There are major differences between Latter-day Saints and traditional Christians regarding the nature of God. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons from the Bible why Christians have the view of God that we do.
God himself declares his own uniqueness.
Isaiah 43:10-11 “But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord. “You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God – there never has been, and there never will be. I, yes I, and the Lord, and there is no other Savior.”
God gives us his own testimony to help us understand who he is. He claims that there is no other God. There never has been more than one God, and there never will be another being that can rightly be called “God”. Yet even within the unity and uniqueness of the one God, there is a hint of distinction. God identifies himself by two names or titles: “God” and “the Lord.” The word “Lord” translates “Jehovah”, while the word “God” translates “Elohim.”
[Related: The Trinity – The Mystery of God]
[Related: The Trinity – God Is One]
[Related: The Trinity – God Is Three Persons]
[Related: The Trinity – The Deity of the Three]
As the only God, he is also the only Savior.
Verse 11 noted that there is no other Savior besides God. Verse 12 elaborates.
Isaiah 43:12 “First I predicted your rescue, then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world. No foreign god has ever done this. You are witnesses that I am the only God,” says the Lord.
God’s rescue of Israel as a nation points forward to God’s rescue of his people from sin, which Jesus accomplished on the cross. Only God could accomplish this because only he is actually God.
God has always been God.
Isaiah 43:13 “From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.”
God has been God as far back as we can imagine – “from eternity”. There was never a time when he was not God. He has never existed as some other form of being, like a human. Because he has been God forever, his works will stand sure and no one can thwart them.
[Related: God – Eternal Deity or Exalted Man?]
[Related: God – Body or Spirit?]
Our God is a majestic, transcendent being.
Isaiah 43:14-15 This is what the Lord says – your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “For your sakes I will send an army against Babylon, forcing the Babylonians to flee in those ships they are so proud of. I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator and King.”
God is eternally God. As such he is the Creator. He deserves the right to be treated as King. God is transcendent and majestic in his holiness. It’s hard to grasp what God is. Yet amazingly, we can know who God is because he has revealed himself to us and wants a relationship with us.
[Related: Rediscovering the Nature of God]
[Related: God Is Spirit]
When leaving Mormonism, a person will have to re-think their concept of who God is and what he is like. From the Bible we learn that God is greater than we thought.
