Don Stewart :: Does Only One God Exist?

A point that the Scripture clearly establishes is that there is only one God who exists. We find this truth clearly taught in both testaments.

The Old Testament leaves no doubt that there is only one God who exists. In the Ten Commandments, the following is written.

You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name (Exodus 20:3-7).

Moses emphasized that the Lord is the only God who exists.

To you it was shown so that you would acknowledge that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him . . . So acknowledge today and take to heart that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other (Deuteronomy 4:35,39)

Elsewhere he wrote.

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).

In the First Samuel we read.

There is no one holy like the Lord, indeed, there is no one besides you, nor is there any rock like our God. Boast no more so very proudly (1 Samuel 2:2).

In Second Samuel it says.

For this reason you are great, O Lord God; for there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears (2 Samuel 7:22).

The psalmist wrote.

Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD - that you alone are the Most High over all the earth (Psalm 83:18).

The psalmist also wrote.

For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God (Psalm 86:10).

The prophet Isaiah emphasized the oneness of God.

'Thus says the Lord,' the King of Israel, and his redeemer, the Lord of hosts: 'I am the First and I am the Last: besides me there is no God' (Isaiah 43:10).

He again emphasizes there is only one God.

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: 'I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides me' (Isaiah 44:6).

Again God says there is no one but him.

Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other (Isaiah 45:22).

These verses show that there is only one God who exists. Scripture speaks of false gods that other nations worshipped but they do not actually exist.

The New Testament echoes the Old Testament - there is only one God who exists. In the gospels we read.

Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord (Mark 12:29).

A scribe appreciated this truth.

The scribe said to him, "Right, Teacher; you have truly stated that he is One, and there is no one else besides him" (Mark 12:32).

In another place Jesus said.

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? (John 5:44).

Again Jesus emphasized this truth when He prayed to God the Father.

This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent (John 17:3).

The writings of Paul echo this truth.

So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live (1 Corinthians 8:4-6).

Paul wrote to the Ephesians.

One God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all (Ephesians 4:6).

To Timothy Paul wrote about the only God.

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen (1 Timothy 1:17).

In the same letter he emphasized it again.

For there is one God (1 Timothy 2:5).

James wrote.

You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder (James 2:19).

Not only does the New Testament recognize the existence of one God it recognizes the same God as revealed in the Old Testament. This is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - the God who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt in the Exodus. Jesus said.

I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 8:11).

At no point in the New Testament is there any hint that there is any God who exists except the one who brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and gave the people the Law at Mt. Sinai. This is the same God who brought Jesus Christ back from the dead.

There are a number of statements in Scripture that make it clear that there is only one God who exists. From the first page until the last, the Scripture affirms that only one God has genuine existence. The false gods that Scripture speaks about have no substance. It is also evident that the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament - the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There is no hint that the God of the Old Testament is a different personage than the God of the New Testament. Hence the totality of Scripture testifies that only one God has real existence.