Question:  Dear Greg,

            Do you think Jesus Christ was the God of the Old Testament?

            George

Answer:  Dear George,

            The phrase (“God of the Old Testament”) is an awkward one and leads some to think that we can separate God, or that God can be more than one.  God is three separate, distinct but co-equal Persons.  God is the God of all time—before the earth was created.  The Lamb of God was slain from the foundation of the world.  God is God of all, over all—of Old Testament and New Testament—of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and of Peter, Paul and John.

            It is possible, even imperative, for Christians to see Christ in the Old Testament—that is, the pre-incarnate Christ, the second Person of the Godhead, before he came to us in the flesh to save us from our sins.  Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament.  There are times when God appeared (called theophanies) to humans in the Old Testament.  This was the work of the second Person of the triune Godhead, the Eternal Son of God, the alpha and Omega, the great I AM—which is how he introduced himself to Moses in the burning bush.

            An excellent resource to study this topic is a book by Ron Rhodes titled, “Christ Before the Manger”, published in 1992 by Baker Books.  The Jan-Feb 2002 issue of the Plain Truth includes an interview with Ron Rhodes.

            May God bless you!

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht