One True God

John 17:3

Elijah threw down a challenge: you pray to your god and I’ll pray to mine and the God that lights the sacrifice, he is the true God.

Elijah even gave the prophets of Baal the opportunity to start. So they built their altar, laid out their sacrifice, and began to call upon Baal. Nothing happened. Elijah taunted them: “maybe he is sleeping, shout a little louder!”

So they shouted and jumped and cut themselves trying to incite a response from Baal. but nothing happened. He was silent. Then it was Elijah’s turn. He built an altar, laid out the sacrifice, then had the people build a trench around the altar and pour water over the sacrifice, drenching the wood and filling up the trench.

Then Elijah prayed. He prayed to the Lord and the Lord answered his prayer. The Lord sent fire from heaven, not only lighting the drenched wood, but burning the sacrifice and even consuming the stones of the altar.

When the people saw this, they said “the Lord is God.” There is one true God who answers our prayers. There is one true God in whom we are to trust. Now we like the prophets of Baal can make many false gods: money, power, sex, whatever it may be, we can trust it, we can fear it, we can love it more than we love the Lord, but all those things like Baal, they’re gonna let us down because they’re not real gods.

There’s only one true God. Jesus says in John chapter 17:

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. –John 17:3

There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and he is the true God who has sent Jesus to live and die for your sins. He is the only God that can save you. So trust him. He will answer your prayers and he will forgive all of your sins. Amen.

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Timothy Hartwig
Timothy Hartwig

Tim Hartwig is currently serving as President of the Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary.

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