In the first chapter of his gospel account, the apostle John flatly declares, “No man hath seen God AT ANY TIME, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father (Jesus having already ascended back to heaven and the Father’s side when John wrote his gospel account), He has declared Him.” (See John 1:18). Note that John says Jesus “declared”, or revealed, the Father to mankind. We would have no knowledge of there being another divine being had Jesus not come to earth in the flesh and spoken of Him. And this “God,” this member of the God Family, the One Jesus called the Father has been seen by no man at any time. Not by Adam, or Moses, or Solomon, or David, or Isaiah – by NO MAN! John reveals this same truth again a bit later, quoting Jesus, in the 6th chapter of his gospel account, as having said, “No man can come to me except the Father which has sent me draws him, and I will raise him up (from the grave) at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall be all taught of God.’ Every man therefore that has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes unto me, not that any man has seen the Father, save He which is of God (meaning Himself), He has seen the Father” (verses 44-46).
Remember, scripture plainly reveals that God created all things by Jesus Christ. (See Colossians 1:16 and Ephesians 3:8-9 with Hebrews 1:1-2). If you have read the texts just quoted, then you will have seen that scripture plainly reveals that Jesus Christ is our Creator, as well as our Savior. That is WHY His one life given in sacrifice was sufficient to redeem the whole human race – because He was the Creator of the human race, hence His one life was of more value than all other human lives combined! Had He not been our Creator, had He not been God in human flesh, then His sacrificed life would have been sufficient to buy back and redeem but one other human life. The Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament. The One who created Adam and Eve, as well as all that exists, is the One who also told Adam, “Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return” (See Genesis 3:19).
John reveals that Jesus is the Spokesman for the God Family. That is why John calls Him “the Word.” Therefore, when the prophets write, “Thus saith the Lord,” they are in reality saying, “Thus says the Lord Jesus Christ!” Read the prophets with that truth in your mind and see how quickly you may have to rethink and reformulate some of your doctrinal beliefs. Thus, the God of Israel is, was and ever shall be Jesus Christ. When Jesus said, “Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad,” He meant it. (See John 8:56). Abraham never saw the Father. Never knew there was any such being as the Father. Of course neither did he know that the Eternal God who met and spoke with Him was the Messiah to come, the One who would become the only begotten Son, the One who would die for his sins as well as the sins of the whole world!!! Those who think Jesus is the Father ignore, or are simply unaware of, a host of scriptures in both the Hebrew and Greek testaments.
Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley