The Greatest Commandment

The Lord Is One

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The most famous words in Deuteronomy begin with one word: hear. Moses wanted God's people to listen closely to the truth about who God is, because everything else depends on it.

The words. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” (Deuteronomy 6:4). There is only one true God, and He belongs to His people.

A world full of idols. The nations around Israel worshiped gods of rain, sun and war. They made statues and bowed to them. Moses said none of them were real gods.

The Creator. The one true God made the heavens and the earth. Everything else was made by Him, so nothing else deserves our worship.

Morning and night. Jewish families have said these words every morning and evening for thousands of years, just as 6:7 says, “when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

Jesus said it. When a scribe asked about the first commandment, Jesus answered, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Mark 12:29). Jesus loved these words.

The scribe agreed. “You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He” (Mark 12:32). Jesus told him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34).

One God and one Lord. Paul wrote, “Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things… and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things” (1 Corinthians 8:6).

Father, Son and Spirit. Christians believe the one God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is a great mystery, but the Bible shows it to be true.

One way to God. “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). A mediator brings two sides together.

Knowing God. Jesus prayed, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).

Our only God. Jesus said, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve” (Matthew 4:10). He was quoting Deuteronomy 6:13.

What we learn. There is only one true God. He made us, He loves us, and He wants us to know Him through Jesus. Nothing else should take His place in our hearts.

What to do. This week, say Deuteronomy 6:4 when you wake up and when you go to bed. Thank God that He is the one true God and that you can know Him.

Deuteronomy 6:4 is called the Shema, after its first Hebrew word. For Israel it was a confession of faith, a daily prayer and a line drawn against every idol of the surrounding nations.

Hearing as obeying. The Hebrew verb shama (say: shah-MAH) means both to hear and to obey. To hear God's word truly is to act on it.

“The Lord is one.” The word echad (say: eh-KHAHD) affirms that Israel's God is unique and undivided. Unlike Baal or Asherah, He has no rival and no partner.

Against idolatry. Deuteronomy 6:14 warns, “You shall not go after other gods.” The Shema is the positive statement behind that warning.

Daily prayer. Jewish tradition recites the Shema morning and evening, along with 11:13-21 and Numbers 15:37-41, following the instruction of 6:7.

Jesus' affirmation. In Mark 12:29-30 Jesus quotes the Shema as the first of all commandments. He stands within Israel's faith, not against it.

The scribe (Mark 12:32-34). The scribe's answer that love is “more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices” earns Jesus' praise. Devotion matters more than ritual.

1 Corinthians 8:6. Paul restates the Shema with two clauses: “one God, the Father” and “one Lord Jesus Christ.” By naming Jesus as the one Lord, Paul shows that Jesus belongs within the one God of Israel. He is fully God.

The Trinity. Christians confess one God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (compare Matthew 28:19). This truth does not deny the Shema. The one God has shown Himself to us as Father, Son and Spirit.

1 Timothy 2:5. “One God and one Mediator” links the oneness of God to the uniqueness of Christ's work. There is one way to the one God.

John 17:3. Eternal life is defined as knowing “the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” Knowledge here means personal relationship.

Matthew 4:10. In the wilderness Jesus answers Satan with Deuteronomy 6:13. Jesus lived the Shema under pressure.

For today. Modern idols are rarely statues. Money, popularity and comfort can compete for the loyalty that belongs to God alone.

Application. What competes most with God for first place in your heart? Confessing that “the Lord is one” means He alone gets that place.

Love Because He First Loved Us

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God told His people to love Him with everything they are. That is the greatest commandment. But it raises a hard question: can anyone really do it?

The command. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

Two commands together. Jesus said to love God and also, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Then He said, “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:39-40).

Our problem. No one loves God perfectly. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We often love ourselves most.

Even one slip. “Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). We need help.

The law's job. The law “was our tutor to bring us to Christ” (Galatians 3:24). A tutor is a teacher who leads a child where he needs to go.

Jesus loved perfectly. Jesus said, “I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:29). He loved the Father with all His heart, every day.

God's love came first. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us” (1 John 4:10).

Love at the cross. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Then He rose again on the third day.

A new heart. God promised, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:26). He changes us from the inside.

Written inside. “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33). God's word becomes part of who we are.

Our answer. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Our love for God is a response to His love for us.

Love that obeys. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Real love shows itself in what we do.

What to do. This week, write 1 John 4:19 on a card. Each day, do one thing to show love to God and one thing to show love to someone else.

The Shema commands total love for God. Read honestly, it exposes every human heart. The gospel answers the question the Shema raises: how can sinners ever love God like this?

Covenant love. In Deuteronomy, love (ahavah, say: ah-hah-VAH) is loyal devotion expressed in obedience. It is a whole-life commitment, not only a feeling.

The double command. Jesus joined Deuteronomy 6:5 to Leviticus 19:18 (Matthew 22:37-40). Luke 10:27 records a lawyer giving the same summary.

Love fulfills the law. “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10).

The verdict. Measured by this command, “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23). James 2:10 shows that the law is a unity: to break one part is to break the whole.

What the law cannot do. Romans 8:3-4 explains that God sent His Son to do “what the law could not do,” so that its righteous requirement might be fulfilled in us.

The tutor (Galatians 3:24). The Greek paidagogos (say: pie-dah-go-GOSE) was a guardian who escorted a child to school. The law leads us to Christ.

Christ's obedience. Jesus lived the Shema perfectly (John 8:29; Hebrews 4:15). His obedience is counted to everyone who trusts Him (Romans 5:19), so we stand before God in His righteousness.

1 John 4:10. Love is defined by God's initiative: “not that we loved God, but that He loved us.” The cross is the measure of that love (Romans 5:8).

New covenant. Jeremiah 31:33 and Ezekiel 36:26 promise the inner change Deuteronomy itself looked forward to in 30:6, where God promises to circumcise the heart.

The order of love. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Grace comes first; love for God is the response.

Love and obedience. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). 1 John 5:3 adds that “His commandments are not burdensome.”

Teaching the next generation. Deuteronomy 6:7 and Ephesians 6:4 call parents and teachers to pass this love on through daily life and conversation.

Application. Do you think of obeying God as a way to earn His love, or as your answer to His love? Grace comes first, and obedience grows out of it.

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Read each section and answer the questions correctly.