Every human being on the earth has some form of religion. Every form of religion believes in god(s) of some sort. Some believe in multiple gods, but all have at least one god. Even the atheist, and the agnostic have a god. If a person rejects all forms of organized religion and disavows the existence of God, what he has done is, to make himself god. He is saying there is no God so by default, he becomes his own god.
Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
By doing so, this person has eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In other words, he decides, he alone has the knowledge of what is right, and wrong. He is the only supreme being and authority in his life. The man himself becomes his own god, since he see’s himself as the supreme in his life.
Is 47:10 For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.
The capitalist has made the love of money and material things his god(s). The communist / socialist has made his state government and it’s leaders his god(s). The imperialist and monarchists have made the kings of this earth their god(s). The democrats have made the majority their god and the republicans have made the rights of the individual their god. This goes on and on, depending on, what the individual’s own philosophy of life is. They are creating the rules, and thus creating their own god(s).
Heb 11:16 . . . for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, . . .
The Bible says, if we are to come to the God of the Bible, we must first believe that he is. In other words, we must believe that God exists, and He alone is supreme. The phrase “we must believe that he is” is interesting phraseology.
Ex 3:13-14 . . . What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
When Moses posed the question, he believed the Israelites would ask him, “What is his name?” God answered, “I AM THAT I AM” or “I AM.” The words convey the eternal nature of God, the self existent or all existent One. He was the I AM. In other words he just was, is and always will be. This is the same concept repeated throughout scripture.
Isa 44:6 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.
Ps 41:13 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.
Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Rev 22:16 . . . I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Heb 7:3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; . . .
He has no beginning and no end. He has no mother and no father. We must understand that he just exists on his own. He always existed, he always has and always will. It is not good enough to just believe that God is. He does not stop there. We must also believe, He is the One and only true God.
Deu 6:4-9 Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Known as the Shama to the Hebrew people, this was the first and greatest commandment. When a scribe asked Jesus what was the greatest commandment, Jesus quoted the Shama. We must understand that there is just one God.
Is 43:15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.
Is 45:21-22 . . . there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. . . . : for I am God, and there is none else.
Is 46:9 . . . I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
Is 48:12 . . . I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
Is 60:16 . . . I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
But still that simple understanding is not enough. There is a teaching in the world today that says there are three great Abrahamic Religions in the world. They are Christianity, Judaism and Islam. All three are said to be monotheistic or they believe in one supreme God. Some even believe that they worship the same God. The Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob of the Holy Bible to the Christian and Jew. The Lord God of Abraham, Ishmael and isaac in the Koran to the Islamist. Where these religions differ is, the Jewish people have lost the pronunciation of the name of their God, and simply refer to him by a title like Elohyim (Lord) or Hashem (The Name.) The Islamist believes that Allah is their god. The Christians believe that Jesus is their God. As can be seen, there exists a bit of an identity problem among men. These each believe there is one god, but they differ in his identity.
Jm 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble . . .
Here James writes that the devils believe there is one God. Ask yourself a simple question. “Do I believe the devils are saved?” If you answered yes, I will pray for you. So while we believe, that there is one God, is that enough? The obvious answer is no, there must be more to know and understand. Not only must we believe that he is one, he must be first in our lives. There is to be, no other god’s before him. We are to worship him only, with all of our hearts, all of our minds, and all of our strength. This commandment must be written upon our hearts. In other words. it is not enough to just confess it with our mouth, we must believe it in our heart. We must always remember it, and teach it to our families. It should be the first thing we think of in the morning, the thing we think about throughout the day and the last thing we think about before we go to bed. It must be woven into the very fabric of our being. The idea of one God must be inseparable from us.
Gn 1:2 . . . And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Jn 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
It is clear from scripture that the one true God is a Spirit being. He is not a physical being as a man is. Spirit is like the wind, it is invisible. You can feel the Spirit move, just like when the wind brushes up against your face. You can see the effects of the Spirit, just like when the wind picks up the dust or a piece of paper, but you can not see the actual wind. This is very important when understanding the nature of God and how he can be one.
Eph 4:4-5 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all . . .
There is just one God, one Spirit, one Lord, and one Father. There are not multiple persons, personalities, or entities in the Godhead or nature of God. Belief in one God of the Bible, whom is the sole creator of heaven and earth is foundational to all Biblical based doctrines. This belief filters out somewhere between 35 to 50 percent of the worlds population, depending on how you break it down. Most people in this category are in what is now called one of the three great Abrahamic religions, which are Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. There are some other minority groups who also qualify.
