Father, Son of God, & Holy Spirit in the OT
I was recently asked this question: "Is there in the OT a verse or verses that mention Jesus as the Son of God?" Yes. The most obvious is in Daniel 3:24-25 "Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like 👉the Son of God.👈"
Let's Look at Hebrews chapter 1 =>
vs 1 "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets," But, who is this God? It is the God who "spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets". OK, but, what is His name? Answer => Exodus 6:3 "And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them." His name is JEHOVAH.
vs 2 JEHOVAH "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, 👉by whom also he made the worlds;👈" So, Jehovah, the Father of Christ, created all things through Christ. This is obviously prior to Christ's incarnation. More about Creation later in this document.
vs 3 Christ, "Who being the brightness of his[Jehovah's] glory, and the express image of his[Jehovah's] person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;" (Incarnation through Christ's return to Heaven)
vs 4 "Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." Was the human Jesus better than the angels? Obviously not. So, this was before the incarnation.
vs 5 "For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?" Quote from Ps2:7 "I will tell of the decree: 👉Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my son; This day have I begotten thee.👈" Remember that God(Jehovah) sent His only begotten Son, which He could not have sent if He didn't have one(Jn3.16).
vs 6 "And again, when he[Father Jehovah] bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him." Again, Jehovah could not bring His "firstbegotten into the world" if He did not birth "the firstborn of every creature"(Colossians 1:15).
vs 7 "And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire." Since my response here is not about the angels, I'll only mention that this is a quote from Ps104:4.
vs 8 "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." This is a quote from Ps45:6 "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: A sceptre of equity is the sceptre of thy kingdom." Remember from verse 4 that Christ "hath by inheritance [from His Father Jehovah] obtained a more excellent name than" the angels. So, yes, in that context Christ is God. This explains how "the Word was with God, and the Word was God."(John 1:1)
vs 9 "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." This is a quote from Ps45:7 "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness: Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee With the oil of gladness above thy fellows." Here we see Jehovah, who has no God(1st Commandment), declare Himself as His Son's God.
vs 10-12 "And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail." This is a quote from Ps102:25-27 "Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth; And the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end." Another witness to Jehovah creating all things through His Son. See also John 1:1-3.
vs 13 "But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?" This is quoted from Ps110:1 "Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool." Christ's Father, Jehovah, still speaking to His only-begotten Son, the firstborn of all Creation.
vs 14 is the last verse of Hebrews 1 with more about angels which is beyond the scope of this study.
The following statement is false => "I know there are a few Bible texts that talk about Jesus as the Son, but that is after He became a man. Before that there was no Father, nor Son, nor Holy Spirit." As I showed above, there was a Son of God. Furthermore, Jesus explained this well in John 3:16. If God had no Son prior to the incarnation, then Jesus was a liar when He said that God SENT His only-begotten Son. Furthermore, How is it that Christ's Father created all things through His Son if He had no Son prior to Christ's incarnation? (ALL-CAPS added for emphasis) =>
1 Corinthians 8:6 But to us there is but ONE GOD, THE FATHER, OF WHOM ARE ALL THINGS, and we in him; and one Lord JESUS CHRIST, BY WHOM ARE ALL THINGS, and we by him. -Paul
Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in GOD[the Father], WHO CREATED ALL THINGS BY JESUS CHRIST: -Paul
Hebrews 1:2 [the Father] Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom HE[the Father] HATH APPOINTED HEIR OF ALL THINGS, BY WHOM[His Son] ALSO HE[the Father] MADE THE WORLDS;
Colossians 1:12 Giving thanks unto THE FATHER, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who[the Father] hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of HIS DEAR SON: 14 In whom we have redemption through his[Son's] blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 15 Who[His Son] is the image of the invisible God[the Father], THE[Son is the] FIRSTBORN OF EVERY CREATURE: 16 For BY HIM[His Son] WERE ALL THINGS CREATED, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: ALL THINGS WERE CREATED BY HIM[His Son], and for him: 17 And HE IS BEFORE ALL THINGS, AND BY HIM ALL THINGS CONSIST.
More detail about the Creator here => http://sidnash.org/t/Jehovah-Elohiym-Creator.php and here => http://sidnash.org/?1stAC
Regarding the Holy Spirit prior to the incarnation, here are the most-obvious, but there are many more =>
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not 👉thy holy Spirit👈 from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with a willing spirit.
Isaiah 63:7 I will make mention of the lovingkindnesses of Jehovah, and the praises of Jehovah, according to all that Jehovah hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. 8 For he said, Surely, they are my people, children that will not deal falsely: so he was their Saviour. 9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. 10 But they rebelled, and grieved 👉his[Jehovah's] holy Spirit:👈 therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them. 11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? where is he that put 👉his holy Spirit👈 in the midst of them? 12 that caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses? that divided the waters before them, to make himself an everlasting name? 13 that led them through the depths, as a horse in the wilderness, so that they stumbled not? 14 As the cattle that go down into the valley, 👉the Spirit of Jehovah👈 caused them to rest; so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name. 15 Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where are thy zeal and thy mighty acts? the yearning of thy heart and thy compassions are restrained toward me. 16 For 👉thou art our Father👈, though Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us: thou, 👉O Jehovah, art our Father;👈 our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name. 17 O Jehovah, why dost thou make us to err from thy ways, and hardenest our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants` sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.
Desiring to live by every word that comes from the mouth of Jehovah (Deut8:3; Matt4:4)
-Sid Nash: 08/12/2023. Latest version: http://sidnash.org/docs/SonOfGodOT.html