Your instinct on Acts 3:22 is right. But it is not the only verse doing this work. The differentiation between YHWH the Father and Yeshua the Messiah runs straight through the whole canon. Old Testament and New. Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation.

What follows is not exhaustive. It is a sampling of a pattern so dense it stops being possible to call it incidental. The whole Bible is shaliach grammar from cover to cover. Two distinct beings. One God who sends. One man who is sent.

I
I.

Hebrew Bible: YHWH Speaks About His Coming Messiah

In prophetic literature, YHWH and the future Messiah appear as distinct figures over and over.

Psalm 2:7 "I will declare the decree: YHWH hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee."YHWH speaks to the Messiah as another.
Psalm 45:6-7 "Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."The messianic king's God anoints him. Two figures.
Psalm 110:1 "YHWH said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool."Two Lords in one sentence. Yeshua quoted this in Matthew 22:44 to confound the Pharisees.
Isaiah 11:1-2 "And the spirit of YHWH shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding."YHWH's Spirit rests upon the Messiah. The Messiah is the recipient.
Isaiah 42:1 "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him."YHWH speaks of the Servant as another.
Isaiah 49:1, 5 "YHWH hath called me from the womb... it is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant."The Servant credits YHWH with everything he is and does.
Isaiah 53:6, 10 "YHWH hath laid on him the iniquity of us all... it pleased YHWH to bruise him."YHWH and the Servant are distinct throughout.
Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord YHWH is upon me; because YHWH hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek."The Messiah speaks. He has been anointed by Another. Yeshua read this aloud in Luke 4:18 and applied it to himself.
Daniel 7:13-14 "One like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him."Two figures. One eternal sovereign. One Son of Man who approaches him and receives a kingdom.
Micah 5:2 "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel."The ruler comes forth unto YHWH. Not as YHWH.
Zechariah 12:10 "They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son."YHWH speaks of his Messiah's suffering through the prophetic voice. The mourning is for "him," not for the speaker.
Malachi 3:1 "Behold, I will send my messenger... behold, he shall come, saith YHWH of hosts."YHWH announces the sending of his messenger.
II
II.

Yeshua Names the Father as His Own God

When Yeshua addresses the Father, he calls him God. Repeatedly.

Matthew 27:46 / Mark 15:34 "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"From the cross.
John 20:17 "I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."To Miriam after the resurrection.
Revelation 3:12 "The name of my God... the city of my God... my new Jerusalem... from my God."The risen, exalted Yeshua names the Father as his God four times in one verse.
Hebrews 1:9 "Therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."The Son has a God.
Hebrews 10:7 "Lo, I come... to do thy will, O God."Quoting Psalm 40 of the Messiah.
III
III.

Yeshua Names the Father as the Only True God

"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." John 17:3

The single most decisive verse in the New Testament for this question. Yeshua himself defines the Father as the only true God and identifies himself as the one the Father sent. Shaliach grammar from his own lips, in prayer, hours before his death.

IV
IV.

One God. One Lord. One Mediator.

The apostolic writings repeatedly state numerical claims about God that exclude Yeshua from the category of God.

Mark 12:29 "Hear, O Israel; YHWH our God is one Lord."Yeshua himself quotes the Shema as the greatest commandment. He never edits it. He affirms it.
1 Corinthians 8:6 "But to us there is but one God, the Father... and one Lord Jesus Christ."One God. One Lord. Two distinct figures.
1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."The man. The mediator. Not God.
Ephesians 4:4-6 "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."The one God is the Father.
Galatians 3:20 "Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one."Paul argues from the logic of mediation. A mediator stands between parties. God is one. Therefore the mediator is not God.
James 2:19 "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."James affirms the Shema flatly. One.
V
V.

The Father Acts Upon Yeshua

Every major redemptive verb in the New Testament has the Father as subject and Yeshua as object. The grammar is relentless.

God sent him

  • John 3:17, 34
  • John 5:23, 36, 37
  • John 6:29, 38, 44, 57
  • John 7:16, 28, 29, 33
  • John 8:16, 18, 26, 29, 42
  • John 9:4
  • John 11:42
  • John 12:44-45, 49
  • John 13:20
  • John 14:24
  • John 15:21
  • John 16:5
  • John 17:3, 8, 18, 21, 23, 25
  • John 20:21
  • Galatians 4:4
  • 1 John 4:9, 10, 14

God gave him

  • John 3:16 — "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son."
  • John 17:2 — "As thou hast given him power over all flesh."

God anointed him

  • Acts 4:27 — "Thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed."
  • Acts 10:38 — "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power."

God approved him

  • Acts 2:22 — "Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs."

God raised him

  • Acts 2:24, 32
  • Acts 3:15, 26
  • Acts 4:10
  • Acts 5:30
  • Acts 10:40
  • Acts 13:30, 33, 34, 37
  • Acts 17:31
  • Romans 4:24, 25
  • Romans 6:4
  • Romans 8:11
  • Romans 10:9
  • 1 Corinthians 6:14
  • 1 Corinthians 15:15
  • 2 Corinthians 4:14
  • Galatians 1:1
  • Ephesians 1:20
  • Colossians 2:12
  • 1 Thessalonians 1:10
  • 1 Peter 1:21

God exalted him

  • Acts 2:33 — "Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted."
  • Acts 5:31 — "Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour."
  • Philippians 2:9 — "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name."

God made him Lord and Christ

  • Acts 2:36 — "God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."

God appointed him

  • Acts 10:42 — "It is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead."
  • Acts 17:31 — "He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained."
  • Hebrews 1:2 — "His Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things."
  • Hebrews 3:2 — "Who was faithful to him that appointed him."

God glorified him

  • Acts 3:13 — "The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus."
  • John 17:1 — "Father... glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee."

In every verse above, the Father is the actor. Yeshua is the one acted upon. Sender and sent, with absolute consistency across at least eight authors and three decades of New Testament writing.

VI
VI.

Yeshua Disclaims Independent Will, Knowledge, and Authority

If Yeshua were YHWH, none of the following sentences could be true.

John 5:19 "The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do."
John 5:30 "I can of mine own self do nothing... I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."
John 6:38 "I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me."
John 7:16 "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me."
John 12:49 "I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say."
John 14:10 "The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works."
John 14:28 "My Father is greater than I."
Mark 13:32 / Matthew 24:36 "Of that day and that hour knoweth no man... neither the Son, but the Father."
Mark 10:18 / Luke 18:19 "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God."
Matthew 28:18 "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."Given. By Another.
VII
VII.

Yeshua Prays

A being who is YHWH does not pray to YHWH.

Matthew 26:39, 42 "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."In Gethsemane.
Luke 23:34 "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."From the cross.
Luke 23:46 "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit."Last breath.
John 17The entire High Priestly Prayer. Twenty-six verses of the Son speaking to the Father. Two distinct persons in conversation.
Hebrews 5:7-8 "Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death... yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered."
VIII
VIII.

At the Right Hand: Two Figures, Always

Every description of Yeshua's exaltation places him at the Father's right hand, not on the Father's throne. A being cannot sit at his own right hand.

  • Matthew 22:44 — "YHWH said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand."
  • Mark 16:19 — "sat on the right hand of God."
  • Acts 2:33
  • Acts 5:31
  • Acts 7:55-56 — Stephen sees "the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God." Two figures, distinct.
  • Romans 8:34
  • Ephesians 1:20
  • Colossians 3:1
  • Hebrews 1:3
  • Hebrews 1:13
  • Hebrews 8:1
  • Hebrews 10:12
  • Hebrews 12:2
  • 1 Peter 3:22
IX
IX.

The Final Subordination

"Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father... And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." 1 Corinthians 15:24, 28

The Son hands the kingdom back to the Father. The Son is subjected to the Father. The eschaton lands with the Father as the destination and the Son as the faithful shaliach who completed his commission.

X
X.

Yeshua Was Tempted, Grew, Learned, and Died

Each of these is impossible for the immortal, all-knowing, unchanging YHWH.

Luke 2:52 "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."Increased. In favor with God.
Matthew 4:1-11 / Luke 4:1-13Yeshua was tempted in the wilderness. James 1:13 says God cannot be tempted with evil.
Hebrews 4:15 "Was in all points tempted like as we are."
Hebrews 5:8 "Yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered."
1 Timothy 6:16 Of the Father: "Who only hath immortality."Only. Yeshua died.
Romans 6:9 "Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more."
XI
XI.

The Head of Messiah is God

"The head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." 1 Corinthians 11:3

Paul ranks them: man under Messiah, Messiah under God. If Yeshua were YHWH, this would be incoherent.

XII
XII.

Apostolic Greetings: Two Sources of Grace

Nearly every Pauline letter, and several others, open with grace from two distinct figures. Not from a triune source. From God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

  • Romans 1:7 — "Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ."
  • 1 Corinthians 1:3
  • 2 Corinthians 1:2
  • Galatians 1:3
  • Ephesians 1:2
  • Philippians 1:2
  • Colossians 1:2
  • 1 Thessalonians 1:1
  • 2 Thessalonians 1:2
  • 1 Timothy 1:2
  • 2 Timothy 1:2
  • Titus 1:4
  • Philemon 1:3
  • 1 Peter 1:2
  • 2 Peter 1:2
  • 2 John 1:3
  • Jude 1:1
  • Revelation 1:4-5

If Yeshua and the Father were one being, the apostolic greetings would not separate them in every salutation across dozens of letters. They separate them because they are distinct.

XIII
XIII.

The Father as the God of Yeshua

Seven times, two apostles, written years apart, use the same formula. The Father is the God of Yeshua. Yeshua has a God. The God is the Father.

Romans 15:6 "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
2 Corinthians 1:3 "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
2 Corinthians 11:31 "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore."
Ephesians 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 1:17 "The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory."
Colossians 1:3 "God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Peter 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
XIV
XIV.

Revelation: Even Glorified, Still Distinct

The book of Revelation, written about the risen and glorified Messiah, maintains the distinction throughout.

Revelation 1:1 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants."
Revelation 1:6 "And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father."
Revelation 3:2 "I have not found thy works perfect before my God."
Revelation 3:12 "My God... my God... my God... my God."Four times in one verse, spoken by the exalted Yeshua.
Revelation 3:21 "Am set down with my Father in his throne."
Revelation 5:6-7 "A Lamb as it had been slain... he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne."Two figures. The Lamb approaches the throne.
Revelation 11:15 "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ."
Revelation 21:22 "The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it."
Revelation 22:1, 3 "The throne of God and of the Lamb."

Even in the new creation. Even at the end. God and the Lamb. Two figures. One God. One sent Messiah, now exalted, still distinct.