The first thing that draws our attention
is the way in which Paul ascribes to Christ qualities that are specially God’s
in the OT. In the OT the name of God is occasionally linked together with a qualifying
idea to give a compound idea. For example:
Jehovah Makaddaschem—The Lord our
Sanctifier (Exod 31:13).
Jehovah Shammah—The Lord (is) present (Ezek 48:35).
Jehovah Shalom—The Lord our Peace (Judg 6:24).
Jehovah Tsidkenu—The Lord our Righteousness (Jer 23:6).
Jehovah Nissi—The Lord our Banner (of victory) (Exod 17:8-15).
Jehovah Rapha—The Lord our Healer (Exod 15:26).
It is significant that in Paul’s
writings all of these ideas are directly ascribed to Christ. So for Paul:
Christ is our Sanctification (1 Cor
1:30).
Christ is Present in us (Col 1:27; Eph 2:5, 6; cf. Matt 28:20).
Christ is our Peace (Eph 2:14).
Christ is our Righteousness (1 Cor 1:10).
Christ is the one in whom we have victory (1 Cor 15:57).
The Body of Christ is given the gift of healing (1 Cor 12:19; cf. Acts 3:6
where Paul heals in the name of Jesus).
Paul would hardly have done this had
he thought that God was distinct from Jesus and that Jesus had a lesser status
than God.
Paul also takes OT quotations or ideas
that refer to God and refers them to Christ. In 2 Cor 10:13-18 Paul is speaking
of his own ministry and his “boast” in what he is doing, but he does this in
order to be commended by the Lord (Christ), so that his boast will not be in
vain—indeed, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord” (quoting Jer 9:24). In Jeremiah,
the quote refers to God; in Paul it refers to Christ. (See also Phil 1:26; 3:3
where Paul boasts in Christ.) Another place where Paul does this is in Phil
2:10-11. Here he says that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that
Jesus is Lord, using the words of Isa 45:23. In Isaiah the words refer to God,
but as they are used by Pal here they refer to Jesus. We will bow our knees to
him as Lord of all. Paul uses these same words elsewhere (Rom 14:11; Eph 2:14)
to refer to God. however, this created no problem for Paul. For him God and
Christ were one. (Walter Elwell, “The Deity of Christ in the Writings of Paul,”
in Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation: Studies in Honor
of Merrill C. Tenney Presented By His Former Students, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne
[Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1975], 298-99)