CHAPTER I : Elohim, Jehovah GOD
The first statement in the Holy
Bible is: "in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"
(Gen 1:1). The original Hebrew text for
the word for God is "Elohim," plural form
of "el," which means "strong and mighty." The word "Elohim" occurs about 2,570 times in the Hebrew
Scriptures, and there is much controversy regarding the use of the plural
form. There are three principal views
regarding the significance of the plural form "Elohim"
as follows:
A.
HEBREW MONOTHEISM (GOD IS THE ABSOLUTE ONE)
Most Hebrew scholars affirm that
it was a custom to use the plural form to denote the majesty of kings, and
therefore "Elohim" is simply a "Pluralis majestaticus."
Theologians have also regarded "Elohim" as
a "Pluralis excellentiae,"
that is, a word put in the plural to express the idea of the superlative in the
highest possible degree, or denoting "multiplied powers." The Jews,
whom the One True God chose to reveal Himself long before any other race, never
saw in the word "Elohim" any suggestion of
more than One God.
"Monotheism is basic and
essential to Genesis 1. It belongs to
the very fabric of the material and could certainly never have been achieved by
some process of purging a polytheistic original of its offensive elements.1
B.
CHRISTIAN MONOTHEISM (ONE TRUE GOD IN CHRIST)
The Lord Jesus continued to teach
the concept of the One True God to the Hebrew people during His ministry on
earth. He repeated: "Hear, 0 Israel;
The Lord our 'Elohim' is One
Lord" (Mk 12:29; Deut 6:4). He went
further and claimed His divinity: "I and My Father are One" (Jn 10:30). His
disciples called Him God (Jn 20:28; Rom 9:5; Col 2:9).
Today, followers of Christian
Monotheism not only interpret the plural form
“Elohim" in the same way as the Early
Church did, but also regard the word as an allusion to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Here are some of their views:
1.
In Genesis 1:27 we read that "Elohim created man in HIS image, in the image of Elohim HE created him." Nothing plural about that, is
there? If God in His Absolute Essence is
a plurality of persons, why am I, made in the image of God, NOT a plurality of
persons? I am threefold: spirit, soul,
and body, but only ONE person. The true
significance of Elohim is a Plurality of attributes,
such as Power, holiness, knowledge of good and evil, etc., and has always been
so understood by the Jews. If you doubt
my word, look up any authentic Jewish writings dealing with this subject. In fact, the Bible itself gives this
explanation: "Ye shall be as Elohim, KNOWING
GOOD AND EVIL" (Gen3:5);
“ the man is become as one of Us, TO KNOW GOOD AND EVIL".
(Gen 3:22).2
2.
”Elohim is applied to
Christ, thus proving that it does not mean a Plurality of persons. A few
examples will suffice - Elohim was sold for thirty
pieces of silver (Zech 11:4,12,13); Elohim was pierced at Calvary
(Zech 12:10); Elohim is coming back as King (Zech
14:5). Do we think that three persons
were betrayed, crucified and coming again?
Of course not! The very use of
the word Elohim in Scriptures proves that by it the
sacred writers did not mean three Divine Persons but rather our one Lord Jesus
Christ, Who has all the attributes of full-orbed Deity.”3
3.
The use of the plural form for God "implies
a prophetic truth. The Omniscient God f'oreknew man would fall, and He foreordained Himself as
the incarnate Messiah to restore and regenerate human beings."4 (Heb 2:14)
C.
TRINITARIANISM (THREE PERSONS IN ONE GOD)
1.
The Encyclopaedia
Britannica (1967) has this to say about Trinitarianism:"Biblical
Basis - Neither the word 'Trinity – nor the explicit doctrine as such appears
at any one place in the Bible; the
ecclesiastical dogma is an effort to unite in one confession all the several
strains of the biblical description of God."
2.
Historical Development - It was not until the
4th century that the distinctness of the three taught by subordinationism
and their unity taught by modalism were brought
together in a single orthodox doctrine of one essence and three persons. The Council of Nicaea
in 325 A.D. stated the crucial formula for that doctrine in its confession that
the Son is "of the same essence (homoousios) as
the Father," even though it said very little about the Holy Spirit."
(Vol. 22, p.241)
3.
The New Catholic Encyclopaedia says: “It
is difficult in the second half of the 20th century to offer a
clear, objective, and straight-forward account of the revelation, doctrinal
evolution, and the theological elaboration of the mystery of the Trinity. Trinitarian discussion, Roman Catholic as
well as other, presents a somewhat unsteady silhouette.” (Vol. 14, p.295)
4.
J. Vernon McGee admits in his book How Can
God Exist in Three Persons?: "I assure you that with all of my
heart I believed in the Trinity. I
reveal and rejoice in it, believing that it is not only a great truth but one
of the unique truths of the Christian faith.
I confess that I find it an enigmatic mystery. I find it an inscrutable riddle. I find that it is complicated, and complex,
and bewildering. I find that it is impossible
to explain."5
5.
”Trinitarians have considered that the joining
of the plural 'Elohim' with the singular 'bara' (created) in the opening verse of the Scriptures is
an allusion to the Trinity.”6
6.
The Jewish Encyclopaedia
bluntly declares: "The idea of the Trinity is, of course, regarded by the
Jews as antagonistic to their Monotheistic faith (belief in One God) and is due
to the Paganistic tendency of the church. Though the Jews rejected Jesus, they still
believed that Messiah would come and that He would be God Himself."
D.
MODERN BIBLE SCHOLARSHIP
"Though a plural form, Elohim can be treated as a singular, in which case it means
the one supreme Deity, and in the English Bible is rendered 'God.' Like its
English equivalent, it is, grammatically considered, a common noun, and conveys
the notion of all that belongs to the concept of Deity, in contrast with man
(Num 23:19) and other created beings." (The New Bible Dictionary printed
by The Inter-Varsity Fellowship, London
, P.478)
E.
REVELATION FROM THE HOLY BIBLE
Throughout the entire Bible there
is a consistent teaching of the One True God.
God Himself revealed to the Old Testament prophets and also to the
apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ concerning His Oneness.
Old Testament Revelation
1.
"And God spake
all these words, saying, 'I am the Lord thy God ... Thou shalt
have no other gods before Me."(Ex 20:1-3)
2.
"Unto thee it was shewed,
that thou mightiest know that the Lord He is God; there is none else beside
Him." (Deut 4:35)
3.
"Hear, 0 Israel: The LORD our God is One
LORD." (Deut 6:4)
4.
"See now that I, even I, am He, and there
is no god with Me." (Deut 32:39)
5.
"Wherefore Thou art great; O Lord God: for
there is none like Thee, neither is there any God beside Thee, according to all
that we have heard with our ears." (2 Sam 7:22; 1 Chr
17:20)
6.
”All the people of the earth may know that the
LORD is God, and that there is none else." (I King 8:60)
7.
"For Thou art great, and doest wondrous
things: Thou art God alone." (Ps 86:10)
8.
"...before Me
there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me." (Is 43:10)
9.
"Thus saith the
Lord the King of Israel, and His redeemer the LORD of hosts: I am the first,
and I am the last; and beside Me there is no
God." (Is 44:6; 45:5,18)
10.
"I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your
God, and none else." (Joel 2:27)
New Testament Revelation
11.
"And Jesus answered him, 'The first of all
the commandments is, Hear, 0 Israel;
The LORD our God is one LORD." (Mk 12:29)
12.
"And the scribe said unto Him, 'Well,
Master, Thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other
but He." (Mk 12:32)
13.
"...and there is none other God but
one." (I Cor 8:4)
14.
"Now a mediator is not a mediator of one,
but God is one." (Gal 3:20; 1 Tim 2:5)
15.
"One God and Father of all, who is above
all, and through all and in you all." (Eph 4:6; Jas 2:19)
Of the three principal views
regarding the interpretation of the word "Elohim,"
we find that the position of Christian Monotheism is the most consistent one
which not only harmonizes with the Holy Bible but is also clear and
logical. Hebrew Monotheism is the truth
but not the whole truth. The Jews are
still waiting for their Messiah. If they
will only "search the Scriptures" they will be able to recognize
their Messiah as Jesus of Nazareth (Jn 5:39).
Why is the view of Trinitarianism so hard to understand? Because it has taken the teaching of the One
True God who manifested Himself in three ways and has sought to make three
Persons out of Him. Look at "three
Persons" any way you wish and you still have three distinct and separate
Beings. Three separate Beings can only
mean three distinct Gods. Three distinct
Gods in the Godhead is POLYTHEISM, which is the basic characteristic of
Paganism.
The Only True God has challenged
the world by asking, "Is there a God beside Me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any." (Isa 44:8) "Elohim," God
of Israel, has never and will never be more than one God.
(To be continued)
FOOTNOTES
