God Is One
[The following is a devotion I delivered at our pre-work prayer meeting yesterday.]
In previous weeks, we've discussed who God is, and who we are in relation to God.
We've seen from th Bible that God is the Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, whereas we are God's creation- made in His image and dependent on Him for everything, yet we have, beginning with the first man (Adam), become rebels against His sovereignty.
God is the Holy Lawgiver and Judge over His creation, whereas we have become lawbreakers, liable to punishment under His judgment, and our sins have made us unholy in His sight.
God is the Merciful Redeemer and Lord of His people. In the Man Jesus Christ, God met the righteous requirements of His Law and took the judgment for sin upon Himself so that He might remain holy and just while extending mercy and eternal life to all who follow the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and faith.
All these things we've seen about God- that He is the Sovereign Creator and Sustainer, that He is the Holy Lawgiver and Judge, and that He is the Merciful Redeemer and Lord- are true about God in regards to His creation.
In the next couple of weeks, I hope to help us consider truth about who God is in Himself.
Next week, I plan to speak on the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, but today I want us to think about the singularity of God in His being.
Deuteronomy 6:4 says, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!" (NKJV)
This verse, by the time of Jesus, had become a confession of faith for the Jewish people, recited twice daily by devout Jews. The essential oneness of the LORD is foundational to the teaching of the Old Testament and to the teaching of Jesus.
In arguing against the idols of other nations, the Prophet Isaiah received a word from God in which the LORD said to him, "I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me" (Isaiah 44:6b NASB), and, "Is there any God besides me, or is there any other Rock? I know of none" (Isaiah 44:8 NASB). In the strongest terms, the LORD Himself rejects the idea of multiple gods.
Recognizing that God is one is vital so that we may know the nature of our Creator, Judge, and Lord, and so that we may focus our love and devotion on Him alone. But mere recognition that God is one is not sufficient to put us into a position to receive His blessings (including, first and foremost, eternal life in Him) rather than His curses. As the Bible says in James 2:19, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that- and shudder" (NIV). The demons know for a fact that God is one, but their right theology does them no good. They shudder, knowing that they are rebels against God and that they will face His judgment.
You have the opportunity to find peace with God today in Christ Jesus. Turn from your sin and trust in God's mercy through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
In previous weeks, we've discussed who God is, and who we are in relation to God.
We've seen from th Bible that God is the Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, whereas we are God's creation- made in His image and dependent on Him for everything, yet we have, beginning with the first man (Adam), become rebels against His sovereignty.
God is the Holy Lawgiver and Judge over His creation, whereas we have become lawbreakers, liable to punishment under His judgment, and our sins have made us unholy in His sight.
God is the Merciful Redeemer and Lord of His people. In the Man Jesus Christ, God met the righteous requirements of His Law and took the judgment for sin upon Himself so that He might remain holy and just while extending mercy and eternal life to all who follow the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and faith.
All these things we've seen about God- that He is the Sovereign Creator and Sustainer, that He is the Holy Lawgiver and Judge, and that He is the Merciful Redeemer and Lord- are true about God in regards to His creation.
In the next couple of weeks, I hope to help us consider truth about who God is in Himself.
Next week, I plan to speak on the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, but today I want us to think about the singularity of God in His being.
Deuteronomy 6:4 says, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!" (NKJV)
This verse, by the time of Jesus, had become a confession of faith for the Jewish people, recited twice daily by devout Jews. The essential oneness of the LORD is foundational to the teaching of the Old Testament and to the teaching of Jesus.
In arguing against the idols of other nations, the Prophet Isaiah received a word from God in which the LORD said to him, "I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me" (Isaiah 44:6b NASB), and, "Is there any God besides me, or is there any other Rock? I know of none" (Isaiah 44:8 NASB). In the strongest terms, the LORD Himself rejects the idea of multiple gods.
Recognizing that God is one is vital so that we may know the nature of our Creator, Judge, and Lord, and so that we may focus our love and devotion on Him alone. But mere recognition that God is one is not sufficient to put us into a position to receive His blessings (including, first and foremost, eternal life in Him) rather than His curses. As the Bible says in James 2:19, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that- and shudder" (NIV). The demons know for a fact that God is one, but their right theology does them no good. They shudder, knowing that they are rebels against God and that they will face His judgment.
You have the opportunity to find peace with God today in Christ Jesus. Turn from your sin and trust in God's mercy through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
Labels: evangelism
posted by Andrew Lindsey | 9:22 AM
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