O Fools and Slow of Heart to Believe All that the Prophets Have Spoken – Part Four

Part Four — The Revelation of God in Christ and the Specific Teachings of Jesus

By Minister Christopher Robert Holder

Testimony of God Ministries Inc. — November 26, 2024

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Ephesians 1:3, 9, 18–19 (KJV)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.

Prayer:

Thank You, Father, for blessing us with “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”

Thank You for revealing the mystery of Your will through the spirit of wisdom and revelation.

Thank You for opening the eyes of our understanding, that we may know the hope of Your calling, the riches of Your inheritance, and the greatness of Your power toward us who believe.

Amen.

1. The Writing of Genesis

When Moses wrote Genesis, it was through divine revelation but also through oral traditions preserved by patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Ancient societies preserved their identity through genealogies and storytelling (cf. Genesis 5; Genesis 10).

Moses also wrote in figures of speech, types, and shadows, a form of teaching language Israel fully understood in their covenantal and historical context.

2. Who Is God, the Spirit Being?

Old Testament: God revealed Himself through words, prophets, and covenant history—written in mysteries to be unveiled later.
New Testament: God revealed Himself in the flesh—Jesus Christ, the Incarnate God—who fulfilled and interpreted what was hidden.

Thus, the New Testament unlocks the Old, showing the Father, Son, and Spirit as One God working in perfect unity.

3. Names of God in the Torah

YHWH — “The LORD” (Exodus 3:14–15). Eternal, self-existent.
Elohim — “God, Mighty One” (Genesis 1:1). Sovereign Creator.
El Shaddai — “God Almighty” (Genesis 17:1). All-sufficient.
Adonai — “Lord, Master” (Genesis 15:2). Ruler and authority.
El Elyon — “Most High God” (Genesis 14:18–20). Supreme above all.
El Olam — “Everlasting God” (Genesis 21:33). Eternal.
El Roi — “The God Who Sees” (Genesis 16:13). Personal and caring.
YHWH Yireh — “The LORD Will Provide” (Genesis 22:14). Covenant Provider.

These names reflect facets of God’s character, later clarified by Jesus’ revelation of the Father.

4. Jesus’ Specific Teachings on Who God Is

1. God is One

Deuteronomy 6:4 (KJV) — Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.

Mark 12:29–31 (KJV)

29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Jesus declared this the greatest commandment. You can only love God as a born-again person when you love your neighbour from the inner man of your heart.

2. God is a Loving Father

Exodus 34:6–7 (KJV) — “The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering…”
Deuteronomy 1:31 (KJV) — “…the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son…”
Matthew 6:9 (KJV) — After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Luke 15:11–32 (KJV) — The parable of the prodigal son reveals God as a compassionate Father who restores the repentant.

3. God is Merciful and Compassionate

Luke 6:36 (KJV) — Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

4. God Desires Obedience from the Heart

Deuteronomy 6:5 (KJV) — And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
John 14:15 (KJV) — If ye love me, keep my commandments.

5. God is Just and Righteous

Deuteronomy 10:17–19 (KJV) — For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward.
Micah 6:8 (KJV) — …to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.
Matthew 6:33 (KJV) — But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

6. God Fulfills His Covenant. This a self-fulfilling covenant. There is no other party to it but God.

Genesis 12:3 (KJV) — …in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Deuteronomy 30:19–20 (KJV) — …I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life…
Matthew 5:17 (KJV) — Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

7. God is Accessible to All. The free will choice in your inner heart.

Genesis 12:3 (KJV) — A blessing for all nations.
John 3:16 (KJV) — For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son…

8. God Gives Eternal Life

Deuteronomy 30:20 (KJV) — …for he is thy life, and the length of thy days…
John 17:3 (KJV) — And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

5. Jesus’ Corrections Reveal God’s Plan

Correction of Peter

Matthew 16:21–23 (KJV) — Jesus foretold His suffering, Peter resisted, but Jesus rebuked him:

“Get thee behind me, Satan…”

Salvation required Christ’s death and resurrection (Luke 24:25–27).

Correction of James and John

Luke 9:54–56 (KJV) — James and John wished to call down fire on Samaritans, but Jesus rebuked them:

“The Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”

Christ’s mission is grace, not destruction. This is God’s plan from the beginning. God is unchangeable, the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (meaning God transcends time space and matter continuum. God never killed anyone from the beginning of time.

6. Lessons from Jesus’Corrections

Peter’s Lesson: True zeal must embrace God’s will—even when it involves suffering.
James & John’s Lesson: God’s kingdom advances through mercy, not judgmental zeal.

Therefore: Jesus’ method of teaching—Scripture interpreting Scripture—reveals the hidden mystery: God’s Kingdom is rooted in humility, mercy, self-sacrifice, and love. All about eternal life and not death.