To say God is one is the Bible's first confession: 'Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.' It means there is one true and living God, not many, and that He is wholly Himself, undivided. This 'one' does not contradict the Trinity: the one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so that when Jesus claims divine honor and the Spirit is poured out, we have not added a second or third God but have met the one God revealed in His fullness.
Not a summary of these passages: the passages themselves. Read them, then come back to the study below.
The study
What the Scripture says
1
The first confession of the faith
The Shema is Israel's creed: 'Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one,' and Jesus calls it the first and greatest of all, saying we must love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Over and against the many gods of the nations, Israel confessed one God. James affirms the same belief and adds a warning: 'The demons also believe, and shudder.' To confess that God is one is to know who deserves all of our allegiance.
Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
Jesus answered, “The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’This is the first commandment.And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder.Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Isaiah records God's own testimony: 'I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God,' and again, 'I am Yahweh, and there is no one else. Besides me, there is no God.' Paul applies it to the idols of Corinth: 'we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other God but one,' though there are many so-called gods and lords. The first commandment follows: 'You shall have no other gods before me,' because there are none to have.
This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
I am Yahweh, and there is no one else. Besides me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not known me; that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is no one besides me. I am Yahweh, and there is no one else.I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.
Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other God but one.As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
The confession that God is one is not undone by the appearing of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, because these are not three gods but one God revealed in three Persons. Paul, right in the middle of guarding God's oneness, writes: 'to us there is one God, the Father... and one Lord, Jesus Christ,' and in the same breath he calls Jesus divine, the one 'through whom are all things.' Jesus and the Father are one, John hears Him say, and yet He is the Son of the only true God; the 'one' describes the being, not a loneliness.
yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Go,and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
The oneness of God is not an abstract fact; it is the ground of our security. Because He is one, He cannot waver or split: the God who made a promise and the God who keeps it are the same. Because He is one, we are called to one whole-hearted love, with no rival in our affections. And because the one God is Father, Son, and Spirit, the deity we confess is not a solitary reign but the God who sent His Son to save us and His Spirit to dwell in us.
You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder.Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’This is the first commandment.And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all.There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
The confession of one God immediately becomes a command: 'You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.' Jesus folds the whole law of love for God and neighbor out of the oneness of God. To believe in one God is not merely to win an argument; it is to give one undivided heart. When rivals are gone, the whole person can turn to the only God, and that is the shape of true worship and the beginning of rest.
You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Jesus answered, “The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’This is the first commandment.And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all.There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Why does the Bible so fiercely forbid idols and images of God?
We haven't written this one yet. Take it to your church or small group: the Word answers it wherever it is asked. If we study it here later, all the better.
Hold onto these
Verses to meditate on
Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
Jesus answered, “The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one:And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Go,and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: