Reasoning with Mormons out of the scriptures (Acts 17:2) (Home)
Table of Contents:
Introduction 3. Adam
6. The Priesthood 9. The Gospel
12. Eternal Life
1. His Image 4. God
7. Apostasy
10. Baptism Summary
2. Creation 5. Trinity
8. Prophets
11. Marriage
Scripture Reference
4. God
There is one God (LDS Teachings | Bible | Catholic Teachings | Early Church Writings)
Reason with a Mormon by asking - Why does the LDS church teach the Son is “a God” and that he is one of "three Gods" when the Bible reveals the Son is “God” and that "there is one God; and there is none other but he"?
Joseph Smith Teachings (Ensign, Mar 2008, 68-73) "I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods” Ensign, Mar 2008
Mark.12 ([29] And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: [32] And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:)
The Son is not “a God” like Mormonism teaches, the New Testament teaches the Son is “God” or divine nature from the beginning (1John 1:1,14). The Son is not "a God" and is not one of "three Gods", the Son is God, God was manifest in the flesh (John 1:1,14; 1Tim 3:16). The Old Testament teaches unto us a child is born, the mighty God, the everlasting Father (Isa 9:6). God was manifest in the flesh, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself (1Tim 3:16; John 1:1,14; 2Cor 5:19). When Thomas saw the risen Jesus he called out “my Lord and my God”, we are to believe Jesus is the Son of God (John 20:28-31). Stephen prayed to Jesus, Jesus is worshipped by men and angels (Acts 7:59; Luke 24:52; Heb 1:6). Christ and his apostles taught one God (Mark 12:29,32; 1Cor 8:4-6). We can know the truth by continuing in the words of Jesus (John 8:31,32). The truth that Jesus taught is that "there is one God; and there is none other but he" (Mark 12:32). Jesus is God and man, God was manifest in the flesh, the man Christ Jesus is the one mediator between God and men, God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, there is one God (1Tim 3:16; 1Tim 2:15; John 1:1,14; 2Cor 5:19).
The Father and the Son "are one" in being and in works (John 10:30,38), the Father dwelt in the Son and did the works (John 14:10,11,23; John 17:21). God can work in us to do his will, the Father can dwell in us (John 17:21-23; Phil 2:13). We are one spirit when we are joined to our Lord, our bodies are members of Christ, the two shall be one flesh (1Cor 6:15-17; Rom 12:4). The Father and the Son are two distinct persons but they are not two separate Gods, Mark 12:32 says "there is one God; and there is none other but he" and 1Tim 2:15 says that "there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus". The Father and the Son are distinct persons, for example the Son did not pray to himself, the Son prayed to the Father (John 14:16). There is not God the Father and God the Son because that would make two separate God's, there is God the Father and the Son of God (Titus 1:4; John 20:31). Christ's baptism reveals three distinct persons but it does not reveal three separate Gods like Mormonism. The Father, the Son, and the HG are distinct persons, but they are not three Gods since "there is one God; and there is none other but he". The Bible reveals the Father is God, Jesus is God, the HG is God, the Bible does not revel these three distinct persons are "a God" and "a God" and "a God" because this would contradict the Bible teaching of one God. It is illogical to say that there is three Gods and one God, no matter how closely together three gods work, they remain three gods, not one.
Jehovah (LORD), our God, our Father (LDS Teachings | Bible | Catholic Teachings | Early Church Writings)
Reason with a Mormon by asking - Why does the LDS church teach Jehovah and our Heavenly Father are two different Gods who are separate when the Bible reveals Jehovah (LORD) is our God and our Father?
LDS Bible Dictionary (God) "When one speaks of God, it is generally the Father who is referred to; that is, Elohim. All mankind are his children. The personage known as Jehovah in Old Testament times, and who is usually identified in the Old Testament as LORD (in capital letters), is the Son, known as Jesus Christ, and who is also a God. Jesus works under the direction of the Father and is in complete harmony with him. All mankind are his brethren and sisters, he being the eldest of the spirit children of Elohim.... The Holy Ghost is also a God and is variously called the Holy Spirit, the Spirit, the Spirit of God, etc."
Deut.32 ([3] Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. [6] Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee [8] When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. [9] For the LORD's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.)
NAB Deut 32 ([3] For I will sing the LORD'S renown. Oh, proclaim the greatness of our God! [6] Is the LORD to be thus repaid by you, O stupid and foolish people? Is he not your father who created you? Has he not made you and established you? [8] When the Most High assigned the nations their heritage, when he parceled out the descendants of Adam, He set up the boundaries of the peoples after the number of the sons of God; [9] While the LORD'S own portion was Jacob, His hereditary share was Israel.)
Deut.4 ([1] Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. [4] But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day. [19] And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. [20] But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.)
NAB footnotes for Deut 32:8 "[8] The sons of God: the angels; cf Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Psalm 89:6-7. Here the various nations are portrayed as having their respective guardian angels. Cf Daniel 10:20-21; 12:1."
NAB footnotes for Daniel 10:13 "[13] The prince of the kingdom of Persia: the guardian angel of Persia. The later Judaism ascribed protecting angels to various groups of human society, often as little more than personifications. Michael: the angel who is the protector of God's people (Daniel 10:21)."
NAB footnotes for Psalm 89 "[7] The gods: literally, "the sons of gods," "the holy ones" and "courtiers" of Psalm 89:6, 8. These heavenly spirits are members of God's court."
NAB footnotes for Psalm 82 [Psalm 82] As in Psalm 58, the pagan gods are seen as subordinate divine beings to whom Israel's God had delegated oversight of the foreign countries in the beginning (Deut 32:8-9). Now God arises in the heavenly assembly (Psalm 82:1) to rebuke the unjust "gods" (Psalm 82:2-4), who are stripped of divine status and reduced in rank to mortals (Psalm 82:5-7). They are accused of misruling the earth by not upholding the poor. A short prayer for universal justice concludes the psalm (Psalm 82:8). [5] The gods are blind and unable to declare what is right. Their misrule shakes earth's foundations (cf Psalm 11:3; 75:4), which God made firm in creation (Psalm 96:10). [6] I declare: "Gods though you be": in John 10:34 Jesus uses the verse to prove that those to whom the word of God is addressed can fittingly be called "gods."
NAB footnotes for 1 Cor 8:4-6 "[6] This verse rephrases the monotheistic confession of v 4 in such a way as to contrast it with polytheism (1 Cor 8:5) and to express our relationship with the one God in concrete, i.e., in personal and Christian terms."
Elohim and Jehovah are not two separate Gods like Mormonism teaches, Jesus taught there is "one God" (Mark 12:29,32). God and Christ are distinct persons but they are not separate Gods, the apostle Paul taught "to us there is but one God, the Father and one Lord Jesus Christ" (1Cor.8:4-6). Deuteronomy 32:8-9 does not portray Yahweh as a separate God from El and as a member of the divine assembly. Deuteronomy 32:8-9 reveals Jehovah (LORD) is our God and our father, he made us and established us, Jehovah (LORD) is the most High. Jehovah is our "God" (Exod 6:2-7). Jehovah is God Almighty, the LORD our God (Exod 6:2-6). Psalm 110 reveals the "LORD (the Father) said unto my Lord (the Son), Sit thou at my right hand." The Son of God is at the right hand of God the Father exalted (Acts 2:33).
Jesus is "I AM", the Son of God and God himself (John 8:58; John 1:1,14; 1Tim 3:16). Jesus is the "Son of the most high God" (Mark 5:7). Jesus, the Word, created all things, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible (Col 1:3-17; Psalm 33:6,9). Jehovah (the LORD) created all angels in heaven with a command (Psalm 148:1,5; Nehemiah 9:6). Angels are created spirits (Heb 1:7). Angels like Satan are called sons of God because they are created by God (Job 2:1; Psalm 148:1,5). Jesus is the first-begotten of the Father, not as having been created but as coming forth (Prov 8:25). Heavenly spirits who are members of God's council can be referred to as sons of God (Psalm 89:6,8) or gods (Psalm 82:1).
The Father and the Son are distinct persons but they are not different Gods, there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1Tim 2:15). There is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb (Rev 21:22). The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, the God of our fathers glorified his Son Jesus (Acts 5:30; Acts 3;13). God our Saviour sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world (1Tim 1:1; 1John 4:14). The LORD says "I am God, and there is none else", "a just God and a Saviour" (Isa 45:7-22). The LORD is our father, our God, and the rock of our salvation (Psalm 89:26; Deut 32:1-18). Christ was that Rock, Jesus said before Abraham was, I am and they took up stones to cast at him (1Cor 10:4; John 8:58, 59). The LORD, the rock of our salvation, the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD, he is our maker, he is our God (Psalm 95:1-7). The LORD (the Father) said unto my Lord (the Son), sit thou on my right hand (Acts 2:34,36). The apostle Paul taught "one", 1Cor 8:4,6 says "there is none other God but one, ... to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."
There is one God .
Joseph Smith Teachings (Ensign, Mar 2008) "I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods” Ensign, Mar 2008
Gospel Principles Chapter 7 "Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are called the Godhead. They are unified in purpose."
Gospel Principles Chapter 7 "How are the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost one? To answer, use the example of a father, mother, and children working for one same purpose"
Jehovah ( LORD), our God, our Father .
Gospel Principles Chapter 3 "Our Father said, "Whom shall I send?" (Abraham 3:27). Two of our brothers offered to help. Our oldest brother, Jesus Christ, who was then called Jehovah, said, "Here am I, send me" (Abraham 3:27) ... Satan, who was called Lucifer, also came ... Jesus Christ was chosen ... to be our Savior when we all attended the great council with our heavenly parents."
Gospel Principles Chapter 2 " Every person who was ever born on earth was our spirit brother or sister in heaven. The first spirit born to our heavenly parents was Jesus Christ, so he is literally our elder brother ."
Gospel Principles Chapter 3 "Two of our brothers ... Jesus Christ, who was then called Jehovah ... Satan ..."
Bible Dictionary (God) "When one speaks of God, it is generally the Father who is referred to; that is, Elohim. All mankind are his children. The personage known as Jehovah in Old Testament times, and who is usually identified in the Old Testament as LORD (in capital letters), is the Son, known as Jesus Christ, and who is also a God. Jesus works under the direction of the Father and is in complete harmony with him. All mankind are his brethren and sisters, he being the eldest of the spirit children of Elohim.... The Holy Ghost is also a God and is variously called the Holy Spirit, the Spirit, the Spirit of God, etc."
Bible verses from King James
There is one God .
Mark.12 ([29] And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: [32] And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: there is one God; and there is none other but he:)
John.10 ( [30] I and my Father are one. [38] But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.)
1Tim.3 ([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.)
Isa.9 ([6] For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.)
2Cor.5 ([19] To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.)
John.17 ([21] That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. [22] And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: [23] I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.)
John.14 ([10] Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. [11] Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. [23] Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.)
John.5 ([17] But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. [18] 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. [19] Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. [30] I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.)
2John.1 ([9] Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.)
Phil 2 ([13] For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.)
1Cor.6 ([15] Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. [16] What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. [17] But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. [19] What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? )
John.8 ([23] And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. [28] Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. [29] And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him [42] Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. [58] Jesus said unto them, Verily,verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.)
John.3 ([31] He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all)
John.1 ([18] No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him)
John.6 ([46] Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father)
http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/john/john5.htm#foot8[19] This proverb or parable is taken from apprenticeship in a trade: the activity of a son is modeled on that of his father. Jesus' dependence on the Father is justification for doing what the Father does.
Tit.1 ([4] To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.)
Mark.5 ([7] And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.)
Jehovah ( LORD), our God, our Fatherr .
John.20 ([17] Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. [28] And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. [31] But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.)
John.17 ([3] And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.)
1John.5 ([20] And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.)
Mark.12 ([29] And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: [32] And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: there is one God; and there is none other but he:)
Jer.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.)
Rev.19 ([6] And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.)
Acts.17 ([24] God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; [25] Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device)
1Cor.8 ([4] As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. [5] For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) [6] But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.)
Exod.6 ([2] And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: [3] And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. [7] And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.)
Pss.83 ([18] That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.)
Pss.82 ([6] I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.)
Mark.5 ([7] And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.)
Rev.21 ([22] And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.)
2Cor.6 ([18] And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.)
Rev.1 ([8] I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.)
Deut.32 ([3] Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. [4] He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. [6] Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee [8] When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. [9] For the LORD's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.)
Deut.4 ([1] Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. [4] But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day. [19] And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. [20] But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.)
Job.33 ([4] The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.)
Isa.45 ([7] I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. [11] Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.[12] I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. [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. [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.)
Mark.12
([29] And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments
is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: [32] And the
scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is
one God; and there is none other but he [35] And Jesus answered
and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the
Son of David? [36] For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord
said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy
footstool. [37] David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and
whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.)
Exod.15 ([2] The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him. [3] The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name. [11] Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?)
Acts.5 ([30] The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.)
Acts.3 ([13] The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.)
Acts 2 ([32] This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. [33] Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. [34] For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, [36] Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.)
1Cor.10:4 (And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ)
John.8 ([23] And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. [58] Jesus said unto them, Verily,verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. [59] Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.)
Isa.43 ([11] I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. [12] I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.)
1Tim.1 ([1] Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;)
1John.4 ([14] And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.)
Luke.1 ([35] And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. [47] And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.)
Catholic Church Teachings
There is one God .
At the time appointed by God, the only Son of the Father, the eternal Word, that is, the Word and substantial Image of the Father, became incarnate; without losing his divine nature he has assumed human nature. The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by reconciling us with God, who "loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins": "the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world". Taking up St. John's expression, "The Word became flesh", the Church calls "Incarnation" the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it. Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.
Previously God, who has neither a body nor a face, absolutely could not be represented by an image. But now that he has made himself visible in the flesh and has lived with men, I can make an image of what I have seen of God . . . and contemplate the glory of the Lord, his face unveiled. The Son is "consubstantial" with the Father, that is, one only God with him. He is naturally Son of the Father as to his divinity and naturally son of his mother as to his humanity, but properly Son of the Father in both natures." Consubstantial with the Father as to his divinity and consubstantial with us as to his humanity; "like us in all things but sin". He was begotten from the Father before all ages as to his divinity and in these last days, for us and for our salvation, was born as to his humanity of the virgin Mary, the Mother of God. The Incarnation of God's Son reveals that God is the eternal Father and that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, which means that, in the Father and with the Father the Son is one and the same God.
We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons. The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire. "Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature." There is only one God, the almighty Father, his only Son and the Holy Spirit: the Most Holy Trinity. The divine persons are really distinct from one another. Jesus himself affirms that God is "the one Lord" whom you must love "with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength". At the same time Jesus gives us to understand that he himself is "the Lord". To confess that Jesus is Lord is distinctive of Christian faith. This is not contrary to belief in the One God. There is only one true God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; three persons indeed, but one essence, substance or nature entirely simple. Each person considered in himself is entirely God. One divine nature.
The Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal. One divinity and power, existing one in three, and containing the three in a distinct way. We do not divide the Godhead, since the Father is its "source and origin," but rather confess that the Son is eternally begotten by him and the Holy Spirit proceeds from him. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father." The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is God, one and equal with the Father and the Son, of the same substance and also of the same nature.
Christ bestowed unity on his Church from the beginning. This is why Jesus himself prayed at the hour of his Passion, and does not cease praying to his Father, for the unity of his disciples: "That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us, . . . so that the world may know that you have sent me." The Church is one because of her "soul": "It is the Holy Spirit, dwelling in those who believe and pervading and ruling over the entire Church, who brings about that wonderful communion of the faithful and joins them together so intimately in Christ that he is the principle of the Church's unity." The Spirit is truly the dwelling of the saints and the saints are for the Spirit a place where he dwells as in his own home since they offer themselves as a dwelling place for God and are called his temple. The ultimate end of the whole divine economy is the entry of God's creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity. But even now we are called to be a dwelling for the Most Holy Trinity: "If a man loves me", says the Lord, "he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him".
We are called only to become one with him, for he enables us as the members of his Body. We ask our Father to unite our will to his Son's, in order to fulfill his will, his plan of salvation for the life of the world. We are radically incapable of this, but united with Jesus and with the power of his Holy Spirit, we can surrender our will to him and decide to choose what his Son has always chosen: to do what is pleasing to the Father. In committing ourselves to [Christ], we can become one spirit with him, and thereby accomplish his will, in such wise that it will be perfect on earth as it is in heaven. Consider how Jesus Christ] teaches us to be humble, by making us see that our virtue does not depend on our work alone but on grace from on high.
Catholic Answers - "There is no doubt that the New Testament declares Jesus to be God. ... in John 5:18 we are told that Jesus’ opponents sought to kill him because he "called God his Father, making himself equal with God." ... In John 8:58 ... Jesus ... invoking and applying to himself the personal name of God, "I AM" or "Yahweh." ... in John 20:28, Thomas falls at Jesus’ feet, exclaiming "My Lord and my God!" In Philippians 2:6, Paul writes of Christ Jesus "[w]ho, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped." ... the Church Fathers also recognized the divinity of Christ ..."
Catholic Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith "... The words Father, Son and Holy Spirit, have for the Mormons a meaning totally different from the Christian meaning. The differences are so great that one cannot even consider that this doctrine is a heresy which emerged out of a false understanding of the Christian doctrine. The teaching of the Mormons has a completely different matrix."
Catholic Answers - "Christians are monotheists and believe in one God, not three. No matter how closely together three gods work, they remain three gods, not one."
ETWN "Mormons are not Christians ... Those who deny the doctrine of the Holy Trinity deny that Christ is God. Now if one denies that Christ is God, he is denying an essential aspect of Christianity"
ETWN. "Although Mormons certainly consider themselves to be Christians, the Church does not consider them to be Christians, either sacramentally or theologically. The Church has ruled that Mormon baptism is not valid, which means that Mormons are not Christians by baptism. Since Mormons believe in a plurality of gods and do not believe in Christ's divinity (as it is understood by orthodox Christians), they are not theological Christians either."
Catholic Answers - "[Some heretics] proclaim that there are in some way three gods, when they divide the sacred unity into three substances foreign to each other and completely separate" (Pope Dionysius - Letter to Dionysius of Alexandria 1 [A.D. 262]).
200 The confession of God's oneness, which has its roots in the divine revelation of the Old Covenant, is inseparable from the profession of God's existence and is equally fundamental. God is unique; there is only one God: "The Christian faith confesses that God is one in nature, substance and essence."
233 Christians are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: not in their names, for there is only one God, the almighty Father, his only Son and the Holy Spirit: the Most Holy Trinity.
253 The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons, the "consubstantial Trinity". The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire: "The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e. by nature one God." In the words of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), "Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature."
The Athanasian Creed we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity. Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is all One, the Glory Equal ... So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not Three Almighties but One Almighty ... the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not Three Gods, but One God ... The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created, but begotten, but proceeding... in this Trinity none is afore or after Other, None is greater or less than Another, but the whole Three Persons are Co-eternal together, and Co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity is Trinity, and the Trinity is Unity is to be worshipped. ... we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man. ... God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man, of the substance of His mother, born into the world. ... Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His Manhood. ... At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies, and shall give account for their own works.”
Catholic Answers - "All persons are beings, but not all beings are persons. For example, you are one being and one person. But a dog is one being and zero persons. With regard to the Trinity, there is one being, which is God, yet there are there Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is not illogical. If one were to say that there is one God and three Gods, or one Person and three Persons—that would be illogical. But one Being and three Persons is not a contradiction. ... John 1:1 reads, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" ... When John says, "and the Word was with God" he refutes the heresy of Sabellius (Jesus was the Father). Lastly, when John says that the "Word was God," the Arian heresy (Jesus was not God) also collapses. ... Another compelling verse to consider is John 20:28, where the apostle Thomas says to Jesus, "My Lord and my God." In the Greek, this sentence reads literally, "The Lord of me and the God of me." It would be nothing short of blasphemy for Jesus not to rebuke Thomas if he were wrong. Jesus does nothing of the sort, but in fact he accepts Thomas’ profession of his identity as God in the next verse."
Catholic Answers - "Three Distinct Persons ... The doctrine of the Trinity is encapsulated in Matthew 28:19, where Jesus instructs the apostles: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." ... the writings of the earliest Christians, who clearly understood these verses in the sense that we do today—that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three divine Persons who are one divine Being (God)."
Catholic Answers - "Christians are monotheists and believe in one God, not three. No matter how closely together three gods work, they remain three gods, not one."
Ignatius of Antioch "8. ... there is one God, who has manifested Himself by Jesus Christ His Son, who is His eternal Word," (Letter to the Magnesians)
Ignatius of Antioch "7. ... There is one Physician who is possessed both of flesh and spirit; both made and not made; God existing in flesh; true life in death; both of Mary and of God;" (Letter to the Ephesians)
Irenaeus "For the Church, although dispersed throughout the whole world even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and from their disciples the faith in one God, Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them; and in one Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Against Heresies 1:10:1 [A.D. 189]).
Elohim from the Catholic Encyclopedia "The Hebrews had three common names of God, El, Elohim, and Eloah; besides, they had the proper name Yahweh. ... must have denoted the one true God."
446 In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the ineffable Hebrew name YHWH, by which God revealed himself to Moses, is rendered as Kyrios, "Lord". From then on, "Lord" becomes the more usual name by which to indicate the divinity of Israel's God. The New Testament uses this full sense of the title "Lord" both for the Father and - what is new - for Jesus, who is thereby recognized as God Himself.
653 The truth of Jesus' divinity is confirmed by his Resurrection. He had said: "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he." The Resurrection of the crucified one shows that he was truly "I AM", the Son of God and God himself. .
590 Only the divine identity of Jesus' person can justify so absolute a claim as "He who is not with me is against me"; and his saying that there was in him "something greater than Jonah,. . . greater than Solomon", something "greater than the Temple"; his reminder that David had called the Messiah his Lord, and his affirmations, "Before Abraham was, I AM", and even "I and the Father are one."
Catholic Answers - "There is no doubt that the New Testament declares Jesus to be God. ... in John 5:18 we are told that Jesus’ opponents sought to kill him because he "called God his Father, making himself equal with God." ... In John 8:58 ... Jesus ... invoking and applying to himself the personal name of God, "I AM" or "Yahweh." ... in John 20:28, Thomas falls at Jesus’ feet, exclaiming "My Lord and my God!" In Philippians 2:6, Paul writes of Christ Jesus "[w]ho, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped." ... the Church Fathers also recognized the divinity of Christ ..."
The Nicene Creed “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being (consubstantial/homoousion) with the Father. Through him all things were made.”
479 At the time appointed by God, the only Son of the Father, the eternal Word, that is, the Word and substantial Image of the Father, became incarnate; without losing his divine nature he has assumed human nature.
457 The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by reconciling us with God, who "loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins": "the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world", and "he was revealed to take away sins": Sick, our nature demanded to be healed; fallen, to be raised up; dead, to rise again. We had lost the possession of the good; it was necessary for it to be given back to us. Closed in the darkness, it was necessary to bring us the light; captives, we awaited a Savior; prisoners, help; slaves, a liberator. Are these things minor or insignificant? Did they not move God to descend to human nature and visit it, since humanity was in so miserable and unhappy a state?
461 Taking up St. John's expression, "The Word became flesh", the Church calls "Incarnation" the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it. In a hymn cited by St. Paul, the Church sings the mystery of the Incarnation: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.
1159 The sacred image, the liturgical icon, principally represents Christ. It cannot represent the invisible and incomprehensible God, but the incarnation of the Son of God has ushered in a new "economy" of images: Previously God, who has neither a body nor a face, absolutely could not be represented by an image. But now that he has made himself visible in the flesh and has lived with men, I can make an image of what I have seen of God . . . and contemplate the glory of the Lord, his face unveiled.
242 Following this apostolic tradition, the Church confessed at the first ecumenical council at Nicaea (325) that the Son is "consubstantial" with the Father, that is, one only God with him. The second ecumenical council, held at Constantinople in 381, kept this expression in its formulation of the Nicene Creed and confessed "the only-begotten Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father".
503 Mary's virginity manifests God's absolute initiative in the Incarnation. Jesus has only God as Father. "He was never estranged from the Father because of the human nature which he assumed. . . He is naturally Son of the Father as to his divinity and naturally son of his mother as to his humanity, but properly Son of the Father in both natures."
467 The Monophysites affirmed that the human nature had ceased to exist as such in Christ when the divine person of God's Son assumed it. Faced with this heresy, the fourth ecumenical council, at Chalcedon in 451, confessed: Following the holy Fathers, we unanimously teach and confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, composed of rational soul and body; consubstantial with the Father as to his divinity and consubstantial with us as to his humanity; "like us in all things but sin". He was begotten from the Father before all ages as to his divinity and in these last days, for us and for our salvation, was born as to his humanity of the virgin Mary, the Mother of God. We confess that one and the same Christ, Lord, and only-begotten Son, is to be acknowledged in two natures without confusion, change, division or separation. The distinction between the natures was never abolished by their union, but rather the character proper to each of the two natures was preserved as they came together in one person (prosopon) and one hypostasis.
262 - The Incarnation of God's Son reveals that God is the eternal Father and that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, which means that, in the Father and with the Father the Son is one and the same God
253 The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons, the "consubstantial Trinity". The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire: "The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e. by nature one God." In the words of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), "Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature."
233 Christians are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: not in their names, for there is only one God, the almighty Father, his only Son and the Holy Spirit: the Most Holy Trinity.
254 - The divine persons are really distinct from one another. God is one but not solitary. "Father", "Son", "Holy Spirit" are not simply names designating modalities of the divine being, for they are really distinct from one another ... The divine Unity is Triune
202 Jesus himself affirms that God is "the one Lord" whom you must love "with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" [Mk 12:29-30]. At the same time Jesus gives us to understand that he himself is "the Lord" [Mk 12:35-37]. To confess that Jesus is Lord is distinctive of Christian faith. This is not contrary to belief in the One God. Nor does believing in the Holy Spirit as "Lord and giver of life" introduce any division into the One God: We firmly believe and confess without reservation that there is only one true God, eternal infinite (immensus) and unchangeable, incomprehensible, almighty and ineffable, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; three persons indeed, but one essence, substance or nature entirely simple.
256 St. Gregory of Nazianzus, also called "the Theologian", entrusts this summary of Trinitarian faith to the catechumens of Constantinople: Above all guard for me this great deposit of faith for which I live and fight, which I want to take with me as a companion, and which makes me bear all evils and despise all pleasures: I mean the profession of faith in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I entrust it to you today. By it I am soon going to plunge you into water and raise you up from it. I give it to you as the companion and patron of your whole life. I give you but one divinity and power, existing one in three, and containing the three in a distinct way. Divinity without disparity of substance or nature, without superior degree that raises up or inferior degree that casts down. . . the infinite co-naturality of three infinites. Each person considered in himself is entirely God. . . the three considered together. . . I have not even begun to think of unity when the Trinity bathes me in its splendor. I have not even begun to think of the Trinity when unity grasps me. . .
259 Being a work at once common and personal, the whole divine economy makes known both what is proper to the divine persons, and their one divine nature. Hence the whole Christian life is a communion with each of the divine persons, without in any way separating them. Everyone who glorifies the Father does so through the Son in the Holy Spirit; everyone who follows Christ does so because the Father draws him and the Spirit moves him.
266 "Now this is the Catholic faith: We worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity, without either confusing the persons or dividing the substance; for the person of the Father is one, the Son's is another, the Holy Spirit's another; but the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal" (Athanasian Creed: DS 75; ND 16).
2789 When we pray to "our" Father, we personally address the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. By doing so we do not divide the Godhead, since the Father is its "source and origin," but rather confess that the Son is eternally begotten by him and the Holy Spirit proceeds from him. We are not confusing the persons, for we confess that our communion is with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, in their one Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity is consubstantial and indivisible. When we pray to the Father, we adore and glorify him together with the Son and the Holy Spirit.
245 The apostolic faith concerning the Spirit was confessed by the second ecumenical council at Constantinople (381): "We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father." By this confession, the Church recognizes the Father as "the source and origin of the whole divinity". But the eternal origin of the Spirit is not unconnected with the Son's origin: "The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is God, one and equal with the Father and the Son, of the same substance and also of the same nature. . . Yet he is not called the Spirit of the Father alone,. . . but the Spirit of both the Father and the Son." The Creed of the Church from the Council of Constantinople confesses: "With the Father and the Son, he is worshipped and glorified."
820 "Christ bestowed unity on his Church from the beginning. This unity, we believe, subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose, and we hope that it will continue to increase until the end of time." Christ always gives his Church the gift of unity, but the Church must always pray and work to maintain, reinforce, and perfect the unity that Christ wills for her. This is why Jesus himself prayed at the hour of his Passion, and does not cease praying to his Father, for the unity of his disciples: "That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us, . . . so that the world may know that you have sent me." The desire to recover the unity of all Christians is a gift of Christ and a call of the Holy Spirit.
813 The Church is one because of her source: "the highest exemplar and source of this mystery is the unity, in the Trinity of Persons, of one God, the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit." The Church is one because of her founder: for "the Word made flesh, the prince of peace, reconciled all men to God by the cross, . . . restoring the unity of all in one people and one body." The Church is one because of her "soul": "It is the Holy Spirit, dwelling in those who believe and pervading and ruling over the entire Church, who brings about that wonderful communion of the faithful and joins them together so intimately in Christ that he is the principle of the Church's unity." Unity is of the essence of the Church: What an astonishing mystery! There is one Father of the universe, one Logos of the universe, and also one Holy Spirit, everywhere one and the same; there is also one virgin become mother, and I should like to call her "Church."
2684 In the communion of saints, many and varied spiritualities have been developed throughout the history of the churches. The personal charism of some witnesses to God's love for men has been handed on, like "the spirit" of Elijah to Elisha and John the Baptist, so that their followers may have a share in this spirit. A distinct spirituality can also arise at the point of convergence of liturgical and theological currents, bearing witness to the integration of the faith into a particular human environment and its history. The different schools of Christian spirituality share in the living tradition of prayer and are essential guides for the faithful. In their rich diversity they are refractions of the one pure light of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is truly the dwelling of the saints and the saints are for the Spirit a place where he dwells as in his own home since they offer themselves as a dwelling place for God and are called his temple.
260 The ultimate end of the whole divine economy is the entry of God's creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity. But even now we are called to be a dwelling for the Most Holy Trinity: "If a man loves me", says the Lord, "he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him": O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me forget myself entirely so to establish myself in you, unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to trouble my peace or make me leave you, O my unchanging God, but may each minute bring me more deeply into your mystery! Grant my soul peace. Make it your heaven, your beloved dwelling and the place of your rest. May I never abandon you there, but may I be there, whole and entire, completely vigilant in my faith, entirely adoring, and wholly given over to your creative action.
521 Christ enables us to live in him all that he himself lived, and he lives it in us. "By his Incarnation, he, the Son of God, has in a certain way united himself with each man." We are called only to become one with him, for he enables us as the members of his Body to share in what he lived for us in his flesh as our model: We must continue to accomplish in ourselves the stages of Jesus' life and his mysteries and often to beg him to perfect and realize them in us and in his whole Church. . . For it is the plan of the Son of God to make us and the whole Church partake in his mysteries and to extend them to and continue them in us and in his whole Church. This is his plan for fulfilling his mysteries in us.
2825 "Although he was a Son, [Jesus] learned obedience through what he suffered." How much more reason have we sinful creatures to learn obedience - we who in him have become children of adoption. We ask our Father to unite our will to his Son's, in order to fulfill his will, his plan of salvation for the life of the world. We are radically incapable of this, but united with Jesus and with the power of his Holy Spirit, we can surrender our will to him and decide to choose what his Son has always chosen: to do what is pleasing to the Father. In committing ourselves to [Christ], we can become one spirit with him, and thereby accomplish his will, in such wise that it will be perfect on earth as it is in heaven. Consider how Jesus Christ] teaches us to be humble, by making us see that our virtue does not depend on our work alone but on grace from on high. He commands each of the faithful who prays to do so universally, for the whole world. For he did not say "thy will be done in me or in us," but "on earth," the whole earth, so that error may be banished from it, truth take root in it, all vice be destroyed on it, virtue flourish on it, and earth no longer differ from heaven.
Jehovah ( LORD), our God, our Father .
The confession of God's oneness, which has its roots in the divine revelation of the Old Covenant. God is unique; there is only one God:
The Christian faith confesses that God is one in nature, substance and essence. God is unique; there are no other gods besides him. He made heaven and earth. In God "there is no variation or shadow due to change." God is "HE WHO IS", from everlasting to everlasting. To Israel, his chosen, God revealed himself as the only One: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD. God calls Israel and all nations to turn to him, the one and only God: "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.. . To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. God calls Moses from the midst of a bush that burns without being consumed: "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." God is the God of the fathers, the One who had called and guided the patriarchs in their wanderings. I AM has is his name. In revealing his mysterious name, YHWH ("I AM HE WHO IS", "I AM WHO AM" or "I AM WHO I AM"), God says who he is and by what name he is to be called.
In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the ineffable Hebrew name YHWH, by which God revealed himself to Moses, is rendered as
Kyrios, "Lord". From then on, "Lord" becomes the more usual name by which to indicate the divinity of Israel's God. The New Testament uses this full sense of the title "Lord" both for the Father and - what is new - for Jesus, who is thereby recognized as God Himself. Out of respect for the holiness of God, the people of Israel do not pronounce his name. In the reading of Sacred Scripture, the revealed name
(YHWH) is replaced by the divine title "LORD" (in Hebrew Adonai, in Greek Kyrios). It is under this title that the divinity of Jesus will be acclaimed: "Jesus is LORD." Jesus reminds us that David had called the Messiah his Lord, and his affirmations, "Before Abraham was, I AM", and even "I and the Father are one." The Resurrection of the crucified one shows that he was truly "I AM", the Son of God and God himself.
200 These are the words with which the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed begins. The confession of God's oneness, which has its roots in the divine revelation of the Old Covenant, is inseparable from the profession of God's existence and is equally fundamental. God is unique; there is only one God: "The Christian faith confesses that God is one in nature, substance and essence."
212 Over the centuries, Israel's faith was able to manifest and deepen realization of the riches contained in the revelation of the divine name. God is unique; there are no other gods besides him. He transcends the world and history. He made heaven and earth: "They will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment. . . . but you are the same, and your years have no end." In God "there is no variation or shadow due to change." God is "HE WHO IS", from everlasting to everlasting, and as such remains ever faithful to himself and to his promises.
201 To Israel, his chosen, God revealed himself as the only One: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD; and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." Through the prophets, God calls Israel and all nations to turn to him, the one and only God: "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.. . To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. 'Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength.' "
205 God calls Moses from the midst of a bush that burns without being consumed: "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." God is the God of the fathers, the One who had called and guided the patriarchs in their wanderings. He is the faithful and compassionate God who remembers them and his promises; he comes to free their descendants from slavery. He is the God who, from beyond space and time, can do this and wills to do it, the God who will put his almighty power to work for this plan. "I Am who I Am" Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you', and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you'. . . this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations."
206 In revealing his mysterious name, YHWH ("I AM HE WHO IS", "I AM WHO AM" or "I AM WHO I AM"), God says who he is and by what name he is to be called. This divine name is mysterious just as God is mystery. It is at once a name revealed and something like the refusal of a name, and hence it better expresses God as what he is - infinitely above everything that we can understand or say: he is the "hidden God", his name is ineffable, and he is the God who makes himself close to men.
446 In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the ineffable Hebrew name YHWH, by which God revealed himself to Moses, is rendered as Kyrios, "Lord". From then on, "Lord" becomes the more usual name by which to indicate the divinity of Israel's God. The New Testament uses this full sense of the title "Lord" both for the Father and - what is new - for Jesus, who is thereby recognized as God Himself.
209 Out of respect for the holiness of God, the people of Israel do not pronounce his name. In the reading of Sacred Scripture, the revealed name (YHWH) is replaced by the divine title "LORD" (in Hebrew Adonai, in Greek Kyrios). It is under this title that the divinity of Jesus will be acclaimed: "Jesus is LORD."
590 Only the divine identity of Jesus' person can justify so absolute a claim as "He who is not with me is against me"; and his saying that there was in him "something greater than Jonah,. . . greater than Solomon", something "greater than the Temple"; his reminder that David had called the Messiah his Lord, and his affirmations, "Before Abraham was, I AM", and even "I and the Father are one."
653 The truth of Jesus' divinity is confirmed by his Resurrection. He had said: "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he." The Resurrection of the crucified one shows that he was truly "I AM", the Son of God and God himself. So St. Paul could declare to the Jews: "What God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you.'" Christ's Resurrection is closely linked to the Incarnation of God's Son, and is its fulfillment in accordance with God's eternal plan.
There is one God .
Ignatius of Antioch "The prophets, who were men of God, lived according to Jesus Christ. For that reason they were persecuted, inspired as they were by his grace to convince the disobedient that there is one God, who manifested himself through his Son, Jesus Christ, who is his Word proceeding from silence, and who was in all respects pleasing to him that sent him" (Letter to the Magnesians 8:1 [A.D. 110]).
Irenaeus "Wherefore also the Lord promised to send the Comforter, who should join us to God. For as a compacted lump of dough cannot be formed of dry wheat without fluid matter, nor can a loaf possess unity, so, in like manner, neither could we, being many, be made one in Christ Jesus without the water from heaven. And as dry earth does not bring forth unless it receive moisture, in like manner we also, being originally a dry tree, could never have brought forth fruit unto life without the voluntary rain from above. For our bodies have received unity among themselves by means of that layer which leads to incorruption; but our souls, by means of the Spirit. Wherefore both are necessary, since both contribute towards the life of God" Against Heresies,3:17(A.D. 180),in ANF,I:444-445
Ignatius ""There is one Physician who is possessed both of flesh and spirit; both made and not made; God existing in flesh; true life in death; both of Mary and of God; first possible and then impossible, even Jesus Christ our Lord." [To the Ephesians,7(A.D.110),in ANF,I:52]
Ignatius of Antioch "There is then one God and Father, and not two or three; one who is, and there is no other besides him, the only true [God]. For ‘the Lord your God,’ says [the Scripture], ‘is one Lord’ [Deut. 6:4]. . . . And there is also one Son, God the Word. . . . And there is also one Paraclete" (Letter to the Philadelphians 2 [A.D. 110]).
Ignatius of Antioch "We have also as a Physician the Lord our God, Jesus the Christ, the only-begotten Son and Word, before time began, but who afterwards became also man, of Mary the virgin " (Ephesians,7(A.D. 110),in ANF,1:52)
Irenaeus "2. That John knew the one and the same Word of God, and that He was the only begotten, and that He became incarnate for our salvation. ... 6. ... He took up man into Himself, the invisible becoming visible, the incomprehensible being made comprehensible, the impassible becoming capable of suffering, and the Word being made man ... "(Against Heresies 3:16:? [A.D. 189])
Jehovah ( LORD), our God, our Father .