Holy Scripture flatly proclaims that there is one, and only one, God. Throughout the Bible we are reminded time and again that there is one God. So as not to fill this study with page upon page of verse references, I will limit them to just a few.
(Note don’t go running off because you see the name"Jehovah".)
- "Thus said Jehovah, king of Israel, And his Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts: `I [am] the first, and I the last, And besides Me there is no God."
Isa 44:6
- "You are My witnesses, says Jehovah, and My servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me no God was formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, I am Jehovah; and there is none to save besides Me."
(Isa 43:10-11)
- "It was shown to you so that you might know that Jehovah is God, and no one else beside Him."
(Deu 4:35)
From the verses listed above, and other similar ones I have not cited, we can conclude that the Bible proclaims only one God. We also find verses such as:
- "It is written in the Prophets, 'And they shall all be taught of God.' Therefore everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to Me."
(John 6:45)
- "Jesus answered, 'If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say that He is your God."
(John 8:54)
which proclaim that The Father is God. Yet, what about the statements made throughout Scripture concerning Jesus Christ. (If you haven’t been to my study "Who is Jesus Christ" on the page"God", you will find listings of verses there, which apparently contradict the verses cited above by stating that Jesus is God. Additional verses can be found on the "Jesus is God, YHWH/JHVH" page.)
If there is only one God, how can both The Father & Jesus be named by the Bible as being God? What are we to conclude? Is Scripture flawed? How can we possibly resolve the seeming disparity between these two groups of verses?
In the three verses cited at the beginning of this page the word ‘besides’ is used. This word is translated from the Aramaic ‘milebad’ and the Hebrew ‘bilade’ both of which are only used in the context of ‘apart from’. To sum up the verses it is clear that they state,
there is no God apart from Jehovah (Yaweh).
Is Scripture showing us that Jesus & The Father are both Yaweh (Jehovah)? How can that possibly be? It doesn’t make sense; or, does it?
Knowing that all Scripture is inspired by God (2 Ti 3:16), reconciling these two different sets of verses would mean that the being (entity) God (YHWH - JHVH) is comprised of more than one being. Aside from the above sets of verses, does Scripture give us any indication that this is true?
"Yes!" There are a number of verses such as,
- "And God (YHWH - JHVH) said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness."
(Gen 1:26)
(For a more in-depth discussion of this verse, & similar ones, visit "The Us of God" page. Other appropriate verses are listed on the "Trinity" study page.)
which indicate there is more than one person in the entity we call, "God"
What about the various verses that flatly proclaim there is one God?
A study into the original manuscripts, or at least checking Concordances & Lexicons, reveals that the word translated as one is echad this word was not used to denote a singular entity. It was however, used to denote a unit composed of more than one- for example, it would be used in the context One Army but would NOT be used in the context of One Person. There are other Hebrew, & Aramaic, words, which were used to denote a singular entity, object, etc. Since,
"All Scripture is God-breathed....."
it is no mistake that the original wording is echad.
|
|
|
|
|
||
One God
page updated 03/30/2011.