What does it mean that the LORD is one (Deuteronomy 6:4)?

Answer

The opening of the Shema (or the “Saying”), a central teaching in Judaism, states that the Lord is one: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” «Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: », (Deuteronomy 6:4).

Most English Bibles include a footnote to offer alternative translations, as this is a challenging passage among Hebrew scholars. Options include “The LORD our God is one Lord,” “The LORD is our God, the LORD is one,” and “The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.” In all the variations, the emphasis remains on the concept of one God. The belief in one God stood in stark contrast to the beliefs of the cultures surrounding the Israelites. Other religious systems, such as that of the Egyptians, worshipped a multitude of gods and goddesses. The exclusive worship of a single God made the Hebrew faith distinctive in the ancient world.

Exodus 20 presents the Ten Commandments. It also starts with a declaration of God as one: “You shall have no other gods before me” «Thou shalt have no other gods before me. », (Exodus 20:3). God revealed Himself as the only God deserving worship. There could be no other.

However, the origin of monotheism was not Deuteronomy 6:4. The opening words of the Bible are “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” «In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. », (Genesis 1:1). Only one God existed before all things and brought all things into existence. This same singular God was the One who conversed with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2—3), rescued the world through Noah (Genesis 6—8), and pledged to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him (Genesis 12). Israel was consistently taught that.

The Lord God was the only God; the Jews were to reject all idols and deny all other gods.

If the Lord is one, how are we to understand the Trinity? Although the word Trinity is not found in the Bible, the concept certainly is. The Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are each referred to as God and are attributed qualities that only God has. For example, Jesus was in the beginning with God “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”, (John 1:1), and all creation was made through Him (Colossians 1:16-17). The Holy Spirit is listed with the Father and the Son as “the name” believers are to be baptized into (Matthew 28:19-20) and was referred to as God by Peter in Acts 5:3–4. The teaching of a Triune God is unique to Christianity and affirms the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one God in three Persons.

Christians believe that God is one yet is also triune. We know God through faith in Jesus Christ “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”, (John 14:6), and the Holy Spirit works within us to help us live for God each day.