Question 106. What are we specially taught by the words, before me, in the first commandment?

 

Question 106. What are we specially taught by the words, before me, in the first commandment?

Answer. The words, before me, or before my face, in the first commandment teach that God, who sees all things, especially takes notice of and is displeased with the sin of having any other god. This will not only deter us from committing this sin, and show it to be the most shameless provocation, but will also be an argument to persuade us to do whatever we do in the service of the Lord in his sight.

 

God's people must know exactly who the one and only God is in order to avoid the error of believing in other gods. God's identity is revealed through revelation, and revelation is divided into general revelation and special revelation.

Regarding general revelation, Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—are clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

The Bible says that God's eternal power and divinity are clearly seen and known, and understood from the created things, and that there is no excuse for denying this fact. With this in mind, general revelation can be said to be God's revelation that proves God's existence, wisdom, power, and transcendence to all people, at all times, and in all places.

Special revelation is the method God chose to reveal Himself. This method is that before the creation of the world, God predestined Jesus Christ, and God Himself became the Son and was born into the world as a human being to save sinners. The saints can know the one and only God through Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Therefore, only those who believe that they died with Jesus Christ and were resurrected with Him believe in the one and only God, and those who are not united with Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection are in the eyes of God “believing in another god besides Me.” Those who believe in Jesus as the Son of God are those who have received special revelation, and those who see Jesus as the God of the Trinity are not those who have received special revelation.