Who God Is - Elohim

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

The Bible never tries to explain God. It describes Him. It names Him. It tells us about what He did in the past. It tells us what He promised to do for us. It even goes so far as to say what He’s going to do to close this whole thing out. But if you’re looking for an explanation for why He exists or how He came to be…it’s simply not there to find. It’s really very simple….God just is.

The Bible simply asserts that God was there in the beginning. He had no beginning - He has always been.

Psalm 90:2 tells us this: “Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” God was there in the timeless, endless expanse before the beginning, and He’ll be there forever after the end. God is eternal - whether you look forward or backward.

So this is why He was there in the very first sentence of the very first book of the Bible. This is the first mystery we hold to by faith: God has always been!

But there’s so much more to see from this one short verse!

A Plural Name

The word used to name God here is the the Hebrew word “Elohim”. It comes from the word “El”, which is the Hebrew word for God. El is the singular form of the word; it’s used throughout scripture with other words to name a particular trait that God has - such as “El Elyon”, the Most High God. But in Genesis 1:1 - and in almost every other passage of the Old Testament where you see the word “God” - it’s using the plural form of the word “Elohim.”

Why is it plural? Let me come right out and say it...it’s a reference to the three-in-one Godhead!

We see this truth clearly revealed in the New Testament - He is Three: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each one of these is shown to be God Himself - and yet each one of them is also shown to be distinct. They interact with each other - and yet are undoubtedly One and the same.  Even though this truth is most obvious in the New Testament (particularly in the earthly life of Jesus and His interaction with the Father and the Holy Spirit), it is found all through the Old Testament as well! Every time the word Elohim is used...it’s plural!

This plural-but-singular concept of God is further backed up in Genesis 1:26: “Then God (Elohim) said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Here is one God declaring that He was going to make mankind in “Our image”.

Not Three Different Gods

Now, some people may be thinking, “If there is a Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and if the word ‘God’ is plural in the Old Testament - then does that mean that we believe in more than one God?” Not at all!

Your Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are one God! This truth is clearly taught in the Old Testament. Just look at Deuteronomy 6:4 “The LORD your God (Elohim), the LORD is one.” Do you see that? Even though the plural word for God is used, the sentence ends with “He is one!”

This is the second mystery that we hold onto as Christians: One God in three distinctions.

The Father - Jesus answered, “It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.” (John 8:54)

The Son (Jesus) - But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.” (Hebrews 1:8)

The Holy Spirit - “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit...You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:1-3)

Three Distinctions Of The Same God

These verses make it clear that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all God! But is there any distinction between them, or are they simply three different titles for the same personality? Let’s take a look at Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3:16-17 for some clarity:

“When He had been baptized, Jesus (the Son) came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven (The Father), saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Each each of these personalities is “Elohim” - the One God. We’ve already read in the Old Testament that God is One. But still we can see each of them distinctly in this passage. The Son was in the water, the Spirit rested on Him, and the Father spoke from Heaven. In fact, we see these distinctions all throughout the New Testament. Jesus kept in constant communication with His Father and functioned under the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

We see these distinctions again in Acts 10:38, “...how God (the Father) anointed Jesus of Nazareth (the Son) with the Holy Spirit…” All three distinctions of the Godhead are clearly seen in this verse - each of them with their unique roles and functioning simultaneously.

….And yet, they are still One! While we may never be able to fully grasp it with our natural mind - there are some ways to further illustrate it.

Think of an egg. There are three parts of it - the yolk, the white, and the shell. If you were looking at any part of the egg - you wouldn’t refer to it as a separate egg, right? No, because they aren’t separate eggs - they are all three one and the same. But still, that single egg has three distinctions.

Perhaps a better understanding can be gained by using Kool-Aid as an example. Inside a pitcher of Kool-Aid, there are three ingredients: the water, the sugar, and the drink mix. Each of them have their own distinctions, but you can’t separate them. The drink is three ingredients in one. They are the same drink.

These illustrations may help us understand the concept of a single God, Who is also plural at the same time. But the end of the matter is this: He is Three. They are One. You can’t explain it, you can’t grasp it - you can only believe it.