He Is One
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”—Deuteronomy 6:4
God is one. There is only one God, besides Him there is no other (Isaiah 43:10, 44:6). The Greek and Roman pantheon of gods and goddesses are nothing but figments of the imagination. Read Homer’s Iliad and one discovers a vast array of gods and goddesses fighting against each other, plagued by carnal desires, limited in mobility, and conflicted in will. They are paltry gods, no better than the creation, but that is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is the only God. There are not lesser gods and goddesses. We cannot become god, as some religions teach. He is the Creator and we are the creation. The gods of this world are mere inventions, but the God of the Bible, He is the only God—besides Him, there is no other. “To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him”—Deuteronomy 4:35.
God is one, which means that He is one in essence and unified in purpose. The Bible refers to Him in the plural, such as is found in Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” The picture of God as Trinity is veiled within the Old Testament, but fully seen in the New. God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each one person of the Godhead coming together to form the complexity of who He is. All human illustrations fall short when describing God as Triune, but He is Triune nonetheless.
As God is Triune, He is also unity. He is unified in the Godhead, but is also unified in purpose and mission without conflict. Which is to say that God does not contradict Himself. He is not at war, nor has He ever been at war within Himself whatsoever. We, as fallen, frail creatures experience conflict of will—will that says, “I love that person and want to forgive them, but I also want justice for what they did to me.” Do we forgive? Or do we cry out for justice? We can be conflicted in our nature, but in God there is never any conflict. His love does not conflict with His justice, nor His mercy with His wrath; within God all of the attributes come together in a beautiful mosaic, creating a splendid picture of this one and only God. He is unity, and His attributes, although considered individually, cannot be separated from one another, and must be seen as a dynamic whole, all acting in concert with one another, combining together in one great symphony of person lifted high in dynamic and ecstatic praise.
God, the maker of everything that is, has been, and forever will be, has made Himself known through the person of His Son. “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power”—Hebrews 1:3. Or consider Colossians 1:15-20:
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.”
It is through Jesus that God has made Himself known and it is through Jesus that salvation comes (Acts 4:12). And it is through us that He continually makes Himself known in the world (Matthew 28:19-20). May we rest in Christ, knowing that He is completely trustworthy and will bring about everything that God has purposed to come to pass. Amen.
God is one. There is only one God, besides Him there is no other (Isaiah 43:10, 44:6). The Greek and Roman pantheon of gods and goddesses are nothing but figments of the imagination. Read Homer’s Iliad and one discovers a vast array of gods and goddesses fighting against each other, plagued by carnal desires, limited in mobility, and conflicted in will. They are paltry gods, no better than the creation, but that is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is the only God. There are not lesser gods and goddesses. We cannot become god, as some religions teach. He is the Creator and we are the creation. The gods of this world are mere inventions, but the God of the Bible, He is the only God—besides Him, there is no other. “To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him”—Deuteronomy 4:35.
God is one, which means that He is one in essence and unified in purpose. The Bible refers to Him in the plural, such as is found in Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” The picture of God as Trinity is veiled within the Old Testament, but fully seen in the New. God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each one person of the Godhead coming together to form the complexity of who He is. All human illustrations fall short when describing God as Triune, but He is Triune nonetheless.
As God is Triune, He is also unity. He is unified in the Godhead, but is also unified in purpose and mission without conflict. Which is to say that God does not contradict Himself. He is not at war, nor has He ever been at war within Himself whatsoever. We, as fallen, frail creatures experience conflict of will—will that says, “I love that person and want to forgive them, but I also want justice for what they did to me.” Do we forgive? Or do we cry out for justice? We can be conflicted in our nature, but in God there is never any conflict. His love does not conflict with His justice, nor His mercy with His wrath; within God all of the attributes come together in a beautiful mosaic, creating a splendid picture of this one and only God. He is unity, and His attributes, although considered individually, cannot be separated from one another, and must be seen as a dynamic whole, all acting in concert with one another, combining together in one great symphony of person lifted high in dynamic and ecstatic praise.
God, the maker of everything that is, has been, and forever will be, has made Himself known through the person of His Son. “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power”—Hebrews 1:3. Or consider Colossians 1:15-20:
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.”
It is through Jesus that God has made Himself known and it is through Jesus that salvation comes (Acts 4:12). And it is through us that He continually makes Himself known in the world (Matthew 28:19-20). May we rest in Christ, knowing that He is completely trustworthy and will bring about everything that God has purposed to come to pass. Amen.
Greetings T.M. Fleming
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of the triune God,
I recommend this video:
The Human Jesus
Take a couple of hours to watch it; and prayerfully it will aid you in your quest for truth.
Yours In Messiah
Adam Pastor