GOD AND GOD ALONE: PART ONE

Steve Green sings a beautiful song entitled "God and God Alone," written by Phill McHugh. The first two lines of each stanza reveal the reverent attitude the artist and the writer have for God:

God and God alone, Created all these things we call our own.
God and God alone, Reveals the truth of all we call unknown.
God and God alone, Is fit to take the universe's throne.
God and God alone, Will be the joy of our eternal home.

As a Christian, I have the complete revelation of all God wants me to know about Himself in the Bible. To say that He is an awesome God is the ultimate in understatement! I am totally humbled in trying to understand Him, but one thing I can say for sure; He is worthy of my love and obedience! And when I think that what the Bible says about Him is "just the tip of the iceberg," I honestly believe if He were to reveal everything about Himself to me, I would die. I thank God He only gave me what I could handle (Isa. 64:4; Jn. 21:25; 1 Cor. 2:9).

There is no question that He is worthy of my love and obedience, but there is something even greater that I owe Him: worship. In fact, He is the only One I am to worship! The Old Testament makes it clear we are to worship only God and nothing or no one else. Exodus 20:1-3 says, "And God spake all these words, saying, I [am] the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (notice the words "which have" are plural). And in Deuteronomy 6:4, we read, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD" (the word "God," from elohim, has a plural ending).

The New Testament teaches the same truth; Christians are to worship only the one true God. In Matthew 4:10, the Lord's response to the devil's attempt to receive worship from Him, is absolutely clear: "Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Peter refused to accept worship in Acts 10:25-26. Barnabas and Paul refused it in Acts 14:11-18. And angels do not accept worship (Rev. 22:8, 9).

From these verses, it is clear that only the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is to be worshiped. Even Jesus declared that all worship belongs to God and God alone. So then why do Christians worship Jesus? That is an excellent question, and Lord willing, I intend to answer it tomorrow, "same time, same station."