Professing Faith in the One True God

In Deuteronomy 5:7-9, the Lord commanded, “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.”

The first two commandments of the Ten Commandments are professions of allegiance to faith in the one true God. As Christians, we believe that our profession of faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior fulfills these first two commandments.

In Romans 10:9-10, Paul wrote “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

In John 10:30, Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” In John 17:20-21, Jesus prayed, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

In the Bible, God speaks of a collective one who have one heart and one soul. What did a great move of God’s Spirit look like among God’s people in Acts 4:32? The answer is, “Now the multitude of those who believed were of ONE heart and ONE soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.” God replaces selfish-centeredness and competition with oneness of heart and soul to honor Christ.

There are two words for “one” in Hebrew. You have echad which is one and you have yachid which is also one. “Echad represents a deeper unity than yachid. Yachid is a oneness that cannot tolerate plurality—if another being or element is introduced into the equation, the yachid is no longer yachid. Echad, on the other hand, represents the fusion of diverse elements into a harmonious whole. The oneness of echad is not undermined by plurality; indeed, it employs plurality as the ingredients of unity.” [1]

So, professing Jesus Christ as Lord is not a violation of what God says in Deuteronomy 6:4, namely, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord.” In Hebrew, this passage is: “YHWH (Lord) Elohenu (God of us or our God) is echad YHWH (One Lord).” The unified or collective “one” can indicate a composite unity rather than strict singularity.

For example, in Genesis 2:24, the Lord said of husband and wife, “And they shall become one flesh (בָּשָׂר אֶחָד).” They become one in the sense of composite unity.

The Bible also uses the term “yoked together” as two working as one to accomplish a task. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus and His followers are one yoked team. In 2 Corinthians 6:14, a believer should not be unequally yoked with an unbeliever.

One of the devil’s most devious devices is to develop a dictator who demands denial of the one true God and devotion to his or her idol. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was such a tyrant. The antichrist ruler of the world in the last days will also be such a tyrant.

“Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was 90 feet and its width 9 feet. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then a herald cried aloud: ‘To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; and whoever does not fall down, and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.’ So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.” Daniel 3:1-7

Previously, God gave to King Nebuchadnezzar a dream of a figure in which he was represented by its head. It was not so that he could make an idol of it. In Daniel 2:45, God’s prophet told him, “The great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”

What would happen in the days ahead? According to Daniel 2:36-44, Babylon would be replaced three times by three different empires, and then, a stone would be cut from a mountain and the stone would consume the previous kingdoms and last forever.

The stone symbolizes the kingdom of Christ.

As I thought about that stone, the story of David slaying the giant Goliath with a stone came to mind. David’s defeat of Goliath was a typology of the kingdom of Christ overcoming all the bully empires of humanity.

Nebuchadnezzar’s edict that all people must worship his idol or face death is a typology of the antichrist in Revelation 13:15-17. The antichrist of the last days causes as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He also “causes all... to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

The Daniel chapter three prophecy is about remaining faithful to the one true God.

“Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, ‘O king, live forever! You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; and whoever does not fall down, and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.’” Daniel 3:8-12

When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to serve and worship the dictator’s false god, governmental officials brought their “crime” to the king’s attention. What was his response?

“Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So, they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, ‘Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?’ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.’” Daniel 3:13-18

Their refusal to humble themselves before his whim sent him into a fiery rage. He gave them the opportunity to relent of their profession before casting them into a fiery furnace, but they refused to compromise their faith in the one true God. They believed that God could deliver them from whatever trial the devil threw their way, but they were also willing to die an early death for God. They loved the Lord their God with all their hearts, souls and minds. They were one with God.

“Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, ‘Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?’ They answered and said to the king, ‘True, O king.’ ‘Look!’ he answered, ‘I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.’ Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, ‘Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.’ Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came from the midst of the fire. And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.” Daniel 3:19-27

The Lord Jesus was also one with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The preincarnate Son of God showed up with them in fire and preserved them from being harmed by it.

How did this miracle impact the evil tyrant?

“Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent His messenger and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.’ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.” Daniel 3:28-30

The evil dictator blessed God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He testified that God delivered them because they trusted in Him. He reversed his decree concerning the worship of his 90 foot tall idol of gold in the plain of Dura. He now decreed that “any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap.” His profession of faith in God was good. His ungodly tendency of ruining and killing people who disagreed with him was not good.

Nebuchadnezzar lacked godly humility, but God helped him with this. In Daniel 4:37, he professed, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.”

How often have we denied the Lord the opportunity to do miracles through us because we lacked courage to hold firm to our faith in the one true God? Only by abiding in Christ can we remain true to God.

Thus, I pray, “Heavenly Father, Jesus the Son, and Holy Spirit help me and all who read this article to profess faith in You the One true God before all people for Your glory and for their salvation. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.”


[1] chaimbentorah.com/2017/01/word-study-one-echad-or-yachid