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FAQ # 126
QUESTION 126 : Does Isa 45:23-25
speaks of a three person Trinity and it’s existence; “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. Surely, shall say, in the LORD
have I righteousness and strength: to him shall come; and all that are
incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the LORD shall all the seed
of Israel be justified, and shall glory?” And is it a quote for Philippians
2:9-11 and Romans 14:9-12? Would that make a three-person trinity?
Many Christians know this
New Testament text, “search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have
eternal life” (John 5:39). When Jesus said this, the New Testament was
not yet written, so, of course, he was talking about the Old Testament.
In other words, the Old Testament (Tanach) - Torah, prophets and writing
- is enough verifiable literature for any New Testament salvation doctrine.
Meaning, the development of
the deity of God and consequently all New Testament theology can and must
be verified in the Old Testament. In fact, all New Testament doctrine
and theology was built from the Old Testament. When Paul wrote to Timothy
and told him that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction” (2 Timothy
3:16), he was speaking of the Old testament; the New Testament was still
in the making. Paul himself when developing any doctrine in his epistles
usually quotes Old Testament text to support its development.
The doctrine of a triune God
is no different. If a triune God existed, it must be plainly stated or
consistently seen in at least one or all three sections of the Old Testament:-
Torah (Law), prophets and writing.
Consequently, the other night I was reading the book of Exodus – God’s
initial religious dialogue with a nation. From this, recorded in Exodus
24:10, Moses and the Elders went to the mount of Mt. Sinai to see the
very God, not a flaming bush, angel or fire; but rather his manifested
spirit-body. It reads,
“Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders
of Israel: And they saw
the God of Israel: and there was under his
[one person] feet as it
were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven
in his clearness...”
To my surprise, it dawned
on me, if God was triune as stated or accepted in modern day theology,
why didn’t all three show up when “they
saw God.” Not only that, God had already told them that he is God,
there is none else beside him and they should worship no other (Exodus
20:1-5).
God again showed his bodily
form at the end of the Bible in the book of Revelation. Here the Apostle
John saw the same exact thing in his visit to heaven in a vision, “And
immediately I was in the spirit: and behold, a throne was set in heaven
and ONE sat on the throne and he that sat was to look upon like jasper
and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne in
sight like unto a an emerald” (Rev 4:2-3). Neither Moses nor John saw
three persons when God revealed himself to them.
This not only showed that
the New and Old Testament are accurately in line, but that there was and
is ONE God of the two Testaments.
Many Christians often hold
to the notion that Jesus, as a second person, had a “Godhead” glory with
the father before he came to earth (John 17:5). If this was literal, we
surely would have seen more than one person on Mt. Sinai and in other
Old Testament scriptures.
However, according to the
“mystery of godliness: God [Yahovah on Mt. Sinai] was manifest in the
flesh [came as Jesus Christ], justified in the spirit …” (1 Tim 3:16).
We know that Jesus our savior
is the very God Yahovah, because he said to the Israelites in the Old Testament;
“I, even, I am the Lord and
beside me there is no savior” (Isa 43:11).
We know that our savior is
the same Holy Spirit, for he said in the Old Testament, “I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to
walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them” (Eze
36:27). In other words, he spoke of the baptism of the Holy Ghost and
made it plain that this spirit will be him in us, not any other spirit.
He said the same thing through his prophet Joel, “it shall come to pass
afterward, that I will pour out my
spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel
2:28).
Of course this happened and
on the day of Pentecost the Apostle Peter recognized it and said, “this
is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass
in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh”
(Acts 2:16-17).
Jesus
himself fulfilled this Old testament shout when he spoke of the day of
Pentecost and the baptism of the Holy Ghost,
“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John
14:18). Notice he claimed the same right of being the Holy Spirit, as
God, in Eze 36:27 and Joel 2:28. He not only was the Holy Spirit but said
he would send the spirit, "the Comforter is come, whom I will send
unto you" (John 15:26). How could all this be except he was the very
God.
Only one being can be simultaneously
at different places at the same time and that being is the great and only
“I AM” (Ex 3:14).
So then, if one bows at the knees of Jesus, one is bowing at the knees
of the great “I AM” from Mt. Sinai; who is Yahovah God. And yes Philippians 2:9-11 and Romans 14:9-12
is the possible quote of
Isaiah 45:23, for there is no other in the Old Testament we have.
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