One and the same God

The world is a constantly changing place. New technologies change the way life is lived. Peace turns to war, and reverts back to peace. A person can be happy one day and sad the next. The irony in this is that the world's Creator does not change in the slightest. When reading biblical passages written hundreds, if not thousands of years apart, the same God is talking. Passages found throughout the Old Testament, such as the story of Creation and Isaiah's prophecies, discuss the same qualities of God as the New Testament story of the wedding feast at Cana. In all these passages, God is loving and wants to help His people, yet just, and punishes His people when they deserve it.

Examples of how Christ shows He loves His people, listens to them, and helps them when they are in need, are found in the story of the wedding feast at Cana. In the New Testament, Mary, who is called "the woman," asks Jesus, the new Adam, to perform a miracle -- and He does. Jesus performs his mother's request obediently, though His "hour [had] not yet come," (John 2:4). In doing this, Jesus had helped out His creation. This is paralleled in a different sort of way in the Old Testament, when the serpent tempts Adam and Eve. Satan temps the woman, who in turn temps the man. The man gives in to the woman and both are banished from the Garden of Eden. While this may seem as though God is wicked, He is essentially providing "tough love" to His people, teaching them to obey Him. In both these incidents, the man is asked by the woman to perform an action which has drastic effects on humanity. Isaiah, the Old Testament prophet, further mentions how good God is to His people. The prophet goes on about the blessings God will bestow upon his people when they follow His commandments. All this shows how loving God is and how He wants His people to love Him and be happy.

Modern society has put a taboo on calling a female "woman". Thus, when Jesus refers to His mother Mary as "woman," (John 2:4) most people today view it as degrading and submissive -- in reality it is showing how truly awesome Mary is. In the story of the fall of man, when God asks Adam why he ate the forbidden fruit, Adam replies, "the woman... gave me the fruit," (Genesis 3:12). Both of the men refer to the women as "woman" in these accounts. The first time, Adam shifts the blame of his sin onto the woman, and all mankind is damned. The second time, the Lord refers to His mother in the same way as Adam did to establish Mary as the new Eve. Mary is the one who set her Son off early on His journey of salvation, while Eve tempted Adam and damned humanity. Jesus' reference to Mary as "woman" is quite the opposite of degrading and submissive, but raises her above all other women.

Often, people are confused that God in the Old Testament is different from God in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, God dooms all of mankind for the sins of Adam and Eve. In the New Testament, God wants to bring all the sheep of His flock together in His loving arms. This can create the illusion of two separate deities. When the Old Testament and New Testament are compared in light of each other, it becomes obvious that God is in fact the same at all times; just yet merciful, jealous yet loving.