Jesus—The Angel of the LORD
In the Old Testament, the Person who spoke to Moses from the burning bush is identified as “the Angel of the LORD” (Exodus 3:2). Many assume this was God the Father Himself. Yet Scripture reveals it was Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who consistently appeared on behalf of the Father throughout the Old Testament.
“No man has seen God at any time.” (John 1:18, 1 John 4:12, 1 Tim 6:16)
God the Father dwells in unapproachable light, and no one has seen His person. Yet throughout the Old Testament, individuals like Abraham, Jacob, and Moses encountered and spoke with Jehovah face to face and lived. How can this be reconciled? The answer lies in the identity and divine role of Jesus Christ.
Christ: The Visible Representative of the Invisible God
Jesus is the only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). From the beginning, it was through Christ that God revealed Himself. This is why Jesus could appear to people as “the LORD” (Jehovah), speak with divine authority, and yet not contradict the truth that no man has seen the Father.
“God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)
Christ, being the Son of God, inherited the very name and nature of His Father:
- “I am come in My Father's name.” (John 5:43)
- “He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name.” (Hebrews 1:4)
- “Jehovah is the name given to Christ.” (E.G. White, Signs of the Times, May 3, 1899)
Because Christ shares in the Father’s divine identity, He can rightly bear the name Jehovah, not as the Father Himself, but as the divine Son in whom the Father dwells:
“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9)
Christ’s Work Throughout the Old Testament
Scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy clearly teach that it was Christ who walked in Eden, spoke from Sinai, and led Israel in the wilderness:
“They drank from that spiritual Rock… and that Rock was Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:4)
“It was the Son of God who gave the law to Israel... who gave to Moses the law engraved upon the tables of stone.” (E.G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 366)
He is called Michael—the great prince who stands for God’s people (Daniel 12:1), the Angel of the LORD, and the Word of God (John 1:1). Christ was, and remains, the only being through whom God the Father reveals Himself to the universe.
Christ Bears the Father's Name—But Is Not the Father
Some use Christ’s appearances as Jehovah to claim that He is the one true God Himself. Yet Jesus taught:
- “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)
- “To us there is but one God, the Father… and one Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 8:6)
Christ is not the Father, but the express image of the Father’s person (Hebrews 1:3), carrying His name, His glory, and executing His will. He is worshipped, honored, and obeyed because the Father has exalted Him, committed all authority to Him, and works through Him:
“The Father… has committed all judgment to the Son; that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.” (John 5:22–23)
What About the Holy Spirit?
This truth also clarifies the identity of the Holy Spirit. If all of God’s communication and work is carried out through His Son, and no one can access the Father except through Christ, then the Spirit is not a third divine being. The Holy Spirit is:
- The Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:17)
- The Spirit of Christ (1 Peter 1:10–11)
- The Spirit of His Son (Galatians 4:6)
Christ, having received the fullness of the Father’s Spirit (Acts 2:33), now lives in His people by that same Spirit. He comforts, empowers, and sanctifies from within—not as a separate being, but as the living presence of Christ Himself.
“God has given the world into the hands of Christ… All communion between heaven and the fallen race has been through Christ.”
*(E.G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 366)
Conclusion: The Beautiful Truth
Jesus Christ has always been the visible, audible, and personal revelation of the invisible God. He is not the one true God Himself (the Father), but the divine Son, through whom God reveals Himself, speaks, and acts. The name Jehovah belongs to Christ because He inherits it as the Son, not because He is the Father.
This truth dissolves the confusion between the Father and the Son. It maintains their distinction while preserving the full divinity of Christ. It also affirms that the Holy Spirit is not a third being, but the Spirit of the Son sent into our hearts by the Father.
- “No man has seen God at any time, except as He is revealed through Christ.” (E.G. White, Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 265)
- “The LORD is that Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)
Let every soul honor the Son as the one through whom the Father speaks, dwells, redeems, and reigns.