God’s Image Study — Inside the Mind — Where the Word Leads
As we close this portion of our study, we return to the commandment that began it:
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
— Exodus 20:3, ASV
The preceding verse identifies the speaker as Jehovah, the God who brought Israel out of bondage. The command concerns allegiance to the one who identifies himself and recounts what he has done. See Exodus 20:2–3.
Throughout these posts, we have considered what it means to put YHWH (יהוה) first. That examination has required attention to names, titles, authority, relationships, and conduct.
One important distinction has remained central: being called god, possessing authority, or receiving honor does not by itself establish that someone is the Almighty. We must examine who is being described, what authority they possess, and whether that authority was given to them.
This is especially important when considering the Father and Jesus.
In 1 Corinthians 8:6, Paul identifies the Father as the one God from whom all things come and for whom we exist. He identifies Jesus Christ as the one Lord through whom all things come and through whom we exist. The distinction between source and agency belongs to the wording of the passage. See 1 Corinthians 8:6.
We should preserve what each is said to do.
Jesus also describes the Father’s activity in bringing people to him. The Father sends, draws, and teaches; those who hear and learn from the Father come to the Son. See John 6:44–46.
Then Jesus describes his own role in making the Father known. Matthew 11:27 identifies the Father as the one who entrusts all things to the Son, and the Son as the one who reveals the Father to whomever he wills. See Matthew 11:27.
The Father draws us to the Son. The Son reveals the Father.
These connected roles give us reason to attend closely to both. Coming to Jesus does not make the Father’s activity or authority disappear.
Nor does putting the Father first permit us to withhold honor from Jesus. The Father entrusts judgment to the Son so that everyone will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. Jesus expressly connects dishonoring him with dishonoring the Father who sent him. See John 5:22–24.
Honoring the Son is therefore part of responding faithfully to the Father.
But the Son’s authority does not place the Father beneath him. Paul explicitly excepts the one who subjected everything to the Son from that subjection. At the culmination of the passage, the Son himself will be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, with the outcome that God may be all in all. See 1 Corinthians 15:24–28.
The conclusion developed in this study is to keep the Father above all, including Jesus, while honoring Jesus fully in the role and authority the Father has given him.
That conclusion must also shape how we live.
Our examination has extended beyond the words we use about God. We have considered whether human traditions override instruction, whether favored people receive exemptions, whether our desires govern our decisions, and whether confidence in our own righteousness keeps us from recognizing our need.
These questions require honesty. A person can speak strongly about putting God first while protecting a cherished belief from examination. A teacher can ask others to receive correction while refusing to consider it personally. Any of us can recognize a commandment and still find reasons to avoid applying it.
The first commandment therefore remains a continuing examination of allegiance.
When a passage challenges my understanding, will I give it careful attention? Will I distinguish what it explicitly says from what I have concluded? Can I acknowledge uncertainty where a question remains unresolved? If correction becomes clear, will I act upon it?
The same examination belongs to this study. Its conclusions should be tested by the passages it presents.
Jesus keeps love at the center: love for God with our whole being, and love for our neighbor as ourselves. He places the Law and the Prophets in relation to those two commandments. See Matthew 22:37–40.
Keeping God first should affect our honesty, our fairness, our willingness to listen, and our care for others. What we profess must reach into what we practice.
This closes our present examination of the first commandment. As with every study, we can return when further questions or passages call for attention.
For now, we carry this forward: seek the Father’s instruction, receive and honor the Son he sent, and allow what we learn to govern our choices.
Threads to Follow
The Father as source and the Son’s entrusted authority.
The Father drawing and the Son revealing.
Honoring the Son while preserving the Father’s place above all.
Testing our loyalties through correction and obedience.
Carrying love for God and neighbor into the remaining commandments.
The books were opened…
🌿 By Maria Emilia
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