How many Gods are there, one or many? (According to the Bible)?

Question

One God
(Deuteronomy 6:4) - "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!"
(Isaiah 43:10) - ". . . Before Me [YHWH] there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me."
(Isaiah 44:6) - ". . . there is no God besides Me."
(Isaiah 44:8) - ". . . And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock? I know of none."

Many gods
(Genesis 1:26) - "Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness . . ."
(Genesis 3:22) - "And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil . . ."
(Genesis 11:7) - "Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."
(1 Corinthians 8:5) - "For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords")."
(1 John 5:8) - "For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement."

Answer 1

This Christian believes there may be lesser Gods...perhaps they are not known as such and were called something different. The statement "thou shall have no other Gods before me" implies to me that there are others.

The Skeptical Christian
Grace, Peace and Love
Peg

Answer 2

How many Gods are there, one or many?
Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8
and Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; 1 Cor. 8:5; I John 5:7


One God

(Deuteronomy 6:4) - "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!"

(Isaiah 43:10) - ". . . Before Me [YHWH] there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me."

(Isaiah 44:6) - ". . . there is no God besides Me."

(Isaiah 44:8) - ". . . And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock? I know of none."
Many gods

(Genesis 1:26) - "Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness . . ."

(Genesis 3:22) - "And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil . . ."

(Genesis 11:7) - "Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

(1 Corinthians 8:5) - "For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords")."

(1 John 5:8) - "For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement."


The Bible tells us that there is only one God in all existence (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8). However, it also mentions "other gods." For example there is Adrammelech and Anammelech (2 Kings 17:31), Asherah (1 Kings 18:19), Baal (Judges 3:1), Chemosh (Num. 21:29), Dagon (1 Sam. 5:2), Molech (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5), etc. The Bible is not contradicting itself. When the Bible speaks of other gods it is speaking of false gods that have no true existence. Gal. 4:8 says, "Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods." See also, Isaiah 37:19 and Jeremiah 2:11. God tells us that he alone is the true God and that all of the invented gods of man do not exist except in their own minds. So, we can see that the Bible is not contradicting itself regarding how many gods there are in existence. There is only one.
Note: in the verses in Genesis that have God saying "Let us make..., Let us go down . . . , etc." are clues to the Trinitarian nature of God. God is a Trinity of persons: a Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There are not three Gods, but one. There are those who insist that the Trinity is polytheistic. But it is not. Trinitarians believe in a single being who is God.
http://www.carm.org/diff/Gen1_26.htm

Answer 3

At Acts chapter 17, verse 11, people are called “noble-minded” because they were “carefully examining the Scriptures daily as to whether these things were so,” things taught by the apostle Paul. They were encouraged to use the Scriptures to confirm the teachings even of an apostle. You should do the same.

Keep in mind that the Scriptures are “inspired of God” and are to be used for “setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17) So the Bible is complete in doctrinal matters. If the Trinity doctrine is true, it should be there.

We invite you to search the Bible, especially the 27 books of the Christian Greek Scriptures, to see for yourself if Jesus and his disciples taught a Trinity. As you search, ask yourself:

1. Can I find any scripture that mentions “Trinity”?

2. Can I find any scripture that says that God is made up of three distinct persons, Father, Son, and holy spirit, but that the three are only one God?

3. Can I find any scripture that says that the Father, Son, and holy spirit are equal in all ways, such as in eternity, power, position, and wisdom?

Search as you may, you will not find one scripture that uses the word Trinity, nor will you find any that says that Father, Son, and holy spirit are equal in all ways, such as in eternity, power, position, and wisdom. Not even a single scripture says that the Son is equal to the Father in those ways—and if there were such a scripture, it would establish not a Trinity but at most a “duality.” Nowhere does the Bible equate the holy spirit with the Father.

Answer 4

One God - that is split into three different parts (or personalities I guess you could say)- God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), The Holy Spirit.
God the Father is the creator of the universe.
God the Son (Jesus) is God mad into man. He died on the cross for us and then was resurrected so we can have eternal with him after death.
The Holy Spirit is the imense feeling of awe that inspires and encourages Christians in their everyday lives.

Answer 5

if Scripture contradicts itself, you're misreading it.

1) the "we" refers to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
2) knowing Good and evil doesn't make us gods
3) again, still humans
4) idols. men call them gods, though there is but One.
5) God: the Trinity

the Bible says One God. #2 and 3 don't mean anything and #4 is so easy to understand, it's almost laughable that someone doesn't.

Answer 6

There is one God, but he mainfest in all three of the "realms" that humans touch.

When God created man, he formed a 1)body out of the elements of the earth, he breathed into it a 2)spirit and man became a living 3)soul. (See Genesis 2:7)

Man was made to operate in three different "realms". His body touches the physical. His soul controls the mind, will and emotions. His spirit communciates with the heavenly realm and God himself. Each is just as much "him" as any of the others. Take one away and he ceases to function. Yet they (hopefully) all work together as a single being.

God also manifest in all three realms. He is seen in the heavenly realm as God the Father. He entered the physical realm as Jesus Christ - God the Son, and he dwells in the hearts (souls) of men as God the Holy Spirit. Each is just as much "God" as any of the others. They just functions in different areas. And they work together as a single being.

God oftens refers to himself in the plural, much as royalty does in Britian and other countries. (Yet Queen Elizabeth is still only one person).

The Bible also acknowledged that there are those who believe in other gods and others lords. But it treats those as false beliefs. Much as we can refer to the Greek gods knowning that they are mythical.

So the answer is: One God who manifest himself in all three realms touched by man.

Answer 7

I believe there always have been many. Just that one became dominant when the Hebrews decided to worship the most powerful one.
How can simple men, Indians, Islanders etc. be totally wrong? The Bible is a great book, but it does not bear up well under scrutiny. Your faith is what sustains you.

Answer 8

In the Exodus covenant, in exchange for saving them from slavery, the Abrahamic god makes the Jews take him as their god.

Abrahamicism, at its core, is actually polytheistic, the monotheism comes from the idea that after Exodus, the deal was that the Abrahamic god was the only god for the Jews.

Over time, that became only god, period, which is a core value of Abrahamicism today, which is probably something Jesus, if he actually existed, would've found very strange.

Answer 9

There is only one God.
Father, Son (The Word), Holy Spirit. Together they are God.

Answer 10

ONE true God...YHWH

Many gods,,,meaning powerful rulers ...the angels including and primarily Jesus..

Many false gods, ...meaning Satan and the demons and anything else worshiped as an idol. The demons are called prince, in Daniel 10:20.