There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; there is one God and Father of all, who is Lord of all, works through all, and is in all. Ephesians 4:5-6, GNT

 

Nothing and nobody in the world can compare with God, who alone is truly unique. Everywhere in the Bible, we come to know God as “one of a kind” and unique. It is this fact that God wants his people to understand, but it is often where they went astray by worshipping idols.

 

David, notwithstanding all his faults, was a king after God’s own heart, and yet God does not allow David to build the temple. One would think this was probably a bitter pill to swallow for David, but in this chapter from Chronicles, it does not seem to be the case. On the contrary, David is overjoyed that God has chosen one of his sons (we know it was Solomon) to build God’s temple.

 

When God told David about his son who would succeed him, saying: “He will be the one to build a temple for me, and I will make sure that his dynasty continues for ever” (2 Samuel 7:13), David went into the tent of the Lord’s presence and said: “There is none like you; we have always known that you alone are God” (2 Samuel 7:22b). It does not matter that they had heard of many other gods, the Lord is the one and only true God.

 

In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul wrote about the unity of the church. Like David, Paul points to the fact that “there is one Lord”. Because there is only one God, the church should also have: “one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of al”. It does not matter how many other gods we may have heard about. If we do not believe in the one true triune God, we cannot experience the indwelling presence of his Spirit.

 

Prayer: We want to proclaim with David and Paul that you, Lord, are the only God, and we thank you for changing our lives and above all, that your Spirit lives in us. Amen.