God in Old Testament vs. God in New Testament

Jaxxi

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I just wanted to ask if anyone else feels like God in the Old Testament reads differently than the God in the New Testament. I know the LORD never changes, but is it possible that maybe He had better understanding after being human? Even then, He could do stuff we cant so...but He suffered.
 

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Marcion saw many of the teachings of Jesus in New Testament as being incompatible with the God of the Old Testament had he was denounced as a heretic. The truth is that there is love, faith, grace, law, judgement, and mercy in both testaments and God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
 
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writtenwordministries

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I've been studying the Bible for more than twenty years and I can understand what you are saying. It does seem like there's a marked contrast between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New. That said, I think His coming to earth didn't help Him understand His creation as it did to help His creation better understand Him. I've been doing a deep study out of John, and in the opening verse, where it says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God", there's an amazing truth that kind of builds on this topic. The Word here is a reference to Jesus. Jesus is and was God; there was never a time when He wasn't God. So truth be told, if we can hold on to this idea of Jesus being God, then the God we read about in the Old Testament is actually the God of the New. It really changes the way the Old Testament is read when you insert His name in key passages. For example, Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning Jesus created the heavens and the earth...". This perspective is helping me bring the Old and New Testaments together to see and understand God in a more perfect light.
 
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Jaxxi

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I can understand what you are saying but wasn't Jesus a man who did not fully receive God until He was baptized and began His ministry? And why would God be instructing "Son of Man" if He was the Son of Man? And to whom was Jesus praying to when He went off to be alone to pray? When He said "Father forgive them they know not what they do?" or " Father why has't Thou forsaken Me?" I think God and Jesus are seperate beings because They converse with One Another...yet I believe They share the same credentials. "Let Us make man in Our own image" refers to more than One which I believe Jesus was there, yes but I think They are seperate...hence The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.
 
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writtenwordministries

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It's definitely an interesting subject. I wrestled with the 'three in one' theology for years. I still can't say I fully understand it. One of the things I had to come to terms with is the difference in the physical and spiritual realms. There's nothing on earth that we can relate to in understanding Gods nature. I think it's in Isaiah where God says, "With what will you compare Me?" The bible implies they are one and yet separate at the same time. As to the incarnation, there's a passage in John-I'd have to look it up-where the idea is presented that who Jesus was in Heaven He remained as on earth. A crude example is 'beam me down Scotty'. So He was a man in form but retained his nature as God. Great subject for discussion. Got to get my kids to school.
 
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Jaxxi

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It's definitely an interesting subject. I wrestled with the 'three in one' theology for years. I still can't say I fully understand it. One of the things I had to come to terms with is the difference in the physical and spiritual realms. There's nothing on earth that we can relate to in understanding Gods nature. I think it's in Isaiah where God says, "With what will you compare Me?" The bible implies they are one and yet separate at the same time. As to the incarnation, there's a passage in John-I'd have to look it up-where the idea is presented that who Jesus was in Heaven He remained as on earth. A crude example is 'beam me down Scotty'. So He was a man in form but retained his nature as God. Great subject for discussion. Got to get my kids to school.
How true. We are limited in understanding because we relate everything to our human lives with our physical sense of being when God is so Spiritual and Physical at the same time. Physical in the sense that God is Everything around us and yet with us always. How strange to think He is like "videotaping" our lives and thoughts all the time and judging our hearts as well. Let us hope we are pure enough to make the cut.
 
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Goatee

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Jesus was God from Conception. A new covenant was created when Jesus was Born. NT overtook the OT. God brought a new answer to mans problems when Jesus was born. A new beginning. A new covenant. A new way of looking at things. Jesus brought us a new way to get closer to God. A way of forgiveness and a way into heaven
 
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AmericanChristian91

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I just wanted to ask if anyone else feels like God in the Old Testament reads differently than the God in the New Testament. I know the LORD never changes, but is it possible that maybe He had better understanding after being human? Even then, He could do stuff we cant so...but He suffered.

Another possibility, is that though God never changes, peoples perceptions of him do. That could be attributed to why some things in the OT do not match up very well with the nature of Jesus/Father, because 1. Different culture/time 2. Unlike the OT, God revealed himself through Jesus, giving us a better picture of God then what we got in the OT.

One has to keep in mind that the world/people (and what they were experiencing/their problems, views on morality, etc) during the OT time period, can influence how people perceive God.

Im not saying Macrion is right. After all he thought there were two separate God's, and that the God of the NT never appeared in the OT.
 
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stevenfrancis

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It's not a difference in God. It's a change in His relationship with man, which was evolving over thousands of years from the Garden of Eden until the incarnation of God on Earth in Jesus Christ. With the New Testament we begin an encounter with Messiah, and a more complete revealing of God's intent and purpose for us. The incarnation, passion, death, resurrection and then the building of His Church are new joyous developments, and seem different to us because they are the light of fulfillment rather than prophecy and waiting in darkness for deliverance. Different focus on God. Same God though.
 
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Martinius

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I agree with the idea that the difference is not in God, but in the people's perception and understanding of God. So yes, the God portrayed in the NT is much different than the God of Hebrew Scripture. A big difference is that the OT God is viewed as a tribal God, who blesses the Hebrews when they follow God's commands and punishes them when they obstinately turn away. It is not about the people as individuals as much as it as about the people as a nation.

The OT God is also presented as a blood thirsty, fickle divinity who has no problem with having one group doing the most despicable things to other groups of people. The NT God is seen as being much more concerned with individual faith and behavior, and reward and punishment is meted out individually, not to whole groups or nations.
 
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Jaxxi

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Another possibility, is that though God never changes, peoples perceptions of him do. That could be attributed to why some things in the OT do not match up very well with the nature of Jesus/Father (i.e ordering people to kill ch, because 1. Different culture/time 2. Unlike the OT, God revealed himself through Jesus, giving us a better picture of God then what we got in the OT.

One has to keep in mind that the world/people (and what they were experiencing/their problems, views on morality, etc) during the OT time period, can influence how people perceive God.

Im not saying Macrion is right. After all he thought there were two separate God's, and that the God of the NT never appeared in the OT.
Oh He appears, just not in person.
 
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Crowns&Laurels

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I just wanted to ask if anyone else feels like God in the Old Testament reads differently than the God in the New Testament. I know the LORD never changes, but is it possible that maybe He had better understanding after being human? Even then, He could do stuff we cant so...but He suffered.

The Father brought on the Old Covenant, and the Son brought on the New. They both collaborated because that's the nature of the Trinity, but Christ didn't take central focus of the Jews. It was the Father, who then sent the Son in His name.

Many things had to be done- the world had to shape, events had to occur, and otherwise everything had to be set for the coming of Christ. If Jesus had come a thousand years earlier, not much would have been accomplished. There had to be that critical time, which was when Rome was in power and central order was in the works.
 
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2PhiloVoid

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I just wanted to ask if anyone else feels like God in the Old Testament reads differently than the God in the New Testament. I know the LORD never changes, but is it possible that maybe He had better understanding after being human? Even then, He could do stuff we cant so...but He suffered.

Hi Jaxxi,

Personally, I don't see much difference. If we take the New Testament as a whole, paying attention to all that Jesus said, along with the portrayal we see in the book of Revelation, there really isn't much difference. The difference is that with Jesus, we can put a "face," so to speak, on the merciful aspects of God's person. But Jesus isn't just brimming with sugar and honey...there are some things He says that are downright bitter pills to swallow, just like in the Old Testament.

Peace
2PhiloVoid
 
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Jaxxi

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My bad, I don't know a whole lot about macrionism.
What is Macrionism? I just meant He appears through Gods Word talking to Him and instructing Him as " Son of Man"...
 
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Jaxxi

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Hi Jaxxi,

Personally, I don't see much difference. If we take the New Testament as a whole, paying attention to all that Jesus said, along with the portrayal we see in the book of Revelation, there really isn't much difference. The difference is that with Jesus, we can put a "face," so to speak, on the merciful aspects of God's person. But Jesus isn't just brimming with sugar and honey...there are some things He says that are downright bitter pills to swallow, just like in the Old Testament.

Peace
2PhiloVoid
That is quite true as well but He wasnt turning people into pillars of salt or anything.
 
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Jaxxi

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The Father brought on the Old Covenant, and the Son brought on the New. They both collaborated because that's the nature of the Trinity, but Christ didn't take central focus of the Jews. It was the Father, who then sent the Son in His name.

Many things had to be done- the world had to shape, events had to occur, and otherwise everything had to be set for the coming of Christ. If Jesus had come a thousand years earlier, not much would have been accomplished. There had to be that critical time, which was when Rome was in power and central order was in the works.
Very good points you make and a great post indeed.
 
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ScottA

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I just wanted to ask if anyone else feels like God in the Old Testament reads differently than the God in the New Testament. I know the LORD never changes, but is it possible that maybe He had better understanding after being human? Even then, He could do stuff we cant so...but He suffered.
That is quite observant of you. The difference is in the manifestation. The manifestation of "Our" image...is indeed different, but One.

.
 
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