United Pentecostal Church of Peronia City 1

CHRISTIAN MONOTHEISM
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4). "But God is one"
(Galatians 3:20). There is only one God. There is only one God. This doctrine is central to the message.
biblical, for both the Old and the New Testament teach it clearly and emphatically.
despite the simplicity of this message and the clarity with which the Bible presents it, many who
They believe in the existence of God but have not understood it. Even within Christianity, many...
People, even theologians, have not understood this beautiful and essential message. Our
The purpose is to address this problem and to affirm and explain the Biblical doctrine of Oneness.
Monotheism Defined The belief in a single God is called monotheism, which comes from
from two Greek words: monos, which means alone, solitary, one; and theos, which means God.
Any person who does not accept monotheism can be classified as one of the
following: an atheist - one who denies the existence of God; an agnostic - one who asserts that
the existence of God is unknown and probably unknowable; a pantheist — one who
equal to God with nature or the forces of the universe; or a polytheist — one who believes in
more than one God. Ditetheism, the belief in two gods, is a form of polytheism, and also
this is tritheism, the belief in three gods. Among the religions of the world, three are
monotheists: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. However, within the
denominations of those who call themselves Christians, there are several divergent points of view
regarding the nature of Deity. A viewpoint, called Trinitarianism, asserts
that there are three distinct persons in the Deity — God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit
— but they are one God. (See Chapter 11). Within the variations of trinitarianism, there
two extreme trends can be distinguished. On one side, some Trinitarians emphasize the
Uniqueness of God without having a carefully developed understanding of what
they would mean three distinct persons in the Deity. On the other hand, other Trinitarians emphasize the
division of the Trinity into three to the point of believing in three self-conscious beings, and their point
from a perspective it is essentially tritheistic. In addition to trinitarianism, there is the doctrine of binitarianism,
that does not classify the Holy Spirit as a separate person, but asserts the belief in
two persons in the Deity. Many monotheists have indicated that both, trinitarianism and
binitarism weakens the strict monotheism taught by the Bible. They insist that the
Deity cannot be divided into persons and that God is absolutely one. These believers in the
strict monotheism is classified into two categories. One category asserts that there is only
a God, but he does so to deny, in one way or another, the full deity of Jesus Christ. This
The point of view was represented in the primitive history of the church by the monarchians.
dynamic, as was Paul of Samosata, and by the Arians, led by Arius. These groups
they relegated Jesus to the position of a created god, a subordinate god, or a lesser god.
the second category of true monotheists believes in only one God, but also believes that the
the fullness of Deity is manifested in Jesus Christ. They believe that Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit is manifestations, modes, offices, or relations that the one God has
demonstrated to man. Church historians have used the terms modalism and
moralist monarchism to describe this viewpoint that was held by leaders of
the primitive church such as Noetus, Praxeas, and Sabellius. (See Chapter 10) In the century
twenty, those who believe as much in the indivisible unity of God as in the full Deity of
Jesus Christ, they frequently use the term Oneness to describe their belief. They also use
the terms 'One Single God' and 'in the Name of Jesus' to refer to themselves, while those who

Christian monotheism Jose Pirir Patzan 1

United Pentecostal Church of Ciudad Peronia 2
they resist this point of view sometimes using misleading and derogatory designations like "Only
Jesus and New Question. (The nickname 'Only Jesus' is misleading because to the Trinitarians it
it implies the denial of the Father and the Holy Spirit. However, believers in Oneness
they do not deny the Father and the Spirit, but perceive the Father and the Spirit as different
manifestations of the One God who is the Spirit of Jesus.) In summary, Christianity has
produced four basic viewpoints about Deity: (1) trinitarianism, (2)
binitarism, (3) strict monotheism with a denial of the full Deity of Jesus Christ, and (4)
strict monotheism with an affirmation of the full Divinity of Jesus Christ, or
Uniqueness. Having examined the variety of human beliefs about the Deity,
let's look at what the Word of God — the Bible — has to say about this topic. The
The Old Testament teaches that there is only one God. The classical expression of the doctrine of one
Only God is found in Deuteronomy 6:4. 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.'
This verse from the Scriptures has become the most distinctive statement of faith and
important for the Jews. They call it the Shema, which is the first word of the phrase in
the Hebrew, and it is frequently cited in Spanish as 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is the
"one Lord." Traditionally, a devout Jew always tried to make this confession of faith.
just before dying. In Deuteronomy 6:5, God followed the announcement of the previous verse with a
commandment that requires a complete belief in love for Him as the one and only God:
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.
We must note the importance that God places in Deuteronomy 6:4-5. He commands that these
verses shall be placed within the heart (verse 6), taught to the children every day
(verse 7), bound on the hand and on the forehead (verse) , and writings on the posts and the
doors of the houses (verse 9). Orthodox Jews follow these literally.
commandments today, as they tie tefillin (phylacteries) on their left forearms and in
their fronts when they pray, and for placing mezuzahs on their doors and gates. (Tefillin are
small boxes tied to the body with leather straps, and mezuzzah are containers in
scroll form of parchment). Inside both types of container there are verses from the
Writings that have been handwritten by a pious man who has observed certain rites
of purification. The verses from Scripture are generally Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:18-
21, Exodus 13:8-10, and 13:14-16. On a trip to Jerusalem, where we gathered the information.
mentioned earlier[1] We tried to buy tefillin. The orthodox Jewish merchant said
that he did not sell tefillin to Christians because they do not believe or have the proper reverence
towards these verses of Scripture. When we quote Deuteronomy 6:4 and explain
our complete adherence to him, his eyes shone with joy and he promised to sell it to us with
the condition that we would treat the tefillin with care and respect. Its care demonstrates the
great reverence and the depth of belief that the Jews have for the concept of a
Only God. It also reveals that one of the main reasons why Jews have rejected
Christianity throughout history is the perceived distortion of the monotheistic message.
The Old Testament, many other verses of Scripture, emphatically affirm the
strict monotheism. The Ten Commandments begin with 'You shall have no other gods before me.'
"of me" (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7). God emphasized this commandment when He declared that
He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). In Deuteronomy 32:39, God said that there is no other.
God with Him. There is no one like the Lord and there is no God besides Him (2 Samuel 7:22; 1 Chronicles
17:20). Only He is God (Psalm 86:10). In Isaiah, there are several emphatic statements of
God. "Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me"
there is no one who can save" (Isaiah 43:10-11). "I am the first, and I am the last, and besides me

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United Pentecostal Church of Peronia City 3
There is no God (Isaiah 44:6). "There is no God but me. There is no Strong; I know none" (Isaiah)
44:8). "I am Jehovah, who does everything, who alone stretches out the heavens, who stretches out the earth by myself.
"me" (Isaiah 44:24). "There is no one but me; I am the Lord, and there is no one else beside me" (Isaiah 45:6).
There is no God but me; just and Savior God; none other outside of me. Look to me, and be
Save, all the terms of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:21-22).
Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other.
God, and there is nothing comparable to me” (Isaiah 46:9). “I will not give my glory to another” (Isaiah 48:11;
See also Isaiah 42:8). "Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, who dwells among the
cherubim, you alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth; you made the heavens and the earth
(Isaiah 37:16). There is only one God, who is the Creator and Father of all humanity.
(Malachi 2:10). In the time of the Millennial Kingdom, there will be only one Lord with one name.
(Zechariah 14:9). In short, the Old Testament speaks of God in terms of being one.
Many times the Bible calls God the Holy One (Psalm 71:22; 78:41; Isaiah 1:4; 5:19; 5:24), but
never the 'two saints,' the 'three saints,' or the 'many saints.' A common observation of
some Trinitarians about the Old Testament doctrine of the Oneness of God, is that
I only intended to emphasize His Uniqueness in contrast with pagan deities.
but that he still existed as a plurality. However, if this reasoning were
certain, why didn't God make it clear? Why haven't the Jews understood a theology of
"people," but have insisted on an absolute monotheism? Let's look at it from the point of
view of God. Let us suppose that He did want to exclude any belief in a plurality in the
Deity. How could I have done it using the existing terminology? What words
what could have been used to communicate his message to his people? Upon thinking about it, we
we will realize that he used the strongest language available to describe the
absolute uniqueness. In the preceding verses of the Scriptures of Isaiah, we notice the use of
words and phrases like 'none, none more, nothing is like me, there is no one but me'
alone, for myself," and "one." Certainly, God could not clarify better than
there is no plurality in the Deity. In short, the Old Testament states that God
there is absolutely one in number. The New Testament Affirms That There Is One God Jesus
he emphatically taught Deuteronomy 6:4, calling it the first of all commandments
(Mark 12:29-30). The New Testament presupposes the teaching of the Old Testament of
one God and explicitly repeat this message several times "Because God is one, and he"
will justify" (Romans 3:30). "There is only one God" (I Corinthians 8:4). "For us, without
embargo, there is only one God, the Father" (I Corinthians 8:6). "But God is one" (Galatians 3:20). "A
"God and Father of all" (Ephesians 4:6). "For there is one God" (I Timothy 2:5). "You believe that
God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe, and tremble" (James 2:19).
Again, the Bible calls God the Holy One (1 John 2:20). There is a throne in heaven and One is
sitting on it (Revelation 4:2). In subsequent chapters we will explore the monotheism of
New Testament with greater depth, but the verses of the Scriptures that
we mentioned earlier, are sufficient to establish that the New Testament teaches
that there is only one God.

Christian monotheism Jose Pirir Patzan 3

United Pentecostal Church of Ciudad Peronia 4
Conclusion
As we have seen, the Bible teaches strict monotheism. The people of God have always...
identified with the message of one God. God chose Abraham because he was
willing to abandon the gods of his nation and of his father and worship the only God
true (Genesis 12:1-8). God punished Israel every time they started to worship
other gods, and polytheistic worship was one of the main reasons why God
finally sent them into captivity (Acts 7:43). The Savior came into the world through a
nation (Israel) and through a religion (Judaism) in which people had purified themselves
finally from polytheism. They were totally monotheistic. Nowadays, God still demands a
monotheistic worship for Him. Those of us in the church are heirs by faith of
Abraham, and this exalted position demands that we have the same monotheistic faith in God
of Abraham (Romans 4:13-17). As Christians, we must never cease to exalt and declare
in the world the message that there is only one true and living God.

Christian monotheism Jose Pirir Patzan 4