The Oneness Of God

• 
• 

Details

Category: Theology

Published on Saturday, 16 May 2009 03:10

Written by Ryan Hicks

THE ONENESS OF GOD

By Ryan Hicks

 

The oneness or unity of God has been a very misunderstood and ill-taught doctrine. Before I set forth in this treatise to explain exactly what the unity of God is, let me explain what it is not. This will lay a firm foundation for the establishing of the truths of the unity of God, and enable us to:

1 Thessalonians 5:21
21   Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

WHAT THE UNITY OF GOD IS NOT
1. It is not that of the Tritheists which teach that the Three Persons of the Godhead are separate and distinct Gods in a unity of wills or purposes only.

Deuteronomy 6:4
4   Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

Galatians 3:20
20   Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

James 2:19
19   Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

1 John 5:7
7   For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

2. It is not that of the Polytheists which teach the existence of many gods.

Exodus 8:10
10   And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.

Psalms 86:10
10   For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.

3. It is not that of the Dualists which teach that there are two gods, one good and one evil.

Isaiah 45:5-7
5   I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
6   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.
7   I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

4. It is not that of the followers of Emmanuel Swedenborg (1688-1722) which teach that the Son is the human nature of the Father and the Holy Spirit is only a divine influence, power, force, or operation.

John 1:1
1   In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Acts 5:3-4
3   But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4   Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

1 John 5:7
7   For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

5. It is not that of the Oneness people which teach that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are mere multiple personalities or multiple manifestations of one single Person that is God.

John 14:15-17
15   If ye love me, keep my commandments.
16   And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17   Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

John 18:17-18
17   It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.
18   I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.

1 John 5:7
7   For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

6. It is not that of the Unitarians which reject the true teaching of the divinity of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

1 Timothy 3:16
16   And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

1 Cointhians 12:11
11   But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

2 Corinthians 3:17
17   Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

WHAT THE UNITY OF GOD IS
The unity of God is seen in the Three Persons of the Godhead being one in essence or substance. It is not seen in them ONLY being in unity of wills and thoughts, for to limit Their unity to that alone, denies the essential unity of substance that makes Them one. They are Three in Person, and one in substance or essence. Let it be made clear that this substance or essence is not divisible, nor is it some tangible substance that another could partake of:

Deuteronomy 4:35-39
35   Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.
36   Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.
37   And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt;
38   To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.
39   Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.

1 Chronicles 17:20
20   O LORD, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

This is a doctrine that can be clearly seen:

Romans 1:20-21
20   For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21   Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

The word of God plainly states beyond any doubt that God's eternal power and Godhead are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. What things have been made that are able to show us the likeness of the Godhead and the essential unity of the Godhead?

Genesis 1:26-27
26   And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27   So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

How can we see the Godhead and even the unity of the Godhead in "the things that are made" as Romans 1:20 says? In God's creation the man. Man is made in the express image of God, after God's likeness. Very simply, you could take any three men and put them together and while they are three distinct and separate persons, they share a unity of essence or substance among them, that being their humanity. Neither of the three men would be considered less of a human than the other, for it is well understood that they are each fully human, even though they are distinct and separate from one another. So from this example a person could easily understand how there can be Three Persons in the Godhead, while They still remain one in essence or substance. They are not equally splitting up the divine essence into thirds, rather They Each have eternally possessed the divine essence fully. None is lacking, and none is more divine than the other. All are without beginning or ending.

Of course, such comparisions to "the things that are made" is not a perfect description of the Godhead, it does enable one to clearly see the teaching.

Let it be clarified that by saying "distinct and separate" in relation to the members of the Godhead, I am not saying that this splits or divides the divinity among the Three. This is only used in reference to the distinction between Each Person and the Personalities of each Person, and not the divine essence. It is used to distinguish between Each of the Three as Persons, and not to divide Their essential unity. So let it never be said that the Father, Son, or Holy Ghost can subsist outside of the unity They have with the other members of the Godhead. It can never happen, for God "cannot deny himself" (2 Timothy 2:13).

Each Person of the Godhead could accurately be called "God," and collectively the Godhead can be called "one God." The Philistines who did not understand the essential unity of the Godhead are recorded as calling the members of the Godhead "Gods" because they did not see the unity of the members of the Godhead and only saw the distinctions among the members:

1 Samuel 4:7-8
7   And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.
8   Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.

CONCLUSION

I hope any confusion that has been trust on you by the purveyors of religion has been shed through this teaching today. The Godhead is a simple doctrine that too many have tried to make into a vast mystery in order to keep the flock of God ignorant and largely dependent upon them for truth. Above all, I hope that you know the Godhead intimately. If you are not born again, then repent in full faith in the Lord Jesus Christ today and you will be saved and made a partaker of the family of God!

 

• < Prev
• Next >