Whoever shall call on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Trinitarian Claim
Joel 2:32 is quoted at Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13. Since this is a quotation of Joel 2:32 where the reference is to Yahweh, and the Lord in question at Romans 10:13 is Jesus, Trinitarians claim that Jesus is Yahweh.
The Claim vs. The Facts
The Scriptural facts show that Yahweh at Joel 2:32 is the Father. The Scriptural facts further show that the Father Himself declares that only He is God and no one else.
The Problems with the Claim
1. Joel 2:28
Romans 10:13 and Acts 2:21 are quotations from Joel 2:32.
It will come about after this
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh.
And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD will be delivered.
Joel 2:28-32
When the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, Peter quoted this passage to show this promise of God had now been fulfilled.
This is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
"And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,
That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all flesh...
And it shall be that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Acts 2:16-21
Since Romans 10:9-10 and Acts 2:21,22-26 identify the Lord as Jesus. Trinitarians suggest that the LORD of Joel 2:28-32 is Jesus. However, Jesus explicitly informed us that this promise at Joel 2:28-32 was made by the Father.
And behold, I am sending forth the promise of my Father upon you but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on High. Luke 24:49
Gathering them together, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father promised, which you heard from me for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Acts 1:4-5
Therefore, based on Jesus Christ's own testimony, we know that Joel 2:28-32 is referring to the Father.
2. Joel 2:27 & Contradicting their own Doctrine
It must also be recognized that Jesus is not the Father and Jesus is not the Triune God in Trinity doctrine. Likewise, the Father is not Jesus and the Triune God is not Jesus. These are distinct identities in the doctrine of the Trinity. To suggest Jesus is the speaker at Joel 2:28-32 rules out the Triune God and rules out the Father and the Triune God. But at Joel 2:27, the speaker says "I am Yahweh your God and there is no one else." By identifying the speaker at Joel 2:28-32 as Jesus, Trinitarians have excluded the Triune God and the Father and they have Jesus declaring that he alone is Yahweh their God and nobody else is God but he himself. Hence, they not only contradict their own doctrine, they contradict the Scriptures which declare the Father is God.
3. Acts 2:36
At Acts 2:16-21, Peter quotes Joel 2:28-32 concerning the Spirit outpouring, and then proceeds to proclaim that Jesus had poured forth the Spirit.
This is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
"And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,
That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all flesh...
And it shall be that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved...."
...having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured forth this which you both see and hear.
Acts 2:16-33.
So again, Trinitarians see that Yahweh God promised to pour out His Spirit, Jesus poured out the Spirit, and so they conclude Jesus must be Yahweh. But once again, their claim exemplifies their blindness. Notice what the text says, "having received the promise of the FATHER." Jesus received the Father's promise of the Spirit first and through him the Father is pouring out the Spirit on all flesh. "Just as the Father sent me, I also send you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20:21-22). It simply isn't going to make any sense to suggest the promise of the Spirit at Joel 2:28-32 when we are told that Jesus himself had received this promise of the Father.
But their problem is even worse than this. Observe what Acts 2 actually says:
This is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
"And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,
That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all flesh...
And it shall be that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved...."
...Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God... For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says:
"The Lord said to my Lord
'Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for your feet.'"
Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.
.
Acts 2:16-33.
The Trinitarian claim is based on the premise that "Lord" = "Yahweh" at Romans 10:13 and Acts 2:21. However, this would result in God making Jesus "Yahweh." It's absurd. It is simply ridiculous to suggest that God made someone into the God our Creator.
Analysis of the Facts
1. God's Anointed One
God gets things done by means of His Anointed One, His Christ. For example, the Bible shows us that God ruled and judged Israel through His Anointed, King David (see 2 Samuel 23:1, lit. "Christ of God."). David was the Lord (Kyrios) of Israel. So we see, for example, that Yahweh was the Lord of Israel and David was the Lord of Israel (1 Kings 1:36). The authority structure with God and Jesus is exactly the same. God made David the Lord of Israel and now God has made David's son Jesus the Lord of all the world. We would not assume that David is Yahweh because God had made him Lord.
2. God's Authority Structure
Pharaoh made Joseph the Lord of all Egypt (Ps 105:21) and all were to bow down to him (Genesis 41:40-43). Only in the throne was Pharaoh great than Joseph. This means Joseph was given the right to execute Pharaoh's authority, not his own authority. His authority was the authority signified by the throne of Pharoah.
In the same way, God anointed David to sit on the throne of God (1 Chronicles 29:23) over the Kingdom of God (1 Chronicles 28:5). He was given the right to execute God's authority; this is what it means when it says he sat on the throne of Yahweh. Because David was God's representative authority, he was HOW God ruled over Israel. God had made him Lord of Israel (1 Kings 1:11, 36, 43, 47). For that reason, all the people of Israel bowed down before Yahweh and King David (1 Chronicles 29:20). To bow down before David was to bow down before Yahweh God because David was how Yahweh God ruled over them. God anointed David to be King for that purpose.
In the exact same way, God rules over all creation, through his anointed one Jesus. God had made David Lord of Israel and now God has made David's son Jesus Lord of all creation (Acts 2:33-36; see Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:20-21; Hebrews 1:4; 1 Peter 3:22). David's son, Jesus, even became superior to the angels (Hebrews 1:4; 1 Peter 3:22; cf. Col 1:16,18) because God subject everything to this human being (1 Cor 15:24-28; Hebrews 2:5-9). So to bow down before Jesus, is to bow down before God the Father because he executes God the Father's authority. As David was Lord of Israel, but not the same Lord as God, so also is Jesus made Lord and he is not the same Lord as God. Indeed, the Lord Jesus has a Lord and God (Matthew 11:25; Col 1:3; Eph 1:3, 17) but the Lord God, our Father, does not have a Lord or God. As David was one Lord and Yahweh was another, so also Jesus is one Lord, and God the Father is another. The Head of every man is Christ; the Head of Christ is God.
To call upon Joseph was to call upon Pharaoh not because Joseph WAS Pharaoh but because he executed Pharaoh's authority over all Egypt. Joseph was one Lord, Pharaoh was another; Pharaoh was Joseph's Lord. In the same way, to call upon the Lord Jesus is to call upon God the Father because he executes God the Father's authority over all creation. Indeed, we read that "God will judge" and then we read how God will judge, "through a man He has appointed" (Acts 17:30-31).
Conclusion
The Trinitarian claim is based on a complete failure to see and accept how God's authority structure works. It worked the same way between God-David-Israel as it works between God-Jesus-Creation. God ruled and judge through His Christ, King David. And now God rules and judges through His Christ, the Son of David, Jesus our Lord. To bow before David was to bow down before Yahweh because he sat on the throne of Yahweh and which means he executed Yahweh's authority. In the same way, to bow down before Jesus is to bow down before God the Father for the same reason. When we bow down to Jesus, or when we call upon Jesus, we are bowing down to, or calling upon, God our Father because Jesus is God's Anointed One, the means by which God rules over us and judges us. Indeed, that is what it means to sit at God's right hand.
Then David said to all the assembly, "Now bless Yahweh your God."
And all the assembly blessed Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and fell down low and bowed down to Yahweh and the king.... then Solomon sat on the Throne of Yahweh instead of his father David." 1 Chronicles 29:20,23.
Related Links:
Romans 14:11
Philippians 2:9-11
Created: March 13, 2016
Last Revision/Update: December 12, 2016
