The Lord speaking of the Lord (2)

Gn 19 “24Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven” Here it is the prophet Moses speaking of the Lord chastising Sodom and Gomorrah from the LORD. The Lord has used the Lord to punish these cities and their neighbors. Moses speaks again thereof in these terms:

 Dt 29 “23And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath.”

Speaking of the same event, Jeremiah tells us the statement of God himself, and this is what he said: Jr 50 “40As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.” Note well here that it is direct speech, i.e. Jeremiah repeats the statement of God. It is God who speaks, but he said: As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities that God destroyed.... We see here that God behaves like a prophet and he speaks of God as if God were a character other than himself. This language of God, while speaking of God comes again with much more emphasis in Amos: Am 4 “11I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.”

What we need to understand is that God fulfills all offices that pertain to him: Prophet, Priest, King, Healer, Intercessor, Mediator, Messenger, Counselor, Helper, Savior, etc. And, as he is not a God of confusion but of peace, when acting as Prophet He remains Prophet perfectly playing this role. So when he speaks of Sodom and Gomorrah in the language of a prophet, he merges himself to all other prophets, Moses, Jeremiah, and others. When God in His office of angel speaks of God, his language is perfectly of an angel; when God in His office of man speaks of God (as He manifested Himself in Jg 13), His language is perfectly of man; when He is in His office of Son of God, His language is perfectly of all other children of God; etc.

God promised to send a savior to the Egyptians: Is 19 “20And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.”  The language of God sounds unclear when one does not stand in the whole truth, in other words, when one takes a biblical passage out of the overall biblical content. In this instance, when the Bible speaks of a savior that God will send, the same Bible explains ever so clearly who this savior is, so that there is no speculation or everyone does not choose an interpretation of their preference.

Thirteen times in the Old Testament the Bible is contending that Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel is the only savior. We give here two passages only: Is 43 « 11I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. » et Hs 13 “ 4Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.”  But when he uses this language, promising to send a Savior, those who are not involved perceive that the Lord will send a character other than himself, but the children of the house comprehend without any confusion that the Lord will send them the Lord to rescue them. He also stated it in these terms: Hs 1 “7But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.”

For us, every time we read in the Bible "savior" both in the Old and the New Testament, we see the Lord God of hosts, the Almighty God, and that is what the Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ is. He is the Lord our God, by which the Lord has saved us. Here is the language of God, let those who are God comprehend it. And although in this passage in Hosea, there is repetition of "Lord God" between the subject and the adverbial of means - I (Lord God) will save them by the LORD their God - it does not imply that there are two Lords Gods! we said a little above, one must understand the language of God in the overall context of Scripture. They give the first and greatest commandment of all: Dt 6 « 4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD » Thus, when the Lord speaks of the Lord, he does not speak of another, but of himself. When God speaks to God, He does not speak to another, but to Himself. When God swears by God, he does not swear by another, but by Himself.

We read, for example in the Psalms that God has anointed his God with the oil of gladness above his fellows: Ps 45 « 6Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. 7Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” But even in this case there are not two Gods, but we are only taught that the one who is anointed, the Messiah, the Son of God is God himself, the only Lord. Yet more poignant we are reported in Hebrews 1, God speaking to His Son: “8But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 9Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 10And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands,” therefore He gives this order in verse 6 “And let all the angels of God worship him.” There is only one throne, one scepter, one kingdom, and the king is but one: the Lord God Almighty! And the Son is all that, as per God’s statement.

And this Son God, through whom many have become sons and daughters of God, could not have a different language. He regarded us as brothers and sisters, hence He spoke to us in this language: Jn 20 “17 but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”  Here the Lord speaks like a true man, our elder brother; he had to fall to our human condition in order to lift us to His Godly condition. And for the umpteenth time, I do insist that it is not for everyone to imagine to himself the God and Father Jesus is speaking of here, as He is already defined by the scriptures.

Israel knew that Jehovah God was their Father: Es 63 “15Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained? 16Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.” Es 64 “8But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.” And the Jews stated before the Lord : Jn 8 « 41 we have one Father, even God. » And this is what we all believe and confess.

But our unique Father Jehovah God Almighty, we find Him presented in Is 9 “6For 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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”  A child is born of a virgin, by the power of the Holy Spirit, one son (Son of God) is given to us, and it is this Son of God who is the mighty God, the everlasting Father, and all the rest. So He is the Jehovah our Savior we expected. When Jesus said: I and the Father are one, it was not a parable but a basic reality: the person who was born as a son given to us is the same that is the Eternal Father, He is not two but one person.

This also explains the astonishment of Jesus when Philip asked Him to show them the Father, Jn 14 « 9Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? » The Father was there in the Son speaking to them of the Father. There are no three independent persons: person Father, person Son and person Holy Spirit, there is only one person who was born of a virgin into the world from the Father, who went back to the Father in heaven, and is with us until the end of the world as Comforter. This person contains within Himself the fullness of the Godhead. When this person speaks of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we must understand the language: this is the Lord speaking of the Lord, or God speaking of God. And we must guard against any paganism in our perception of godhead:

1Jn 5 “20And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. 21Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” Any conception relating to Godhead out of Jesus, that is the very idolatry.

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