God And His Word - A Question And Answer Approach To Understanding The Bible

THE FIRST TABLE OF THE LAW, COMMANDMENTS I THROUGH 4 7. WHAT IS THE FIRST COMMANDMENT? "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:3. 8. WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE OF US IN THE FIRST COMMANDMENT? God requires that we fear, love and trust in Him above all things. 'The true God is to be the only object of our worship, prayer and religious activity. Psalms 33:8; Genesis 17:1; Proverbs 8:13; Matthew 22:37; Psalms 118:8; Proverbs 3:7. Note Daniel 3 and 2 Samuel 17. 9. WHAT DOES GOD FORBID IN THE FIRST COMMANDMENT? God forbids us to have other gods instead of Him or in addition to Him; in other words, He forbids idolatry. Matthew 4:10; Isaiah 42:8. 10. WHEN DO MEN HAVE OTHER GODS? [1] When they regard and worship any creature as God. Psalms 115:3, 4; Exodus 32; 1 Kings 12:28; 18: 18-29; Judges 16:23, 24. [2] When they believe in a god that does not identify with and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 John 2:22; 23: 4:2; John 5:23; 17:3. [3] When they fear, love or trust in any person or thing as they should fear, love and trust in God alone. Matthew 10:28, 37; Proverbs 3:5; Ephesians 5:5; Philippians 3:19. 11. IS JESUS CHRIST ANOTHER GOD? No! Jesus is the Son of God; that is, He is God manifested in a physical, tangible way so that we might better understand God. John 1:1; 10:30; 14:7-11; 17:11; Matthew 1:23; 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 John 1:1, 2. 12. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE FIRST COMMANDMENT! Read Hebrews 1. There you will find an array of statements proving that Jesus is Divine and worthy of all things due God. For instance, He is to be worshipped (v. 6); He is addressed as "God" (v. 8); He is acknowledged as the creator of all things (v. 2). 13. WHAT IS THE SECOND COMMANDMENT? "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image." Exodus 20:4. 14. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? We are not to use any earthly material (earth, clay, metal, wood, stone or paint) to construct a figure that represents God. This refers to anything that can be seen, described or imagined as being Divine.

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