The Ten Commandments · piece 1 of 26
The First Commandment
From Luther’s Small Catechism, 1529
Practice mode shows the first letter of each word. Say the line, then tap it to check.
You must not have other gods. (Exodus 20:3)
What does this mean?
We must fear, love, and trust God more than anything else.
In plain words
God wants to be first in your life. Nothing else should get the honour, love, and trust that belong to God. This includes money, people, success, and your own plans. You can trust God more than anything else, because God is the one who made you and keeps you.
Our summary of Luther’s explanation, for reading after his words, not instead of them.
Where Jesus says it
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Matthew 22:37–38 Jesus names loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind as the greatest commandment.
Read Matthew 22:37–38
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment.
World English Bible, public domain. The whole chapter on Free Scripture → · Read in the NRSVue, the ELCA’s standard translation →
Translated by Robert E. Smith for Project Wittenberg (revised 2004) and placed in the public domain by the translator. How we checked it, and the whole Catechism on one page