The phrase "the name of our Lord" (2 Thess. 1:12), is reminiscent of the familiar Old Testament phrase "the name of the Lord" (cf. Gen. 4:26; Ex. 33:19; Deut. 5:11; Isa. 42:8), clearly and unequivocally identifies Jesus as Yahweh of the Old Testament.
To glorify the name of the Lord means to honor and exalt all that He is.(1)
Our Messiah Jesus (Yeshuah) is part of what's known as the trinity or tri-unity. This is commonly referred to
today as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The cornerstone prayer of all Judaism “Shema Yisrael Adonai
Eloheinu, Adonai Echad.”Here, O Israel: The Lord our
God, the Lord is one) teaches that there is only one God. If someone doesn't understand
Hebrew they might read this verse and think that God cannot exist as a tri-unity
or “three in one.” This however is not the case. The word echad, or
“one” as it appears in the Hebrew text of Deuteronomy 6:4, doesn't always
signify a simple one. It can also mean a compound one, or a complex unity. For more on this please read Lessons From The Shema.
Think of the Trinity or
Tri-Unity this way. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is
God.
Not 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
But 1 X 1 X 1 = 1
Of course there is much more to God than Jesus. Our Messiah is the physical expression of God in human form (Colossians 2:9). That is why Jesus can say to Phillip, If you've seen me, you have seen the Father (John 14:9).
For more on Isaiah's prophecies concerning the Messiah being God please read Isaiah 9:6 and Isaiah 43:11.
How can anyone deny that Isaiah is speaking about someone who is of Divine origin? They can't.(2)
We cannot fully understand the Divine attributes of Jesus or the relationship that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have with each other. Isaiah said it this way:
For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Jesus existed in Heaven in the form of God, but “emptied” himself of some of His divine attributes, humbling himself and taking human form so that He could be born in Bethlehem. He has now been restored to His glorified position in Heaven and His name is above all other names. When you understand the importance of God’s name in Jewish thought, this is even clearer. You see, HaShem is Hebrew for “the Name."
In Matthew 23, Jesus said that He won't come back until the Jewish nation says, Baruch haba ba Shem Adonai, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.” In fact, in Jewish usage, the term HaShem often means, “Praise God.” Literally “Praise the Name.”
Since Jesus is the Name (HaShem) above every name (Phil. 2:9-10) and HaShem means God it looks as if Paul is saying that Jesus is God.
Throughout history, Israel has believed in false Messiahs like Simeon Bar Kochba and Lubavitch Rebi Schneerson. The Jewish people who followed these false Messiah’s were never ostracized from the Jewish community or turned out by their families, or branded as traitors. This is because in the rabbinic way of thinking, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with simply believing that someone is the Messiah.
It was the fact that Jesus followers (mostly Jewish) believed that He was God in the flesh that the rabbis could not accept. To them, this was blasphemy. This helped to drive a wedge between early Jewish believers and traditional Judaism.
Read more about False Messiah's.
Through scriptures Jesus revealed that He was also God. Consider the following passages:
Was Jesus claiming to be God in these passages? The answer is in the scriptures, but for those who still doubt, they could look to the response of those who heard these messages spoken.
The enemies of Jesus knew He was claiming to be God because it was the cause of the charge of blasphemy. In John 8:59 they picked up stones to stone him (The penalty for claiming to be God was death unless of course you really are God).
John 10:33 clearly reads that the Judeans recognized that Jesus was claiming to be God. John 5:18 says that because He didn't keep the Sabbath and He made Himself equal to God they wanted to kill Him.
Jesus also revealed that He was not really of this world. “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:23-24).
Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him Revelation 22:1-3).
Notice the phrase “the throne (singular) of God and of the Lamb.” There is one throne in Heaven, and it is described as “the throne of God and the Lamb.” Who is this Lamb who shares the very throne of God? Who is this Lamb who is the object of worship and adoration in Heaven? Who is this Lamb who is seated in position of honor and exaltation at the right hand of the Father? He is none other than Ha Adon Yeshua, the Lord Jesus (see John 1:29).
There are not two thrones-a greater throne for God the Father and a lesser throne off to the side for the Son. The scripture says that there is only one throne. And this is significant because God tells us in Isaiah 42:8 and Isaiah 48:11 that He will not share His glory with another:
So there is no way around it. The Lord Jesus shares the very throne of God, seated at the right hand of the Father. He shares God's glory. He is the object of worship, both in Heaven and on earth. And it says that His Name is above every name. There is no name-in Heaven or on earth- greater than the Name of Jesus. And if He shares God's glory, then He also shares God's essence and God's nature-because God doesn't share His glory with anyone.
This Kenosis passage in Philippians 2:5-11 says very clearly that Jesus “did not consider it robbery to be equal with God” (V.6). Now “robbery” means taking something that does not belong to you; and divinity is obviously an attribute that belongs only to God! So Paul is saying that the Lord Jesus did not consider it robbery to claim equality with God.(4)
There is a passage in Malachi 3:1 where the Messiah is referred to with the title of "The Lord" (Ha-ah-done).(5)
A further investigation into earl church history is encouraged. The book A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference Guide to More than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998) devotes almost nine full pages to pre-Nicene sources under its entry on the “Divinity of Christ” (pp.93-128).
Some scholars view this connection as part of the first of the Ten Commandments which states "Anochi - (hebrew); I am God, your God, who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Exodus 20:2). The connection is found in the first word - Anochi - which is linked with redemption.
Anochi signifies the first redemption from Egypt and the last redemption through the Messiah. Anochi is considered to be an acronym with every one of its 4 hebrew letters signifying Biblical prophecies related to the Messiah.(6)
The He in Acts 20:28 refers to Jesus. The only part of the trinity that can bleed is the person of Messiah.
Check our these related articles that help to support the Divinity of the Messiah:
1). The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, 1&2 Thessalonians p.260.
2). Rabbi Jonathan Bernis: A Rabbi Looks At The Last Days p.134.
3). The MacArthur New Testament Commentary - John 1-11 p.20
4). Christian Jew Foundation, Messianic Perspectives, Nov-Dec 2004.
5). Mashiach - The Principle of Mashiach and the Messianic Era in Jewish Law and Tradition by Jacob Immanuel Schochet - 2nd Edition - p.53.
6). Mashiach - The Principle of Mashiach and the Messianic Era in Jewish Law and Tradition by Jacob Immanuel Schochet - 2nd Edition - p.51-52In reference to shemot Rabba 3:4 (see Mayim Rabim 5636, ch.134 p.144f). Also see Midrash Hagadol on Deuteronomy 5:6 (p.103).
Dr. Phillip Schaff.
