40 Days of Praise - Day 20

Day Twenty

“I and the Father are one.”
John 10:30

In the second most famous chapter in Isaiah, chapter 40, Isaiah asks a question in verse 18: "To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?"

Then he ridicules the practice of making an idol. Jeremiah does the same thing in chapter 10 of his prophecy. Both raise the question: why would someone cut down a tree and carve part of it into a shape, set it on an altar and bow down and worship it? And then take the rest of the tree, chop it up into firewood, and use it to cook their dinner. How can it be my god if I have to make it?!

A being worthy of the title “God” should be infinitely more than I am, more intelligent, more powerful, more present, more knowledgeable. The Creator and Sustainer of the universe should be categorically, qualitatively beyond me. Why worship something that's on my level?

These are the thoughts that occur to me when I come to John 10:30. How are Jesus and the Father one? Some have sought to say they are one in mind, one in purpose – they have the same goals and intentions. Those things are true. However, John began his gospel explaining that the Word who was with God was God, but was also in the beginning with God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. So the point that Jesus is making here is more than just intention. He’s saying that He and the Father have a connection such that He can do everything that the Father does. He is God.

The Jews that were listening to him accused Him of making Himself God and tried to stone Him for blasphemy. They understood Him clearly. But their thinking about Him, and about the nature of who God is, was stuck in what they could conceive of. In their minds, their one God could only be one person.

Admittedly, that there is one God who exists in three distinct persons is not logical in any human sense, but God is not human. The Son became human for us, but the Father and the Spirit did not. Jesus stated it clearly: God is spirit.

I wrestled with whether or not to write this as a devotional. What compelled me was the thought that I would not worship that which I could figure out.

When the Lord Jesus confronted Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus Road, the bright light of Jesus’ presence blinded Saul. He knew exactly what that light was: it was the Shekinah, the glory of the one true God. But Paul was compelled to ask a question: “Who are you, Lord?“ And the answer stunned him: “I am Jesus.“ The Shekinah glory of the one true God had just come from Jesus of Nazareth. How could one God be two?

He would later learn that the Spirit of God was not simply an influence, but the third person of the Trinity. One God, three persons. Our God is no carved figure made from a well chosen tree, nor a molded object made from a piece of precious metal. He's not even the product of a brilliant imagination. He is more – more complex than we could imagine, more subtle than we can discern, more immense than our thoughts can navigate.

And still, He is rich in mercy toward us, has great love for us, and boundless grace to save us.

He is worthy of our worship.

Charles M. Butler