Jesus answered him,
"The first of all the commandments is:
'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God,
the LORD is one.'"
- Mark 12: 29 NKJV
The only true God
Who is the only true God?
Jesus declared the only true God is...
"Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said:
'Father... this is eternal life,
that they may know You,
the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.'"
- John 17: 1, 3 NKJV
Jesus prayed that eternal life is to know the Father as the only true God and to know himself as the Christ, sent by the Father.
Again, Jesus said the only God is...
"I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?"
- John 5: 43-44 NKJV
Jesus came in the name of the Father, yet they would not receive him, though he came in the name and received honor from the only God. Jesus again declares the Father as the only God.
Jesus cried out..."My God, my God..."
Did Jesus claim to have a God?
Jesus said to her,
"Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.'"
- John 20: 17 NKJV
Jesus, after his resurrection, calls the Father his God.
"He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God."
- Revelation 3: 12 NKJV
Jesus has now ascended to heaven, at the right hand of God, and when speaking to the churches, he still claims to have a God.
Our God
Who is our God?
Jesus declared our God is...
Jesus said to her,
"Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.'"
- John 20: 17 NKJV
Jesus, after his resurrection, calls the Father our God.
God is One
Is God many?
"have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living."
- Mark 12: 26-27 NKJV
Jesus tells us our God is a 'He', not a 'they', not a 'we', but simply our God is a 'He'. Jesus refers to God in the singular, not plural. Jesus says this right before he tells us our God is one in Mark 12:29.
Is God many in one?
Jesus answered him,
"The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.'"
Mark 12: 29 NKJV
So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He."
Mark 12: 32 NKJV
Jesus tells us our God is one. That our God is a "He", and that "He" is one, singular. Neither the scribe nor anyone else who heard Jesus was confused about God being many in one. God is a "He", one, and there is no other. Sounds like what God says of Himself.
I am the LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me.
Isaiah 45: 5 NKJV
God refers to Himself as "Me", not "We".
God is singular.
God is one.
The LORD
The LORD, YHVH, YHWH, Yahweh, Jehovah?
Is the LORD a name or a title?
Most translations substitute the name of God with a title, the LORD, all caps.
Though there is debate about what the name of God is, whether it is YHVH, YHWH, Yahweh, Jehovah. There is no debate that it is a name, not a title, a name like Greg or John.
Most of us have never heard this. Thus, when we see the LORD we should not think of a title that can be shared with many, but it is a name, like John, that belongs to someone, namely God.
The LORD is a name, not a title.
Thus, these scriptures should read like
I am YHVH, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me.
- Isaiah 45: 5
or
I am Yahweh, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me.
- Isaiah 45: 5
"YHVH our God, YHVH is one!"
- Deuteronomy 6: 4
or
"Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one!"
- Deuteronomy 6: 4
Is LORD the same as Lord?
Along with "the LORD", replacing the name of God. LORD is sometimes used to replace a special title only used for the true God, when transliterated from Hebrew would be "Adonai", meaning my LORD/my MASTER, but reserved for God.
Here lord means master.
Notice the differences:
"Adon": lord or master
"Adoni": my lord or my master
"Adonai": my LORD, my MASTER (for God only)
And to make it even more confusing:
Remember, they use "the LORD" for the name of God.
We lose a lot of meaning when we use the same word, lord, for names and titles.
We have replaced the name of God with a title.
Thus, when Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1
The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."
- Psalm 110: 1 NKJV
now
YHVH said to my Master, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."
- Psalm 110: 1
Now this is a lot less confusing. YHVH said to David's master, "Sit at..."
"If David then calls Him 'Lord', how is He his Son?"
- Matthew 22: 45 NKJV
Jesus is saying that David calls him, Master/Lord, not LORD, not YHVH, not God.
Jesus is highlighting how a descendant is usually lesser than his father, thus unusual for David to call his son his master.
Yet David knew that Jesus, his descendant, the promised Messiah, is greater than himself, that Jesus is his master.
The LORD
Who is the LORD?
Is Jesus the LORD or the Lord?
...every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
- Philippians 2: 11 NKJV
Every tongue will confess that Jesus is master, Lord, not the LORD, not YHVH. Note, God is the Father in this passage.
We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.
- Colossians 1: 3 NKJV
Paul refers to Jesus as our master, Lord, not our LORD, not YHVH. Note, God is the Father and God of Jesus in this passage.
Hebrews quotes Psalm 2: 7, with regards to God speaking to Jesus
For to which of the angels did He ever say:
"You are My Son, Today I have begotten You"?
- Hebrews 1: 5 NKJV
The LORD (YHVH) has said to Me,
"You are My Son, Today I have begotten You."
- Psalm 2: 7
Jesus never had a son. God is speaking to His son. Jesus is the Son who is begotten here. Jesus is the Son of YHVH.
Jesus is our master, the Lord.
Jesus is the Son of YHVH, the LORD.
So who is the LORD, YHVH?
The LORD (YHVH) has said to Me,
"You are My Son, Today I have begotten You."
- Psalm 2: 7
We already showed that Jesus is the Son here, the son of YHVH. Thus, YHVH is the Father of Jesus.
And behold, I propose to build a house for the name of the LORD (YHVH) my God, as the LORD (YHVH) spoke to my Father David...
- 1 Kings 5: 5
Solomon builds a house for YHVH, his God. YHVH had promised David that his son would build Him a house, the temple of God.
And He said to those who sold doves,
"Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"
- John 2: 16 NKJV
Jesus refers to the temple of God, which had been rebuilt, as his Father's house. Jesus doesn't say, "my house", Jesus doesn't say "our house". Jesus refers to the temple, "a house of the LORD (YHVH) my God", as "My Father's house". The house of YHVH is the house of Jesus' Father. Again, YHVH is the Father of Jesus.
"Blessed are You, LORD (YHVH) God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever."
- 1 Chronicles 29: 10
David declares YHVH is the God of Israel. David declares YHVH is our Father.
"The LORD (YHVH) our God, the LORD (YHVH) is one"
- Deuteronomy 6: 4 (Moses) & Mark 12: 29 (Jesus)
Moses and Jesus declare YHVH is our God. YHVH is one.
YHVH is the Father of Jesus
YHVH is the God of Israel
YHVH is our Father
YHVH is our God
YHVH is one
The scriptures
Jesus, the prophets, and the apostles all agree...
Jesus
"Father... this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
John 17: 1, 3 NKJV
Jesus
"I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God."
John 20: 17 NKJV
David (written by Ethan)
"You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation."
Psalm 89: 17 NKJV
Jesus
"for One is your Father, He who is in heaven."
Matthew 23: 9 NKJV
John
No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
John 1: 18 NKJV
Paul
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
2 Corinthians 1: 3 NKJV
John
Jesus Christ... who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father
Revelation 1: 5, 6 NKJV
Paul
And you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.
1 Corinthians 3: 23 NKJV
Peter
Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God
Acts 2: 22 NKJV
Peter
God, having raised up His Servant Jesus
Acts 3: 26 NKJV
Peter
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus
Acts 3: 13 NKJV
Jesus
"Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one."
Mark 12: 29 NKJV
James
You believe that God is one; you do well.
James 2: 19 ESV
Paul
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus
1 Timothy 2: 5 NKJV
Paul
Yet for us there is one God, the Father
1 Corinthians 8: 6 NKJV
David
"Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever."
1 Chronicles 29: 10 NKJV
Paul
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1: 2 NKJV
Malachi
Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us?
Malachi 2: 10 NKJV
Peter
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
1 Peter 1: 3 NKJV
Paul
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
2 Corinthians 11: 31 NKJV
Paul
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory
Ephesians 1: 17 NKJV
John
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants
Revelation 1: 1 NKJV
Peter
This Jesus God has raised up
Acts 2: 32 NKJV
Peter
God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ
Acts 2: 36 NKJV
Luke
gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God
Acts 7: 55 NKJV
Moses
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!"
Deuteronomy 6: 4 NKJV
Paul
Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.
Galatians 3: 20 NKJV
Jesus
"true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth... God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
John 4: 23, 24 NKJV
Still not sure...
See what Jesus said about His God, our God, the only true God...