This episode summarizes the major conclusions of the previous week, noting that the deity of Christ the Messiah was affirmed in the Old Testament. This episode addresses the incarnation of the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6, as well as His full deity. He is described as "mighty God" and "everlasting Father." Christ Himself told Phillip that He was of the same substance as the Father, declaring "anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14:9) And while the Messiah was born in time 2,000 years ago, He nevertheless preexisted "from the days of eternity" as the second person of the Trinity (Micah 5:2) While the average Jew prior to Christ did not grasp the Trinitarian nature of the one God or the deity of Christ, he was nevertheless expected to affirm the oneness of God (see the shema), rejecting all other so-called gods. The answer to the question "do Jews and Christians believe in the same God?" largely depends on a Jew's placement in time vis-a-vis Christ. Once Christ comes, legitimate belief in the Father requires acknowledgment of the Son. This is the inescapable conclusion of 1 John 2:23, "whoever denies the Son does not have the Father."
Who was the God of Jesus?
"This initial episode sets the stage for the question by asking ""who was the God of Jesus?"" All Jews were monotheists, daily reciting the shema, ""Here o Israel, the Lord Our God, the Lord is One."" Christ, a good Jew, affirmed this core belief of Judaism, but identified this God as His own Father, even claiming that He was the God of the Old Testament, citing the Name of God made known to Moses, ""I am that I am."" [YHWH} (Exodus 3:14, John 8:58) So, while the New Testament affirms that Jesus' God was Yahweh, it also describes the Trinitarian nature of the One God, Jesus being God the Son. Both God the Father and God the Son are one is essence, but distinct persons of the Godhead. John 1:1 consequently affirms the oneness of God described in the shema, but notes distinctions within the godhead, ""In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God."" Jews prior to Christ only had glimpses of this Trinitarian God in the Old Testament, for the explicit revelation of the godhead only came with the incarnate Christ, who ""explained"" the Father. (John 1:18)
“Hear the VOICE, and glorify..with your voice”
This episode highlights the imperative of Psalm 29:1-2, contending that Christians incorporate its mandate as an objective of holistic salvation. "Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name." The New Testament version of this imperative is 1 Peter 2:9, where believers are called to "declare God's excellencies." Glorifying God is therefore a principal objective of the Christian faith. Psalm 29:3-9 implicitly suggests the means of glorifying God. The resounding theme is the overwhelming "voice of the Lord" governing storms. The description culminates with the almost out-of-place comment that "in His temple everything says, 'Glory!'" The logic of the psalm is therefore the following: 1) Believers acknowledge the imperative of human existence, to glorify God, 2) Believers attune themselves to the sovereign VOICE of God, 3) Believers respond with their VOICE, crying out Glory. Christian salvation largely follows this pattern. Christians seek to glorify God by submitting to Christ. They abide in Christ, attending to His sovereign voice, bearing fruit as they verbally declare God's excellencies. The latter part of the episode emphasizes the imperative in the "shema," "HEAR oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one." This basic axiom of Judaism is more than a confession of monotheism: the emphasis is on the response of believers who are called to hear and obey the VOICE of God. Interestingly, Jews often referred to God as "hashem" or "the name." So with respect to the imperative of Psalm 29:1-2, Christians are called to glorify Christ by eagerly LISTENING to His Voice, glorifying His name in response. It is, after all, the NAME of the entire trinity in which all Christians are baptized, and the basis for glorifying God.