Reprinted with permission from Truth & Tidings Magazine
"For there is one God" is an expression found twice in Scripture. An examination of these two passages will show God’s relationship to us, and our relationship to Him.
In the first occurrence, Mark is the inspired author who tells of a scribe asking the Lord Jesus about the greatest commandment. On hearing the Lord’s response, the scribe says: "Thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but He: and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices" (Mark 12:32, 33).
If we read these words as "For there IS one God," the reality of God’s existence is brought before us. Many stumble at this, having difficulty accepting One Who is invisible. Yet faith is not blind. Evidence of God is all around us in creation; God has revealed Himself in the person of His Son, and also through His written word.
These words could also be read: "For there is ONE God." It has often been erroneously said, "It doesn’t matter what or who you believe, as long as you believe in something." This popular sentiment denies one of the great themes of Scripture - that there is ONE God. The first commandment given to Moses and the nation of Israel was, "Thou shalt have no other Gods before Me" (Exo 20:3). This truth brings us back to what the scribe said in Mark’s gospel. There is One God; He stands far above all we know and all we are. He is supreme over all things, eternal, the Almighty. He is the God of love, the God of peace, and the God of righteousness. He is worthy to be praised and adored and loved by all His created beings. This brief meditation on this first occurrence of these words shows us that He is supreme.
The second occurrence of these words reveals where we stand before Him. When a person has a proper sense of the greatness and supremacy of God, the next realization is that of his own (the sinner’s) depravity. "For there is one God, and one Mediator, between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all" (1Tim 2:5). Within these words is the truth that man has been separated from God because of sin, and that a Mediator has been provided.
There are cases when a person is aimlessly, unconsciously lost so that he can be likened to a sheep having no shepherd. At other times a person rebels against God and His goodness, willfully living far from the fold; and still other times there are those who are relying on their own selves and have a sense that they need no repentance. Yet all are in the same category of being separated from God by sin. On one hand there is the one God, righteous in His character, and on the other hand there is a sinner, unable to appease God as to his guilty condition. A true realization of one’s lost condition leads one to long for forgiveness and reconciliation.
God has provided the Mediator, the Man Christ Jesus for lost mankind. On Calvary He paid the ransom price to redeem lost sinners back to Himself. The shed blood of the Lord Jesus is the only means of reconciliation to God and the forgiveness of sin (Rom 5:10; Eph 1:7). His desire is for all to be saved, and He has provided the way. Trust the Lord Jesus Who has paid the ransom price, and be restored back to God and saved for eternity.
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