But the point is that there is only one God that exists.
Now keep your finger there.
Go to 1 Corinthians chapter number 8 in the New Testament.
1 Corinthians chapter number 8, just because there are Old Testament verses that use the
term gods, that doesn't mean that other gods actually exist because they don't.
There is only one God.
And the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 4, as concerning therefore the eating
of those things that are offered and sacrificed unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing
in the world and that there is none other god but one.
So the apostle Paul and the Corinthian church, they're like, look, we both know that there's
only one God.
There's no other god beside him.
And by the way, in Isaiah it says, before me there was no god formed, neither shall
there be any god after me.
I am he and there's none else.
And beside me there is no savior.
So we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is none other god but
one.
Look at verse 5.
For though there be that are called gods.
So are there entities that are called gods?
Absolutely.
Whether in heaven or in earth.
So in heaven and in earth there be those that are called gods.
So even God might talk about other gods.
Okay.
Does everybody understand what I'm saying?
God in heaven could talk about other gods.
We could talk on this earth about other gods.
And it says, as there be gods many and lords many, but to us there is but one God, the
Father of whom are all things and we in him and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all
things and we by him, howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge and on and on
it goes.
And then in a couple chapters later he's going to say that the things which the Gentiles
offer and sacrifice unto idols, they sacrifice unto devils.
And I would not think you should have fellowship with devils.
So what do we make of this?
Because some people could take this out of context and I've seen Mormons or Jehovah's
Witnesses where they will read verse 5 and verse 6 but they'll skip verse 4.
So they'll read verse 5 and 6 and say, well, there be gods many and lords many, but to
us there is but one God.
And so that's why when you ask Mormons how many gods are there, they'll say, well, we
only worship one God.
But that's not what I asked you.
I said how many gods are there?
And then they'll lie and sometimes say one and then you pull out the quote from Brigham
Young or you pull out the quotes from Joseph Smith and you'll pull out the quote about
how there are so many billions of gods in this universe that it's more than we could
even count and then they'll all of a sudden change their tune and say, well, the Bible
says there are multiple gods.
And I've had them use this verse to say, well, there are gods many, lords many, but to us
there's but one God.
No, no, no, my friend, back up to the end of verse 4.
What does it say?
It says we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is none other god
but one.
We know that only one God exists.
And again, we have the Isaiah scripture, there were no gods before me, there shall be no
other gods after me, there's no beside me there is no god, on and on and on.
When it says here that there be that are called gods whether in heaven or in earth, sure there
are things that are called gods like the god of the Philistines, the god of the Moabites,
the god of the Edomites, the god of the Amorites.
Those are called gods.
They're false gods.
So are there other gods?
Yeah, false gods, but in reality there's only one God that actually exists.
What are those false gods?
What are they really?
He tells us in chapter 10, they're demons, they're devils, right?
The things that the Gentiles offer in sacrifice unto idols, they sacrifice unto devils.
The idol is nothing in the world.
It's a hunk of rock, it's a hunk of wood, it's a hunk of stone, okay?
But it represents a devil.
It represents a demon also known as a false god, okay?
And notice it doesn't say there are gods many and lords many.
It says as there be gods many and lords many and, you know, I'm not trying to get into
some finer points of English grammar here, but that's not just a straight up indicative
statement is it?
There are other gods.
That's not what it says.
It says as there be.
This is a subjunctive because of the fact that this is a claim that is being made, okay?
The claim is being made that there are gods many and lords many and that's why it says
there be that are called gods.
It doesn't say that they actually are gods.
It says they're called gods.
So we have the god of Islam, the gods of Hinduism, right?
The gods of the Canaanites, they're called gods, okay?
The claim is being made that there are many gods and many lords, but we know that there's
no other god but one.
There's only one true god.
And so when the Bible, so with that in mind, let's go back to Exodus 15 with all that in
mind and look what the Bible says in verse 11.
Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods?
So here's what he's basically saying.
He said, okay, let's look at the gods of the Egyptians.
Let's look at the gods of the Canaanites.
Let's look at the gods of these other pagan Gentile nations and then let's compare those
gods to the god of Israel, Jehovah God.
Who among those gods is like Jehovah God?
Nobody.
Now, is that to say that those gods actually exist?
Of course not.
Now, they do exist in the sense that people worship these entities and these entities
are demons.
So you could say, you know, hey, is Baal-Zebub real?
Yeah, he's real.
He's Satan.
He's the devil, Baal-Zebub, right?
But does that make him a god?
Absolutely not.
Satan is not a god.
His minions are not gods, okay?
But they are worshiped as gods.
They are called gods.
They're treated as gods.
But they're not.
There's only one god.
And so the Bible says in verse number 11, who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Verse 12, thou stretchest out thy right hand.
Of course, that's, again, a picture of salvation, the right hand of God.
The earth swallowed them.
Thou in thy mercy has led forth thy people, which thou hast redeemed.
Now watch this.
This is an interesting statement.
Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.
Now remember we talked about the habitation earlier?
I will prepare the Lord a habitation.
Now we have past tense, thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.
Where is this habitation of the Lord?
What are we talking about?
And sometimes people will ask, is this Mount Sinai?
Is this Jerusalem?
Is this just the promised land in general?
Where is this habitation?
And in reality, God's habitation is anywhere that God inhabits.
And in this case, it is the wilderness, which is why this is past tense, because he's saying
it already happened.
Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.
Coming into the wilderness is coming into God's presence, and that is the habitation
of the Lord, even just being in the wilderness, even though they're not really in a special
place necessarily.
Even Mount Sinai itself, what's so special about Mount Sinai?
Do the children of Israel end up living there permanently?
Does that end up being the site of the temple or the site of the crucifixion or any kind
of a holy shrine?
No.
God was there at that time meeting with man.
That's what made it special.
Is it special today?
No.
And there's even an argument.
Is this Mount Sinai?
And people argue about the real Mount Sinai.
Guess what?
You could go to either of those places.
Maybe you can even bring a rabbit's foot with you, but it's not going to matter.
It's not going to change.
You're not going to have some special tingling experience with God there, because you're
in a certain geography, because God is not limited by geography.
God is the God of the whole earth.
So there's nothing special about going to a certain geography and standing at the place
where Jesus was baptized or standing at the place where Christ was crucified or standing
at Mount Sinai or something.
Those places, it could be interesting, it could be fun, but at the end of the day, you
could have the ultimate spiritual experience right here in Arizona or anywhere else in
this world for that matter, because it's just about the presence of God.
It's about the Holy Spirit.
It's not about a place.