GOD is ONE

ONLY ONE GOD HAS SPOKEN

Hear, O 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 might (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

When God revealed Himself through His prophet Moses, God described Himself. He said that He is one God, not many "gods." The one and only God deserves all of our love, not just a part of it.

CONFIRMED BY JESUS

When Jesus, the Prophet like Moses, came, He drew special attention to these verses from the sixth chapter of Deuteronomy. A leader asked Jesus about the most important command of the Law. Mark 12:29 reports Jesus’ reply:

”The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…’ ”

Jesus continued then to quote from God’s message in Deuteronomy 6. This truth is the foundation for all God’s other commands. If many gods had made us, they might all have a right to our love. But the greatest fact of God is that He is one. One alone created us! One alone gives us life! One alone, therefore, has the right to our love. That leads to the greatest command, that our whole heart, soul, mind and strength should go to Him alone.

CAN WE LOVE ANYONE ELSE?

If all our love goes to God, then it cannot be divided. Does this mean that we should never love anyone else? What about loving one’s own husband or wife or children? What about loving other people? Jesus went on immediately to say that the second most important command is this:

Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31, quoting Leviticus 19:18).

The Christian husband should love his wife (Ephesians 5:25). Neither Moses nor Jesus thought that these kinds of love took love away from God.

Why? Because it is God’s will that we so love others. The true way to show love for God is to obey God.

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments (1 John 5:3).

If God is truly "LORD" He deserves our full obedience. We cannot claim to love Him while forgetting who He is and what He deserves. Real love treats Him as the real God He is. So, when we love others, as He commanded, that fits perfectly into true love and devotion to Him.

WHAT, THEN, IS LOVE DIVIDED?

By this we mean: What kind of love takes away from the full love we owe to God? The prophets of the Old and New Testaments answered this question very clearly. We take love away from God by treating God as if He were "second best." We do this when we follow another’s will instead of keeping God’s commandments. We do it when we trust people or things more than we trust the God who made us. We do it when we worship or pray to others. When an enemy tried to make Jesus divide His love in these ways, Jesus replied,

"You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve" (Matthew 4:10).

God desires and demands first place in our hearts and lives. He cannot accept second place, for that would be a lie. Simple honesty requires that God alone be recognized and treated with the highest honor. No other can claim the kind of honor that should go to God.

I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols (Isaiah 42:8).

ERV: I am the LORD. My name is Yahweh. I will not let statues take the praise that should be mine.

THE NAME OF THE ONE GOD

The prophet Isaiah, in the passage just mentioned, was very certain of the true God. He is the One named "the LORD." Isaiah wrote in the Hebrew language, and in Hebrew that name is YHWH. (YHWH may be pronounced as Yahweh.) In many English Bibles, when you see the word LORD in large letters, it stands for this great name of God, YHWH.

When Eve gave birth to a child she said, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD" (Genesis 4:1). She knew God’s name, for He had dealt personally with her and her husband, Adam. Later, her children who turned to God "began to call on the name of the LORD (YHWH)" (Genesis 4:26). So "the LORD" is the One known from the very beginning as man’s Creator. When God told Moses to go to Egypt, Moses asked what name to use for God. In answer (Exodus 3:14-15) God said to Moses,

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’" God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations."

The name YHWH shows that God is the "I AM," that He continues TO BE. (The name YHWH sounds like the verb "to be" in the Hebrew language.) God is the self-existing One. God does not depend on anything else for His being. Instead, all others depend on Him for their being. It does not matter whether they are angels or spirits or humans or material things—they all exist only as long as God lets them.

NO OTHER GODS

The first of the Ten Commandments given at Mount Sinai was this:

You shall have no other gods before Me (Exodus 20:3).

When we understand who the Lord is, it is easy to see what is wrong with having other "gods." No one else can compare with God! Yes, there are some beings who have power. But all their power simply points to the far, far greater power of the true God who made them. He made everything "alone" (Isaiah 44:24). He does not need or depend on anyone else. If God gave them power, He can also take it away from them. He who gave them life can just as easily end it. Before Him, they are powerless!

The apostle Paul helped people to leave their useless "gods." He wrote letters to those who believed his message. Here is what Paul said about idols:

For we know that ”an idol has no real existence,” and that ”there is no God but one.” (1 Corinthians 8:4)

… you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God (1 Thessalonians 1:9).

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods (Galatians 4:8).

ERV: In the past you did not know God. You were slaves to gods that were not real.

 

GOD IS SPIRIT

Why have people made up their own ideas of "god"? Perhaps they feel that they can more easily understand and control a "god" they have made for themselves. The true God is so great that He is beyond all that we can understand or imagine. When King Solomon (David’s son) built a temple for God, he prayed to God,

But will God indeed dwell [live] on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! (1 Kings 8:27).

When we think of just that part of the heavens we see, this is truly amazing. How can one Person fill the whole universe, and even go beyond it? Yet the New Testament also says of God,

For in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).

How can He be so far away, and yet also be all around us? If "He is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:27), why do we not see Him?

The answer is in a basic truth of God’s nature. Jesus stated,

God is spirit (John 4:24).

How is "spirit" different from an earthly "body"? Jesus said that a spirit does not have flesh and bones (Luke 24:39). The normal human body is very limited by the weaknesses of its flesh. It is tied down to one time and place. It cannot see or be in two places at the same time. Such limits or weaknesses do not have to apply to spirit. They especially do not limit the One who is called the Father of spirits (Hebrews 12:9).

God, as spirit, is so great that He is always present at all places. He can hold all in His control. There is no way ever to hide from Him.

Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there! If I make my bed in Sheol [death], You are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost [furthest] parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me (Psalm 139:7-10).

And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed [shown] to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13).

DOES GOD HAVE HANDS AND EYES?

If God is spirit, and not fleshly body, how can the Bible speak of His "hands," "arms," "eyes" and other parts? The following picture may help us to see the answer.

Imagine a man talking to an ant. He is trying to explain to the ant what a human city is like. The ant has never seen anything as large as our buildings and city streets. Yet the ant does have small paths and tunnels in its ants’ nest in the ground. So the man speaks of his streets as if they were like those ant paths. He speaks of the human city as if it were like a very large ants’ nest.

In the same way, God uses things that we can understand to talk of things much greater. He does not have our earthly kind of eyes and hands. But He uses "eyes" to speak of His seeing. He uses "hands" to speak of His power and action.

Though He uses these helpful words we should remember that we are still so very small beside Him. Like the ant with the man, some things about God will remain beyond our full understanding. We accept what God says in simple trust that He knows how best to tell us of things far greater than us.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

One of the things that may be difficult to understand is how God is one, and yet also be above our limited idea of one. For example, the Bible begins by speaking of both "God" and "the Spirit of God."

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… and the Spirit of God was hovering [floating] over the face of the waters (Genesis 1:1-2).

Look again at the quotation from Psalm 139. The writer of that Psalm asks God, "Where can I go from your Spirit?" Then he says, "If I go up to the heavens, You are there." Why say "You" and "Your Spirit"? Why speak in two ways of God? We may not fully understand why. Yet God surely knows most about Himself. He knows how best to describe Himself, and He expects us to trust the words He chooses. Scripture talks often about the Holy Spirit. He is not just some tool or force of God. He is not a ”thing.” Instead He is Divine Person, described in ways that can only fit a person. Although He is sometimes spoken of as if He is part of God, yet the Holy Spirit is truly God, the only God.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom… For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

God has revealed Himself as both "Lord" and "Spirit." This in no way goes against the truth He also revealed, that He is one. This oneness is above our full understanding. Such mysteries should not surprise us, for God is so much greater, and we are so much smaller.

LET'S SUM UP

We would know nothing of God if He had not chosen to speak to us through nature and the prophets. He has revealed that He is one, and that there is no other god besides Him. Yet His oneness includes the Holy Spirit. He knows best how to tell us about Himself. Since He alone made us and cares for us, our hearts and lives belong wholly to Him.

Yahweh, great "I AM," no one is like You. Who has fully understood You? Yet, You have said that we can know you in such a way as leads to eternal life. Help us to know You in this way…

10 ways the Holy Spirit empower us

Spiritual Growth and Christian Living Resources

10 Supernatural Ways the Holy Spirit Wants to Empower You

By Brittany Rust

“The Holy Spirit illuminates the minds of people, makes us yearn for God, and takes spiritual truth and makes it understandable to us.” –Billy Graham

The Holy Spirit is a beautiful and powerful part of who God is. We need Him in our life as a conduit to become who God created us to be, and through His power we have aid in all situations. Without Him, we are powerless.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

Our first encounter with the Holy Spirit is when He convicts us of our sin, shows us that none of us can live up to the righteousness of Jesus, and reveals to us the judgment that is coming to those who die without a Savior (John 16:8-11). As we repent, confess our sins and receive the gift of Salvation the Holy Spirit regenerates our dead inner human spirit which now becomes sensitive to the spiritual things of God (John 3:1-16; Acts 2:38).There is a second work of the Holy Spirit when He baptizes a believer (Acts 2:1-4).  It's available to all (Acts 2:39) and a gift of empowerment, helping the believer to live a holy life. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Helper, we become more like Jesus and are directed to do the Father's will. Furthermore, the gift is primarily for the empowerment to witness to others (Acts 1:8).We are encouraged to ask the Holy Spirit to fill us up on a regular basis. When you feel depleted or need strength, ask Him to replenish you (Ephesians 5:18).

It's not enough to exist with the belief that The Father and the Son are first and the Holy Spirit is secondary. They are equal and work in harmony with each other. The uniqueness of the Holy Spirit is His presence within us. Jesus said before he ascended to heaven that the Holy Spirit would come and dwell within us as a believer. With that, He empowers us to live victoriously for the cause of Christ and glory of the Father.

Here are just 10 of the supernatural ways the Holy Spirit wants to empower you today.


1. He is your Helper.

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you,” John 16:7.

When I think of the Holy Spirit, this is how I primarily think of Him: God with us, helping and empowering us to live a flourishing life that radiates the goodness of God. I don’t know about you but I’m constantly aware of my need for divine help. As my flesh fights for control, it’s the Spirit that steps in and helps me to be who God created me to be.

When you are feeling powerless or tired or like your failing at life, you can have confidence as a believer that you're not alone. You can start each day knowing the Holy Spirit is there to help you. He is the power that sustains, energizes, and keeps you on a holy path. Do not hesitate to invite Him in.


2. He sanctifies you.

“But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God,” 1 Corinthians 6:11.

“Sanctified” means to be set apart as sacred. Essentially, it’s the purification of sin and spiritually maturing to become more Christlike. This is an important process for a believer--leaving behind the old and becoming a new person. But it’s a daily process, and it takes time.

The Holy Spirit wants to help you in this process of sanctification: to die to your old self and be all that God created you to be; to be free from the entanglement of sin and live victoriously.


3. He makes you more like Christ.

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit,” 2 Corinthians 3:18.

Moses experienced God’s glory on the mountaintop but we have communion with Him every day! Theologian Warren Wiersbe writes,

“Moses reflected the glory of God, but you and I may radiate the glory of God. When we meditate on God’s Word and in it see God’s Son, then the Spirit transforms us! We become more like the Lord Jesus Christ as we grow ‘from glory to glory.”

Our goal is Christlikeness and this takes place through the power of the Holy Spirit. While we focused on sanctification and the diminishment of sin in the previous point, this is rather a transformation into the image of Christ.


4. He helps you to do the Father’s will.

“Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go up and join this chariot,’"  Acts 8:29.

Throughout the New Testament we see the Holy Spirit direct people to do the will of God. He helps us tune into the voice of the Father and, in faith, do what we believe He is calling us to. Ask the Spirit to show you what the Father’s will would be for you today and ask Him to empower you to carry it out!

5. He gifts you for ministry.

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have,” 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.

The Holy Spirit imparts to believers gifts that are needed in the Church. Nobody receives all gifts but they are distributed among the Body of Christ, each person receiving different gifts. The gift(s) that you receive will empower you for the calling God has placed on your life. Embrace what God has put inside of you and be His instrument for Kingdom purpose!

* Additional passages of the gifts of the Spirit can be found in Ephesians 4 and Romans 12.


6. He imparts love.

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us,”  Romans 5:3-5.

We find love in our suffering. As we endure trials, God’s love is poured out into us through the Spirit and it’s this empowerment that carries you and I through the hard seasons. When you are doubting this love in your difficulty, remember that the Spirit pours it into your heart.


7. He gives hope.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope,”  Romans 15:13.

Hope as God hopes. This is only possible in abundance through the power of the Holy Spirit. And it’s hope that carries people through all trials and tribulations. Hope is fuel for the soul. Tap into this by His power and experience peace among your surroundings.


8. He teaches and gives insight.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you,”  John 14:26.

The Holy Spirit will give you insight into what you are reading and furthermore, will help you recall what you’ve read in Scripture. He brings to your mind understanding and truth.

Have you ever had one of those moments when you were in a situation and a Scripture verse you read or memorized years ago popped into your head, encouraging you in that moment? That was the Holy Spirit reminding you of what you had been taught.

He empowers you with understanding and the ability to recall important verses that apply to your life.


9. He guides your prayers.

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words,” Romans 8:26.

Sometimes I have no words. Or I have so much to say that I’m not sure where to start. Ever experience that?

Sometimes we don’t have to have the right words--the Holy Spirit knows just what to say. Lean into Him and allow Him to express to the Father what needs to be said.


10. He uses you for evangelism.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth,”  Acts 1:8.

Telling others about Jesus and making disciples is our most important role on this earth. It’s literally the last thing Jesus said before he ascended into heaven!

Having the Holy Spirit with us means having power to be a witness. To tell people about what Jesus did for them on the cross and how he conquered death and reigns victoriously! Don’t shy away from being an advocate for Christ; it’s what you are called to do. Allow the Spirit to empower you for the Kingdom purpose of making disciples!

Brittany Rust is a writer, speaker,  website brittanyrust.com

Jesus Through the Bible.

We believe in a Christ-centered Bible. The salvation that was expected in the Old Testament is exhibited in the Gospels and then explained in the rest of the New Testament.

⛅From Genesis we learn that Jesus is the seed of the woman who will crush Satan’s head, and the son of Abraham who will bless all the nations of the earth. 

🎀From Exodus we learn that Jesus is the Passover Lamb whose blood saves us from the angel of death, and the wilderness tabernacle where God dwells in glory. 

💡From Leviticus we learn that He is the atoning sacrifice that takes away our sin. 

📌From Numbers we learn that He is the bronze serpent lifted up for everyone who looks to Him in faith.

🔊From Deuteronomy we learn that He is the prophet greater than Moses who comes to teach us God’s will.

So much for the Pentateuch.

📚What do we learn from the historical books? 

From Joshua we learn that Jesus is our great captain in the fight. From Judges we learn that He is the king who helps us do what is right in God’s eyes, and not our own. From Ruth we learn that Jesus is our kinsman-redeemer. 

From 1 and 2 Samuel we learn that He is our anointed king. 

From 1 and 2 Kings we learn that He is the glory in the temple. 

From 1 and 2 Chronicles we learn that He is the Son of David — the rightful king of Judah. 

From Ezra and Nehemiah we learn that He will restore the city of God. From Esther we learn that He will deliver us from all our enemies.

📚Then we come to the poetic writings. From Job we learn that Jesus is our living redeemer, who will stand on the earth at the last day. 

From the Psalms we learn that He is the sweet singer of Israel — the Savior forsaken by God and left to die, yet restored by God to rule the nations. From Proverbs we learn that Jesus is our wisdom. 

From Ecclesiastes we learn that He alone can give us meaning and purpose. 

From the Song of Solomon we learn that He is the lover of our souls.

📚This brings us to the prophets, whose special mission it was to prophesy about the coming of Christ. 

💖Isaiah tells that He is the child born of the Virgin, the son given to rule, the shoot from the stump of Jesse, and the servant stricken and afflicted, upon whom God has laid all our iniquity. 

♨Jeremiah and Lamentations tell us that Jesus is our comforter in sorrow, the mediator of a new covenant who turns our weeping into songs of joy.

Ezekiel tells us that the Spirit of Jesus can breathe life into dry bones and make a heart of stone beat again. 

Daniel tells us that Jesus is the Son of Man coming in clouds of glory to render justice on the earth.

⛅These are the Major Prophets, but the Minor Prophets also bore witness to Jesus Christ.

Hosea prophesied that He would be a faithful husband to His wayward people. 

Joel prophesied that before He came to judge the nations, Jesus would pour out His Spirit on men and women, Jews and Gentiles, young and old. 

Amos and Obadiah prophesied that He would restore God’s kingdom. 

Jonah prophesied that for the sake of the nations, He would be raised on the third day. 

Micah prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. 

Nahum prophesied that He would judge the world. 

Habakkuk prophesied that He would justify those who live by faith. 

Zephaniah prophesied He would rejoice over His people with singing. 

Haggai prophesied that He would rebuild God’s temple. 

Zechariah prophesied that He would come in royal gentleness, riding on a donkey, and that when He did, all God’s people would be holy. 

Malachi prophesied that before He came, a prophet would turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children.

From Genesis to Malachi, the Old Testament is all about Jesus. But of course it is in the New Testament that Jesus actually comes to save His people. Whereas the Old Testament gives us His background, the New Testament presents His biography.

💖💡💖

🎁The gospels give us the good news of salvation through His crucifixion and resurrection.

The Gospel of Matthew is that Jesus is the Messiah God promised to Israel. The Gospel of Mark is that He is the suffering servant. 

The Gospel of Luke is that He is a Savior for everyone, including the poor and the weak. 

The Gospel of John is that He is the incarnate word, the Son of God, the light of the world, the bread of life, and the only way of salvation. But all the gospels end with the same good news: Jesus died on the cross for sinners and was raised again to give eternal life; anyone who believes in Him will be saved.

🙏Then the New Testament turns its attention to the church, which is still about Jesus because the church is His body. 

The book of Acts shows how Jesus is working in the church today, through the gospel, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Then come all the letters that were written to the church — letters that tell about Jesus and how to live for Him. In Romans Jesus is righteousness from God for Jews and Gentiles; 

in 1 and 2 Corinthians He is the one who unifies the church and gives us spiritual gifts for ministry. In Galatians Jesus liberates us from legalism; 

in Ephesians He is the head of the church; 

in Philippians He is the joy of our salvation; 

in Colossians He is the firstborn over all creation. 

In 1 and 2 Thessalonians Jesus is coming soon to deliver us from this evil age; 

in 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus He shepherds His people; 

and in Philemon He reconciles brothers who are separated by sin. This is the gospel according to Paul.

Hebrews is an easy one: Jesus is the great high priest who died for sin once and for all on the cross and who sympathizes with us in all our weakness. 

In the epistle of James, Jesus helps us to prove our faith by doing good works. In the epistles of Peter He is our example in suffering. 

In the letters of John He is the Lord of love. 

In Jude He is our Master and Teacher. 

Last, but not least, comes the book of Revelation, in which Jesus Christ is revealed as the Lamb of God slain for sinners, Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the great Judge over all the earth, and the glorious God of heaven.

📚The Bible says that in Jesus "all things hold together" (Colossians 1:17) and this is as true of the Bible as it is of anything else. Jesus holds the whole Bible together. From Genesis to Revelation, the Word of God is all about Jesus, and therefore it has the power to bring salvation through faith in Him. It is by reading the Bible that we come to know Jesus, and it is by coming to know Jesus that we are saved. This is why we are so committed to God’s Word, why it is the foundation for everything we do, both as a church and as individual Christians.

We love the Word because it brings us to Christ.

Jesus Through the Bible by Philip Graham Ryken.

2005 Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.

Revised 2007, Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. All rights reserved.