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The unity of God has been a very misunderstood and ill-taught doctrine. Before I set forth in this treatise to explain exactly what the unity of God is, let me explain what it is not. This will lay a firm foundation for the establishing of the truths of the unity of God, and enable us to:

1 Thessalonians 5:21
21   Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

Deuteronomy 6:4
4   Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

Galatians 3:20
20   Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

James 2:19
19   Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

1 John 5:7
7   For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

2. It is not that of the Polytheists which teach the existence of many gods.

Exodus 8:10
10   And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.

Exodus 9:14
14   For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.

Psalms 86:8-10
8   Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.
9   All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
10   For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.

3. It is not that of the Dualists which teach that there are two Gods, one good and one evil.

Deuteronomy 32:39
39   See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

Isaiah 45:5-7
5   I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
6   That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
7   I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things

4. It is not that of the followers of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1722, born Emanuel Swedberg), called the Swedenborgians, or those following similar doctrines which teach that the Son is the human nature of the Father and the Holy Spirit is only a divine influence, power, force, or operation.

John 1:1
1   In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Acts 5:3-4
3   But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4   Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

1 John 5:7
7   For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

5. It is not that of the Oneness people which teach that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are mere multiple personalities of God.

John 14:15-17
15   If ye love me, keep my commandments.
16   And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17   Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

John 18:17-18
17   It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.
18   I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.

1 John 5:7
7   For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

6. It is not that of the Unitarians which reject the true teaching of the divinity of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

1 Timothy 3:16
16   And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

1 Corinthians 12:11
11   But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

2 Corinthians 3:17
17   Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

7. It is not that of the doctrine that the one God created other Gods (some claiming the Son and Holy Spirit to be examples of these created Gods).

Isaiah 43:10-11
10   Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
11   I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

Deuteronomy 4:35-39
35   Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.
36   Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.
37   And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt;
38   To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.
39   Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.

Deuteronomy 33:26
26   There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.

2 Samuel 7:22
22   Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

2 Samuel 22:32
32   For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God?

1 Kings 8:23
23   And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:

2 Kings 5:15
15   And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.

2 Kings 19:15-19
15   And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
16   LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.
17   Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands,
18   And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
19   Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only.

1 Chronicles 17:20
20   O LORD, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

Nehemiah 9:6
6   Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.

Psalms 18:31
31   For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?

Psalms 35:10
10   All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?

Isaiah 37:16-20
16   O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.
17   Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God.
18   Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries,
19   And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
20   Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only.

Isaiah 40:18
18   To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

Isaiah 44:8
8   Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

Isaiah 45:14
14   Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.

Isaiah 45:18
18   For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

Isaiah 45:21-22
21   Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
22   Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

Isaiah 46:5
5   To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?

Isaiah 46:9
9   Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,

Jeremiah 10:6-7
6   Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.
7   Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.

Jeremiah 10:10
10   But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

Hosea 13:4
4   Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.

Micah 7:18
18   Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.

Mark 12:29
29   And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

None of these Scriptures could be true if there were another God subsisting apart from the one God or Godhead reveal in the Bible and throughout the creation. These Scriptural truths make it abundantly clear that there is no other God beside the Lord. There is no God created before or after Him. There is no God existing from eternity, beside Him. All of these Scriptures show a very real ontological unity of the members of the Godhead, and not a mere unity of wills or purposes.

That this is a doctrine that can be clearly seen is stated in the following Scripture:

Romans 1:20-21
20   For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21   Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

The word of God plainly states beyond any doubt that God's eternal power and Godhead are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. What things have been made that are able to show us the likeness of the Godhead and the essential unity of the Godhead?

Genesis 1:26-27
26   And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27   So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

How can we see the Godhead and even the unity of the Godhead in "the things that are made" as Romans 1:20 says? We can see the Godhead in God's creation the man, as man is made in the express image of God, after God's likeness. Very simply, you could take any three men and put them together and while they are three distinct and separate persons, they share a unity of essence or substance among them, that being their humanity. Neither of the three men would be considered less of a human than the other, for it is well understood that they are each fully human, even though they are distinct and separate from one another. So from this one could easily understand how there can be Three Persons in the Godhead, while They remain one in essence or substance. They are not equally splitting up the divine essence into thirds, rather They Each have eternally possessed the divine essence fully. None is lacking, and none is more divine than the other. All are without beginning or ending.

Men are not from all eternity, they have a beginning, they are created, etc., but the basics of the doctrine of the Godhead can be understood in the comparison above. Of course, such a comparison to "the things that are made" is not a perfect description of the Godhead, nor does it claim to be, but it does enable one to clearly see this teaching.

Let it be clarified that by saying "distinct and separate" in relation to the members of the Godhead, I am not saying that this splits or divides the divinity among the Three. This is only used in reference to the distinction between Each Person and the Personalities of each Person, and not the divine essence or their essential ontological unity. So let it never be said that the Father, Son, or Holy Ghost can subsist outside of the unity They have with the other members of the Godhead. It can never happen, for God "cannot deny himself" (2 Timothy 2:13).

Each Person of the Godhead could accurately be called "God," and collectively the Godhead can be called "one God." The Philistines who did not understand the essential unity of the Godhead are recorded as calling the members of the Godhead "Gods" because they did not see the unity of the members of the Godhead and only saw the distinctions among the members:

1 Samuel 4:7-8
7   And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.
8   Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.

Beyond the plain revelation of God in His word that the Godhead is unified in essence, substance, purpose, and wills, there is much in the creation that testifies to these truths about the unity of God.

1. There is much proof abounding showing the existence of a first cause at the beginning of the universe and all things therein. That this first cause has ruled out a first cause for Himself, as such a law was created by Him and would not be binding upon Him before He created it, ends any speculation of a first cause for Him. In other words, God's word remains true that He has no beginning and no end, and was not created, but has always been. To try to reason away the existance of any God based on His created laws creates a web of illogic.

2. It is logically impossible that there should be more than one first cause of the same series of events.

3. There is no reason for assuming the existence of more than one first cause of a series of events, and such an assumption is illogical and unphilosophical.

4. Even among nations that have taught the polytheistical view of many gods, when they consider the idea of a Supreme God, they do not consider the idea of there being more than one Supreme God.

5. If there was more than one God, then why would only one choose to reveal Himself to His creation and the other be strangely silent? That there is no revelation from another God, and no evidence for such a God, is sign enough that another God does not exist.

6. That the testimony of the God Who has revealed Himself explicitly denies there being or ever having been another God, and teaches the exact opposite of such a view, shows no other God exists or ever has.

7. There has never been the slightest trace of proof or anything pointing one to the conclusion that more than one Almighty God exists.

8. The dualistic doctrine of there being one good God and one evil God supposes rightly that a good God could not be the source and author of evil, but it wrongly concludes that this truth points to an evil God. This fails to see that free choice agents can of their own will do evil, and the good God, in choosing to allow free choice agents room for good or evil, is only being logically fair and wise in His running of His universe. Thus, there is no need to assume that an evil God exists when one realizes the only true God, the Lord God Almighty, has chosen to let sin run its course for the time being. He is neither sin's author or propagator, rather He allows the free choices of His creatures to occur unabated for the time being until He chooses to bring all works into judgment. Though, He does on occasions put down certain choices as He wills, and this is completely in His jurisdiction as the Almighty Creator of the heavens and earth. His allowance of such choices by free choice agents assumes His permissive will, and in this way such things as cannot be accredited to His perfect will are accredited to Him, though only by His permitting things that go against His perfect will to occur.

9. The One God of the Bible claims superiority over all claimed gods and lords (1 Corinthians 8:4-6), and there is no evidence for another source of the creation and natural laws, and such is illogical anyway.

10. If there were more than one God, we would be lacking the necessary knowledge of this and would be unable to perform our reasonable service to the Gods. It is unthinkable that another God would exist and would have no concern for his creation, nor reveal himself to his creatures.

11. That there are no other works or creations that can be attributed to another God, makes it incredible to assert that there is another God. Evil can be seen to come from the free choices of God's creatures, and everything else is seen to only have one first cause, the one God.

12. The various natural laws and unity of the vast creation prove the unity of God, as there is no part of the creation lacking this unity and evidence of one first cause.

13. The unity of design that permeates the universe is evidence for a unified God, and testifies against any theory of there being more than one God.

14. The very term universe shows the vast creation is recognized by all as unified, which is only evidence for the unity of God, and is more testimony against any theory teaching more than one God.

15. The uniformity of the natural laws or laws of science are a great testimony to the unity of God.

16. If the sun were to be closer or further from the earth, physical life would not exist. If the earth's atmosphere were to vary slightly, all physical life on earth would perish. These things are all evidence of the delicate balance of the universe and the reliance of the various creations upon one another to retain this balance. This is evidence of the unity of God, and is plain to any rational being.

The whole argument for the unity of God is not an argûmentum ex silentiô or an argument based on the silence or lack of evidence of the opposing view, rather it is based upon the overwhelming Scriptural evidence and the evidence of creation that the only logical and philosophical conclusion to the matter is that there is one unified God. Anyone claiming that another God exists or basing a point of view on such an opinion has the onus probandi or burden of proof resting on their side.

From the evidence I have given it is utterly impossible to reason that there is more than one God. The evidence stands that there is but one God, and He is in a perfect ontological unity and unity of wills, purposes, and desires. Assuming otherwise is false and is denying the light given to one's conscience to form a rational opinion from the testimony of God's Own word and the testimony from His creation.

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