Controversy Corner
Articles on topics that are widely debated in Christianity, Judaism, Hebrew Roots / Messianic and more!
This is part 3 of a series on the relationship between Yeshua and YHWH Almighty. If you have not read part 1 and part 2 already, please do so first, as they fully explain the content that will be presented here. Previously, we established the following things: · Yeshua is Elohim ("God") · Yeshua existed prior to Creation · Yeshua was born of a virgin We have also looked at other things, but if you've already read parts 1 and 2 you know that. Now we'll look at the most important piece of the puzzle: the relationship between Yeshua and YHWH our Father. First, we need to examine what Yeshua Himself described as His relationship with His Father.
4 But when ישׁוּע heard it, He said, "This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of Elohim, that the Son of Elohim may be glorified by it." – Yochanan / John 11:4 (SQV) 37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not affirm Me. 38 But if I do them, though you do not affirm Me, affirm the works; that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father." Yochanan / John 10:37,38 (SQV) 8 Philippos said to Him, "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." 9 ישׁוּע said to him, "Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know Me, Philippos? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. How do you say, 'Show us the Father?' 10 Do you not affirm that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from Myself; but the Father who lives in Me does His works. 11 Affirm Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; or else affirm Me for the very works' sake. 12 Most certainly I tell you, he who affirms in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to My Father. 13 Whatever you will ask in My Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. [14 If you will ask anything in My Name, I will do it.] 15 If you love Me, you will guard My commands. 16 "I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Counselor, that it may be with you to the age,— 17 the Ruach of truth, whom the world cannot receive; for it does not see it, neither does it know it. You know it, for it lives with you, and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while, and the world will see Me no more; but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 One who has My commands, and guards them, that person is one who loves Me. One who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will reveal Myself to him." 22 Yehudah (not Ish-Qiryah) said to Him, "Master, what has happened that You are about to reveal Yourself to us, and not to the world?" 23 ישׁוּע answered him, "If a man loves Me, he will guard My word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not guard My words. The word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me. 25 I have said these things to you, while still living with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Set-apart Ruach, whom the Father will send in My Name, it will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful. 28 You heard how I told you, 'I go away, and I come to you.' If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced, because I said 'I am going to My Father;' for the Father is greater than I. – Yochanan / John 14:8-28 (SQV) There are a lot of things to look at here. First of all, in John 11:4 Yeshua Himself says He is the Son of Elohim. In John 10:37, Yeshua refers to YHWH as "My Father" showing the relationship again. Then, in John 14, we find a number of statements. From this (and many other verses we could look at) we can see the "formal" relationship between YHWH and Yeshua: Father and Son. That much should be plain. But it is more than that, as Yeshua is a separate and lesser entity than His Father. Now hold on, before you stone me, let me explain. Yeshua is DEFINITELY Master of all the earth, and He is coming (soon!) to rule and reign over the earth as King of Kings. Amein v'amein! But, He Himself is the servant of the Father. He tells us that Himself in John 14:28 which we just read: "My Father is greater than I." The Father is greater than the Son. He also gives us another key element in verse 24 when He says the Father "sent" Him. Thus, He is the "Sent One" of the Father. We'll come back and focus on this in a moment. I believe we have adequately described the Father/Son relationship between our Messiah and our Elohim from Scriptures that Yeshua Himself spoke. Now let's look at other 'New Testament' writings and glean what we can. Then we'll look at a key verse from the Tanakh. 15 Whoever confesses that ישׁוּע is the Son of Elohim, Elohim remains in him, and he in Elohim. – Yochanan Alef / 1 John 4:15 (SQV) 13 until we all attain to the unity of the firmness, and of the knowledge of the Son of Elohim, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Mashiach; - Ephesios / Ephesians 4:13 19 For the Son of Elohim, ישׁוּע Mashiach, who was proclaimed among you by us, by me, Shila, and Timotheos, was not "Yes and no," but in Him is "Yes." – Korinthios Beta / 2 Corinthians 1:19 6 Seeing ישׁוּע from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; 7 and shouting with a loud voice, he said, "What business do we have with each other, ישׁוּע, Son of El Elyon? I implore You by Elohim, do not torment me!" – Markos / Mark 5:6,7 The Shelichim (apostles) affirmed that Yeshua is the Son of Elohim. Even the demons, as we see in Mark 5, knew who He was: the Son of Elohim. Now consider the following verse from the Tanakh ('Old Testament'). 4 Who has ascended up into heavens, and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His Name, and what is His Son's Name, if you know? – Mishle / Proverbs 30:4 This verse here is key. So who has ascended into the heavens? What is His Name? Well, obviously, it is YHWH. But what is His Son's Name? Here is a clear indication that two persons (two DISTINCT persons) are being mentioned: YHWH, and His Son. Now then, let me provide you with a description of what I personally believe Yeshua's "job" is. In order to do this, we need to understand a little more of Hebraic culture and mindset. To begin, we'll examine the word "Shaliach." You probably noticed above that I used the word "Shelichim" with the word "apostles" next to it in parentheses. The reason is because I prefer the Hebrew terms over the Greek ones (as can be inferred from reading the Shem Qadosh Version). Shelichim is the plural form of Shaliach, which means the same as the word "apostle." Apostle is English, and we derive it from the Greek word apostolos, which means "emissary" or "one who is sent." In the Aramaic Writings, we find the word "Shaliycha" instead of "Shaliach" but as you can tell from the way they sound, they are related. "Shaliycha" is merely the Aramaic equivalent to the Hebrew "shaliach" which means "sent one." A good example to describe a "Shaliach" is found in Genesis 24. The servant of Abraham (most likely Eliezar of Damascus, see Gen. 15:2) was sent to find a wife for Isaac. When the servant went out, he acted on the authority that was given to him. Essentially, he acted in the name of Abraham. In Semitic culture, a man's wife was (usually) found by his parents. He could, of course, turn her down, but this was the cultural norm. In Isaac's case, Abraham was too old to go out and actively seek a wife for Isaac. So Abraham sent an emissary, his servant, who acted on his authority. The authority needed was to make a deal, a contract. We find the servant brokered the marriage agreement with Rebekah's father and brother. Thus, the servant acted on the authority of his master. He did not go above and beyond the matters that were entrusted to him. In the same way, Yeshua our Messiah is the "Shaliach" of YHWH. Yeshua Himself even said He was "sent" by the Father. Notice the pattern and hierarchy: the Father's Shaliach is Yeshua, and Yeshua, in turn, had 12 Shelichim that He sent out. Thus, Yeshua is the emissary and messenger of the Father, doing only the Father's will. Compare the following verses: 30 I can do nothing of Myself. As I hear, I judge, and My judgment is righteous; because I do not seek My own will, but the will of My Father who sent Me. – Yochanan / John 5:30 (SQV) 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of My Father who sent Me, that of all He has given to Me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day. 40 This is the will of the One who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son, and affirms in Him, should have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." – Yochanan / John 6:38-40 Yeshua does the will of His Father. It is my belief that the following verses refer to Yeshua: 19 The messenger of Elohim, who had been going before the camp of Yisrael, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. – Shemoth / Exodus 14:19 (SQV) 13 It happened, when Yehoshua was by Yericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood in front of him with his sword drawn in his hand. Yehoshua went to him, and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" 14 He said, "No; but I have come now as commander of the army of יהוה." Yehoshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshipped, and said to him, "What does my master say to his servant?" 15 The captain of the army of יהוה said to Yehoshua, "Take your shoes off of your feet; for the place on which you stand is set-apart." Yehoshua did so. – Yehoshua / Joshua 5:13-15 (SQV) 6 He said, "Hear now My words. If there is a prophet among you, I יהוה will make Myself known to him in a vision. I will speak with him in a dream. 7 My servant Moshe is not so. He is affirmed in all My house. 8 With him I will speak mouth to mouth, even plainly, and not in riddles; and he shall see the form of יהוה. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moshe?" – Bemidbar / Numbers 12:6-8 (SQV) 7 Now Moshe used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the Tent of Appointment. And everyone who sought יהוה would go out to the Tent of Appointment which was outside the camp. 8 And it came about, whenever Moshe went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moshe until he entered the tent. 9 Whenever Moshe entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; and יהוה would speak with Moshe. 10 When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent. 11 Thus יהוה used to speak to Moshe face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moshe returned to the camp, his servant Yehoshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. – Shemoth / Exodus 33:7-11 (SQV) Notice in some of these verses, it refers specifically to YHWH? Well I'll get to that in a moment. Basically, this is Yeshua. Remember what Yeshua said: 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from Elohim. He has seen the Father. – Yochanan / John 6:46 (SQV) 18 No one has seen Elohim at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. – Yochanan / John 1:18 (SQV) 12 No one has seen Elohim at any time. If we love one another, Elohim remains in us, and His love has been perfected in us. – Yochanan Alef / 1 John 4:12 (SQV) So how is it that YHWH spoke to Moshe "face to face" if no one has seen Him? Simply put, I believe this is Yeshua. Yeshua is the one that man has interacted with, as YHWH's eyes are too pure to look on evil (see Habakkuk 1:13). And also note that any time men speak with angels (messenegrs), and they bow, the messenger ALWAYS tells them not to bow to them. However, when Yehoshua bowed to the "captain of the army" of YHWH, what did the messenger say? He told Yehoshua to take off his shoes, for he was standing on set-apart ground. This is not the response an angel gives when a man bows down to him. However, Yeshua IS Elohim, and He is also called by the Name 'YHWH.' Seem odd? Consider how David, in the psalms, TELLS US this. 26 Blessed is He who comes in the Name of יהוה! We have blessed You out of the house of יהוה. – Tehillim / Psalms 118:26 (SQV) Yeshua is He who "comes in the Name of YHWH." This is evidenced by the proclamation of the crowd of Talmidim (disciples) in Luke 19. 37 As He was now getting near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the Talmidim began to rejoice and praise Elohim with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen, 38 saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the Name of יהוה! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!" 39 Some of the Pharisees from the multitude said to Him, "Teacher, rebuke Your Talmidim!" 40 He answered them, "I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would cry out." – Loukas / Luke 19:37-40 (SQV) The parallel passages are in Matt. 23 and Mk. 11. However, the point here, is that Yeshua IS the one who "comes in the Name of YHWH." Notice how the Pharisees tell Him to rebuke His talmidim, yet He responds by telling them that if they didn't cry out, the stones would! Meaning that even the stones know that Yeshua is He who comes in the Name of YHWH! Now we have established that Yeshua is the Son of Elohim the Father, the Sent One (Shaliach) of the Father, and even comes in the Name of the Father. But we can get more specific than that. As you may have inferred from the title of this series, we are talking about the Right Hand of YHWH. The reason, if because Yeshua IS the Right Hand of YHWH. In Hebrew, the right hand symbolizes strength. That is why when Rachel was dying, and tried to name her son "Ben-Oni" (son of my sorrow), Jacob called Him "Benyamin" instead. Ben means "son" and "yamin" means "right hand." So, Benjamin's name means "son of the right hand." In sorrow, one is weak. So the parallel drawn here is that Jacob named Benjamin after strength, not weakness. Let's now look at some verses that should hopefully solidify this concept in your mind, as to Yeshua being the Right Hand of YHWH. 6 "Your Right Hand, O יהוה, is majestic in power, Your Right Hand, O יהוה, shatters the enemy. 7 And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise up against You; You send forth Your burning anger, it consumes them as chaff. 8 At the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up, the flowing waters stood up like a heap; the deeps were thickened in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my desire shall be gratified against them; I will draw out my sword, my hand will destroy them.' 10 You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters. 11 Who is like You among the elohim, O יהוה? Who is like You, majestic in set-apartness, awesome in praises, working wonders? 12 You stretched out Your Right Hand, the earth swallowed them. – Shemoth / Exodus 15:6-12 (SQV) [Song of Moses] 14 Yah is my strength and song. He has become my salvation. 15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous. "The Right Hand of יהוה does valiantly. 16 The Right Hand of יהוה is exalted! The Right Hand of יהוה does valiantly!" 17 I will not die, but live, and declare the works of Yah. 18 Yah has punished me severely, but He has not given me over to death. 19 Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will enter into them. I will give thanks to Yah. 20 This is the gate of יהוה; the righteous will enter into it. 21 I will give thanks to You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation. – Tehillim / Psalms 118:14-21 (SQV) 12 "Listen to Me, O Ya'aqov, and Yisrael My called: I am He; I am the first, I also am the last. 13 Yes, My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and My Right Hand has spread out the heavens: when I call to them, they stand up together. – Yeshayahu / Isaiah 48:12,13 (SQV) 13 You have a mighty arm. Your hand is strong, and Your Right Hand is exalted. – Tehillim / Psalms 89:13 (SQV) 7 Where could I go from Your Ruach? Or where could I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend up into the heavens, You are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there! 9 If I take the wings of the dawn, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there Your hand will lead me, and Your Right Hand will hold me. – Tehillim / Psalms 139:7-10 (SQV) 8 Your hand will find out all of Your enemies. Your Right Hand will find out those who hate You. – Tehillim / Psalms 21:8 (SQV) 10 Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your Elohim. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the Right Hand of My righteousness. – Yeshayahu / Isaiah 41:10 (SQV) 8 יהוה has sworn by His Right Hand, and by the Arm of His strength, "Surely I will no more give your grain to be food for your enemies; and foreigners shall not drink your new wine, for which you have labored: 9 but those who have garnered it shall eat it, and praise יהוה; and those who have gathered it shall drink it in the courts of My set-apart place." – Yeshayahu / Isaiah 62:8,9 (SQV) 16 You are filled with shame, and not glory. You will also drink, and be exposed! The cup of the Right Hand of יהוה will come around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory. – Chavaqquq / Habakkuk 2:16 (SQV) There are many more we could look at, but these should suffice. You'll notice there is a distinct mention of His "Right Hand" here. Not just the generic 'hand' (which occurs in a few places) but specifically, His Right Hand. In Psalms 118, we find the word "yeshuah" is used where the English reads "salvation." Here we have the fascinating statement that YHWH became yeshuah. Did you catch that? YHWH became yeshuah (salvation). In Isaiah 48, we also find a key verse: the Right Hand of YHWH spread out the heavens. Well comparing what we looked at in part two of this series, we know that Yeshua created the known universe. Thus, it makes sense, does it not, that Yeshua IS the Right Hand of YHWH? As the Shaliach of YHWH, Yeshua does the work of the Father. He is part of the Father. Yet they are still distinct. But we can also prove this from the Shelichim Writings (NT). 29 But Kepha and the Shelichim answered, "We must obey Elohim rather than men. 30 The Elohim of our fathers raised up ישׁוּע, whom you killed, hanging Him on a tree. 31 Elohim exalted Him, His Right Hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Yisrael, and remission of sins. 32 We are His witnesses of these things; and so also is the Set-apart Ruach, whom Elohim has given to those who obey Him." – Ma'asei / Acts 5:29-32 (SQV) 20 which He worked in Mashiach, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him in His Right Hand in the heavenly places – Ephesios / Ephesians 1:20 (SQV) 11 Every priest indeed stands day by day serving and often offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins, 12 but He, when He had offered one sacrifice for sins continually, sat down in the Right Hand of Elohim; - Ivrim / Hebrews 10:11,12 (SQV) 1 If then you were raised together with Mashiach, seek the things that are above, where Mashiach is, seated in the Right Hand of Elohim. – Kolossaeis / Colossians 3:1 (SQV) 21 This is a symbol of immersion, which now saves you—not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward Elohim, through the resurrection of ישׁוּע Mashiach, 22 who is in the Right Hand of Elohim, having gone into heaven, messengers and authorities and powers being made subject to Him. – Kepha Alef / 1 Peter 3:21,22 (SQV) Now right off the bat, you will probably notice that the SQV reads differently than pretty much any other version you've ever read. This is because the SQV has rendered these words literally, using translation and not interpretation. You see, when the texts were translated, it made no sense to say that Yeshua sat down IN the hand of YHWH. However, if you consider YHWH sitting on a throne, and Yeshua sitting down next to Him, then it is easy to infer that it must mean He sat AT the Right Hand of YHWH. But the Greek reads ekathisen en dexia tou Theou, meaning literally "sat down in right hand of Elohim." The word en in Greek means "in" and defined most literally it means "inside of." So Yeshua sat down IN the Right Hand of YHWH. Why did He does this? Because that was where He was to begin with! Yeshua IS the Right Hand of YHWH, so it makes perfect sense that He would ascend back to His rightful place. As His Right Hand, He only does the will of the Father. He does the work of the Father. He is the messenger of the Father. And this is why He is our example. Because He is the perfect servant, the perfect Son. Now I know you'll soon be saying, "but the Torah say 'You shall have no other gods before me'!" And, "Isaiah says, 'I am YHWH, that is My Name. I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to idols.' (Is. 42:8) as well as, 'For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My Name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.'!" This is all true, of course. YHWH does not give His glory or praise to another, and there are no other gods besides Him. But then, this is a misunderstanding. The word rendered "another" in both Isaiah 42 and Isaiah 48 is the Hebrew word אחר (acher). Acher means, literally, "another" or "following." It comes from the word achar (same word, different vowels) meaning "to delay, to remain behind, to loiter." So literally, He does not give His glory to anyone that comes after Him. But we know this does not apply to Yeshua. Yeshua doesn't simply come "after" YHWH, but He comes FROM YHWH! He is part of YHWH. That is why Yeshua said in John 10: 30 I and the Father are one. – Yochanan / John 10:30 (SQV) Going back to Devarim / Deuteronomy: 4 Hear, O Yisrael: יהוה is our Elohim; יהוה is one. – Devarim / Deuteronomy 6:4 (SQV) YHWH is One. Just as you reading this are "one person" you have many different members. You have eyes, you have ribs, you have a heart, a brain, etc. Yet all of that is still you. Paul includes this message in his letter to the assembly of Corinth: 12 For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Mashiach. – Korinthios Alpha / 1 Corinthians 12:12 (SQV) One body, many parts. Yeshua prayed that we would all becomes "one": 19 For their sakes I set Myself apart, that they themselves also may be set apart in truth. 20 Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will affirm in Me through their word, 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may affirm that You sent Me. 22 The glory which You have given Me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one; 23 I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You loved Me. – Yochanan / John 17:19-23 (SQV) So does that mean that we as Believers all need to become "one" in a physical sense? Do we all need to morph into some multi-headed creature? Of course not! In the same way that Yeshua is in The Father, He is to be in us, and The Father in Him. We are to be "one" as in united in Messiah. We are all our own, separate beings, united together to form ONE assembly, the Bride of Messiah. There is still yet one more part of this article series, in which I will attempt to wrap everything up clearly. In the 4th and final part, we will examine the Holy Spirit, aka the Ruach Ha'Qodesh, and what relationship the Spirit has to the Father and the Son. Be Berean. Shalom.
Marcio Antonio Torres Bueno
7/23/2015 04:07:13 am
Wonderfull!
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AuthorJ. A. Brown Archives
August 2015
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