The Manifestations of God - New Testament

In my first hub The Manifestation of GOD – Old Testament we began with the foundational Truth that God is Spirit (John 4:24) and Yahweh is the Spirit (2 Cor 3:17).

What sparked my interest in observing the many ways Yahweh (God) manifested Himself in both the Old and New Testaments is because of two verses that use the Greek word ‘morphe’ found in Phil 2:6-7:

• “who, although He [Yeshua] existed in the form [morphe] of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form [morphe] of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

This passage is not the only one that speaks of God ‘morphing’. We’re going to dig into the fascinating truth of the New Testament now.

In Luke 1:35 “The angel answered and said to her [the Virgin Mary], ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son [5207 huios] of God [Elohim].”

Mat 1:18 confirms “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.”

Now, either the Holy Spirit is the Father, or this child is not the offspring of God, the Father. If they are two distinct ‘Persons’ and each is not the other, this is the only conclusion. Therefore, I happen to believe The Holy Spirit IS God the Father.

The name given to this child can be found in Isaiah 7:14; 9:6 and Mat 1:23:

• Isa 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”
• Isa 9:6 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
• Mat 1:23 “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

As I contemplated Ex 33:20 when God said, “No man can see Me and live”, yet He allowed Moses to see His back parts, but not His face, 2 Cor 4:6 came to mind: “For God, who said, ‘ Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

Mat 3:16-17 “After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.’" In reference to the voice out of the heavens, in John 12:30 this happened again. Yet, "Jesus answered and said, 'This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes.'"

We can go back to WHY the Spirit of God manifested ‘as a dove’ in John 1:32-33 “John testified saying, ‘I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.'”

Considering what we read in Gen 18 about Yahweh’s fleshly appearance to Abraham, let’s ponder the words of Yeshua in John 8:56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." Now, Abraham was also the one interacting with Melchizedek in Gen 14. Was the One who appeared to Abraham in Gen 18 the same One speaking in John 8:56? And/or – Is Melchizedek a form of Christ? The question regarding Melchizedek remains a hot topic of debate even to this day.

In Mark 9:2 we read about the ‘transfiguration’ of Yeshua. The word used for ‘transfigured’ is ‘metemorpothe’.¹ Now, in Luke 9:29 we read of the same account, but this time about the face of Yeshua changing: “while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different [2087 heteros], and His clothing became white and gleaming.”

In Ex 3:14 we saw God reveal His name to Moses, “I AM [Hebrew Hayah/Greek Ego Eimi]”. Let’s observe a couple of passages where Yeshua quotes this very name as His own:

John 6:19-20 “Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. But He said to them, ‘Ego Eimi; Do not be afraid.’"

• It’s important we go back to the Old Testament and observe Job 9:8 regarding Yahweh: “He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.”

John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, Ego Eimi.’"

Jesus Himself told His disciples in John 14:7-9:

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him. Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?”

¹ ponder Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 3:18; 11:13

Speaking of His face becoming different at the transfiguration, just after His resurrection Mark 16:12 tells us “After that, He appeared in a different [2087 - heteros] form [morphe] to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country.” Luke 24:30-31 gives us more detail of the same account: “When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.”

According to the chronology of Luke, it was after THIS He appeared to the disciples in the locked upper room (ref John 20:19-29) in His resurrected body. The first time (vs. 21) “He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” Luke 24:36-39 records His second appearance in the upper room: “While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” In John 20:28, “Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”

We can only imagine the glorious ascension of Yeshua before the eyes of His followers. This is marvelous because 1 Cor 15:51-52 tell us of the catching up of the saints, also known as ‘the rapture’.

• “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed!”

While the Greek word ‘morphe’ is not used here, as that means ‘form’, the Greek for ‘changed’ is 236 allasso - I change, alter, exchange, transform. Yes, we will be like Him! (1 John 3:2)

How did Yeshua appear to Saul on the road to Damascus in Acts 9:3-6? “As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I AM Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.’”

Many people living today of various faiths have attested to seeing Yeshua as a bright light that speaks to them. Oh, how marvelous! On the other hand, Heb 13:2 gives us a startling thought: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Simply Amazing.

Just as Isaiah saw in Isa 6:1, John saw in Rev 4:8-11 One sitting on the throne and heard the six-winged seraphim singing,

“Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh Elohim, The Amighty, Who was and Who is and Who is to come.’ And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are You, Yahweh our Elohim, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

Yahweh Elohim, the Almighty, Who was and Is and is To Come created all things. In John 1:3 we read that “All things came into being through Him [Yeshua], and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

So WHO is Yeshua? He gave the answer to John in Rev 1:8 “I AM the Alpha and the Omega," says Yahweh Elohim, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

In Rev 22:13 Yahshua said, “I AM the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

How do we know this is Yahshua speaking? In Rev 1:16-17 John states, “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I AM the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”

In conclusion, we’ll go back to Isaiah 44:6 “Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel and his [Israel’s] Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts: ‘I AM the first and I AM the last, And there is no God besides Me.”

May we remember the words of Yahshua from John 8:24: "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM [Ego Eimi], you will die in your sins."

“WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?” (Mk 8:29)