Introduction
In the article “Jesus’ Intermediation Between God and the Universe,” I will explore how the Bible reveals Jesus’ important role as an intermediary between God and creation. Throughout this text, we will examine passages that show the role of God and Jesus in themes such as salvation, redemption, creation, and others, and reflect on Jesus’ role in these processes. I will also address common misconceptions about the relationship between God and Jesus, highlighting how these ideas impact our understanding of the Trinity and the divine plan. Follow along as we unravel these concepts and their implications.
The Intermediation of Jesus
In the Scriptures, we find some verses presenting some ideas of God’s action, and other verses presenting the same ideas in relation to the person of Jesus Christ. Such as Salvation, Redemption, Shepherding, the Execution of Judgment, etc.
Because of this, many people end up comparing these passages and reaching the erroneous conclusion that Jesus and God are the same person! These interpretations, in addition to being misleading, end up giving a wrong conclusion about the relationship between God and Jesus, divinity, and even the plan of redemption. It is necessary to understand them correctly to avoid doctrinal errors.
Below, I present a list of the themes we find in the Bible regarding such applications. Next, I present the biblical verses that refer to God and Jesus. Because there are many themes, we will not do a biblical analysis of each subject, because otherwise this study would be very long. Instead, today’s study will be more of a reference and guide for the reader. Other articles on this blog can offer a more in-depth analysis of each topic. The following are the themes mentioned:
- Salvation
- Redemption
- Creation
- Outpouring of the Spirit
- Execution of Judgment
- Resurrection
- Pastoral
- Delivery of the Law
- Prophetic Inspiration
Below, I present the biblical verses applied to both people (God and Jesus), accompanied by a brief commentary.
SALVATION
FATHER
Isaiah 45:21 – “Declare, and come near, and take counsel together: who hath declared this of old? Who hath declared it since then? Is it not I, the Lord? For there is no God besides me; a righteous God and a Savior, there is none besides me.“
Isaiah 43:11 – “I, even I, am the Lord [Yahweh], and besides me there is no Savior.“
Isaiah 45:15 – “Truly you are the God who hides yourself, the God of Israel, the Savior“
SON
Luke 2:11 – “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord“
1 John 4:14 – “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.“
Acts 5:31 – “Him God exalted with his right hand to be Prince and Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.“
Commentary: Although the biblical passages referring to the Father were presented within a problematic context in Isaiah’s time, in the plan of redemption, God is our Savior because He offered His grace to save us, however, salvation was granted through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross of Calvary. Because of this, the position of Savior was granted to His Son (Acts 5:31). The text of 1 John 4:14 makes it clear that the Father sent His Son to be the Savior of our world, and the Father granted the position of Savior to the Son. The Intermediation of Jesus is also related to salvation!
REDEMPTION
FATHER
Isaiah 60:16 – “And you will suck the milk of the Gentiles, and nurse at the breast of kings; and you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.“
Isaiah 49:26 – “And I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh, and they will be drunk with their own blood, as with new wine; and all flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.“
SON
Romans 3:24 – “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus“
1 Corinthians 1:30 – “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.“
Comment: It follows the same idea as the theme of Salvation. It is worth noting that God “made Christ” our redemption. Jesus became our Redeemer by the Father’s decision.
CREATION
FATHER
Acts 4:24 – “And when they heard this, they lifted up their voices with one accord to God, and said, Lord, thou art the God which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is“
Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth“
SON
Colossians 1:14-16 – “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through him and for him.“
John 1:1-3 (NIV) – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.“
Hebrews 1:1-2 – “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.“
“Through Christ the Father effected the creation of all heavenly beings. ‘By Him were all things created that are in heaven, … whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers’ (Colossians 1:16); and to Christ as well as to the Father all heaven stood in allegiance.” – The Great Controversy, p. 493
Commentary: In Creation, God is considered the Creator of all things, but the Son Jesus performed all the creative work.
OUTPOURING OF THE SPIRIT
FATHER
Joel 2:28-29 – “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit.“
SON
Titus 3:4-6 (NLT) – “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy we were washed with the regenerating and renewing power of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior“
Commentary: In ancient Israel, God had promised to pour out His Spirit on a large scale upon His people. At the event of Pentecost, Jesus Christ accomplished the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit, as God was said to “poured out on us through Jesus Christ“. The Intermediation of Jesus was also done in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God!
EXECUTION OF JUDGMENT
FATHER
Psalms 96:13 – “Before the face of the Lord [Yahweh], for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth; he will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his truth.“
Ecclesiastes 3:17 – “I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time for every purpose and for every work.“
SON
John 5:27 – “And he has given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man.“
Commentary: God is considered our Judge, but He granted the execution of judgment to the Son because He became the Son of Man (assumed our nature and suffered in our place). Because of this, Jesus is the one who will execute God’s judgment on that great day.
RESURRECTION
FATHER
2 Corinthians 4:14 – “Knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us up through Jesus, and will present us with you“
1 Thessalonians 4:14 – “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.“
SON
John 5:26-29 – “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has given the Son also to have life in Himself; And He has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice. And those who have done good will come forth to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation.“
Commentary: God will resurrect us on that great day, but He will do it through Jesus. It will be at Jesus’ return that we will hear His voice and emerge from the tombs with a new life. The Intermediation of Jesus will also occur at His return!
PASTORAGE
FATHER
Psalms 23:1 – “The Lord [Yahweh] is my shepherd, I shall not want“
SON
John 10:11 – “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep“
Ezekiel 34:23 – “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he will feed them; my servant David will be their shepherd.“
Comment: A text that has been widely misinterpreted. In the great Psalm 23, God is presented as our Shepherd. In the Gospel of John, Jesus claims to be the “Good Shepherd“Many conclude that Jesus is claiming to be God himself. However, this interpretation is mistaken, because in Ezekiel, God himself says that he would raise up “one shepherd” to feed His people, and to this shepherd is applied the prophetic term “my servant David“, a reference to the Messiah (Jesus Christ). It is evident that our great Shepherd, God, carries out His work of shepherding through His Son.
PROPHETIC INSPIRATION
FATHER
Ezekiel 2:2 – “Then the Spirit entered me while he was talking with me, and set me on my feet, and I heard what he was saying to me.“
SON
1 Peter 1:10-11 – “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, testifying beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.“
“Furthermore, Christ is called the Word of God. John 1:1-3. He is so called because God has given His revelations to man in all ages through Christ. It was His Spirit that inspired the prophets. I Pet. 1:10, 11. He was revealed to them as the Angel of Jehovah, the Captain of the Lord’s host, Michael the Archangel. It was Christ who spoke to His people through the prophets.” – Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 366
Commentary: Prophetic inspiration occurs through the action of God’s divine Spirit in human beings. However, Christ guided and carried out the action of this Spirit throughout the history of redemption. It was Christ, sending His Spirit, who inspired the prophets.
DELIVERY OF THE LAW
FATHER
Isaiah 33:22 – “For the Lord [Yahweh] is our judge; the Lord [Yahweh] is our lawgiver; the Lord [Yahweh] is our king; he will save us“
SON
“Christ was not only the guide of the Hebrews in the wilderness—the Angel in whom was the name of Jehovah, and who, veiled in the pillar of cloud, went before the hosts—but it was He who gave Israel the law. Amid the awful glory of Sinai, Christ declared in the hearing of all the people the ten precepts of His Father’s law. It was He who gave Moses the law engraven on tables of stone.” – Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 366
“The ceremonial law was given by Christ” – Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 367
Commentary: God is our Lawgiver. He wrote the Law of the 10 Commandments with His own finger on the two tablets of Sinai. However, Jesus Christ delivered this Law, as well as the other commandments given and ordered to Moses. Both the Father and the Son were present on Mount Sinai that day.
Conclusion
After carefully reading the above passages, we can see that in all cases the Father acted and accomplished such works through the person of His Son, Jesus. In all cases, Jesus was the intermediary in God’s action. Jesus is the Mediator! In other words, God did all things through Jesus Christ.
As I mentioned earlier, when comparing such biblical passages, many people come to the mistaken understanding that God and Jesus are the same person. However, what these texts present to us is exactly the opposite! In reality, the Father does all things through His beloved Son! Jesus is the intermediary in many things between God and the human race, or even in relation to heavenly things. Because He is the intermediary, this gives the person of Jesus a correct position.
This shows us that he is not God himself, but rather someone who stands between God and creation, because if he were not, he would not be the intermediary between them! If Jesus were God himself, it would make no sense for him to be the intermediary between God and creation! In this regard, the false interpretation that uses such biblical passages to conclude that God and Jesus are the same person ends up hiding the truth that Jesus is the intermediary, and not God himself!
May God bless us!
