Only One True God

ANAKE KOTAHI ATUA TINO

If you were to ask people, “Who is God?” or “What is God like?” you would get all sorts of answers because there are many ideas in the world today concerning God. But many of them are wrong. How, then, are we to know the truth?

First, God has revealed something of Himself in His creation – in the things He has made. As we look at creation and begin to understand something of its immense size and complexities, whether in the leaves of the trees, the wings of a butterfly, or the stars of the night sky, we know that God must be highly intelligent and very powerful. But we can never really get to know what God is like just by looking at creation by itself. We can only get to know what God is like if He tells us, and He has done so through His Word, the Bible.

When we come to the Bible an especially important thing we learn is that there is only one true God. He is not just the God of the Maori people or the Pakeha people or the Asian people, or any other particular race. He is the God who created all people for Himself. The Bible says, “From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth” (Acts 17:26).

Concerning this important truth, here are some verses for you to underline in your Bible. (We are quoting from the New International Version). God says in Isaiah 44, verse 6, “I am the First and I am the Last; apart from Me there is no God.” Isaiah 45, verse 5 says, “I am the LORD (Jehovah), and there is no other; apart from Me there is no God.” Verse 6 of the same chapter says, “I am the LORD and there is no other.” Isaiah 45, verses 18 and 22 tell us the same thing. Finally, Isaiah 45, verse 22 says, “Turn to Me and be saved all you ends of the earth; for I am God and there is no other.” The Bible makes it abundantly clear that all other gods are false.

But not only does the Bible tell us there is only one God, it tells us what He is like and how we can have a personal relationship with Him. What are some of the other things the Bible tells us about God?

It shows us that God exists in three Persons -- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. These are the three Persons of the Godhead who work together in perfect harmony (Matthew 28:19). 3

The Bible tells us that God is ETERNAL – without beginning or end (MUTUNGA KORE). He is the one and only Supreme Being who depends on no one else for His existence. Psalm 90, verse 2 says, “From everlasting to everlasting You are God.” This statement takes us back before time began and declares that God was always there. He had no beginning. Then it takes us beyond time and tells us that God will continue to be always there. He will have no end. More than this, He will never change. He will continue to be what He has always been – the almighty God, Sovereign Ruler of the universe.

In John 4, verse 24 we are told that God is SPIRIT (WAIRUA). He does not have a physical body like us. He is not limited by such a body, but He is able to appear in human form and has done so on various occasions in order to speak with people. The greatest example of this was when God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, became human to show us what God is like and to become the sacrifice for our sins. Through His death and resurrection we can be freed from our sins and made right with God if we accept Him as our Saviour and Lord.

As we have already seen God is ALMIGHTY (KAHA RAWA). His power and majesty are far above every other being in the universe. He is Supreme Sovereign and is both the Creator and Sustainer of everything. By His almighty power everything was created and is kept working. Power in the hands of men is not always safe, but power in the hands of God means the safety of the universe. He will never misuse His power for it is coupled with His perfect wisdom.

That which sets God apart from His creation more than anything else is the fact that He is HOLY (TAPU). This is shown in Isaiah 6, verse 3, where Isaiah, as a young prophet, had a vision of God. The seraphim (special angels) were calling out, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory”. The truth of God’s holiness is seen in many other parts of the Bible as well. Holiness means that God is absolutely separate from all that is impure or evil and that He Himself is completely pure and perfect. He cannot tolerate wickedness or sin and will finally punish all that is sinful, including us if we do not turn to Him for forgiveness and cleansing. God’s holiness is hard for us to understand because we are so unholy.

But not only is God holy, He is also LOVE (AROHA). This is seen most clearly in the great sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ for us. One of the best known verses in the Bible is John 3, verse 16, “For God so loved the world (you and me) that He gave His one and only Son (the Lord Jesus), that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” “Koia ano te aroha o te Atua ki te ao, homai ana e ai tana Tama kotahi, kia kahore ai e ngaro te tangata e whakapono ana ki a ia engari kia whiwhi ai ki te ora tonu.”