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The ONENESS of GOD
- 4-13-2020
- Categorized in: The Oneness of God
Mankind’s quest to know God:
· The word god is one of the most universal words we possess. It recurs with a kind of inevitability in all languages. There is scarcely anything in the world that has not at some time been deified, or at least regarded as the emblem, the manifestation, and the temporary dwelling place of some god. Sacred stones and mountains; trees and oases; ruling chiefs and kings; the floor of the family fireplace; the sun, moon, stars; the ancestors and heroes of the tribe; the rain and lightening; lunatics; prophets; soil and grain; smallpox, and innumerable others have been worshipped as divine, or have shared divine honours or have been intimately associated with god.
· How did it happen that the same word is to designate them is the same word used to designate the ONLY TRUE and living GOD of Christianity?
· The quest for God is the quest for an ideal Source of Help and Object of Devotion: a being so much greater, more enduring, and more worthful than ourselves that we may confidently lean on it for support and unreservedly give ourselves to its service.
· God cannot be found out unless He reveals Himself to us (Psalm 113:4-6, Isa 57:15, Job 11:7-9) God then can only be known if He chooses to reveal Himself. Therefore, through His inspired writers God gradually revealed Himself until His FINAL and COMPLETE revelation/manifestation in Jesus Christ.
· The first revelation is that there is ONE GOD (Deut 6:4, Gal 3:20).
· We believe in Absolute Monotheism, that is, the belief in ONE GOD. (Monos – single, alone or one; Theos – God)
· Stated another way, God cannot be duplicated.
· Other scriptures which affirm that there is one God are: Ex 20:3, Deut 5:7; 32:39, II Sam 7:22, I Chron 17:20, Psalm 86:10.
· Some of the most emphatic statements affirming the fact that there is ONE GOD can be found in: Isaiah 42:8; 44:6, 8 & 24; 45:6, 21-22; 46:9; 48:11, Zech 14:9, Malachi 2:10
In the Old Testament, God uses the words “none, none else, none like me, none beside me, alone, by myself” and “one” to affirm the fact that God is absolutely ONE in number.
· God is also referred to as the Holy One: (Psalm 71:22; 78:41; Isaiah 1:4; 5:19; 5:24)
· In the New Testament, Jesus taught Deut 6:4 calling it the first of all the commandments (Mark 12:29-30, Matthew 22:37-40). Other New Testament scriptures alluding to the fact that God is ONE are: Rom 3:30, I Cor 8:6, Eph 4:6, I Tim 2:5, James 2:19, I John 2:20, Rev 4:2
THE NATURE OF GOD
The Scriptures tells us three things about the nature of God.
Ø God is LIGHT (James 1:17; I Tim 6:16)
Ø God is LOVE (I John 4: 16)
Ø God is SPIRIT (John 4:24)
In the Greek there is no indefinite article, and to say “God is a Spirit” is objectionable, for it places Him in a class with others. God is Spirit; He is incorporeal; not composed of matter, having no visible substance. He is not limited to one place, because He is Spirit. He fills heaven and Earth (II Chron 6:18, Acts 17:23-28).
1. Webster’s Dictionary defines spirit as: “a supernatural, incorporeal, rational being usually invisible to
human beings but having the power to become visible at will.”
2. The Hebrew word translated as spirit is RUWACH, which means wind, breath, life, anger,
unsubstantiality, region of the sky, or spirit of a rational being.
3. The Greek word translated as spirit is PNEUMA, which means a current of air, breath, blast, breeze,
soul, vital principle, spirit, angel, demon, or God
ü One unmistakable fact stands out in these definitions, which is that a spirit does not have flesh and bones
(Luke 24:39).
ü Therefore, when the Bible says that God is Spirit, it means that He cannot be seen or touched physically
by human beings, however, as Spirit, He is an intelligent, supernatural Being who does not have a
physical body.
Ø God is INVISIBLE (Col 1:15; I Tim 1:17, Heb 11:27).
ü No man has ever seen the invisible God or the Spirit of God (John 1:18; I John 4:12; Exodus 33:20)
ü He can only be seen if He so chooses to manifest Himself in a visible form to man, which we call a
THEOPHANY (Gen 18:1-2, 12-15, 25).
Ø God is OMNIPRESENT (Everywhere Present)
ü Because God is Spirit He can be everywhere at the same time. He is the only Spirit that is truly
omnipresent; for all other spirit beings such as demons, angels, and Satan himself are confined to
specific locations (Mark 5:10; Jude 6; Revelation 20:1-3).
ü Although God is omnipresent, we cannot equate Him with the nature, substance, or forces of the world (which would be pantheism), because He does have individuality, personality, and intelligence.
ü Solomon recognized God's omnipresence when he prayed at the dedication of the Temple, saying,
"Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee" (I Kings 8:27; II Chronicles 2:6;
6:18).
ü God declared His omnipresence by saying, "The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool" (Isaiah 66:1; Acts 7:49).
ü Paul preached that the Lord is "not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:27-28).
ü Perhaps the most beautiful description of God's omnipresence is found in Psalm 139:7-13