THERE IS BUT ONE GOD The purpose of these scriptures are to establish a foundation as to who God is. In order to grasp an understanding as to who God is we must investigate the apparent contradiction between the following two biblical statements. - There is but one God. - There are many gods. **************** THERE IS BUT ONE GOD JOHN 17:3 - And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. ISAIAH 43:10 - No god before nor after me - Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. ISAIAH 42:8 - Won't give my glory to another - I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. ISAIAH 48 :11 - For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another. ISAIAH 44:6-8 - There is only one 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. - And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them. - Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any. ISAIAH 45:5-7 - 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. - I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. ISAIAH 45:14 - Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God. ISAIAH 45:18 - For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. ISAIAH 45:21-22 - Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. - Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. MALACHI 2:10 - Created man and universe alone - Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? 2 KINGS 19:15 - And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth ISAIAH 44:24 - Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; EPHESIANS 4:6 - One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 1 TIMOTHY 2:5 - For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; ROMANS 3:30 - Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. **************** THERE ARE MANY GODS 2 CORINTHIANS 4:3-4 - Satan is a god - But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: - In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. EXODUS 7:1 - Moses is a god - And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. GENESIS 32:24-29 - Angels Called gods - And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. - And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. - And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. - And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. - And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. - And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. - And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. PSALMS 86:8 - Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works. DEUTERONOMY 10:17 - For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: Acts 8:10 - To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. Acts 14:11 - And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. EXODUS 15:11 - Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? EXODUS 18:11 - Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them. 1 CHRONICALS 16:25 - For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods. PSALMS 95:3 - For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. PSALMS 97:9 - For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods. PSALMS 82:1 - God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. PSALMS 82:6 - I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. JOHN 10:34 - Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? GENESIS 32:30 - And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. ******************* CONCLUSION 1 CORINTHIANS 8:4 - Many are called gods but are not gods - 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. - For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) - 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. ·Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. -------------- John 17:3 There Is Only One True God. All others are not true Gods or no God at all - And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Acts 19:26 - All other are false gods which is not a god at all. Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: 2 Chronicales 15:3 - Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. Jeremiah 10:10 - But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. Thessalonians 1:9 - For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; 1 John 5:20 - And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. GALATIANS 4:8 - Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. PSALMS 82:1-2 - I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. - But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. JEREMIAH 2:11 - Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. JEREMIAH 5:7 - How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses. JEREMIAH 16:20 - Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? EXODUS 23:13 - Christians’ attitude towards other gods - And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. JOSHUA 23:7 - That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them: Deuteronomy 7:25-26 - The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God. - Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing. Deuteronomy 11:28 - And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. HERMAN’S ANALYSIS In the first section of this article scriptures are referenced that focus on there is one God. The second section focuses on scripture that seem to imply that there are many gods. The third section brings these two views together which appear to be contradictory. Now I will interpret the scriptures. 1 Corinthians 8:4 informs us that there are many so called gods. These so-called gods exist in both heaven and earth. This encompasses angels, idols, animals and men. He goes on to explain that to them or to Christians these gods are not gods at all. The acknowledgment that they are gods is the testimony of a non-Christian. Many following scriptures go on to explain that all the other gods of all the other nations are not gods at all. Exodus 23:13 further supports the conclusion that a Christian should not open his mouth and testify that these other gods are gods rather a Christian’s attitude towards these so-called gods should be one of utter detest and abhorring. It is quite clear that it is anti-biblical for a Christian to build a doctrine or support a doctrine based on the premise that there are many gods. Having supported through the scriptures that God views it a abhoring thing for a Christian to declear that there are many gods the following conclusion about polytheism follows: Polytheism is not limited to the worship of many gods, but rather is based on the belief that there are many gods. This belief system is formally known as Henotheism. All isms are first and formost what you believe. To testify that an entity is a god means you agree that the entity is worthy of worship, weather or not you personally choose to give the entity his due worship. We sin both in thought and deed. The thought that there are many gods is as sinful as worshiping those gods.