A Deeper Look at the Oneness of God

Ephesians 4:1-6

I. God is one.

A. The monotheistic principle is the foundation of all theology. Deuteronomy 6:4-15

B. Jehovah is identified as the only true God. Exodus 6:2-3.

C. No other gods…Exodus 20:3-5

D. No graven image… A graven image compromises the essential spiritual nature of God.

E. Idolatry was considered an abomination to God.

1. Genesis 35:2-4

2. Exodus 12:12

3. Exodus 23:13

F. The oneness concept is reiterated in the N. T. Acts 17:22-30

G. There is only one God.

1. Mark 12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

2. Romans 3:30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

3. 1 Corinthians 8:6 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.

4. Ephesians 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

5. 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

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

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

II. God cannot be anything other than One.

A. Ten characteristics of the number One.

1. Indivisibility. God is One. The number one is a whole number. If it is divided, the quotient either results in a fraction or a number greater than one. If God is a trinity, each person must either be one-third of God or the Godhead must be more than one. God is not merely one in unity or agreement, but one in number. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:32)

2. Essentiality. God exists as One. The whole number one is not a composite of several elements. One has integrity and uniformity throughout. God does not possess an essential threeness. Man may admire the beauty and symmetry of the triangle and try to ascribe its form to God, but the essence of God is one, not three. At Bethlehem, God manifested himself in flesh to save man, but the deity in Jesus Christ was essentially Jehovah God. (1 Timothy 2:5)

3. Cardinality. God is the Primary One. One is the primary number. It represents the cardinal status of the subject. As Creator, Sustainer and Life-Giver, God occupies the place of foremost importance in the material or abstract universe. He possesses a sovereign, monarchial status because he is the cardinal one. (Isaiah 37:16)

4. Ordinality. God is the First One. The number one always comes first because it is the beginning of ordinal numbers. God is not progressively, partially or interchangeably ordinal. He is first, now and always. God is first of all so-called deities, and because he fulfills every conceivable definition of God, he leaves nothing so that another deity could exist anyway. (Isaiah 41:4; Revelation 1:11)

5. Specificity. God is The One. The number one focuses on a single subject. It imposes limits of definition to remove all rivalry, duplicity or ambiguity. God is the specific focus of all glory, honor, power, worship, praise and adoration. All power emerges from him and all glory converges upon him. Any view of the Godhead that confuses or lacks specificity violates the character of the number one. (Isaiah 42.8)

6. Exclusivity. God is the Only One. By definition, the number one disallows all pretenders or competitors. God divides absolutely nothing of His Godhead with another. While He is not isolated or lonely, God does exist in solitude and aloneness. He shares no set nor subset of divinity with angel, man, beast or contrived deity. (Colossians 1:9-10; 1 Timothy 6:15)

7. Supremacy. God is the Highest One. The number one represents the best, finest and highest in the realm of possibilities. Those who compete in any given field want to be called number one because it makes them the best in the world. Every attribute, taken to its superlative state, characterizes God. He exemplifies every virtue, wears every honor, boasts every feat and deserves every expression of worship. (Psalm 145:3)

8. Identicalness. God is the Unequalled One. The number one is equal only to itself. Any other number that corresponds to all its attributes cannot actually be another, but the same number! Therefore, no other so-called god, nor other supposed person of God need exist because it would only be a redundancy of God himself. (Isaiah 40:25; 46:5)

9. Originality. God is the One Source. In its purest sense, number one may be considered self-initiating and self-perpetuating, having no precedent. God has no creator. He exists uncreated, unbirthed and uncaused. God, as the One God, originates everything else. He is the source of all that exists, the fountainhead of all knowledge and the First Cause of all effects. He owes no fealty, serves no obeisance, borrows from no other power, nor does he act in behalf of another. (Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16-17)

10. Eternality. God is always One. In the abstract, the number one always exists, regardless of time or subject. God exists as One, transcendent over time and oblivious to circumstance. There has never been a time when God needed to be more than one. (1 Timothy 6:16; Revelation 1:17)

Any theology that declares God to be three, must assume the inadequacy of one. It denies a measure of deity to one or two supposed persons of the Godhead in order to necessitate the existence of three. But a triumvirate of inadequate persons represents a flawed Godhead. God is indivisibly, essentially, cardinally, ordinally, specifically, exclusively, supremely, identically, originally and eternally One! It is for this reason, therefore, that the Oneness view of God is unrivaled in importance.

B. God cannot be two or more.

1. The Scriptures emphatically forbid it. (Isaiah 43:10-12)

2. Violations of the principle of One.

3. Proscriptions against idolatry. (Isaiah 44:15-18)

4. Corruption of the typology.

a. One ark.

b. One Door.

c. One tabernacle.

5. Created relationship capacity

a. Man is created for one vital relationship

b. We have one human father

c. One human mother

d. One wife/husband (Genesis 2:24)

C. Either God is One or he is infinite in number

1. Some regard three as the perfect number.

a. Three dimensions, Stability, Symmetry, Balance

b. I John 5:7 (Textual criticism)

c. Yet, three is also used in less than complimentary fashion: (Numbers 22:32; Matthew 26:34)

d. Doctrinal positions should not be based upon human fixations or obsessions about numbers other than those numbers which are clearly stated in scripture. Any given number may have both good and bad associations.

1) Satan, Antichrist, False Prophet

2) Pagan trinities

3) Multiple personality persons are considered dysfunctional.

2. If God is more than one, where can we stop?

a. Two? If taken as persons, only two represent the Godhead in most cases—-Father and Son.

b. Truant Holy Ghost?

c. Four? - Ezekiel. 1:5, 28

d. Seven? - Revelation. 3:1; 4:5

e. Nine? - Spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12)

f. Ten? - Deuteronomy 4:13

g. Twelve? - Revelation. 22:2

h. Hundreds? God’s names

D. God’s oneness cannot be described as a unity.

1. Unity combines dissimilar elements.

2. Unity of essence equals oneness.

3. Hebrew “elohim” (A plural form regarded as an abstract plural emphasizing the concept of deity. I Kings 11:5 shows that elohim is a general term for a deity, not a plural form as a precursor of the trinity.)

E. The Biblical Principle of One

1. “If your eye is single…”

2. A double-minded man is unstable…

3. One greatest commandment: Love

4. One sin (Romans 5)

5. One man’s righteousness

6. One savior

7. Ephesians 4:1-6

III. The Problem of Incarnation

A. The salvation of man required death, burial and resurrection.

B. No man qualified to be this sinless sacrifice.

C. God could not be the sacrifice because he had no body or blood.

D. The Spirit of God could not die without ceasing to be God.

E. Had God existed as a trinity, there would have been no need to search for a redeemer. (Isaiah 59:16; 63:5).

F. The dilemma can only be resolved by one God who incarnated himself to become the sacrifice for man.

1. 2 Corinthians 5:19 “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

2. Colossians 1:15 “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.”

IV. The Godhead

A. A mystery explained - I Timothy 3:16

1. God was Manifest in the flesh

2. God was…Justified in the Spirit

3. God was…Seen of angels

4. God was…Preached unto the Gentiles

5. God was…Believed on in the world

6. God was…Received up into glory

B. Jesus was God made visible for the purpose of redemption. (Colossians 1:20)

C. The key to understanding - Romans 1:20

1. The Godhead is clearly seen.

a. It is not irrational.

b. It is not incomprehensible.

c. It is not paradoxical.

2. The Godhead is understood by the things that are made.

a. The material universe testifies to oneness

b. No trinity exists in nature.

c. No beast is a trinity

d. Man is not a trinity.

1) Body, soul and spirit.

2) Yet, one person

e. There is no viable trinitarian model.

D. Missed scriptural opportunities to state the trinity

1. John 10:30

2. John 14:1-9

3. Colossians 2:6-10

V. As the Old Testament is monotheistic, the New Testament is Cristocentric

A. John 17:3; 14:8-9.

B. Jesus is the one central, unique personage.

1. The mind of Deity is eternally centered in Christ.

2. All angelic thought and ministry are centered in Christ.

3. All Satanic hatred and subtlety are centered at Christ.

4. All human hopes and occupations find fulfillment in Christ.

5. The whole material universe in creation is centered in Christ.

6. The entire written Word is centered in Christ.

C. The Oneness in Revelation

1. One claiming the attributes of deity.

2. One sitting on the throne.

3. One receiving worship and honor.

4. One sending his angel.