One God: The Mighty God in Christ

How Many Gods Exist?

Why is there so much confusion about the nature and number of God? The Apostle Paul gave the church at Colossae a clear warning: “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men... and not after Christ.”

Paul followed this warning with the reason for it: “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

When people rely on human philosophy or religious tradition instead of the inspired Word of God, they lose sight of the most fundamental truth in Scripture: God is one. He is unalterably and indivisibly one.

"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. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour." — Isaiah 43:10-11

Scriptural References: Exodus 20:3, Deuteronomy 4:35, Deuteronomy 4:39, Deuteronomy 6:4, Deuteronomy 32:39, Psalm 86:10, Isaiah 42:8, Isaiah 43:10-11, Isaiah 44:6, Isaiah 44:8, Isaiah 45:5-6, Isaiah 45:18, Isaiah 45:21-22, Isaiah 46:5, Isaiah 46:9, Jeremiah 16:20, Malachi 2:10, Mark 12:29, I Corinthians 8:4-6, Ephesians 4:5-6, Philippians 3:20, Colossians 1:16, I Timothy 2:5, James 2:19, I John 5:7, Revelation 1:8, Revelation 1:11

The Mighty God Manifest in Flesh

Scripture does not teach that "one-third" of God (the Son) was manifest in the flesh. Rather, it teaches that God Himself—and the entire quality of His being—dwelt in a physical body: the person of Jesus Christ.

While God in Christ Jesus became something He had never before been (a man), He never ceased to be all He had ever been (the great I AM).

When you get to Heaven, you will not see three divine persons. All of God that you—and everyone else—will ever see for all of eternity will be Jesus.

Scriptural References: Isaiah 9:6, Matthew 1:18-23, John 1:1, John 1:14, John 1:18, John 8:40, John 8:57-58, John 10:30, John 14:8-10, Romans 5:14, II Corinthians 4:4, II Corinthians 5:19, Philippians 2:5-8, Colossians 1:15, Colossians 1:19, Colossians 2:9, I Timothy 2:5, Titus 2:13, Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 2:16, Revelation 1:8

All the Fullness Dwells in Him

As Moses stood before the burning bush, God identified Himself as I AM (Exodus 3:14). This title means "all that was, is, and will be." Only God can define Himself by Himself, for He has no equal. In any singular moment, He is I AM, for God is both within and outside of time itself. This identification is all-inclusive, leaving no room for a subdivision of persons.

Roughly 1,400 years later, Jesus identified Himself by this very title: "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58).

The Jews of His day did not pick up stones to kill Him because He claimed to be a "second person" in the Godhead. They wanted to stone Him because they understood exactly what He was saying. They realized He was claiming to be the I AM of Exodus standing before them. They failed to grasp that the Word was made flesh and was "God with us."

Jesus is not a part of God; He is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

Scriptural References: Matthew 1:23, John 1:1, John 1:14, John 1:18, John 10:30, John 12:45, John 14:8-10, Romans 9:5, Colossians 2:9, I Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 1:3