L4: The Deity of Christ

3. Jesus equally bears God's saving name

At the beginning of Exodus, God reveals his name to Moses and Israel—Yahweh/the LORD—and by this name he saves Israel. 
But Israel’s prophets looked forward to the day when the LORD would accomplish a greater exodus out of sin and darkness. Joel looked forward to that day and declared: 
And everyone who calls
     on the name of the LORD will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
     there will be deliverance,
     as the LORD has said,
even among the survivors
     whom the LORD calls.

—Joel 2:32 
We must not miss, then, that the NT clearly worships Jesus as One who bears God's saving name and identity. When the NT calls Jesus “Lord,” it is not merely identifying him as our master. It is identifying Jesus with Yahweh, Israel's Covenant Lord. Indeed, Paul summarizes saving faith as declaring and believing that “Jesus is Lord” (Romans 10:9). Then, after stating that both Jew and Gentile must call upon the Lord Jesus to be saved, he quotes from Joel 2:32 to support this very point. Saving faith in the LORD is saving faith in Jesus!
The NT calls Jesus by several divine names, especially Lord and God (see Wellum, God the Son Incarnate, 201-08):
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

—John 1:1
Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

—John 20:28
...yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

—1 Corinthians 8:6
...while we wait for the blessed hope - the appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

—Titus 2:13
...To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours.

—2 Peter 1:1
Reflect on these texts. How do they help us see that Jesus is fully God?Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.