Is Jesus Yahweh? These 6 Scriptures Say "Yes."
How do you handle it when you find yourself in a conversation with someone whose religious views don’t fit neatly into any one category?
If you’ve studied world religions, cults and other worldviews at all, then you might know how to interact with Islam, Mormonism, Atheism and Wokeness.
But having a conversation with an individual who holds one of these views is different than simply knowing what those worldviews teach. People are individuals. They may not subscribe to everything they are “supposed to believe.” Dealing with individuals gets tricky. And it gets even trickier when the person doesn’t subscribe to one of the mainstream views.
So how do you handle it when you find yourself in a conversation with someone whose views are unique and hard to pin down… and you don’t necessarily have a ready rebuttal?
You have to know what the Bible teaches. If the best way to recognize a counterfeit is to cultivate an intimate awareness of the genuine article, then the best way to recognize flawed and false doctrine is by getting to know the standard of true doctrine—Holy Scripture itself. You might not know the ins and outs of your discussion partner’s idiosyncratic views, but if you know what God’s word says, you can better uncover falsehood and counter it with truth.
Last year, I experienced this myself. I was in the middle of a conversation with a Bible teacher named Sean Griffin, on his channel, “Kingdom In Context.” About an hour into our conversation, it came out that he did not believe in God’s triune nature, and therefore he did not think Jesus is Yahweh. This surprised me, and the two of us went back and forth for a while discussing that.
This week (I’m writing this on September 16, 2022) I released an episode of my podcast, Worldview Legacy, where I do a deep dive and offer commentary on Mr. Griffin and my conversation (which turned into an informal debate). You can listen to that here: https://thethink.institute/articles/griffin-debate.
What makes Mr. Griffin’s views remarkable is that he claims to believe the Bible—Old and New Testaments—and yet still does not see (or, dare I say, understand) the doctrine of the Trinity in its pages. Have you ever had a conversation with someone like that? The next time it happens, you don’t have to get caught flatfooted.
Here are three truths, derived from six passages—three from the OT and three from the NT—that can help you explain the truth that Jesus, the Son of God, is Yahweh..
The Father and the Son share the name of Yahweh.
Isaiah 42:8: “I am Yahweh, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”
and
Matthew 28:19: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
In Scripture, one’s name carries huge significance. It connotes power, identity, authority, and uniqueness. In Isaiah, the one named Yahweh says He will not give His glory to another. And yet in Matthew’s Gospel, we discover that the Father and the Son share one name! If the Father’s name is Yahweh—and all that comes with that name—then what is the Son’s name? Disciples are baptized into the name (not names) of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We submit to the Son equally as to the Father. If the Son were not equal to the Father, then this would be sharing Yahweh’s glory with another. That would be no different from worshiping an idol, or blaspheming—and yet this is exactly what Jesus commands us to do. The Son (Jesus) is Yahweh.
Yahweh the Father sent Yahweh the Son.
Isaiah 48:16: ”Draw near to Me, hear this: From the first I have not spoken in secret, From the time it took place, I was there. So now Lord Yahweh has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
and
1 John 4:14: ”We have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.”In Isaiah’s proclamation, Yahweh is speaking (we see this back at the beginning of the speech in Isaiah 45:1, 3, 5, 6 etc.). And yet in 48:16 He (Yahweh) says “Yahweh has sent” Him! How can Yahweh send Yahweh? It makes sense when you realize that this is exactly what happens in the Gospel. The Father (Yahweh) sends the Son (Yahweh) to save the world. The Son is Yahweh.
Yahweh the Father created with Yahweh the Son.Isaiah 44:24: “Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, ‘I, Yahweh, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone.”
and
Colossians 1:16: “For in [the Son] all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.”Wait a minute! Did Yahweh the Father create the heavens and the earth by Himself? Or was the Son, Jesus, there with Him? The Son was there—and Yahweh did it by Himself. How is this possible? It is possible (and true) because the Father and the Son are both Yahweh. The Son is Yahweh, too.
The doctrine of the Trinity is by no means the easiest teaching to understand. The deity of Jesus is a teaching that I myself have wrestled with over the years. However, this is what Scripture teaches. And thank God! This means that when Jesus died for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3), that was Yahweh Himself paying our debt. Our God the Father loves us enough to send His Son to save us. Our God Jesus loves us enough to die for us. And our God, the Holy Spirit, dwells within us. May this one true God empower us to be able to explain, share and defend the truth that Jesus Christ is Yahweh, to a world that needs to know.
Listen to Joel Settecase’s informal debate with Sean Griffin here: https://thethink.institute/articles/griffin-debate