Believe and Speak--One God

 

Exodus 20:2-3       1 Timothy 1:17  

Deuteronomy 6:4-5     Mark 12:39-31

Isaiah 43:10-11          Ephesians 4:1-6    

😵🤯Me trying to crop all the verses about our One God into a short list. Because that's kind of the point of the Whole Bible!!  

We are going to start with "the Shema".  It is a recitation, much like the creed.   If you were a devout Jew, you would say this as part of your morning and evening prayer.  When God commanded the people to say this, He had just told them to believe (Deuteronomy 6:3) and then speak.   Deuteronomy 6:4 is the first line of the Shema, and it proclaims "The LORD  is our God, the LORD is One." (Notice the all caps LORD.  This is the translation of Yahweh, the proper name that God first used when He introduced Himself to Moses.  The Old Testament always  spells it in all caps💓)   A scribe came up to Jesus in Mark 12 and asked Him what is the greatest commandment.  Jesus answered in part with this first line of the Shema.  "The most important is 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.'"

God spoke through Isaiah to gather the nations together, a people as witnesses to believe and understand that there is no other God.  God speaks through Paul in Ephesians to do the same thing--to unite a group of people under One God.  

God, when giving the Ten Commandments to Moses, starts this most famous passage in Exodus with "I am the LORD your God...you shall have no other gods before me."  Timothy picks up that same tune by bringing all praise to God--"To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." 

WE believe in One God.  We believe, and so we also speak.  When the world tries to divide us, we find unity under His Great Name--"One God and Father of all and over all and through all and in all." When we see so many false gods, fighting for our allegiance, we drown them out by lifting our voices in praise--"Honor and glory, forever and ever to the Only God." And when the enemy tries to plant doubt in our minds and hearts, we answer like Jesus--"The LORD is our God, The LORD alone."