“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.”
My Notes
What Does 1 Corinthians 8:6 Mean?
1 Corinthians 8:6 is one of the earliest and most compressed Christian creeds in existence. Written around AD 55 — barely two decades after the resurrection — it reformulates the Jewish Shema ("Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD," Deuteronomy 6:4) to include Jesus Christ within the identity of the one God. This is staggering theology disguised as a simple statement.
The structure is deliberately parallel. "One God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him" — the Father is the source (ek, out of) of all creation, and believers exist toward Him (eis, for/into Him). "One Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him" — Christ is the agent (dia, through) of all creation, and believers exist through Him. The Father is the origin; the Son is the means. Together they account for the existence of everything and the salvation of everyone.
Paul places Jesus Christ alongside the Father within the monotheistic confession — not as a second god but as included in the identity of the one God. The word "Lord" (kurios) is the Greek translation of Yahweh in the Septuagint. By calling Jesus kurios and placing Him as the agent of creation, Paul is attributing to Christ the functions that the Old Testament attributes exclusively to God. This verse isn't a later theological development. It's first-generation Christianity confessing, within twenty years of the cross, that Jesus is within the identity of the God of Israel.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Paul rewrites the Shema to include Jesus. How does understanding this as a radical first-century claim change how you read what might otherwise sound like a routine creed?
- 2.Everything comes 'from' the Father and 'through' the Son. How does knowing your existence has both a source and a means affect how you see your own life's purpose?
- 3.This verse was written within twenty years of the resurrection. What does the speed of this theological development suggest about how the earliest Christians understood Jesus?
- 4.One God, one Lord — and you exist in relationship to both. How does this verse challenge the idea that faith is a private, individual matter?
Devotional
One God. One Lord. And both are involved in everything that exists and everyone who is saved. Paul packs the entire architecture of Christian theology into a single sentence — and he does it by rewriting the most sacred prayer in Judaism to include Jesus.
The Shema — "the LORD our God is one LORD" — was the foundational confession of every Jewish person. Paul takes it and splits it open: one God, the Father, from whom everything comes. One Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom everything comes. He doesn't add a second god. He reveals that the one God has always been more than Israel understood — that Jesus isn't an addition to God but an unveiling of who God has been all along.
The prepositions tell the story: from the Father, through the Son. Everything that exists originated in the Father's will and was executed through the Son's agency. Including you. You came from the Father's intention and were brought into being through Christ. Your existence isn't accidental. It's sourced in one and mediated by the other. And your salvation follows the same pattern — you exist for the Father and through the Son. If you've ever felt purposeless or random, this verse says: you were conceived in the mind of the Father and made real through the work of the Son. There's nothing accidental about you.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
But to us there is but one God, the Father,.... In this Christians and Jews agree with the best and wisest philosophers…
But to us - Christians. We acknowledge but one God, Whatever the pagan worship, we know that there is but one God; and…
But to us there is but one God, the Father - Who produced all things, himself uncreated and unoriginated. And we in him,…
In this passage he shows the vanity of idols: As to the eating of things that have been sacrificed to idols, we know…
to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things There is but one eternal First Cause and fountain of…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture