Hear, O Isreal: the Lord our God is one Lord!

There is a lot of debate about who God is, who Jesus Christ is and who the Holy Ghost is. It is really quite a simple matter to solve if you ignore the voices of men and religions and read the Bible for yourself. The Bible is the only authority we should be listening to because it is the divine word of God. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. That being said, let us see what the word of God has to say about who God is, who Jesus is, and who the Holy Ghost is.

The first thing we discover in reading the Word is that God is one. Dueteronomy 6:4 gives us the first and most important commandment, “Hear, O Isreal: the Lord our God is one Lord: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might”. This verse is what the Jews refer to as the Shema. The Jewish people understand the importance of worshipping only one God so much that thy recite the Shema in the morning, in the evening, before they go to bed, during prayers, on special occasions… basically any chance they get they remind themselves that “Hear O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord”.

In Isaiah 44:6 God says, “I am the first, and the last: and beside me there is no God”. In verse 8 he declares, “Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any”. In verse 24 of the same chapter in Isaiah God says, “I am the Lord that makes all things; that stretches forth the heavens alone, that spreads abroad the earth by myself.” Galatians 3:20 says simply, “God is one”. So over and over again in scripture we see that there is one God and he alone created the heaven and the earth.

The second thing we discover in reading the Word of God is that God is an invisible spirit. John 1:18 says, “No man hath seen God at any time”. John 4:24 says, “God is a Spirit”. In Luke 24:39 Jesus says, “a spirit has not flesh and bones”. Therefore God is invisible and we cannot see him; which therefore brings us to Jesus Christ.

From reading the Word of God we understand that God is one and that he is an invisible spirit, but we also see that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. I Timothy 3:16 says, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, receive up into glory”. So God became flesh or took on flesh, he was justified in the spirit, he was seen of angels, he preached to the Gentiles, he was believed on in the world, and he was received up in glory? Hhmmm, let’s see. Who was flesh? Jesus was. Who was justified in the spirit? Jesus was. Who was seen of angels? Jesus was. Who preached to the Gentiles? Jesus did. Who was believed on in the world? Jesus was. Who was received up in glory? Jesus was. So what does that mean? That Jesus is God? Let’s see what the Bible has to say about that.

When Jesus resurrected he came looking for Thomas, who had said he would not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead until he saw the nail scarred hands and his bruised side. In John 20:26-29 Jesus finds Thomas and shows him his nail scarred hands and his bruised side. But notice what Thomas says when he finally realizes that this is the same Jesus who was nailed to the cross, “My Lord and my GOD” (vs.28). In John 14:8 Philip asked Jesus to show him this Father that he kept talking about and what did Jesus answer Philip, “Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?” (vs.9 NIV). Basically Jesus was telling Philip, how can you ask to see the Father yet I am the express image of the Father who by the way is an invisible spirit (He. 1:3)? I am the Father!

So wait a minute. Are you saying that God is Jesus? That God and Jesus are one? John 1:14 says, “And the Word (which Word we saw in verse 1 was God) was made flesh, and dwelt among us”. So God was made flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:10-11 says, “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not”. But wait a minute, we read a while back that God said he alone created the world and that he had no help. So why is this scripture saying that Jesus, who was in the world, made the world? Because God and Jesus are one! God simply robbed himself in flesh to come and die for us on the cross because he knew that only he had the power to forgive sin.

Isaiah 9:6 when prophesying about the coming of Jesus Christ says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Look at these descriptions of Jesus; The mighty God, The everlasting Father. If ever you had doubts about Jesus being God this scripture sums it up. In Acts 9:5 when God asks Paul why he is persecuting him and Paul asks who he is what does God say to Paul? “I am Jesus”!

So what about the Holy Spirit? If Jesus is God what about the Holy Spirit? Where does it factor into all this? In John 4:18 Jesus said, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you”. So the comforter that he promised us, the Holy Ghost, is his spirit? Yes! Jesus is God and the Holy Ghost is his spirit living inside of us. There is no such thing as a trinity. To say that there are three Gods in heaven who are co-equal, co-existent, and co-dependent is to break the first and most important commandment which clearly states, “Hear O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord”.

That is why everything we do must be done in the name of Jesus Christ, because it is the name of God. Acts 4:12 says, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”. Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus”. That is why when we get baptized we are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ; not in the titles Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Why? Because the name of the Father is Jesus, the name of the Son is Jesus, and the name of the Holy Ghost is Jesus. All three are one and the same God! Revelation 4:2 says, “A throne was set in heaven, and one sat upon the throne”. There is only one throne in heaven and only one God! Those of you expecting to find three Gods in heaven will be sorely disappointed.

So why did Jesus always pray to the Father if he was the Father you might ask? Again let’s look at the Bible. As we read the Word of God we realize that God was completely human and completely God at the same time. He took on the limitations and weaknesses associated with the flesh in order for him to set an example for us. He was completely human but the spirit within him was the spirit of God. The same way our flesh struggles with our spirit, his flesh struggled with his spirit as well. The humanity of Jesus is the reason he is referred to as the Son of God, and it is the reason Jesus was constantly saying, “I and my Father are one” (Jn. 10:30). We are made up of three parts, our bodies (flesh), our spirits, and our souls; does that mean that each of us is three different people? By all means no! It was the same way with Jesus, he too had a spirit and a body because he was completely human and that is why he too had to pray for strength.

In Revelation 1:8 Jesus declares, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty”. It is simple to see, and easy to understand, if you search the scriptures diligently that God wrapped himself in flesh, came down to earth and died for us on the cross so that we might be saved, and then dispensed his spirit upon us so that we would be comforted and guided. Look at it this way, if I wanted to prove to someone that something could be done would I send someone else to show then that it could be done or would I myself get up and show them that it could be done? So it was with God. He wanted to show us that we could live a life free from sin despite our flesh so he decided to robe himself in flesh to come show us that it was possible.