He Alone Is God
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!”— Deuteronomy 6:4
In Judaism the most famous declaration from the Torah is found in Deuteronomy 6:4, and it is called the Shema: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” The Hebrew word translated “one” in that verse is echad. Often Jewish people say they can’t believe in Jesus because there’s only one God, and Christians speak of three Gods: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But, beloved, let me make myself clear: Christians are not talking about three Gods. We worship only one God who is multidimensional.
You see, the Bible says that from the very beginning the Son has been in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18). And when we study the Hebrew word echad in the Torah, we find that it is often used to denote multidimensional unity as opposed to a singular unity. For example, in Genesis 2:24, where we read that “a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh,” the Hebrew word translated “one” is echad. So what we have is a man and woman, two different people, being joined together as one.
Deuteronomy 6:4 is not proclaiming that God is a singular unity. Rather, I believe the Lord is saying that He alone is God! In fact in some Bible versions the Shema is translated as “The Lord is our God, the Lord alone” (e.g., nlt).
Beloved, there is only one God, as 1 Timothy 2:5 says: “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” God is multidimensional, but He is one, and He alone is God.
Father, I thank You for the multidimensional unity exhibited in the Godhead. You exist eternally as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I don’t know how the Trinity works, but I know You alone are God, and I can count on You to be my Father, my Savior, and my Teacher. I love You, Lord, for being all that I need. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider, Rivers of Revelation (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2020), Used by permission.