or is God the God of jews only? is he not the God of gentiles also? yes, of gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. [romans 3:29-30]
God is one
God is so much bigger than we often give him credit for.
roughly 1400 years before the birth of Christ, the word of God was given to moses. among those words were deuteronomy 6:4, “hear, o israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
paul seems to be referencing those words here, using the very law to prove salvation by faith. the jews knew this verse well, and knew that this was a unique belief. in those days there were many gods. each nation seemed to have multiple gods that were worshipped in different ways. while the gentile nations had multiple gods, the jews maintained that there was only one god who created all things for his own glory. this one God created the jews, and he created the gentiles as well.
paul takes this scripture to its full conclusion – that the God who created all things in the universe is certainly big enough to be God of both jews and gentiles. it is because he is one that there can be no doubt of this.
the jews were the chosen people, but God did not choose the jews to the exclusion of all others, but rather as a kingdom of priests to lead the rest of the world to God. psalm 76:1-2 is a prayer that outlines this beautifully in saying, “may God be gracious to us and bless us, and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations”.
God’s blessing to israel was meant to make Him known to all people. Paul is bringing jewish belief to its natural conclusion – that God is a God for all people, and through faith in Jesus Christ all people everywhere can be saved.
God does not choose us as believers to be isolated from the world, but to declare his glory in the world, so that others may see his goodness and by faith be saved. we are now his representatives on earth, and are called to share this gospel with all who will listen. Our God is capable of saving the most wretched sinner, and through faith bring that sinner to be a saint.
our God is one, and he is big enough to do more than we ask or imagine.
~ jason soroski