Become a monthly supporter of my online ministry and join me every week on Zoom for a Bible Study of the Gospel of Luke.
To accommodate participants in varying time zones throughout the world, I offer the same class at four different sessions:
• Tuesday, 3:00 pm US ET (Monday 8:00 pm GMT)
• Tuesday, 8:00 pm US ET (Wednesday 1:00 am GMT)
Contact me for more information.
The Old Testament is a living gateway to God’s love. Its books speak to the heart of God’s people, telling the story of creation and the fall, promise and covenant, exile and return—all leading to the saving work of Christ.
The burning bush, the Passover lamb, the Exodus, and the voices of the prophets all lead us to the Crucified and Risen Lord, who “opened the Scriptures” for His disciples and set their hearts ablaze with the fire of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:27).
Abraham’s trust, Moses’ obedience, David’s repentance, the prophets’ courage, and Israel’s hope anchor us in faithfulness. These stories are signposts pointing to Christ and to the healing of our souls.
So when we pick up the Old Testament, our prayer becomes the cry of the Psalms: “Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Reveal Thy face, that we may be saved” (Psalms 26:8; 79:4).
The faith of the Old Testament wasn’t strictly unitarian. Ancient believers saw the one God of Israel, Yahweh, as existing in more than one “person” or hypostasis. The Old testament speaks about Yahweh, the Word of Yahweh, and the Spirit of Yahweh as three distinct divine beings.
This experience of God became clear with the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. At Jesus’ Baptism, the Father’s voice spoke from heaven, calling Him His Son, and the Holy Spirit appeared as a dove. God reveals himself as Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This moment relates directly to what Jesus later told His disciples in the Great Commission: to baptize people “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Christian baptism’s triple immersion “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” connects us with our Lord’s Baptism in the Jordan, as every baptism is itself a glorification of God in Trinity.
Eastern Orthodoxy 