SPELLING EDITED W-5. DID GOD CHANGE HIS NAME TO JESUS? Is the NAME “Jesus” the NAME OF Almighty God the Father Himself? Does being baptized in the NAME of Jesus mean that the Father’s NAME is Jesus? Does Matthew 28:19 teach us that the NAME of the Father is Jesus, the NAME of the Son is Jesus, and the NAME of the Holy Spirit is Jesus? The reason that I ask these questions is that some Christians sincerely believe that Jesus IS Almighty God the Father Himself in the flesh. And they “interpret” Matthew 28:19 to mean that the ONE God in ONE person MANIFESTED Himself to become flesh and that flesh was NAMED Jesus. And that is why they believe that the NAME Jesus IS the NAME of Almighty God the Father Himself. In other words, they do NOT see Jesus as being a separate person of a so-called TRINITY God like Trinitarian Christians believe and teach. They do not see that the ONE God in ONE person is the Father ALONE and that Jesus is a SEPARATE being from the Father. In other words, ALL Christians know and understand that the NAME of the SON OF God is Jesus. But the question that I am asking in this study in God's word is “Are the Oneness Pentecostal Christians correct in their interpretation of Matthew 28:19 to teach that the NAME of Almighty God the Father Himself is JESUS?” For you see, they claim that when we get to heaven we will only see ONE being in ONE person sitting on the throne and His NAME will be Jesus? So then, did God CHANGE His NAME from Yahweh to JESUS? Well, let us take a look at what the Bible itself has to say by COMPARING Scripture with Scripture. First, we will read Matthew 28:19 to refresh your memory if you do not recall what it says. Matthew 28:19. “Go you, therefore, and teach all nations, BAPTIZING them IN the NAME of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” So then, is Matthew 28:19 teaching us that the NAME of Almighty God the Father IS the name Jesus? Well, Trinitarian Christians would argue that the name Jesus is the name of the Son OF Almighty God the Father and they are correct. But other Christians argue by asking the question, “Why could not ALL three have the SAME name?” And that is a good question, and we will get to that question in a moment. But first, let us try to understand WHY Christians disagree on what Matthew 28:19 means. The Oneness Christians who believe that Jesus IS the Father focus on the words that I have emphasized above in Matthew 28:19, and then they quote the verses in the New Testament that have the word “BAPTIZED” in them. For example, they often quote Acts 2:38 that clearly teaches us that the Apostles of Jesus baptized believers in the NAME of Jesus Christ. Acts 2:38. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be BAPTIZED everyone of you in the NAME of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” And then they connect Acts 2:38 with the PHRASE that I emphasized in Matthew 28:19, “BAPTIZING them IN the NAME of the Father” to conclude that the NAME Jesus IS the NAME of Almighty God the Father Himself. So then, is their conclusion a SOUND Biblical conclusion? Let us take a closer look to see that they have taken words and phrases OUT of their CONTEXT to draw their conclusion. For example, Acts 2:38 does NOT say “Repent and be BAPTIZED every one of you in the NAME of Jesus”. But rather, it says, “Repent and be BAPTIZED every one of you in the NAME of Jesus CHRIST”. And when we read a little more CONTEXT we learn that Jesus was MADE both Lord and CHRIST BY Almighty God the Father after the cross. Please read Acts 2:36-38,42. “Therefore, let all the house of Israel KNOW ASSUREDLY, that God (Speaking of Almighty God the FATHER) has MADE that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Now, seeing that Almighty God the Father MADE Jesus both Lord and Messiah, then that means that Jesus is NOT the Father. For you see, Jesus was not actually made to become the Messiah until AFTER he became obedient to do his God and Father's will to suffer and die on the cross. So that is WHEN Almighty God the Father MADE the Son of MAN, Jesus, to be both our Lord and our Savior. The word Christ means ANOINTED and it also means Messiah or Savior. So Jesus is the SON OF Almighty God the Father and NOT Almighty God Himself. And the name of God's only begotten Son is Jesus. For you see, the God OF Jesus has His OWN NAME which is Yahweh FOREVER, according to Exodus 3:15. And again, we will cover that verse further on in this study) 37. Now when they heard this, they (Speaking of the Jews, some of which falsely accused Jesus of making himself equal with God) were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? (Now do you think that even for one second that the very Jews who had Jesus CRUCIFIED making claiming that Jesus made himself equal with God would believe that the NAME of Almighty God the Father IS Jesus? NO! Absolutely not! But yet, they were pricked in their hearts to believe that Jesus is the MESSIAH that was prophesied to come in the Scriptures and that Almighty God the Father did, indeed, ANOINT Jesus just as Jesus told them from the every beginning of his ministry in Luke 4:1,17-21) 38. Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus CHRIST (Or be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus the MESSIAH or Jesus the SAVIOR, the one whom Almighty God the Father ANOINTED with the Holy Spirit and power, according to Acts 10:38, the APOSTLES’ doctrine) for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost… …42. And they continued steadfastly in the APOSTLES’ doctrine (Or they continued in what the very Apostles of Jesus TAUGHT about Jesus being the CHRIST. So the early Christians continued in the doctrine of Christ or the doctrine of the ANOINTING that God dwelt IN Jesus. And they continued) and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Now some of the more hardcore Oneness believers who dogmatically insist that Jesus IS Almighty God the Father Himself might argue that Acts 19:5 does not have the word “Christ” in it which proves that the NAME Jesus IS the NAME of Almighty God the Father Himself. And, therefore, to THEM, Jesus IS the Father since they have the SAME NAME which is JESUS. But that is their OWN personal interpretation of Acts 19:5 because they do not truly consider ALL of the words in that verse of Scripture either. Acts 19:5. “When they heard this, they were baptized in the NAME of the Lord Jesus.” So again, they FOCUS only on the words that they NEED to try and prove that Jesus IS Almighty God the Father Himself in the flesh. Again, I point out that this verse in Acts 19:5 does NOT say, “they were baptized in the NAME of Jesus”. But rather, it says, “they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus”. And WHEN was Jesus MADE to BECOME our Lord and Savior BY his God and Father, according to Acts 2:36-38 and other verses of Scripture? It was AFTER the CROSS and resurrection that Jesus was DECLARED to be the Son of God with POWER, according to the spirit of holiness, BY the resurrection of the DEAD, according to Romans 1:3,4. And that was WHEN Jesus was MADE Lord BY his LORD and God, Yahweh the Father. And thus, Jesus is NOT Yahweh the Father Himself, but rather, Jesus is a separate BEING from the Father. And to be baptized IN the NAME OF Jesus simply means to be baptized in the AUTHORITY that Yahweh GAVE to His anointed human Son, Jesus, after the cross FOR his obedience to do all the will of his God and Father, according to Philippians 2:8-11. For you see, Jesus was given a NEW NAME after the cross that is higher than any other name. And at the NAME of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord TO the glory OF Almighty God the Father. We are commanded to honor God's Son EVEN AS we honor the Father. We MUST believe in BOTH in order to receive eternal life in the world to come. For you see, Almighty God the Father DECLARED His human Son Jesus, ANOINTED to be our Lord with POWER, to NOW be called by the NAME the Mighty God in the world to come, according to the prophecy in Isaiah 9:6,7. Please read Romans 1:3,4. “Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4. And declared TO BE the SON OF God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, BY the resurrection from the DEAD:” Now WHEN was the Son of Almighty God the Father ever DEAD? Was Jesus ever DEAD in his SINS like we were once dead in ours before we were saved? NO! Absolutely NOT! Now if you are a Trinitarian Christian who knows full well that Jesus is a distinctly different and SEPARATE person from the Father and that Jesus is NOT the Father, then I ask you the same question. WHEN was the Son of God ever DEAD? The SOUND Biblical answer is Jesus, the Son of MAN DIED on the cross and Almighty God the Father raised the Son of MAN, Jesus, from the dead and GAVE Jesus all POWER after the resurrection just like the Bible itself teaches us. So then, Romans 1:3,4 and other verses of Scripture are teaching us that BEFORE the cross, the Son of God had NO POWER of his OWN and Almighty God DECLARED His FIRSTBORN Son from the DEAD TO BE the Son of God WITH POWER because of his spirit of holiness to love righteousness and hate iniquity. Jesus was GIVEN all power after the cross, according to Matthew 28:18 which is the very CONTEXT of the verse in question that is used to try and prove that the NAME of Almighty God the Father is Jesus. So let us now read Matthew 28:19 again being left in its CONTEXT so that you can see that Jesus is NOT Almighty God the Father Himself in the flesh and the NAME of the Father is NOT Jesus as some Christians claim. Please read Matthew 28:5-7,17-20. “And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not you: for I know that you seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the DEAD; and, behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there shall you see him: lo, I have told you… …17. And when they saw him, they worshiped him: but some doubted. 18. And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is GIVEN unto me in heaven and on earth. (Now IF Jesus was fully Almighty God and fully human at the same time during the days of his FLESH like both Oneness Pentecostal AND Trinitarian Christians CLAIM, then WHY did Jesus have to be GIVEN all power AFTER the cross and resurrection? But the very fact that Jesus was GIVEN all power and AUTHORITY BY Yahweh the Father after the cross explains WHY Jesus said) 19. Go you, THEREFORE, (Or for this very reason that My God and my Father has GIVEN me ALL POWER, go you) and teach all nations, (Some translations of the Bible say, go you and MAKE DISCIPLES of all nations. The word “disciple” means a “learner” or one who is TAUGHT. And the Greek word translated as “TEACH” means “disciple”. This Greek word is only used 4 times in the Bible) baptizing them in the name of the Father, AND of the Son, AND of the Holy Ghost: 20. Teaching them to observe (Or GUARD closely) ALL things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” The Greek word translated as all POWER means all AUTHORITY was given to Jesus after the cross by his God and Father. Here is how E-Sword defines the Greek word translated as all POWER in Matthew 28:18. G1849 ἐξουσία exousia ex-oo-see'-ah From G1832 (in the sense of ability); privilege, that is, (subjectively) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery (concretely magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence: - authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength. Now, Jesus COMMANDED his Apostles to command, as in, to authoritatively INSTRUCT us what we are to OBSERVE which means to GUARD and to hold fast to the Apostles' DOCTRINE. In other words, we are to believe, obey, and then teach to OTHERS the same things that the Apostles of Jesus teach. To say this another way, we are all called to make DISCIPLES who are to LEARN to speak the SAME things that the very Apostles of Jesus teach in simplicity in the New Testament of the Bible. And one of those things the Apostle Paul gave CHARGE to Timothy before Almighty God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ is for us to KEEP or GUARD this COMMANDMENT written in simplicity in 1 Timothy 6:13-16. Please read 1 Timothy 6:13-16. “I give you charge in the sight of God, who quickens ALL things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; (I emphasized the words “ALL things” to draw you attention to the fact that the Greek would “PAS” means ALL and that the English word “THINGS” was added by the translators. The context is speaking of the ALL who BELIEVE, and it is God who quickens or makes alive the ALL who believe to be created as NEW creatures IN Jesus Christ. We were DEAD in our sins and God QUICKENED us to be made ALIVE IN Jesus Christ. So again, the ADDED English word “things” distracts from the true meaning of the ALL who believe that God makes alive from being spiritually dead in their sins. Also, ask yourself the question, “WHAT good confession did Pontius Pilate witness or testify about Jesus?” In John 18:37 Pilate asked Jesus if Jesus is a King? And Jesus answered, “To this END I was BORN”. Then in John 19:15, Pilate said to the Jews that wanted Jesus crucified, “shall I crucify your King?” Then Pilate wrote a sign saying “JESUS OF NAZARETH KING OF THE JEWS”. And the Apostle Paul is saying that Jesus being clearly identified as being the King of the Jews is a GOOD witness as to WHO Jesus is. The END or the PURPOSE that Jesus was BORN was to be MADE God's King of kings and Lord of lords to rule FOR Yahweh in the NAME OF Yahweh in the world to come for 1000 years. And we are given CHARGE) 14. That you keep THIS commandment (Or I charge you to keep THIS authoritative injunction or INSTRUCTION) without spot, not to be rebuked, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: 15. Which in his times (Speaking of both the first and the second coming of Jesus) he shall SHOW, who is the blessed and ONLY Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; (And Jesus came to show us the FATHER and not himself. The word “Potentate” means Sovereign or over ALL and the Father is the God OF Jesus. The Father is the ETERNAL King and Jesus was highly exalted after the cross to be made the King of kings and Lord of lords to rule over the earth in the world to come for 1000 years BY his God and FATHER) 16. Who ONLY has immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom NO MAN has seen, NOR CAN see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.”
And all of the glory, honor, and power belong to Almighty God the Father who GAVE His glory, power and authority TO His now highly exalted Son, Jesus. For you see, according to Philippians 2:8-11, Almighty God the Father highly exalted His human Son, Jesus, and gave him a NEW NAME after the cross. And God did this so that AT the NAME of Jesus every knee will bow at the NAME and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord TO the GLORY OF Almighty God the FATHER. Jesus came to show us the FATHER not to show us himself. The Eternal King over every king in the entire universe is Almighty God the Father who is INVISIBLE and no mortal man has seen nor can see, and mortal men have, indeed, SEEN Jesus. Also, Jesus was MADE both Lord and Christ by His God and Father after the cross. And, according to John 5:26,27, Jesus was GIVEN the divine nature of immortality AFTER the cross. God SET His human Son Jesus to become His King of kings and Lord of lords to rule only over the earth for Yahweh in the NAME OF Yahweh in the world to come for 1000 years, according to Psalm 2, Psalm 89:27, and 1 Corinthians 15:20-28. So then, if Jesus is NOT the NAME of Almighty God the Father, then WHAT is the NAME of the ONLY Potentate who ONLY has always been IMMORTAL and who GAVE the Son of MAN, Jesus the divine nature of immortality after the cross to BE having in himself even as the Father has life in Himself?
Please read Exodus 3:13-15.
“And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers has sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His NAME? What shall I say unto them? (Please notice that God tells Moses TWO things. God tells Moses what to SAY to them and THEN God tells us what His NAME is FOREVER which means that God did NOT CHANGE His NAME to be Jesus) 14. And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: (Which basically means whatever you need I will make) and he said, Thus shall you SAY unto the children of Israel, I AM has SENT me (Or the creator has sent me) unto you. 15. And God said MOREOVER unto Moses, Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, (Or Yahweh the Elohim or the God of your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I Yahweh am) the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me unto you: THIS IS MY NAME FOREVER, AND this is my memorial unto all generations.”
So then, according to the Bible ITSELF, YAHWEH is the NAME of the one true and ONLY Almighty God FOREVER. And Jesus came in the NAME OF Yahweh. The name of Jesus in the Hebrew language is “Yeshua” which means the salvation OF Yahweh. And that means that Almighty God the Father whose NAME is Yahweh forever PROVIDED us His Messiah that He raised up from among the people made of the seed of David and born of a woman having no earthly father. And Yahweh’s MEMORIAL to all generations is the SALVATION IN His Son Jesus who was BEGOTTEN BY Yahweh to become God's eternal Son after the cross BY the RESURRECTION from the dead. The Bible itself PROPHESIED that Yahweh would BECOME a Father to His Messiah, and that His Messiah SHALL BE a Son to him. And that PROPHECY was FULFILLED at the RESURRECTION of Jesus, according to Acts 13:32,33 and Hebrews 5:9.
Let us read Acts 13:32,33 first.
“And we declare unto you glad tidings, (Or we declare unto you the true gospel of Jesus the MESSIAH) how that the PROMISE (Of the coming of the Messiah) which was made unto the fathers, 33. God (Speaking of Almighty God the Father) has FULFILLED the same unto us their children, IN THAT He has raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, (Or just as it was PROPHESIED in the Scriptures in Psalm chapter 2) You are my Son, THIS DAY have I (Yahweh your God have) BEGOTTEN you.”
Now let us read in Hebrews 1:5 which is another Old Testament PROPHECY being quoted by the writer of the book of Hebrews that was FULFILLED in Jesus BECOMING the eternal Son of God after the cross at his resurrection.
Please read Hebrew 1:4,5.
“Being MADE so much better than the angels, as he has BY INHERITANCE OBTAINED a more excellent NAME than they. 5. For unto which of the angels said He at any time, you are my Son, THIS DAY have I BEGOTTEN you? And again, I WILL BE to him a Father, and he SHALL BE to me a Son?”
And the DAY on which the human Son of God was BEGOTTEN by his God to BECOME the eternal Son of God with POWER to BE MADE so much better than the angels was the DAY that God raised His human Son from the dead. And on that very DAY of his resurrection. Jesus OBTAINED a new NAME that is more excellent that the angels BY inheriting that NEW name. And again, on that very DAY that Almighty God Himself RAISED the Son of MAN, Jesus, from the DEAD, Jesus became the FIRSTBORN from the DEAD, the FIRSTBORN of many BRETHREN, the FIRSTBORN of every creature to be MADE in the IMAGE OF the invisible God. Please read the study “WHAT DOES TAKING THE LORD'S NAME IN VAIN MEAN?” So it is NOT that Almighty God, Yahweh the Father CHANGED His NAME, but rather, it is that Almighty God the Father GAVE His HUMAN Son a NEW NAME after the Son of MAN Jesus became obedient to his God and Father even to die on the cross. And BECAUSE OF God’s human anointed Son having obeyed all of his God and Fathers will, Yahweh HIGHLY EXALTED Jesus and GAVE him a NEW NAME that is higher than any other name except for the FATHER’S name Yahweh. And Almighty God the Father GAVE Jesus His own name “Yahweh our RIGHTEOUSNESS” so that EVERY knee will bow at the NAME and every tongue will confess that Jesus is “Lord” TO the GLORY OF Almighty God the Father who MADE Jesus both Lord and Christ AFTER the cross. Please read the three part study “WHEN DID JESUS BECOME GOD’S ETERNAL SON? Part 1” But for now, I would like to bring TWO more thoughts for both Trinitarian and Oneness Pentecostal Christians who believe that Jesus IS the Almighty Himself to PONDER on. The first thought that I want you to ponder on is Matthew 28:19 where Jesus said to baptize in the NAME of the Father and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is AFTER the cross and resurrection when the Father GAVE the now glorified Son of MAN, all POWER and a NEW NAME. So what if Jesus intends his words to mean that he is speaking of his NEW NAME that God GAVE to him after the cross and resurrection? And thus, by baptizing in the name of JESUS, we are baptizing in the AUTHORITY of the NEW NAME given to Jesus that has ALWAYS been IN the NAME of the Father, and NOW is also IN the NEW NAME of the SON, and has ALWAYS been in the NAME of the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit IS one and the selfsame BEING as the Father. I say always, when referring to the Holy Spirit, because I believe that the Bible itself teaches us that the Holy Spirit IS one and the selfsame BEING as the Father. And thus, the Holy Spirit is NOT a separate person from the Father. Please read the study “WHY IS THE HOLY SPIRIT THE FATHER?” The second thought to ponder on is that there are many verses of Scripture in the Bible that clearly teach us that Jesus was MADE by God. Now, whenever we see the word “MADE” referring to every other person we understand that it means CREATED or formed, as in, what was MADE by God came into existence where it never existed before until after it was MADE. But whenever Trinitarian and Oneness Pentecostal Christians see the word “MADE” when referring to the Son of God, then they try to explain away the TRUE meaning of the word “MADE” to mean something else. So simply ask yourself WHY they interpret the word “MADE” to mean something else ONLY when it is the Son of God who was MADE more excellent than the angels, or the Son was MADE perfect, or the Son MADE of a woman, or the Son was MADE in the IMAGE OF the invisible God, or who was MADE both Lord and Christ. There has to be a MAKER who MADE Jesus if words mean anything at all. We cannot change the meaning of the word “MADE” so that Jesus can FIT the church doctrine of the Son OF God BEING Almighty God Himself in the flesh. To ME, whatever is MADE must have a MAKER and that MAKER or that CREATOR of Jesus in the womb of the Virgin Mary is Yahweh ALONE who is always clearly identified as being the FATHER in the New Testament of the Bible. Please read all the studies under the headings >>>IS JESUS THE CREATOR?<<< and >>>WAS JESUS CREATED?<<< And below are some links of subject heading that contain an exhaustive list of studies with link to all of the studies that I have regarding WHO Jesus is according to the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of God. Thanks for reading and my God bless you richly as you continue to seek to TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark. RETURN TO HOMEPAGE AT
VERSES USED TO TEACH THAT JESUS PREEXISTED! To me, the best way to know the ONE true God in ONE person is to know who Jesus TRULY IS according to the WHOLE word of Almighty God so please read ALL the studies under the heading >>>WHO IS JESUS ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE?<<< and you will see that the Bible itself teaches us that Jesus was CREATED by his God and Father. And if you have any questions related to the correct meaning of certain verses of Scripture on this subject of who Jesus is please read all the studies under the two headings >>>A LIST OF STUDIES ON THE TRINITY!<<< and >>>VERSES USED TO TEACH THAT JESUS PRE-EXISTED!<<< These two headings have ALL the studies that I have on who Jesus truly is according to what the Bible itself teaches us in simplicity. I compiled these three headings to make it easy for my readers to send just one, two, or three links to those you desire to help understand what the Bible itself teaches concerning who Jesus is in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
RETURN TO HOMEPAGE AT Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God who ALONE is the Father, according to John 17:1-3 and 1 Corinthians 8:6.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
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