Imagine a town that’s spent generations crossing a beautiful old stone bridge. It was built centuries ago—carefully engineered, deeply grounded, weathered but strong. But over time, the townspeople begin to forget why it was built the way it was. New generations don’t remember what each stone is for. Some even begin removing parts of the foundation–making room for bigger boats to pass under, widening the path to accommodate more people–and all along assuming that the upper structure will stand on its own. But soon the bridge begins to sag, then crack, and people are left wondering why what used to carry so much weight can no longer bear anything at all.

This is what happens when Christians forget their theological roots—especially when it comes to who Jesus is.

One of the most essential, and perhaps most misunderstood, claims of the New Testament is this: Jesus is YHWH. He is not merely a messenger from God or a reflection of God’s character. He is the LORD himself—the covenant God of Israel—come in the flesh. This is not an optional theological add-on. It’s the bedrock of Christian faith. And when that foundation is lost, we not only misread Scripture, we lose our ability to connect the promises of the Old Testament with the fulfillment in the New.

So let’s walk carefully and clearly through this claim: what does it mean to say “Jesus is YHWH? How did the early church come to this conviction? And why must we hold to it today?

What Do We Mean By “Jesus is YHWH?”

Let’s be clear: when Christians say “Jesus is YHWH,” we do not mean that Jesus is the same person as the Father. We mean that Jesus shares the divine identity—that he is fully and truly God, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

YHWH (sometimes written “Yahweh”) is the divine name revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Exod 3:14–15). It’s the covenant name of Israel’s God—the great “I AM.” When Christians say Jesus is YHWH, we are saying that he is not just a messenger of God, not just a great teacher or prophet, but the LORD himself in human flesh. This is at the very heart of Christian faith:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh.” (John 1:1, 14)

The New Testament Applies YHWH Texts to Jesus

The New Testament doesn’t just call Jesus “God” in a vague sense—it regularly applies Old Testament YHWH passages directly to him. Consider:

1. Hebrews 1:10–12 quotes Psalm 102:25, a psalm of worship to YHWH, and applies it to Jesus:

  “You, YHWH, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning…”

2. Philippians 2:9–11 quotes Isaiah 45:23, where YHWH declares, “To me every knee shall bow,” and says this will happen before “Jesus”:

 “Every knee will bow… and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

3. Romans 10:13 says:

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, quoting Joel 2:32—which clearly refers to YHWH.

4. John 12:41 comments on Isaiah’s vision of the Lord in Isaiah 6 (where angels cry “Holy, holy, holy is YHWH of hosts”) and says:

“Isaiah said these things because he saw [Jesus’] glory and spoke of him.”

The claim that Jesus is YHWH isn’t some theological sleight of hand–this is the apostles teaching us who Jesus really is.

Jesus Takes the Divine Name

In John 8, Jesus himself make a shocking claims using the divine name:

“Before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58)

The crowd knew exactly what he was claiming—they picked up stones to kill him for blasphemy (John 8:59). In Jewish context, “I AM” (“ego eimi“) is a direct reference to Exodus 3:14. Jesus wasn’t just saying he was old—he was identifying himself with YHWH.

But Isn’t Jesus the Son? How Can He Be YHWH?

Christian theology has always affirmed the doctrine of the Trinity: one God in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father is YHWH, the Son is YHWH, and the Spirit is YHWH. Not three gods, but one God, united in essence and purpose, eternally existing in three persons. There are many gods (“elohim” in Hebrew), but no other elohim is YHWH elohim. YHWH our elohim, is one elohim (Deut. 6:4)—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This isn’t something the church made up in the fourth century. It’s grounded in Scripture itself. The early church believed it, worshiped Jesus accordingly, and died confessing it.

Why It Matters?

If Jesus is not YHWH, then Christianity collapses.

• Only YHWH can save. If Jesus is not God, he cannot be the Savior.

• Only YHWH deserves worship. Yet the New Testament church worships Jesus.

• Only YHWH is eternal and unchanging. And Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

To deny that Jesus is YHWH is not to disagree on a side issue—it is to reject the Gospel itself.

Conclusion

It can be jarring to realize just how radical Christianity’s claim about Jesus really is. He is not just God’s representative—he is “God with us” (Matt 1:23). He is not just sent by the LORD—he is the LORD.

The early church didn’t come to the conviction that Jesus is YHWH out of abstract speculation or political convenience. They came to it because the Scriptures demanded it, because the Spirit revealed it, and because the resurrection vindicated it. Jesus is not just the messenger—he is the Message made flesh. He is the I AM who spoke to Moses, the Lord whom Isaiah saw high and lifted up, the Shepherd of Israel, the Alpha and the Omega.

To deny that Jesus is YHWH is not a small theological misstep—it’s a foundational collapse. And when that foundation erodes, the bridge that once carried the weight of God’s promises into our present moment begins to fail. The church’s ability to connect the God of Sinai with the Christ of the cross, the Psalms with the Gospels, the worship of Israel with the worship of the Church—all of it crumbles when we chip away at the stones our forefathers laid with sweat and blood and prayer.

We don’t need to modernize the bridge. We need to remember why it was built the way it was—and trust that it is a path as narrow as it should be, as strong at it must be, and spans from death to life as promised.

So yes, the church is a city on a hill for Christ, just as Israel was for YHWH—because they are not rivals or replacements, but one and the same. Jesus is YHWH in the flesh. And that’s not heresy–that’s Christianity.

Because Jesus is not merely like YHWH.

He is YHWH.

And in him, the covenant holds fast.