The One Who Was There in the Beginning

Isaiah 48:12–16 and the Triune God

Isaiah 48:12–16 is a remarkable passage because its speaker claims to be eternal, identifies Himself as the Creator, and then speaks of being sent by the Lord God and His Spirit. Christians have therefore understood these verses as pointing toward Jesus Christ and revealing the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The passage begins:

“Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last” (Isaiah 48:12).

The title “the first and the last” belongs to God because He existed before creation and will remain forever. God does not depend upon anyone else for His existence. He is eternal.

What makes this especially important is that Jesus uses this same divine title in Revelation:

“Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:17–18).

The One speaking in Revelation is clearly Jesus because He says that He died and is now alive forever. By calling Himself “the first and the last,” Jesus identifies Himself with the eternal nature and authority of God. Revelation 22:13 records another similar declaration: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”

Isaiah’s speaker continues:

“Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens” (Isaiah 48:13).

The speaker does not merely claim to have witnessed creation. He claims responsibility for it. This agrees with the New Testament’s teaching about Jesus. John 1:1–3 declares:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Jesus did not begin His existence when He was born in Bethlehem. The eternal Son took on human flesh and lived among us (John 1:14), but He was already present with the Father before the world existed. Jesus prayed, “O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was” (John 17:5).

Colossians 1:16 provides additional confirmation:

“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible.”

Hebrews 1:2 also teaches that God made the worlds through His Son. These passages support the Christian understanding that Christ was not a created being. He is the eternal Son through whom creation came into existence.

The most striking statement appears in Isaiah 48:16:

“Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me.”

Here, the speaker who has identified Himself as eternal and connected Himself with creation now says that the Lord God and His Spirit have sent Him. Christians recognize in this verse a picture consistent with the Trinity: the One who is sent, the Lord God who sends Him, and the Spirit participating in that divine mission.

We should acknowledge that interpreters do not all identify the speaker in verse 16 in exactly the same way. Some believe Isaiah begins speaking in the final portion of the verse, while others understand the speaker as the Lord’s promised Servant. Nevertheless, when this passage is read alongside the New Testament, its language strongly points Christians toward the mission of Jesus.

The Trinity does not mean that Christians worship three gods. Scripture reveals one God who eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Deuteronomy 6:4 declares, “The Lord our God is one Lord.” Yet at Jesus’ baptism, the Son is in the water, the Holy Spirit descends like a dove, and the Father speaks from heaven (Matthew 3:16–17). All three are present and acting distinctly.

Jesus also commanded His disciples to baptize believers “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). Notice that Jesus said “name,” not “names.” The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are personally distinct, yet they share the one divine identity.

Jesus repeatedly taught that He was sent by the Father. He said, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). He also explained that the Holy Spirit would be sent to guide believers into truth and glorify Him (John 16:13–14).

Therefore, Isaiah 48:12–16 is more than a statement about God’s power. It helps prepare us for the fuller revelation of Jesus Christ. The One who came to save us was present in the beginning. The hands later pierced on the cross belonged to the One through whom the heavens and earth were made.

Jesus was not merely a teacher, prophet, or good man. He is the eternal Son of God, the First and the Last, the Creator, and the Savior sent into the world. The Father planned our redemption, the Son accomplished it through His death and resurrection, and the Holy Spirit applies God’s truth to our hearts.

When Jesus calls us to follow Him, we are being called by the One who was there in the beginning and who will remain Lord forever.

Prayer

Father, thank You for revealing Yourself through Your Word. Help us recognize Jesus as the eternal Son through whom all things were created. Thank You for sending Him to save us and for giving us the Holy Spirit to guide us into truth. Strengthen our faith so that we may worship You, obey Your Word, and boldly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord. Amen.