Does Matthew says, that YHWH in Old Testament is "the Father" in New Testament?
Disclaimer:
This is not systematic theology question. I am asking about specific passages content, and how and why they correlate. Hermeneutics allows to make exegesis on narrations, also, not only on passages. For evidence of that, please, see all answers on this site.
Context:
There is a major name of God in Old Covenant, used right throughout it, since Genesis 2:4, spelled Yahweh. First statement for Yahweh is whom be The Creator of all, "earth and heavens".
There is an expansively used term for God's name, "The Father", in New Covenant, used not that much as is Yahweh used in Old C., but still quite significantly, since Matthew 5:16. First statement for "The Father" is that Him being "in heavens"; though that don't give much right in the eye, but later we do have bold description that "The Father" is The Creator of all:
Matthew 5:45: His sun He doth cause to rise on evil and good, and He doth send rain on righteous and unrighteous
Matthew 6:26: look to the fowls of the heaven, for they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into storehouses, and your heavenly Father doth nourish them
Matthew 11:25: Father, Lord of the heavens and of the earth (the most bold one)
Conclusion to examine:
It is clear (seems to me), that what is applied to Yahweh in Genesis 2:4, is applied similarly, or I would say equally, to "The Father" in Matthew 11:25, and other places.
To note for the context, it is also known, that NT is full of quotes and rephrased quotes from OT.
Question:
Does, by doing that, NT author (here - Matthew) state, that YHWH in Old Testament is "the Father" in New Testament.
The New Testament including Matthew projects God the Father as the Yahweh in Old Testament. It also projects Lord Jesus Christ as the Yahweh in Old Testament.
Explanation
The fact is, God the Father is Lord of Heaven and of earth as described by Lord Jesus Christ and apostles.
“Answering at that time, Jesus said, I praise You, Father, Lord of Heaven and of earth” (Mat 11:25).
“Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit, and said, I praise You, Father, Lord of Heaven and of earth” (Luke 10:21).
“The God who made the world and all things in it, this One being Lord of Heaven and of earth” (Acts 17:24).
We see the same in the Old Testament.
“I have lifted up my hand to Jehovah, the most high God, the possessor of Heaven and earth” (Gen 14:22).
“But now, Jehovah, You are our Father. We are the clay, and You are our Former; yea, we all are Your handiwork” (Is 64:8).
The fact also is that Lord Jesus Christ created the Heaven and earth on behalf of God the Father. This is witnessed by God the Father.
“God spoke…to the Son…You, Lord, at the beginning founded the earth, and the heavens are works of Your hands. They will vanish away, but You will continue; and they will all become old, like a garment, and You shall fold them up like a covering, and they shall be changed. But You are the same, and Your years shall not fail” (Hebrews 1:1, 8, 10).
“For all things were created in Him (Son), the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible; whether thrones, or lordships, or rulers, or authorities, all things have been created through Him and for Him” (Col 1:16).
“All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:3).
We see the same in Old Testament.
“Before time You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They shall perish, but You shall endure; yea, all of them shall wear out like a garment; You shall change them like clothing, and they shall be changed” (Ps 102:25-26).
[This is the passage God the Father quotes in Hebrews 1:10]
“Ah, Lord Jehovah! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm; not any thing is too difficult for You” (Jer 32:17).
“For all the gods of the peoples are idols; but Jehovah made the heavens” (Ps 96:5).
The truth is, God the Father made everything through Lord Jesus Christ. He did not make anything that was ever made without through His Son, the Word.
“but to us there is one God (Elohim), the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we by Him” (1 Cor 8:6).
“the fellowship of the mystery having been hidden from eternity in God, the One creating all things through Jesus Christ” (Eph 3:9).
“And He is before all things, and all things have subsisted in Him” (Col 1:17).
Do we see both the Father and the Word together in the Old Testament?
Yes.
“And Jehovah rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from Jehovah out of the heavens” (Gen 19:24).
[The one Yahweh was already on earth in human form who had visited Abraham together with two of His angels, also in human forms, described in detail in chapter 18]
Jesus clarifies who He really is:
“And on the seventh day God completed His work which He had made. And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because He rested from all His work on it, which God had created to make” (Gen 2:2-3).
“For in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all which is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; on account of this Jehovah blessed the sabbath day and sanctified it” (Ex 20:11).
The above shows that it is Yahweh who is the Lord of the Sabbath.
But in the New Testament, we see it is Jesus who is the Lord of the Sabbath.
“And He said to them, The Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath also” (Luke 6:5).
Conclusion
So, the answer is in the affirmative: Yahweh in the Old Testament is God the Father. Yahweh in the Old Testament is Lord Jesus Christ
This morning, as my wife and I took our daily walk along a country road in northern California, I was thinking about this question. The clear blue sky highlighted the spectacular pine and redwood trees. The weather was crisp and the bright morning sun created sharp shadows of us on the road.
It occurred to me that my umbra was the projection of my 3D body onto a 2D world. Everything I did, my 2D shadow instantly copied. Nothing that my shadow did was from its own initiative. We were separate and yet united. The 2D world could not possibly comprehend 3D. And any 3D explanation by a 2D philosopher or theologian would be ridiculously incomplete, flawed, and inadequate.
How much more so are our own puny attempts to describe God and his relationship with his son, Jesus? (a kal v’chomer argument)
Question: Does Matthew say that YHWH in Old Testament is "the Father" in New Testament?
Answer: The question is basically as misleading as asking whether my 3D self is my 2D shadow on the road. However, Jesus gives us an approximation using a father-son analogy, which is likely more accurate than my shadow analogy.
Scriptural background and support
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And my thoughts than your thoughts. – Isaiah 55:8-9 NASB
How high are the heavens above the earth? Can the tallest person on earth jump up and touch the sun? Could I have taught my silly poodle, Papi, to solve even simple linear equations or to read even children’s books? Yeah, good luck with that. But I did take him on walks and we had fun playing fetch.
Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl YHWH ʾĕlōhēnū YHWH ʾeḥād. - Deuteronomy 6:4
Note: When recited, YHWH is pronounced “Adonai.”
This is the Shema, which can be translated as “Hear, O Israel. The LORD is our God, the LORD is one."
The word “one” in this verse is not yachid (one solitary, SH3173) but echad (one unity, SH259) as in Genesis 2:4 where Adam and Eve shall become one (echad) flesh--joined together as one in unity. This is a hint on the relationship between the Father and the Son.
The fabric of context
It’s been estimated that the Bible contains nearly 64,000 allusions, references, and quotes with it, making a complete “fabric of context.” From that perspective, we need to be careful about picking out a single thread. So let me pick out several with care.
On the nature of Jesus
What do we know from scripture about the identity and nature of Jesus of Nazareth? All of the following are considered true statements:
In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word (Logos) was with God, and the Word (Logos) was God. – John 1:1 NASB (see also Hebrews 11:3 and Revelation 19:13)
And GOD SAID . . . (way·yō·mer ’ĕ·lō·hîm) – Genesis 1:3a
The “God Said” is the “Word of God.”
[God] . . . in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. - Hebrews 1:2-3a NASB
I and the Father are one. – John 10:30 NASB
These statements can be very roughly applied to my 2D shadow, except that my shadow is not an exact representation of me, a manifestation of my glory (such as it is), or the personification of my thoughts and words.
You heard that I said to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. – John 14:28 NASB
Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same way. – John 5:19 NASB
These sound a little like my shadow, but again in a very rough and limited sense.
On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I in you. - John 14:20 NASB
Interesting. So, Jesus is telling us that sometime in the future, we will fully know that our relationship with Jesus will be similar to the relationship between Jesus and the Father.
We will then accurately know how we’re in Jesus and Jesus is in us as well as the relationship between the Father and the Son.
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