God says He is the only Savior and God.
In the New Testament, we learn that Jesus is also the Savior, God, and the “I Am.” But if the Father is the Savior, and Jesus is too, why does God say there is no Savior beside him? The answer to the mystery lies in the extremely challenging mystery of the Godhead. Jesus created a lot of controversy during his ministry but none as great as when he dared to take on the mantle of the Great I Am.
When he did this, the Jews who heard him took up stones to kill him committing the sin of blasphemy.
Before Abraham was Born, I Am
John 8: 57-59
Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?” “Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.…
The Great I Am
When Moses asked God what his name was, I Am was the name that he gave. The Jews could not stand for Jesus to take that name upon himself. But he did and he also took the title of Savior. Well, in the forty-third chapter of Isaiah, The Father surprisingly says there is no Savior beside him. This and many other scriptures lead us to the conclusion that there is a mysterious oneness between God the Father and God the Son. We call this the Trinity because the Holy Spirit also has personality and characteristics that only God can have.
Below are just a few of the many well-known verses that attribute the title “Savior” to Jesus. And as I said and is quoted below, The Father said he is the only one with that title. So, we must agree with Jesus’ claim that he made to his disciples.
He said, “When you see me, you have seen the Father.” He also said, “I and the Father are One.”
Below are some verses that point to Jesus’ role as Savior of humanity.
Titus 2:13
Matthew 1:21
“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.”
Philippians 3:20
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ
Now let’s take a look at the passage in Isaiah.
Isaiah 43:8 A challenge to the false gods
“Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, And the deaf, even though they have ears.”
This is a renewed challenge to the surrounding nations but at the same time addressed the failings of the Nation of Israel. All of them were blind, even Israel. We should remember the rebuke the Lord gave in Isaiah forty-one. In that chapter, God boldly challenged the false gods of the nations to predict the future. Of course, they could not. Jehovah, the Great I Am, knows the past, present, and future. The false gods have eyes and ears but they don’t function. Even Israel, the servant of God was deaf and blind also. God challenged the false gods, asking them what prophecies they could put forward, but there were none. Israel was called to God, as blind people. See just some of the passages where the prophet points this out, Isaiah 29:18, Isaiah 35:5, and Isaiah 42:7, 18, 19.
But God promised to restore their blindness and make them a witness to the world, Isaiah 32:3. Isaiah 35:5),
Isaiah 43:9 Can the false gods predict the future?
“All the nations have gathered together So that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them can declare this And proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified, Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”
Of course, the nations weren’t literally gathered as this verse suggests, but they were asked to give an account of their own gods. Biblical Scholar Michael Heiser has some fascinating insight into this subject. His thoughts are controversial, but he is an expert in his field so he does carry considerable weight. This challenge to the gods reminds us of the ministry of the prophet Elijah. Israel had fallen deep into idolatry so the prophet asked the people to choose between the false gods and the One True God.
The Lord was a predictor of the future ever since the early pages of Genesis. But was there any evidence that the false gods could do any such thing? Their magicians could make snakes and enchantments as in the story of Moses before Pharoah, but knowing the future precisely was an area they could not touch.
An important point is brought out in this verse. God asks, “Who can proclaim former things?” It wasn’t just the future that was difficult to know but also the past. But the Jews are famous for their meticulous record keeping. Their historical records, despite countless critics, have proven to be extraordinary.
Isaiah 43:10 Israel is a witness for God
“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me, there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me.”
The character and righteous living of Israel were supposed to serve as a witness to the world. They failed in those and many other areas, but their record-keeping as it pertained to the scriptures was indeed a tremendous witness to the world. The remarkable discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls brought an important renewed focus on their faithfulness in transmitting the Words of God from generation to generation.
In those scriptures, the past is knowable. Names, dates, places, and prophecies are recorded so the nations could verify what God’s prophets spoke long ago. For example, the prophets predicted the eventual destruction of Israel if they failed to uphold their commitment to God’s Law. See that in Deuteronomy 28:49-57.
Despite their failures, Israel has been and probably still is, the most important witness of God’s workings in the world. The Church and Israel serve as both witnesses and keepers of the story of God. The Old Testament abounds with passages that predict Israel will rebel and reject God and be dispersed among the nations. And in the latter days, they will return to the Promised Land. Now that we have seen that return to the Land, it is a tremendous testimony to the Bible’s reliability.
This is why God boldly asks the nations to look at the testimony of the Israeli scriptures, The Old Testament. Jesus told the Pharisees to look in those same scriptures because they revealed him as Savior in the story.
Isaiah 43:11 There is no Savior besides God
“I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me.”
As discussed in prior articles, Jacob was the servant God chose. He was the father of the twelve sons who were heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. Christ became the replacement for them and fulfilled the requirement to be a witness of God’s truth” John 18:37.
God says “I am.” Compare that with Isaiah 41:4). This was another title that Jesus took upon himself and in so doing stirred a great reaction from the religious elites. There are no other gods nor is there a Savior other than the Almighty. Jesus is not a lesser god but is equal in his divinity. No one but God can save men, we need someone to step into the great divide that is between us and God.
Isaiah 43:12 The Lord is the only true God and Savior
“It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you. So you are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And I am God.”
The Lord declared what would happen before it did. He has revealed a skill the false gods of the nations can’t match. All of the surrounding nations declared allegiance to any number of idols they trusted. They had gods for the sun, moon, harvest, seas, rivers, etc. But the Lord mocks these imaginary deities by saying there wasn’t any “strange god” among the Israelites to whom he called upon to help. There is only one Lord God, and there is no other.
When Jerusalem was surrounded by the armies of King Sennacherib, God declared by the mouth of Isaiah that he would deliver and save his people Isaiah 37:33-35. And we can carry this forward to today’s nation of Israel. They will be saved when they ask for forgiveness for their sins. They will mourn when they see Jesus coming from out of the clouds to rescue them from the Antichrist armies.
Isaiah 43:13 No one can stop the Eternal God
“Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand. I act and who can reverse it?”
The false idols were made from the imaginations of men. The false gods were often the demonic powers and principalities that Paul wrote about. There was a rebellion among the angels of God. As we read through the Bible we see these powers of the darkness take up residence among the surrounding nations and continue the rebellion against God.
But the Almighty rightly says that none of the idols, false gods, or demonic forces can deliver out of the hand of God. What God is determined to do, no one can stop.
Amen and amen!
2 Peter 1:11 Our Lord and Savior
And you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord andSavior Jesus Christ.
Luke 2:11 A Savior is born
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
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