How Many Gods?

There are several places in the Bible which seem to imply more than one God. One of the most popular passages is found in Matthew 3:16-17, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Three Gods or one?

What about Revelation 3:21, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Are there two thrones for two Gods or is there only one God?

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Since the Son is equal to God and begotten from God, does this make Jesus another God?

A good rule to follow is found in 2 Timothy 2:15-16, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.” Another good rule is to allow scripture to explain scripture. If your understanding violates scripture, don’t change the scripture, change your understanding to fit the scripture.

With these rules in mind, how many Gods does the Bible claim? Remember, every passage is written after the existence of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The first passage contains one of the most important scriptures in this study: Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Notice the explicit clarity found here. There is one, and only one LORD.

Deuteronomy 4:35 says, “Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.” Later in verse 39 it says, “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.” There is, was and will be none else.

Isaiah 43:10-11, “Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.” Isaiah 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.”

From a careful study of God’s Word it is very clear there is one God, and only one God. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 says, “There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.” This view of God is supported by a myriad of scriptural references. (See sbc.net for more information.)

Since there is one, and only one God, ever, only and always, how do you explain passages like Matthew 3:16-17, or Revelation 3:21, or John 3:16? One thing you don’t do is make these passages, and passages like them, say there is more than one God. To say God the Father and Jesus are two Gods is to become a polytheist (a worshipper of many Gods), and not a monotheist (a worshipper of one God). This means you have left the ranks of the Baptists, and orthodox theology, and joined the foundation belief of the Mormons. God the Father is God; Jesus, the Word, the Son of God is God; The Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost), is God; there is no division of nature, essence or being, there is one and only one God, not three.

To say God the Father is God and Jesus the Son is God is not to say there are two Gods. David could go into the Tabernacle and say, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:” and then write under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” in Psalm 110:1 without contradiction. David knew there is, was, and always will be one, and only one God.

Maybe a couple of New Testament passages will help to make the complexity of God’s character more apparent. Look at John 3:13, “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” Notice this is Jesus speaking of Himself, the Son of man. Where is Jesus saying this? On earth. Where did Jesus say the Son of man was? In heaven. How could Jesus be on earth speaking and yet make this statement true by being in heaven at the same time? Since Jesus is the one and only God in the flesh, He is omnipresent. Although his flesh is limited by matter to a finite area, Jesus’ Spirit was capable of being in all places at the same time.

John 1:48-49 says, “Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. 49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.” Where was the body of Jesus when he saw Nathanael under the fig tree? Wherever it was, Jesus was not physically with Nathanael under the fig tree. This is only possible if Jesus is omnipresent, a trait of only one Being, the One and Only God.

John 10:30 says, “I and my Father are one.” And yet John 1:18 says, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” Exodus 33:11a says, “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” And Exodus 33:20 says, “And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” 33:23, “And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.” (If this is the pre-incarnate Christ, why could He not show His face; If this is God the Father, how could a Spirit have a face?) John 4:24, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” Jesus said in John 10:38, “But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.” Had enough yet? God doesn’t fit any box.

God, the Only One and True God is loving, just, merciful, infinite, eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, gracious, strict, exacting, holy, and He eternally exists in three persons. Let’s accept the fact we will never plumb the depths of the abilities of God’s Being in the fullness of His power, knowledge and presence with our puny finite mind. God is a single Being and yet He is also three persons, not three Gods, one God.

Keep Studying Scripture!