#163: The Fire and the Wounds – Seeing the One God

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This sermon presents Elijah and Thomas as two witnesses to its central message: “The LORD our God is one LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Though separated by centuries, both men encounter circumstances that reveal the same One God as Creator, Savior, and Lord.

On Mount Carmel, Elijah confronts Israel’s divided worship and challenges the prophets of Baal. He rebuilds the altar, drenches the sacrifice with water, and calls upon the LORD. When fire falls from heaven, the people declare, “The LORD, he is the God.” The sermon emphasizes that the miracle did not make God one; it revealed His eternal, unchanging oneness. Yet Elijah soon becomes afraid of Jezebel and flees. At Horeb, God restores him not through another dramatic display, but through a “still small voice.” The God who answers with fire is also the God who speaks in quietness.

The sermon then turns to Thomas after Jesus’ resurrection. Thomas refuses to believe until he can see and touch Jesus’ wounds. When the risen Christ appears and invites him to examine His scars, Thomas responds, “My Lord and my God.” With this confession Thomas recognized the One God revealed in the wounded and resurrected Jesus.

Elijah’s encounter with fire and Thomas’s encounter with the wounds of Jesus therefore become two complementary images. Elijah’s experience declares that Yahweh alone is God, while Thomas’s encounter declares, according that this same God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. God did not send a substitute to accomplish salvation but came in flesh Himself.

Whether God appears in dramatic power, speaks through quietness, or is encountered in Christ’s wounds, believers can trust the same undivided, unchanging Lord—the One who creates, saves, restores, and reigns.