The Scriptures distinguish the true God from the other so-called gods by identifying him as the God of the Patriarchs, i.e., the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The sacred writings further do so by referring to him as the God of Israel:

“Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abi′hu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.” Exodus 24:9-11

“And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” Matthew 22:31-32

“His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets of long ago, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives. “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’ And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he remained in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to Israel.” Luke 1:67-80

“Jesus departed from there, and passed by the Sea of Galilee, and went up on a mountain and sat down there. Great crowds came to Him, having with them those who were lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and placed them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them, so that the crowds wondered when they saw the mute speak, the maimed made whole, the lame walk, and the blind see. And they glorified the God of Israel.” Matthew 15:29-31

“The God of our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.” Acts 5:30

“who found favor in the sight of God and asked leave to find a habitation for the God of Jacob.” Acts 7:46

“The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it.” Acts 13:17

“And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Just One and to hear a voice from his mouth;’” Acts 22:14

“But this I admit to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the law or written in the prophets,” Acts 24:14

The inspired New Testament writings affirm that this is the very same God who glorified his Son Jesus by raising him from the dead to physically sit enthroned alongside of him in heaven as Lord over all creation.

Subsequent to Christ’s post-resurrection exaltation, this same God is now identified as the God and Father of the Lord Jesus:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,” 2 Corinthians 1:3

“that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:6

“The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed for ever, knows that I do not lie.” 2 Corinthians 11:31  

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ… that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,” Ephesians 1:3, 17

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,” Colossians 1:3

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” 1 Peter 1:3

Hence, the God of the Patriarchs, the God of Jacob/Israel is now known as the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. The reason is because the NT proclaims that Jesus is the promised Seed of Abraham, being the one true Israel who makes all who believe and are baptized into him the spiritual offspring of the Patriarch:     

Moreover, this same God had sent Jesus for the express purpose of fulfilling the promise to Abraham that through his Seed all the families of the earth would be blessed, beginning with Israel:

“As the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the entrance that is called Solomon’s Porch, greatly amazed. When Peter saw it, he answered the people: ‘Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this man? Or why do you stare at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Son Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Creator of Life, whom God has raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. And His name, by faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. And faith which comes through Him has given him perfect health in your presence. Now brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold through all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He thus fulfilled. Therefore repent and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the One who previously was preached to you, Jesus Christ, whom the heavens must receive until the time of restoring what God spoke through all His holy prophets since the world began. For Moses indeed said to the fathers, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall hear whatever He may say to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be utterly eliminated from the people.” Indeed, all the prophets since Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, “And in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to you first, to bless you in turning every one of you from your iniquities.’” Acts 3:11-26 Modern English Version (MEV)

The context shows that this Seed who blesses the world is none other than Christ, a point reiterated by the Apostle Paul:

“Thus Abraham ‘believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ So you see that it is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.’… To give a human example, brethren: no one annuls even a man’s will, or adds to it, once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings,’ referring to many; but, referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ which is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came four hundred and thirty years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance is by the law, it is no longer by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise… for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” Galatians 3:6-9, 15-18, 26-29

As such, the God of Israel is now said to be the God of both Jews and Gentiles,

“Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,” Romans 3:29

Since in Christ Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles who trust in him are made into one Man, resulting in the Gentiles becoming partakers of the commonwealth of Israel:

“So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then those who are physically uncircumcised but keep the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal. His praise is not from men but from God.” Romans 2:26-29

“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now IN Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:11-22

In other words, the Israel of God is Jesus and everyone who has been baptized into him, whether Jew or Gentile.

This is why the one true God of the Patriarchs is now to be identified in relationship to Christ. I.e., the God of Israel has forever become the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, since God’s Incarnate Son has become true Israel!

GOD BECOMES A PHYSICAL JEW!

Now to balance things out it is vitally important to emphasize that the divinely inspired Scriptures also proclaim that Jesus, while personally distinguished from God the Father, is himself truly divine since he is fully God in nature.

Here is a sampling of texts where Jesus is described as God in the absolute sense of being the Creator and Sustainer of all creation, and the divine Savior who became flesh for the express purpose of offering his life as a sacrifice for the atonement of sins.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God (El Gibbor), Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’ Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” Isaiah 9:6-7 – Cf. 10:20-21; Deut. 10:17; Neh. 9:32; Ps. 24:8; Jer. 32:18

“she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emman′u-el’ (which means, God [ho theos] with us).” Matthew 1:21-23 – Cf. Ps. 130:3-4, 7-8

“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 anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men… The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.”

“John begins by giving his Gospel a theological background. By speaking at once of ‘the Word’ he implies that his readers are familiar with the term. To Gentiles it indicated some form of divine revelation or self-expression. Jews would equate it with the divine Wisdom described in Proverbs, which already appears as something more than a divine quality and has some relationship with the visible world. In Sirach and Wisdom the idea is further developed. In the last-named book, Wisdom appears as a pre-existing person, taking part in the creation of the world and having a mission to reveal God to his creatures; cf. Wis 7.22–8.1.” John 1:1-4, 9-10, 14 – Cf. Gen. 1:1-5; 2:1-7; Pss. 36:9; 27:1; 104:2; Isa. 37:14-20; 40:25-28; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12, 18; 48:12-13; Jer. 10:10-12  

“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.’ Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God (ho kyrios mou kai ho theos mou)!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.’” John 20:24-29 – Ps. 35:23

“Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the Lord and God (tou kyriou kai theou) which he purchased with his own blood.” Acts 20:28 World English Bible (WEB)

“They are Israelites, and to them belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed for ever. Amen.” Romans 9:4-5

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11 New International Version (NIV) – Cf. Isa. 45:18-23; John 5:22-23; Rev. 5:8-14; 7:9-17

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God and 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 they are thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him. He IS before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:13-18 MEV

“See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fulness of life in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.” Colossians 2:8-10

“awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (tou megalou theou kai soteros hemon ‘Iesous Christou), who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.” Titus 2:13-14

“But of the Son he says, ‘Thy throne, O God (ho theos), is for ever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee with the oil of gladness beyond thy comrades.’ And, ‘Thou, Lord (the Son), didst found the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of thy hands; they will perish, but thou remainest; they will all grow old like a garment, like a mantle thou wilt roll them up, and they will be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years will never end.’” Hebrews 1:8-12 – Cf. Ps. 102:1, 12, 24-27

“Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ (tou theou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou)… so there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (tou kyriou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou).” 2 Peter 1:1, 11

“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God (kyrios ho theos), who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’ I John, your brother, who share with you in Jesus the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, ‘Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Per′gamum and to Thyati′ra and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to La-odice′a.’ Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden girdle round his breast; his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters; in his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth issued a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one; I DIED, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.’” Revelation 1:7-18 – Cf. 10:1-6; 14:14-16; Isa. 6:1-8; 41:4; 44:6; 48:12; Ezek. 1:24-28; 8:1-4; 43:1-9; 2:1-10; Dan. 7:9-10, 13-14; 10:1-6; Matt. 17:1-2

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end… I Jesus have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.’ He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” Revelation 22:12-13, 16, 20 – Cf. 2:18-23; Matt. 16:27; 25:31-46; 26:1-2; Ps. 62:12; Prov. 24:12; Isa. 40:10; 62:11; Jer. 11:20; 17:10; 29:23

Unless indicated otherwise, scriptural references taken from the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE).

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