Only One True God
Introduction: It can be difficult to understand how Christ Jesus is the eternal God since he had a physical birth and walked among men. There are sufficient passages to reassure the Christian of the fact that the one true God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with no contradiction within that truth. This is a mystery about the character and nature of God that can only be revealed to the limits of human understanding as God enlightens through his Spirit. This study will cite only a few references from scripture that together verify that Christ Jesus is the one true God: one with the Father and one with the Holy Spirit, creator of all that exists.
NOTE: Bible passages are from the American King James Bible.
A — One God Who Is Creator from the Beginning
John 1 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
Isaiah 45 “18 For thus said the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he has established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.”
Comments: The very first verse of the Bible declares that God created the heaven and the earth in the beginning. The verses from Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Nehemiah are representative of scripture that further verifies that the everlasting God, the LORD was the creator of all things, and he said in Isaiah chapter 45, “I am the LORD; and there is none else.” There was not a separate or secondary god who was used as an agent of creation. The gospel of John asserts that the Word was the God of creation — all things were made by him. Jesus was not created and he is not a secondary god because there is only one God. John stated that Jesus is the only begotten of God the Father, which is a singularly unique event that is not applicable to any created person.
B — Worship No Other God
Deuteronomy 6 “4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”
Isaiah 46 “9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me.”
Comments: When the LORD God called Israel out of bondage in Egypt to be a people set apart for his glory, he gave them commandments through Moses, the law giver. The foremost of these commandments was that they have no other gods before him. The Lord Jesus very clearly affirmed that command during his ministry, and there was no change in the truth of the existence of only one God brought about by the birth of Jesus. Those who try to claim that the word was just “a god” contradict the various scriptures that declare the LORD God is one LORD, and there is none else. The LORD God, Christ Jesus, came down from heaven in a miraculous way to be born of Mary only through conception by the Holy Spirit.
C — Emmanuel, God With Us
Matthew 1 “20 The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, you son of David, fear not to take to you Mary your wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
Comments: The prophecy in Isaiah of one who would be given for a covenant of the people and for a light of the Gentiles came as “thus said God the LORD.” This was not Isaiah’s imagination, but truly from the LORD as was later verified in the New Testament to be true prophecy fulfilled through Christ Jesus. The LORD also said in Isaiah, “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another.” We have two separate passages (Matthew and Luke) that state that Mary’s conception was of the Holy Spirit. The Matthew passage states that Jesus would save his people from their sins, and confirms that this fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah — “Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
D — Whose Son Is the Christ?
John 8 “58 Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am. 59 Then took they up stones to cast at him.”
John 17 “3 And this is life eternal, that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 5 And now, O Father, glorify you me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world was.”
1 Timothy 3 “16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
Comments: The anticipated Christ was to be the son of David, and the Jewish leaders knew this from scripture. But they had not understood that he would be this truly unique son who was both son of God through conception by the Holy Spirit, and son of David through the line of Mary. When Jesus said “before Abraham was, I am,” this was an expression that embodied not just a prior existence to Abraham, but a continual or eternal existence. In John chapter 17, Jesus asks the Father to give him glory in his presence with the glory he had with the Father before the world existed — no mere man could truthfully make this statement. The truth about Jesus is indeed a great mystery to the mind of man, but something truly beautiful when accepted by faith.
Reflections in Prayer
Lord, I worship you alone as creator of all that exists, and I thank you for the ways you have worked in my life to give me the desire to search the scriptures that I might know you more fully. I believe that you have prepared your Word so those who deny Christ as God will continue in their own deception, while providing the whole counsel of God for those who depend upon your Spirit to understand the truth. I thank you for the firm connection between Genesis and the gospel of John to reveal that Christ Jesus is eternal and is creator God. The Old Testament provides passages that declare unequivocally that there is only one God, and you will not share your glory with any other. Emmanuel my Jesus, you not only came to be God with us, but you died to satisfy the penalty of sin for those who believe, and you will return to take us home to be with you forever. Help me Lord to be your servant to honor you as long as you give me breath. Amen.
Published 25 September 2012