Weekly Teachings

Who is God? A. The people meet their God (Deuteronomy 4.32-39; 5.1-10, 22-26) B. The Shema (Deuteronomy 6.4-6, 13-15; Mark 12.28-34) C. Verses that speak of Yahweh as the only true God (2 Samuel 7.22; 2 Kings 19.19; 1 Chronicles 17.20; Nehemiah 9.6; Psalm 86.8-10; 135.5-7; Isaiah 37.16,20; 44.24; 45.5-7, 18, 21-22; 46.9-10; Jeremiah 10.10-16; Zechariah 14.9; Mark 10.18; John 17.3; 1 Corinthians 8.4-6; 1 Timothy 2.5; James 2.19; Jude 24-25) Who is Jesus? A. The birth of the Son of God (Luke 1.31-35) B. The king of the Jews (Matthew 2.1-6) C. Who did his followers think he was? (Mark 8.27-30) D. The Son of Man (Daniel 7.13-14, 18, 22, 27) E. The sacrifice for our sins (1 Corinthians 15.3-4; Galatians 1.4) F. The Lord at the right hand of God (Psalm 110) Shared Attributes of God and Jesus A. They are both called Lord, Savior, Redeemer, King, Judge, and Rock B. They both forgave sins, loved, will establish the kingdom and judge the world C. We could list many other commonalities between God and Jesus Chart of the Differences between God and Jesus (download slide show) May we worship the same God that Jesus worshiped (John 20.17; Revelation 3.12)

Part One: Herod Family Heritage Antipater the Edomite 1. caused strife between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus 2. supported Pompey and Senate but then switched to support Julius Caesar 3. declared procurator by Caesar Rise to Power At 25 he is put in charge of military in Galilee The ___ was so impressed he was elevated to be in charge of the military in Cole-Syria Once his dad died there was a struggle for power (Antigonus) After his father was poisoned in 43 BC, Herod had the murderer executed. After returning from a campaign, he was offered the betrothal to the teenage princess Mariamne from the former Hasmonean dynasty who were the titular rulers of Judaea. Although he was legally permitted to have more than one wife, he banished his first wife Doris and her 3-year-old son, also named Antipater, and married Mariamne (known as Mariamne I). In 40 BC, Antigonus the Hasmonean and the Parthians invaded Judea, and Herod fled Jerusalem to Rome for the first time. There he was elected "King of the Jews" by the Roman Senate however, Herod did not fully conquer Judea until 37 BC. He ruled for 34 years. Herod was run out of Judea and fled to Rome where he was appointed King of the Jews by Senate in 40 bc Herod supported Antony against Octavian but following the battle of Actium he appeared before Augustus and through a remarkable speech and without apology won the emperor's favor After three years he re-conquered Judea and became King At the height of his rule his kingdom reached the size of David and Solomon Rule Two most important things: 1. reputation with Caesar a. taxes b. keeping the people from revolting c. naming things after Caesar 2. staying in power a. discover conspiracy plots b. kill off any threats 1. Hyrcanus his favorite wife's grandfather 2. Aristobulus his favorite wife's little brother who was 17 and had just been appointed High Priest 3. Mariamne his favorite wife 4. Joseph his brother-in-law 5. his sons Alexander & Aristobulus 6. his son Antipater Economic policy Taxes remained high throughout his reign. Caesarea Maritima port city Process for making judgments Story about first imprisonment of Antipater (his son) Attitude on Religious Matters External observance is important Pluralism (No problem building temples to Caesar or other gods) Family Life Story about Mariamne Killing Hyrcanus and Aristobulus Legacy 1. temple 2. mostly unknown today 3. Upon death his kingdom was split into three sections and ruled over by Herod Archelaus, Herod Philip, and Herod Antipas Part Two: Overlap Matthew 2.1-20 verse 2 Worship = pay homage to (i.e. bow before him in recognition that he is king) verse 3 Why were they all troubled to hear that the King of the Jews had been born? verse 4 Messiah = King of the Jews (cf. verse 2) verse 6 a quotation from Micah 5.2 verses 7-8 typical deceptiveness of Herod verse 11 this is the typical scene at the birth of a king (people paying him homage and giving him gifts). verse 13 Jesus becomes a refugee in Egypt verse 15 a quotation from Hosea 11.1 verse 16 though there is no external historical account of this incident, it fits perfectly with what we know of Herod verse 18 a quotation from Jeremiah 31.15 Part Three: Jesus Family Heritage Through mother he was a son of Abraham and son of David (Matthew 1.1) Son of God (Psalm 2.7-9) Rise to Power King by birth (Luke 1.31-33) Given opportunity to take power by worshipping Satan (Luke 4.5-8) He emptied himself (Phil 2.5-11) Rule Two most important things: 1. relationship with God a. John 4.34 2. loving others a. healing (widow of Nain's son) b. speaking the truth (rich young ruler) c. dying for others' sins Building Projects He will not only rebuild Jerusalem and Israel, but the whole world will be restored Economic policy Micah 4.1-4 guaranteed abundance of food Process for making judgments Isaiah 11.1-9 Attitude on Religious Matters Power under through service (least is greatest) Hypocrisy is detestable, what really matters is what's on the inside Compassion on the outcast, the weak, the poor, the sick, the demon possessed Family Life Family redefined as "whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Mat 12.48-50) Totally committed to his family Legacy At present, 20 centuries later, there are 2 billion who claim to follow Jesus When he returns his will rise and rule with him (Rev 2.26-28) Which is your king?

a prophecy about one to come who would rule the world from Zion (Psalm 2.1-12) This is Caesar's world Caesar is Lord Jesus' Crucifixion (John 18.33-19.17) ...but God raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 2.23-24; 4.10; 5.30; 10.39-40; 13.29-30) unpacking the meaning of resurrection - vindication...Jesus is not a fake, a false prophet, a false messiah - Caesar has power through violent brutality > Caesar merely has power through violent brutality (God has resurrection power) - why did Jesus have to die? - Caesar was merely the historical incarnation of Satan's authority over the nations at the time of Jesus - The battle was cosmic it was not merely between an emperor (or his local representatives--Pilate & Herod) vs. a messianic claimant. -It wasn't merely between some jealous pharisees and an itinerant Rabbi with whom they disagreed concerning his interpretation of Torah. -It wasn't merely between some paranoid Sadducees and a charismatic prophet who they perceived as a threat to their arrangement with Rome and decided he needed to be "dealt with" as discretely and quickly as possible. -No, there were hidden powers at work behind the brutal execution of this itinerant Rabbi. Things were happening on a cosmic scale. The principalities and powers of this present evil age were losing ground. This exorcist had bound the strong man and was plundering his house. This Galilean Jew was a serious threat. He was not only winning in hand-to-hand combat against Satan's minions, he was preaching a message of liberation, and bringing restoration to countless people. He was bringing revival... - The irony of the cross is two fold. On the one hand, the sign which sarcastically called Jesus "The King of the Jews" (i.e. the Messiah) was confirmed to be doubly ironic because God vindicated his anointed one by raising him from the dead--effectively signing his own signature to the sign. -On the other hand, Jesus death looked like an extraordinary miscarriage of justice in which the dark forces and the men under their influence declared open season on Jesus. Through heinous beating, mocking, scourging, and finally crucifixion they dominated him, shamed him, discredited him, and even ended his life. Yet, through this very act, God was exposing the evil for what it really was, and his son defeated evil by absorbing the worst Satan could do to him without cracking, without giving in, without crumbling under the wait of injustice. In so doing, God, through his Son, conquered Satan and "defanged" the roaring lion. By willingly allowing his son to be devoured he satisfied the required penalty for all humanity and enabled liberation for all who would later choose it. Thus, Satan slit his own throat, and insured his own demise by carrying out his indignation on our sinless lord and savior. -God Wins...God's victory through the cross ----------------------------------- 1 Corinthians 2.6-9 (the rulers of this age were clueless) Col 2 (talk about Roman procession -- perhaps Titus' conquer of Jerusalem) Eph 1 (Jesus is lord!) 2 Cor 5.17ff (all things are made new...old things have passed away...the world is not the same anymore...) - there is a new sheriff in town...a new lord of the world...a new savior...a new son of God...a new kind of peace and safety....and a new hope that God will one day send his Son to finish the job -do you believe that God has defeated Caesar through the cross? -do you believe that God has defeated evil through the cross? -do you believe that God has defeated Satan through the cross? -do you believe that God has defeated sin through the cross? -do you believe that God has liberated you through the cross? -...then let us trust in him, let us live the life of the age to come, let us follow Jesus as Lord even before the rest of the world gets on board as a testimony, a foretaste of what is to come! you are free from sin from Satan from Caesar from the law...now use your freedom to free others (ben Hur on boat scene) Col 1.19-23

Me Church Video A New Way to be Great a. Luke 22.13-27 b. Luke 9.46-48 c. We do power differently than the world. We exercise power under rather than power over Washing the Disciples Feet a. John 13.1-17, 34-35 b. Jesus supremely demonstrated power under by washing the disciples' feet. Follow his Example on the Cross a. Philippians 2.1-13 b. We are to look to Jesus' divestment of being in the form of God but taking on the form of a slave and stage 2 (going to the cross) as an example for how we are to live. Examples of Service a. Fireproof (love was met with bitterness, rejection, strife, and sabotage) i. Poured her coffee ii. Pathetic flowers with card and chocolates iii. Call her@work to see how she was doing or if she needed anything iv. Made candlelit dinner (she said walked upstairs then came down and said, "just to be clear, I do not love you" v. Nice flowers vi. Converted to Christianity vii. Dishes, Cleaned floor in kitchen viii. Served her when she was sick b. My house [ceiling and painting and dishwasher and cleaning bathrooms] c. Sam (construction) We have some serious needs a. refreshments, cleanup, projector, camera man, setup dude, children's felly b. first Sunday: setup tables, move chairs, etc. Why serve others? a. Service is worship if done for God b. The power of service can transform crusted-over, mean-spirited, abusive, jerks c. The beauty of service serves as a living expression of God's love in his people and thus testifies to God's beauty d. The prophetic element of service shows a world without hope that God has plans to fix the world and in anticipation of that he is fixing up individuals who already live the lifestyle of the future When we enter the kingdom they aren't going to have a first class line for the rich and famous like there is at the airport. No, from a kingdom perspective, fame has been stood on its head. The last will be first and the first will be last. From the perspective of the kingdom of God, it is the woman who despite all odds and for no reason other than her love for God stays with her husband who won't get a job, who is addicted to pornography and weed, who is an absent father, who occasionally gets violent, this woman is esteemed highly because she stayed with him as a silent witness of God's incredibly subversive and transforming power to turn enemies into friends through love...crazy love...the kind of love that needs nothing in return to keep on loving...the kind of love that will endure abuse but never take advantage of an opportunity to abuse in return (even when she can get away with it)... It is like the man who is at the end of his rope because his wife is having an affair, who instead of taking the easy way out, deals with his own issues before God and then determines to stay and fight for his wife through incredible acts of kindness and thoughtfulness. He makes up his mind to woo her, chase after her, and in the end lets her know that if she leaves it will only be after he has fought for her harder than anyone else ever would. That's the crazy, non-reciprecal, love of God This kind of love staggers the world... it's the kind of love that makes Satan mad... it's the kind of love that makes atheists spit in the face of such irrationality... it's the kind of love that keeps a dignified, sinless naked man on a cross though he is able at any moment to call angels to his aid... it's the kind of love that alone can change lives because of its power to convict and woo the hearts of the sinners... it's the kind of love that will one day permeate all of creation... and it's the kind of love that you and I are called to live out in the power of the holy spirit and in that day, the day our Lord returns, all of those who bought in to the myth of redemptive vengeance (power by force), indeed, the majority of humankind, will find their own wisdom to be foolishness, their own logic to be irrational, and their own self-preservation to be suicidal, when they observe the new world God is going to make--a world that runs on his seemingly crazy, self-sacrificial love. In that day, the inhabitants of the world to come will only know true love because all of the counterfeits will have expired. And all who settled for the cheap flashy substitute of this present evil age which is bought on sale and paid for with credit cards, will suddenly discover with the agony that causes weeping and gnashing of teeth, that they have been excluded from something truly beautiful, something that actually makes sense, a world without fear, hatred, jealousy, bitterness, sickness or death...a world permeated with this outrageous cross-shaped love.

Samaritans Some Samaritan Beliefs - Bible consisted only of the first five books (Torah) - Strictly observant to the Law of Moses - Mt. Gerizim as place of worship - Belief in coming Taheb, restorer, a prophet like Moses Bad Reputation of Samaritans in Jesus' Day - When Jesus' opponents were looking for a vicious name to call Jesus they said, "Do we not say rightly that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?" (Jn 8.48) - The Samaritans rejected the disciples who came to one of their villages to make arrangement for Jesus to spend the night (Lk 9.51-56) - Jesus' disciples were shocked he would even speak to a Samaritan woman at the well, "for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans." (Jn 4.9) Parable of Good Samaritan (Luke 10.30-37) Woman at the well (John 4.1-10, 15-30, 39-43) In Christ barriers and prejudices are melted away by God's radically inclusive love demonstrated in the ministry of his perfect son, Jesus. Tax Collectors Whether or not a Jew should pay taxes to Rome was a hugely controversial issue (Luke 20.22) Why Tax Collectors were hated - do we really need a reason to dislike the guy who comes and says, "Pay up" - they were working for Rome, the hated foreign power - they were considered ceremonially unclean because of their continual contact with Gentiles and the fact that they worked on the Sabbath - they often extorted more money than was actually required (Lk 3.13) - they could force you to pay up using Roman power or they could take your farm or other posessions Bad Reputation of Tax Collectors in Jesus' Day - Jesus said that even the tax collectors love those who love them (Mat 5.46) - Jesus said regarding excommunication of an unrepentant brother, "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector." (Mat 18.17) - They called Jesus, "a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!" (Mat 11.19) - Tax collectors were lumped in with sinners (Mark 2.15), Gentiles (Mat 18.17), and prostitutes (Mat 21.31-32) Jesus and Zaccheus (Luke 19.1-10) Jesus' and Matthew (Levi) the tax collector (Luke 5.27-32; Mat 10.3) Bottom line: we are to love the unlovable, include the outcast, and reach out to the people that this world throws away, locks up, or kills off.

Our Father demonstrated his care by creating the world He created us to be relational, to experience love, to do work and enjoy a sense of accomplishment, to enjoy eating and sleeping, to be creative, to be compassionate, and to glorify, worship, and enjoy him forever. Our Father demonstrated his care throughout the drama of history fall > flood > Abraham, Isaac, Jacob > Moses > Judges > Kings > Exile > Return > Jesus (Nehemiah 9.6-37) Our Father demonstrated his care by sending his Son Jesus' birth (Luke 1.35) Jesus' ministry (Acts 10.38; Lk 4.17-19; Mark 7.31-37) Jesus' death and resurrection (John 3.16; Rom 5.8; 1 John 4.8-10) Our Father demonstrates his care by saving us from our depravity He saved us from our unworthy, depraved, God-hating, nature. (Eph 2.1-10; 1 Cor 6.9-11) Our Father demonstrates his care by "fathering us" He has sent the holy spirit to help us (Rom 5.5; 8.12-17) He cares for our daily, mundane needs (1 Pet 5.6-7; Luke 12.22-32) Our Father demonstrates his care by providing a kingdom for us In the kingdom, he will dwell with us, wipe our tears away, and abolish death and pain. (Rev 21.1-8) In the end, God gets what he always wanted--a family to enjoy forever in paradise

Creeds Definition of a creed: 1. a brief authoritative formula or religious belief 2. a set of fundamental beliefs, also : a guiding principle Apostles' Creed I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the grave. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy universal church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Nicene Creed We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, 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, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. Why creeds? What is their purpose? The Shema in Scripture What is the Shema? Deut 6.4-9 Other related Scriptures that speak of God's absolute oneness Ex 3.13-16 Ex 19.16-20; 20.1-6, 18-21 Dt 4.31-39 Is 37.16-20; 43.10-13; 44.24; 45.5-7, 12, 18; 46.9 Zechariah 14.9 The Shema in Jewish Tradition -Full Shema includes Deut 6.4-9; Deut 11.13-21; Num 15.37-41 Deuteronomy 6:4-9 4 "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 11:13-21 13 "It shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, 14 that He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil. 15 "He will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. 16 "Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them. 17 "Or the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which the LORD is giving you. 18 "You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 19 "You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when yu sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. 20 "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens remain above the earth. Numbers 15:37-41 37 The LORD also spoke to Moses, saying, 38 "Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. 39 "It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, 40 so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God. 41 "I am the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the LORD your God." -Said twice daily: when one rises and when one reclines...i.e. morning and night -Children are taught the shema as soon as they are able to learn it -The reciting of the first verse of the "Shema'" is called the acceptance of the yoke of the kingship of God" (Ber. ii. 5). -Further, as written in a Torah scroll, the letters "Ayin" and "Daled" of the first verse are enlarged -- encoded to spell out the Hebrew word Aid -- "witness." When we say the Shema, we are testifying to the Oneness of God. -Teffilin -Mezuzah The Shema and Jewish martyrs "It is the last word of the dying in his confession of faith. It was on the lips of those who suffered and were tortured for the sake of the Law. R. Akiba patiently endured while his flesh was being torn with iron combs, and died reciting the "Shema'." He pronounced the last word of the sentence, "Eḥad" (one) with his last breath (Ber. 61b). During every persecution and massacre, from the time of the Inquisition to the slaughter of Kishinef, "Shema' Yisrael" have been the last words on the lips of the dying." The great second century Talmudic scholar, Rabbi Akiva (second century) loved God so much, that he taught Torah despite the Roman law forbidding it. When the Romans found out, they sentenced him to a painful death. They took a large iron comb and began to scrape off his flesh. When Rufus--"Tyrannus Rufus," as he is called in Jewish sources--who was the pliant tool of Hadrian's vengeance, condemned the venerable Akiba to the hand of the executioner, it was just the time to recite the Shema. Full of devotion, Akiva recited his prayers calmly, though suffering agonies; and when Rufus asked him whether he was a sorcerer, since he felt no pain, Akiva replied, "I am no sorcerer; but I rejoice at the opportunity now given to me to love my God 'with all my life,' seeing that I have hitherto been able to love Him only 'with all my means' and 'with all my might,'" and with the word "One!" he expired (Yer. Ber. ix. 14b, and somewhat modified in Bab. 61b). Seth Mandel, spoke at the massive pro-Israel rally in Washington DC in April 2002. He told the following story: In the Sbarro Pizza bombing which killed 15 people in Jerusalem, five members of a Dutch family were killed. One was a 4-year-old boy named Avraham Yitzhak. As he was lying on the ground -- bleeding, burning and dying -- he said to his father, "Abba, please help me. Save me." His father reached over and held his hand. Together they said the words of the Shema. Jesus and the Shema The background to Mark 12.28-34 Jesus had just overturned the tables in the Temple the day before The chief priests and scribes were actively seeking a way to destroy him When Jesus arrived at the Temple the chief priests, scribes, and elders questioned him By what authority do you do these things? Jesus told the parable of the wicked tenants A man planted a vineyard and rented it out At harvest he sent a slave to receive some of the produce They beat him up and sent him back empty handed He sent another They wounded him and treated him shamefully He sent another That one they killed So he sent many others They beat some and killed others Last of all he sent his beloved son thinking they will respect him They said, "this is the heir, come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be hours! They killed him and threw him out of the vineyard What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine--growers and give it to others Mark 12.12 And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away. Pharisees and Herodians came to trap him in a statement "should we pay taxes to Ceasar?" Mark 12.17 And Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were amazed at Him. Some Sadducees came and asked him a question about resurrection When a man dies, the law teaches that his brother should marry the widow There were 7 brothers and the oldest died so the next one married his wife but then he died and so on until all 7 had married her In the resurrection whose wife will she be? Jesus answers: " when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." Mark 12.28-34 - Some Observations -- 1. The Jewish scribe did not believe that either Jesus or the holy spirit was God -- 2. The scribe plainly understands the Shema to mean, "He [Yahweh] is one, and there is no one else besides him" -- 3. Jesus agrees with the scribe on this understanding by saying to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." - Conclusion -- If the Jewish scribe did not believe in the Trinity and Jesus agreed with the scribe on his definition of God then Jesus was a biblical unitarian--he believed that Yahweh alone is God. Jesus taught that there was one and only one God (John 5.43-44) - John 5.43-44 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? Jesus' God is our God--the Father (John 20.17) - John 20.16-17 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, 'I ascend to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.'" Jesus denied that he was God (Mark 10.17-18) - Mark 10.17-18 17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to him and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 18 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. More Statements by Jesus about God - "Truly, truly, I say to you, the son can do nothing of himself" (Jn 5.19) - "I can do nothing on My own initiative" (Jn 5.30) - "I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me." (Jn 8.28) - "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak...the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me." (Jn 12.49-50) - "The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works." (Jn 14.10) - "The Father is greater than I" (Jn 14.28) Jesus taught that the Father is the only true God (John 17.3) - John 17.1-3 1 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you, 2 even as you gave him authority over all flesh, that to all whom you have given him, he may give eternal life. 3 "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. The rest of the New Testament on God's Oneness - The only God is eternal, immortal, and invisible (1 Tim. 1.17) - There is one God and one mediator (1 Tim. 2.5) - God is the only Sovereign who alone possesses immortality whom no man has seen or can see (1 Tim. 6.15-16) - for us there is but one God, the Father (1 Cor. 8.6) - God is one (Galatians 3.20) - There is one God and Father of all (Eph. 4.6) - Even the demons know that God is one (James 2.19) The Challenge Why not adopt the creed of Jesus, the central creed of Israel, the Shema as your creed? Knowing who God is and loving him are the foundation of everything. Romans 3:29-30 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. Deuteronomy 6.4-5 Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." Jude 1:24-25 24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

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