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What the Bible Itself Reveals About the Nature of Elohim (Father, Son, Holy Spirit -- all One) We can never know the complete nature of "God Almighty", but the Scriptures impart those qualities of our Maker which "He" would prefer us to comprehend. In Genesis 1:26 the Bible reads, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." Exactly who is "LET US" in this verse when referring to God? The word for "God" here is the Hebrew word ELOHIM pronounced El-oh-heem. This is a plural noun defined in Gesenius' Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon page 49 as "Gods or deities in general ..... higher powers". The meaning suggests that we realize a being of powers beyond mortal men, yet with distinct personal attributes. An examination of the Hebrew and Greek Bible texts show that this divine Creator Entity is triune in nature yet one God in living essence, the ONLY BEING deserving of worship, adoration, and holy praise. (Scriptures such as Jesus saying, "My Father is greater than I" -- Jn.14:28; "No man hath seen God at any time." -- Jn.1:18; ect. will be discussed in Part Two. They do not mean that Christ is not God as a few doctrines have mistakenly surmised) Much has been written about the nature of "God" from the pens of theology scholars, however usually slanted to fit an ecumenical doctrine from councils of men with preconceived ideas on this topic. Usually, one will discover two widely held viewpoints concerning this subject. First is the doctrine made popular by the Roman Catholic Church during the middle ages and still held by many Protestant Churches in the world as well. That is, the doctrine of "The Trinity"(God in three separate persons). The second viewpoint is a dissenting alternative against the Trinity doctrine, mainly made notable by theologians who disliked anything remotely akin to Catholic doctrine. This view of The Almighty holds that "God" is One Heavenly Father, that Jesus is His son and a perfect man but not God; and that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal divine cosmic force controlled by God to accomplish His will. While set firmly against each other, and not willing to step beyond their respective parameters, adherents of both these views rob themselves of the blessings of knowing a more complete revelation about the Maker of the universe, who is also the Covenant God of Saxon Israel. Let's try to sort out much of the confusion about all this by highlighting some Biblical solutions that may have escaped the reader up until this article. Reminiscent of pagan pantheism, the Catholic doctrine of "The Trinity" divides adoration of divine worship into multiple god-like focal points for the purpose of prayer. The Roman "Trinity" therefore does not stop with only dividing the Godhead into three people as objects of worship (Father, Son, Holy Ghost), it only begins with this "Trinity" as "major gods" for people to worship, while extending reverence to other god-like entities as well. The diagram below illustrates the multiple objects of worship attached to and found within the Roman Catholic Trinity belief. The supposed "Trinity"is just one level of Roman veneration of many prayer focal points.
The Roman Papal decreed gods (Objects of worship include the divided trinity, people, the dead, certain items)
o Mary, the Mother of God
o o o Father Son Holy Ghost
o o o o Peter Paul Popes Priests
o o o Venerated Dead Saints Statues Medallions/Crucifixes
It's no wonder that the "Trinity" as a doctrine has been rejected by many truth seeking Bible students when they hear of it being mixed in with beliefs about "holy water", "purgatory", "Infallibility of the Pope", "worship of Mary", etc., none of which originate from Bible teachings. A major problem arises, however, when all references to a "Triune God" are thrown out because of a hasty association of it with the Trinity Doctrine of Roman Catholicism. In such a case what unfortunately happens is that "God" is defined as being only The Father, who then created a perfect man (Jesus the Word), and uses a "cosmic force" called the holy spirit by which to act. In such a superficial understanding, relegating the Holy Spirit to that of an impersonal "force" emanating from God The Father is a degrading of God's fullness, which can unknowingly destroy a person's true faith and close fellowship with The Almighty. The Bible reveals that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, as Elohim so chooses to exist at any given time in any one of these forms to achieve a specific purpose. These three are personal attributes (plural) of the One True God (singular). The Bible also confirms that these attributes overlap in nature, are interwoven in essence, and work together to achieve "God's Will". It is not unlike one person who holds three jobs, let's say .... a mechanic, a physician, and a judge (or any three vocations). Each job may take on great diversity of functions but it is the same person in different cloaks. Yes, the Scriptures teach us that Elohim is able to hold down three positions at once and can even work them singularly, or two at a time, or all three at a time. This was the revelation which Elohim gave to Moses who beheld Him in the burning bush of Exodus 3:14. Moses was told by God, "I AM THAT I AM". Yet that is the generic English translation of this verse which said in the Hebrew "Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh" literally "I AM BECOMING WHO I AM BECOMING". (Concordant Version of the O.T.,page 17, foot note) His existence is a continual happening in "the now", the reality of the present. God always exsist in the timeless immedicacy, NOW -- I AM. He is not a god that can't be contacted from a "past" or "future" point of view. He is NOW for us -- He is I AM. In the next verse, Exodus 3:15, Elohim reveals His memorial name as being the four letter Tetragrammaton "Yod Hay Vauv Hay"-- Yahweh. This name is derived from the Hebrew root word "Havah" meaning "to breathe", "to exist", "to be". (Gesenius Heb. Lexicon, pages 337, 219) There is no other cause that causes Yahweh to both "be" and to "become", as He is self emanating life and is self emanating cause and effect. He always was, is, shall be, and becomes (presently) what is necessary between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to execute His purpose and works. It is an oversimplification to attempt to portray the infinitely supreme Elohim, but if we would illustrate a Biblical comprehension of the nature of Elohim it would be something on the order of the visual aid presented below. (We will get into the Scriptural corroboration of the diagram shortly.)
The Holy Scriptures record that Elohim (the plural higher powers) is triune in nature and that this Creator Entity has three primary attributes known as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who are all personal revelations of what and who Elohim is. God the Elohim is personal, and not just "forces". If one were to brief the Scriptures, quoting several verses discussing the nature of Elohim, yet not pursuing the Biblical research through to completion, one could indeed conceivably come to the conclusion that only the Father is God, and that the Son and Holy Spirit are demoted to be inferiors of the Father. In laymen's terms this conclusion is one brick short of a full load and is an unholy degrading of the majesty of our true God Almighty-- Yahweh Elohim. In reality, to our finite understanding, Elohim can exist as (a) only one of the personal attributes,(b) a combination of any two of the personal attributes, or (c) a combination of any three of the personal attributes. This makes a combination of seven overlapping and interwoven methods by which Elohim deals with men as He sees them with His Spiritual Eyes. Note the diagram below:
"These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God...." (Rev.3:1)
"...and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth." (Rev.5:6)
"Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith Yahweh of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day." (Zech.3:8,9)
"Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:" (Jer.32:19)
How can Elohim be One, but three attributes? (Father, Son, Holy Spirit ... all One) Another illustration to help our perception of Elohim: The Sun is a good example of how we see three different attributes in one thing. We know that the Sun is a body of certain mass since it holds the Earth in an orbit, along with the other planets of our solar system. We know that the Sun is bright because we see it's light and even call that light "The Sun". We also know that the Sun reveals itself as heat which warms our planet. A person can go outside with a blind fold on and still feel the Sun on their body saying "I feel the Sun". The heat in that instance is actually the Sun manifesting itself by radiation. Thus we have three different ways that one "thing", the Sun, is known to us. 1) It's gravitational holding force. 2) It's visual brightness of light 3) It's radiant warmth of heat. All these are of and from one combined common source. Thus the Sun is simultaneously a singular "thing" and a plural "thing". The Sun is great mass, light, and heat .... all one. Elohim is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit .... all One (singular and plural at the same time).
Since it is possible for the presence of the Sun to be manifested on Earth from 93 million miles away, how much more possible is it for the presence of Yahweh Elohim, who made all there is, to be manifested in our Earthly realm from the high dimension of "heaven", as He reveals His will to His chosen? Who is like unto Yahweh our God (Elohim), who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth Himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! ( Psalm 113:5,6) BACK
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