How many gods are there?

from the old testament

• Some religions claim to have multiple gods. This is known as polytheism. This contrasts with what the biblical God says: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god” (Isaiah 44:6).
• Likewise, God says, “You are my witnesses … and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me” (Isaiah 43:10).
• In both of the Isaiah passages, God asserts that He is the only God (see, also, Isaiah 44:8; 45:5, 21).
• The Bible talks about other spiritual beings, including angels (Psalm 103:20), demons (Deuteronomy 32:17), and Satan (Job 1:6). Sometimes Scripture refers to idols as being backed by demons. For example, Psalm 106 talks about how Israel did not stay away from pagan religions. Instead, “they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons” (Psalm 106:35-37). Though the Israelites would never have said they were worshiping demons, that’s exactly what God indicates they were doing.
• Though other spiritual beings exist, they are all created by God (Nehemiah 9:6). This contrasts to God who is eternal and uncreated (Psalm 90:2).
• Christianity’s God is unique among monotheistic religions in that He is one in three Persons. That is, He is unique, being the triune God. While the New Testament provides a clearer picture of God triune nature, the Old Testament is not quiet on this account. The creation passage, for example, hits at plurality in the one God. In Genesis 1:1, “God” is said to create the heavens and earth, and yet in Genesis 1:2 the “Spirit of God” was “moving over the face of the earth” (c.f., Psalm 104:30). Elsewhere, the Spirit is also seen actively working in men (2 Samuel 23:2; Ezekiel 2:2). For example, in the 2 Samuel passage, David said, “The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me …” (2 Samuel 23:2). So, the Spirit has Personhood, speaking and acting. Yet, the Spirit is also God, as the next verse attests by saying, “the God of Israel said …” (2 Samuel 23:3). So, the “Spirit of the LORD” spoke (an attribute of Personhood) and was called “God.”
• Before God’s Son added on flesh, being born as Jesus, He showed up in the Old Testament as the Angel of the LORD. A key example is Genesis 22, where God told Abraham to sacrifice His son. In Genesis 22:1-2 we read, “After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, … ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’” So, we see God is the one who commanded Abraham. But then, when Abraham is about to kill his son, the Angel of the LORD stops him. He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me” (Genesis 22:12). The Angel of the LORD is a distinct person in the story, saying “I know you fear God,” but then He follows that up with, “you have not withheld your son … from me.” It was God who commanded Abraham, but the Angel of the LORD said that Abraham was obeying Him. Therefore, He equated Himself with God.
• In fact, there are even some hints of all three Persons being together in a single Old Testament passage! For example, consider this one from Isaiah: “Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there. And now the Lord GOD (Yahweh) has sent me, and his Spirit” (Isaiah 48:16). The Person speaking is the LORD (Isaiah 45:18), also known as Yahweh. Yet Yahweh, the speaker says that He was sent by “Lord GOD,” a reference to another Person also called Yahweh. Additionally, the first Yahweh is sent with the second Yahweh’s Spirit. Thus, all three Persons of the Trinity appear to be together in this passage.
• Besides the revelation of the number of gods, the Old Testament also provides information on what the one, true God is like. We learn that He is eternal (Psalm 90:2), the Creator of all things (Genesis 1:1), holy (Isaiah 6:3), just (Deuteronomy 32:4), merciful (Exodus 34:6), unchanging (Malachai 3:6), all-knowing (Psalm 147:5), all-powerful (Jeremiah 32:17), and present everywhere at once (Jeremiah 23:24).

from the new testament

• A few New Testament passages show all three Persons together. A key example is Jesus’ baptism where all three come together: “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased’” (Matthew 3:16-17).
• We also have a Trinitarian statement from Jesus in Matthew 28 when He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Jesus says to baptize new disciples in the “name” (singular) followed by three names, the three Persons of the Godhead. This is a clear example of the Trinity doctrine of one God in three Persons.
• Jesus is also explicitly called God (John 1:1) as is the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:3-4). Because there is only one divine essence, they do everything in perfect union (John 6:38).
• Besides defining God as triune, the New Testament also reiterates what the Old Testament taught, namely that He is eternal (1 Timothy 1:17), the Creator (Colossians 1:16), holy (Revelation 4:8), just (2 Thessalonians 1:6), merciful (Luke 6:36), unchanging (James 1:17), all-knowing (1 John 3:20), all-powerful (Revelation 19:6), and present everywhere at once (Matthew 28:20).

implications for today

It is irrelevant what one believes about the number of gods if it does not correspond to reality. God, Himself, has explained in great detail who He is in the entirety of Scripture. Any deviation from that description is to believe in a false god.

In a society that claims truth is relative, that sounds harsh. However, it is stated out of love because to go against the true God is to place one squarely under His wrath. God is the Creator and He hates sin. Every sin we commit comes with the judicial penalty of an eternity of God’s wrath. Because of this, it does not matter how good we are or how religious we are. To be guilty of sin is to face eternal torment.

Fortunately, the true God is merciful. That does not mean He ignores sin, but it does mean that He has provided an escape from His wrath. The Father sent His Son, Jesus so that we might live through Him. Jesus, being fully God, is perfect. When He came, He added on humanity and then lived as a perfect human unlike the rest of us. Because of that, He was able to die in the place of other humans. When Jesus died, that was the Father pouring out His just wrath for repentant sinners on His Son, as if Jesus had committed the sin. In other words—Jesus paid the wrath that we deserve. Everyone who repents of their sin and trusts in God’s Son will have Jesus’ death credited to their account. That means they will be saved when God brings His wrath against all those who rejected Him or worshiped other gods.

There is only one God and He has only given one way of escape from His wrath: Jesus. Repent and trust in Him today while you still have the chance.