said, is that when Satan the devil became Satan the devil and rebelled and a third of the angels followed him when they found out that those who were going to be mankind would be greater than the angels? Do we have a clue that that's probably true?
In Mark 5 is the one who was possessed of many demons, called Legion. When he saw Jesus coming, he came running to Him.
Mark 5:7: "And crying out with a loud voice, he said, 'What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of God the Most High?…. [How did he know He was Son of Most High?] …I adjure You by God, do not torment me.'"
That's quite a statement! This tells you that at some point the angels and demons knew what God's plan was going to be in sending a Savior the way He did through Jesus Christ. Isn't that a fantastic and marvelous thing that God has done? Can God plan something and do it?
I read something about the cell. How many cells do we have in our body? So many, it's hard to count: trillions! One cell, a speck you cannot even see unless it's magnified, has 100,000 atoms! That's mind-boggling! When I first heard that, that blew my mind!
Not only that, every cell has a structure. It's got a little skeleton. Not only that, every cell has an oily substance on it that acts like an electrode crystal because we operate by the power of electrodes that are generated in our bodies. That has to come from the spirit of man. It's something. I'm going to do a special sermon on that because that is overwhelming.
Think of what you have become from something that couldn't be seen. Think about what a great plan that God has that we're going to be born again into the Kingdom of God and become the sons and daughters of God and live forever. But:
- that cannot take place without Jesus Christ
- that could not take place without Him becoming the Son of the Most High, also called the Son of man
- that could not take place unless God Himself, in the person of the One Who became Christ, took upon Him complete human nature, and yet, never sin
That's how God condemned sin in the flesh, Jesus' flesh, so that we can come to Him and we can become the sons and daughters of God!
When you have a false doctrine that the God of the Old Testament was the Father and the next thing you have to change is the nature of Jesus Christ!
- Isn't that true?
- Isn't it true that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
- Isn't it true that the two things that they attack first for those who know the Truth:
- the nature of God
- the Passover, which then comes from the nature of God through Christ
Scriptural References:
- 1-John 4:12
- Psalm 110:1
- Matthew 22:41-45
- Matthew 11:25-27
- Psalm 2:7
- Luke 1:26-35
- Colossians 1:15-18
- Mark 5:7
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Matthew 5
- 1-Corinthians 15
- Acts 2
- Matthew 1
- Luke 3
- Proverbs 25
- Philippians 2
- Revelation 1
Also referenced: Sermon: News, Flesh & Bone and N.T. Fraud
FRC:lp/bo
Transcribed:2-28-18
Formatted/Corrected: bo—5/2020
