Question:

My question is on this passage:  “For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.”  ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭8:5-6‬ ‭NASB‬‬     Is this saying that there are indeed many gods ( like what the Hindus or perhaps Mormons  believe )  but that we, as christians : who are privileged with the bible-  should only focus on capital “g”, God who wants our sole attention?  Maybe I’m not understanding the cultural or linguistic context  but It seems to imply that  these polytheistic people, who don’t have the Bible , have a truth of their own and it is indeed true.

Answer:

Here Paul is using rhetoric.   He is using the words of others sarcastically as a means to make an argument.  Anyone who says that Paul believes that there are many real gods has a big problem with dozens of dozens of passages which prove this to be a lie (I do not mean to imply that you believe this, of course).  He said in 1 Tim 2:5 “There is one God, and one mediator between man and God.”  In fact, I say start at any passage in the New Testament and simply start reading.  I bet you will find a reference to there being only one God withing just five minutes.   This refrain runs throughout the Bible.

What Paul is doing here is something like this:  Imagine I told you that I was just in Bali last month (actually I was).  I told you that there are many many Gods in Bali.  How would you interpret this statement?  Would you use this to prove that I believe there are in reality many real, actual gods?  Of course not.  Accusing Paul of believing in or teaching the existence of many real gods would be to do something like that.

The answer is NO!!!  The Bible does NOT say that there are many actual gods, but that we should only worship one of those gods, the one called Jehovah.  This utterly a false interpretation of scripture.

Below is a sample of passages in the Bible that proves that the scripture is solid on the doctrine of monotheism and absolutely does not support polytheism:

Scriptures which support monotheism:

1. “There is no one like Yahweh our God.” Exodus 8:10
2. “Yahweh, He is God; there is no other besides Him.” Deuteronomy 4:35
3. “Yahweh, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.” Deuteronomy 4:39
4. “See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me” Deuteronomy 32:39
5. “Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one [echad]!” Deuteronomy 6:4
6. “You are great, O Lord God; for there is none like You, and there is no God besides You” 2 Samuel 7:22
7. “For who is God, besides Yahweh? And who is a rock, besides our God?” 2 Samuel 22:32
8. “Yahweh is God; there is no one else.” 1 Kings 8:60
9. “…You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth…” 2 Kings 19:15
10. “O Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You” 1 Chronicles 17:20
11. “You alone are Yahweh.” Nehemiah 9:6
12. “For who is God, but Yahweh? And who is a rock, except our God” Psalm 18:31
13. “You alone, Lord, are God.” Isaiah 37:20
14.  “Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me.” Isaiah 43:10

1. “‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.” Isaiah 44:6
2. “Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.” Isaiah 44:8
3. “I am Yahweh, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God.” Isaiah 45:5
4. “Surely, God is with you, and there is none else, No other God.” Isaiah 45:14
5. “I am Yahweh, and there is none else.” Isaiah 45:18

1. “Is it not I, Yahweh? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me.” Isaiah 45:21
2. “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me” Isaiah 46:9
3. “And Yahweh will be king over all the earth; in that day Yahweh will be the only one, and His name the only one.” Zechariah 14:9

1. “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; ” Mark 12:29
2. “you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?” John 5:44

1. “I and the Father are one.” John 10:30
2. “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God” John 17:3
3. “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one” John 17:22
4. “since indeed God is one” Romans 3:30
5. “to the only wise God, Amen.” Romans 16:27
6. “there is no God but one” 1 Corinthians 8:4
7. “yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.” 1 Corinthians 8:6
8. “Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one.” Galatians 3:20
9. “There is one body and one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:4-6
10.   “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.” James 2:19

1. “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God” 1 Timothy 1:17
2. “which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.” 1 Timothy 6:16
3. “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” 1 Timothy 2:5