“…yet for us there is one God, the Father … and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”
(1 Corinthians 8:6)
The LORD our God is One LORD,” (Deut. 6:4) and yet His nature is divinely mysterious and infinitely unique because He also clearly distinguishes Himself as three separate Persons in Scripture – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each Person of the Godhead possesses the same identical divine “god-ness.” Each participates fully and individually in being God and yet seamlessly and singularly as One. How can we possibly begin to understand and relate to this most high God?
Let’s begin by considering that God chose relational terms when referring to Himself. “Thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; Thy name is from everlasting,” (Isa. 63:16). And, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven,” (Mat. 5:16 cf. Matt. 6:9). The Apostle James says in 3:9, “Therefore we bless God, even the Father.” In all these and many other places, God refers to the first Person of the Godhead as Father.
This picture of God allows us to begin to understand Him. For example, if you are a Christian, God is your heavenly Father and you are His child. We are family. Good fathers love and protect their own. They provide for their children. They correct their children. They teach their children. They want their children to grow and mature and perpetuate their namesake in a way that makes a father proud. These are all characteristics that God our Father shares about Himself in His Word.
The second Person of the Godhead is referred to as His Son, the only begotten of the Father. And yet Jesus says of Himself, “I and My Father are One.” John writes under the inspiration of God that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth,” (John 1:1, 14).
The Son is also called “Lord,” as described in Acts 2:36, “God has made that same Jesus whom you have crucified both Lord and Christ.” And “Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,” (Phil. 2:11). Further, Christ died for that very purpose, according to Romans 14:9, “To this end Christ both died, and rose again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and living.”
This truth was certainly clear to Thomas post resurrection, when Christ appeared to His fear-filled disciples hiding behind locked doors. When Thomas saw Jesus, God’s Lamb who had been slain and yet was now glorified, his response was “My Lord and My God!” (John 20:28).
Christ is head over all creation (Eph. 1:22). All things exist and hold together by His power. If we seek to understand and experience God the Son rightly – if we contemplate who He is from what He tells us in His Word – our response can only echo that of Thomas… “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus is Lord, One with God. He is therefore worthy of our worship, devotion, and service for He purchased us by His blood (Col. 1:10, Acts 20:28). We are married to Him in the covenant of grace, so He cherishes and cares for us. And He is our Mediator. He reconciles for our sin before a holy, righteous Father. Thomas Manton said, “Owning, worshipping and adoring God by the Mediator, Jesus Christ, is the sum of the Christian religion.”
- Lord, I was so distant from You that You had to stoop down to save me from Your throne on high. In Your great mercy You took notice of me, a sinner. Help me praise You for the Lord Jesus Christ who rescued me from eternal death and reconciled me to You!
- Your excellency and majesty are so great, Father, that even the angels who worship You incessantly cover their eyes. If this is true for angels, how could I ever expect to approach You without a Mediator? I needed One more near and dear to You than I am, which is none other than Jesus Christ.
- Only You, my Lord and Savior, are fit for this high office of Mediator. Because You are God, just and holy and perfect, sinners like me have no access to the Father apart from You. You are the only One who can save me and draw me close to the Father. You are my Lord, my God, and my Mediator forever!
Further References for 1 Cor. 8:6
Eph. 4:5-6; Mal. 2:10; John 1:3; Rom. 11:36; 1 Tim. 2:5
