The Oneness of God Explored Further

The following article is in response to a comment by Ronald made to my post of last Sunday 9/27/08.

Dear Ronald:

You are correct that Isaiah describes Yahweh of Hosts as the Redeemer. This of course is Jesus the Christ before taking on human flesh. You conveniently overlook “and” which is a conjunction linking two separate subjects together. The King of Israel is one person; His Redeemer is a second person. These two persons are not the same person yet they are both referred to as I and me in Isaiah 44:6. Look at the passage again. “Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God”.

Another passage similar to Isaiah 44:6 is Psalm 110:1. “The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. In this passage notice: “the Lord” and “my Lord”. “The Lord” is speaking to “my Lord” which shows they are two persons.

Hebrews 1:1-9 shows God the Father and God the Son. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, when He bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him. And of the angels He saith, Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son He saith, Thy Throne, O God, is for ever and ever: A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

Notice where it says, “God, even Thy God,” and “unto the Son He saith, Thy Throne, O God,”. Both persons are referred to as God.

Consider John 5:17, 18 & 22,23. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent Him.

The Koran states that without a doubt Allah is the final decisive Judge (Surah 95:8). Scripture points out that Jesus is the Judge of the whole earth and that Jesus is God. Therefore, couldn’t one say that Jesus is Allah? Yes, Allah in flesh.

The Oneness of God Explored

Anonymous commented on my article, "Shining God’s Light on the Koran re: Abraham." The reader’s original comments are reproduced below.

”But you miss one thing, to be muslim to is believe in the oneness of God, what was revealed from God, judgement day, and to submit to God.

”So did Abraham (peace be upon him) believe in the oneness of God? YES

“Did he believe in what was revealed to him by God? Yes

“He did believe in Judgment day? YES

“Muslim has a broad meaning. In today's age since we consider that the message was completed by our beloved prophet peace be upon him (the last prophet), there is to be a muslim you have to believe in all that was revealed. And again, in today's age that would be the Koran.

“So yes, by this definition of Islam, Abraham was a Muslim. He submitted to god and never worshiped anyone or anything else.”

Dear Anonymous:

Oneness can refer to a single entity or several entities in union (1).

The Koran teaches that God is a single individual. This is shown by what the Koran states. The Ruler of the Universe; He has no equal (2). The Koran also says that the Supreme Ruler of the heavens and the earth has sired no offspring and is without an accomplice in His Supreme rulership (3).

Many cults, non-orthodox, and false Christians interpret the Holy Bible as meaning that God is one person. Passages which tend to support this concept are: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (4), and “Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord” (5).

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the word translated God in Genesis 1:1 is Elohim which is plural showing the plurality of God. Genesis 1:26 quotes God as saying, “Let us make man in our own image and after our likeness.” Genesis 3:22 quotes God as saying, “The man has become as one of us.” Again this shows plurality in God. The one in one Lord is also used in Genesis 11:6, “…the people is one.” That’s the same Hebrew word used for one as used in Deuteronomy 6:4. This shows that the one does not necessarily indicate a single person. For here we had many people referred to as one.

A Biblical passage that shows the unity of God in oneness is Isaiah 44:6. “Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and His redeemer the Lord of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last: and besides Me there is no God.” In this verse there are two people speaking the Lord God and His Redeemer the Lord of Hosts. In this verse there are two persons speaking which are referred to as one. Thus the plural and the singular are shown. In one verse we can see the many one and the singular one at the same time. This shows that God is multiple persons with the same essence instead of one individual.

Abraham was a Hebrew and his language shows that he was not a Moslem.

The Koran takes credit for writing the Holy Bible. The Koran’s description of God is different than the description of God given in the Holy Bible. Therefore, the writer of the Koran is not the writer of the Holy Bible.

God gives you the right to believe as you want. However, you cannot go to heaven believing what the Koran says.

You believe that there is one God; you do well: the devils also believe, and tremble (6).

REFERENCES

1. Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Page 1008
2. The Koran, Page 108 Paragraph 6:161
3. The Koran Page 252 Paragraph 25:2
4. The Holy Bible, Genesis 1:1
5. The Holy Bible, Deuteronomy 6:4

6. The Holy Bible, James 2:19

Shining God’s Light on the Koran

Source

This article is part of an on-going series. See previous articles: "Was Abraham a Jew or a Christian?", "Idolatry 101, 102 and 103.

Oneness

The Koran teaches that the eternal God is One. He has no equal. He was never begotten nor did He beget anyone (1). Compare this with the Shema in the Torah which states, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord (2). While the Shema appears similar to what the Koran says, in that God is one. The Shema neither says that God did not beget a Son, nor that God was never born.

Jesus did not speak when He was brought before the High Priest at the time He was accused of wrongdoing. In desperation the High Priest said to Jesus, “ I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You (are) the Christ, the Son of God (3).” Jesus said to him, you got that right. Nevertheless I say to you. After this you shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the High Priest tore his (own) clothes, saying, He (Jesus) has spoken blasphemy. The High Priest added “What further need have we of witness.” To the elders Caiaphas said, “You heard Him. What do you think? The elders answered and said, “He is guilty of death (4).” The high priest and the elders of Israel rejected Jesus as being the Son of God. Yet, they were looking for the Son of God for they asked Him if He was the Son of God.

In the book of Isaiah Scripture says, “A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel, which means God with us (5).” Isaiah writes, “…Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulders; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (6).”

Moses referred to this in the Torah when he wrote, “The Lord your God will raise up unto you a prophet from the midst of you of your brethren, like unto me, unto Him you shall hearken (7). At the time of Moses’ death there had not arisen anyone like Moses who knew the Lord face to face (8).” God spoke of this person when He told Eve that her seed would bruise the head of the serpent and the serpent would bruise the heel of her seed (9).

In the Koran the term “one” is represented as being only a single person. In Scripture it not only can represent a single entity, but also unity. The Hebrew word “one” the Shema is also found where God says “the people is (are) one” (10).” In this instance many individuals is referred to as one. It is the same Hebrew word where God says, “they have all one language (11).” The language is a single entity. God then says, “Let us go down, and there confound their language (12).” God reveals Himself as more than a single individual as represented in the term “Us”.

Indeed, the Hebrew word translated “God” in the book of Genesis, chapter one, is “Elohiym” which is a plural word (13). God had a conference before creating man and said, “Let us make man in Our image, and after Our likeness (14). Again the words “our” and “us” denote more than a single individual in referring to God. It cannot refer to angels since they are created beings and God is not created, but self-existent and eternal.

God took the rib of Adam and made a woman. Thus, they were one flesh, yet two individuals (15). This is why when we use the term man it often means both male and female.

Jesus spoke of God the Father saying, “I and my Father are one (16).” The Father is in me and I am in Him (17).” Notice that they are two individuals, yet, they are one. In the upper room where Jesus ate the Passover He prayed for His followers that they would be one as Jesus and the Father are one (18). Further in the prayer Jesus prays that His followers may be one in Us (19). There are millions of followers of Jesus and He prays that they would be one in Him and the Father. Notice that Jesus refers to Himself and the Father as Us even though they are one. This, there can be a oneness in the plurality of persons in Scripture. However, Koran does not recognize this.

The apostle Paul writes, “…We have many members in one body…every one members one of another (20)… By one Spirit we are all baptized into one body…and all have been made to drink into one Spirit (21).” Please notice there is one Spirit, which makes the many one. This is shown when Saul was on the road to Damascus to persecute the Christians there. Jesus confronted Saul and said to him, “Why are you persecuting Me?” Also notice that Jesus did not say “Why are you persecuting My followers, but He said “Me.” This shows that His followers are one with Him. In the same way God is one with three persons – God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit.

If you desire to be one with God you can do so right now. Repent of your sins by confessing to God that you are a sinner and invite Jesus to come into your life and heart (inner being). Pray something like the following: “Lord Jesus Christ forgive me of my evil and sin and come into my life.”



References:

(1) Koran p. 434, paragraph 112:1, 112:4
(2) Deuteronomy 6:4
(3) Matthew 26:59-63
(4) Matthew 26:64-66
(5) Isaiah 7:14
(6) Isaiah 9:6
(7) Deuteronomy 18:15
(8) Deuteronomy 34:10
(9) Genesis 3:15
(10) Genesis 11:6
(11) Genesis 11:6
(12) Genesis 11:7
(13) Genesis 1
(14) Genesis 1:26
(15) Genesis 1:21-24
(16) John 10:30
(17) John 10:38
(18) John 17:11
(19) John 17:21
(20) Romans 12:4 5; 1 Corinthians 12:12
(21) 1 Corinthians 12:13