Claim 7 of 13 · Case 04 · The Trinity
New Testament writers take Old Testament passages that speak about the LORD, the God of Israel, and apply them directly to Jesus.
One claim from the free evidence repository at apologetics.pro.
This is one of the most telling patterns in the New Testament, and it is something a scholar can check verse by verse. Passages that in the Old Testament are unmistakably about YHWH, the covenant God of Israel, get quoted by New Testament writers and applied to Jesus. Be honest that this takes a little more work to see than a single proof text. Its force is in the pattern, repeated across different authors, not in any one quotation.
Backed by 3 pieces of evidence
Isaiah’s every-knee text applied to Jesus, Isaiah 45:23 in Philippians 2:10-11
This is a text about exclusive worship of the one God, redirected to Jesus. Taking a no-other-god passage and centering it on Jesus is a deliberate identification, not loose association.Calling on the name of the LORD becomes calling on Jesus, Joel 2:32 in Romans 10:13
The name that saves, in Joel, is God’s name. Paul reads Jesus into that name without hesitation, which only works if Jesus shares the identity of the LORD named in Joel.A creation psalm about the LORD addressed to the Son, Psalm 102:25-27 in Hebrews 1:10-12
A psalm about the unchanging Creator God, addressed to Jesus, is high identification. Bauckham gathers many such cases and argues they include Jesus in the unique identity of God. The pattern is the argument.