Mining for jewels in Scripture never fails in bringing forth treasure. There is much controversy these days concerning the positions of the Persons of the Godhead with respect to each other. Some imminent, evangelical theologians, Wanye Grudem and Bruce Ware among them, have come to propagate a doctrine called ESS (the eternal submission of the Son)/EFS (the eternal functional submission of the Son) concerning which I hope to offer more developed and organized thoughts in the future. For now, however, I want to hold forth one of the Scriptures’ glorious jewels from the Old Testament just touching on this matter.
It comes from Malachi’s prophecy.
Malachi 3:1—
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
There are two people in this passage: the first is represented by the first-person personal pronoun “I” and the second by the phrase, “My messenger.”
By the end of the verse, we are told explicitly the identity of the first Person. It is the LORD of hosts, Jehovah. And without doing too much homework, it is clear by a comparison of Malachi 4:5; Matthew 11:11, 14 and Luke 1:17, that the second of these two is John the Baptist (see Calvin, Gill, Poole).
Now that second observation is what struck me. If “My messenger” is John the Baptist, then the identity of the first Person becomes more precise than we first imagined. Ask yourself this question: Historically, for Whom was John the Baptist the messenger and forerunner? It was for Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Therefore the Person speaking in Malachi 3:1 is the pre-incarnate Christ who is foretelling the coming of His messenger and what is more, He explicitly refers to Himself as Jehovah of hosts at the end of the verse.
Thus, here we have a text (among many others) where Christ Jesus claims His deity in very simple terms. But more than that, Christ Jesus is not only the Son of Jehovah, He is identical with the essence of Jehovah and therefore “equal in power and glory” (to cite the catechisms) counter to the implications of the adherents to ESS.
You can see this same idea conveyed when you compare an additional series of passages. Pay close attention to Who is said to be speaking.
Jeremiah 31:31, 33:
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD [Jehovah], that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah…But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people…
This passage in Jeremiah is then quoted in Hebrews 8:8, 10:
For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord [kurios], when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people…
and again in Hebrews 10:15–16:
Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them…
In Jeremiah, the Speaker is the LORD, Jehovah; in Hebrews 8:8, is it the Greek equivalent of the same Name, “Lord”/kurios, who is speaking; and in Hebrews 10:15 is the the Holy Spirit. At this juncture I cannot exegetically assert that Hebrews 8 is meant to refer to the Son in distinction from the Father and the Spirit, but I will assert that the author’s term “The Lord” is identical explicitly linked to Jehovah in Jeremiah 31, and that term is constantly applied to our Lord throughout the N.T. and therefore at least implicitly asserts His deity. But more specifically, in chapter 10, the identification of the Holy Spirit is explicitly noted and is therefore is identical to Jehovah in Jeremiah 31. In other words, these are some passages that prove that the Holy Spirit also is Jehovah Himself.
Summary
The applications at this point are simple.
First, the Bible is replete with evidences of the deity of each of the Persons of the Godhead. Whether reading from the O.T. or the N.T., this is apparent. So Christian, let’s learn to read more carefully. If we dig for jewels, we will find them.
Second, we have no business addressing the Father in our prayers, or speaking of Him to others as if He only is Jehovah and the Son and Spirit are merely that — the Son and the Spirit. There is but one God who eternally exists in three Persons as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and His Name is Jehovah and He shall be/should be worshipped, praised, addressed and witnessed of as such.
