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THE GODHEAD - WHO GOD IS

Part 1 Part 1 - The Image of God Genesis 1:1 Memory Verse Old Testament scripture opens with four very important words. These words point to theorigin of all that exists. The focus of the four words is the Maker of all. He is presentedto us as God. To fully understand what is so succinctly stated in these four words, eachof us must receive these words as though all of us had no prior knowledge of theconcept of God or of creation. This is how Adam saw his world in his time. He woke upto an existence already in motion before he drew his first breath. He was not prejudicedby Darwinism, pluralism or competing dogmas from a plethora of teacher sources. Hisonly school master was God. He sourced his knowledge of the world form a singleCreator, who defined himself for Adam and made himself known to him via everyday's

interaction. With all that said, let us delve into the meaning of the significance of thesefour words. Before there was a beginning, there was God. God was in the beginning, pre-existingthe beginning of the beginning, ready to perform his creative work at the beginning of the beginning. 

 At the time we are introduced to Him, we wrestle with the fact that we are absolutelyignorant of Him altogether. "In the beginning, God...." Who is God? What is a God?What is his name? What is God's origin? What is his end? What is his personality like?What is his character like? Is he a friend or a foe? What does he do? What will he do to

me? This list could be lengthened but these should be sufficient to make my point: wehave more questions about our subject than we have answers. Simply put, there is a lotto learn because we simply do not know anything about "God." So, let us learn abouthim and do it from his account of himself. Who is God? This is the fundamental question one must get an answer to when dealingwith the subject of the Godhead. To reason this answer accurately, let us turn to theHebrew Lexicon, to understand the words they used in their language to identify anddescribe God. The original word used by the Hebrews to identify God is the word"Elohim." This is the only descriptor used as a noun to identify God in the entire chapter of Genesis 1 .

 Elohim appears 32 times in this chapter and refers to the same person every time. It'selectronic Strong's Concordance reference number is <H430>. In English, it is God. InHebrew, it is Elohim and in Strong's Number Reference system, it is <H430>. Thisseems elementary, but it is critical that I establish the consistency of the scripturalrecord and of the text. The God reference is the same. It does not change regardless of usage or context. 

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Elohim means the following, and remember, this is God describing himself . He is notignorant of who he is, however, he is describing himself to the ignorant. Learn! Elohimmeans:

 plural of <H433> ('elowahh- deity); gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God;

occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as asuperlative :- angels, × exceeding, God (gods) (-dess, -ly), × (very) great, judges,× mighty.

—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

 Elohim then can commonly mean a plurality of deities, idols or gods or the great,exceeding and mighty God (a plurality of attributes).

 Elohim is used a follows:

! God 2346 times in the Old Testament ! god 244 times !  judge, 5 times ! GOD 1 time ! goddess 2 times ! great 2 times ! angels 1 time ! exceeding 1 time ! God-ward 1 time ! godly 1 timeSo this word, Elohim is used a total of 2,606 times in the Old Testament. Over 93% of its use refers to this God who created the heaven and the earth. It is used exclusively or 100% of the time in Genesis 1 . Let us now stay within the text to examine the context of Genesis 1 as supported byother scriptures. An argument for a single Creator:

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth waswithout form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And theSpirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Creation of the light

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it 

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was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day,and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.Gen 1:1-5 (KJV)

Elohim/God is used six times in the first five verses of Genesis 1 . God is a noun

denoting a singular individual as outlined here byhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/God :

 1. the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe.2. the Supreme Being considered with reference to a particular attribute: the God of Islam.3. (lowercase ) one of several deities, esp. a male deity, presiding over some portion of worldly affairs.4. (often lowercase) a supreme being according to some particular conception: the godof mercy.

5. Christian Science. the Supreme Being, understood as Life, Truth, Love, Mind, Soul,Spirit, Principle.6. (lowercase ) an image of a deity; an idol.7. (lowercase ) any deified person or object.8. to regard or treat as a god; deify; idolize.

 –interjection10. (used to express disappointment, disbelief, weariness, frustration, annoyance, or the like): God, do we have to listen to this nonsense? Point, its normative usage in our language and Hebrew indicates the singularity of an

individual, who in this case, happens to be the Supreme Deity, Creator and ruler of theuniverse. It would be unworldly to appropriate a plural meaning to a word no dictionaryqualifies as being plural. Logically then, we deduce that Elohim is one person and this iswhy the first pronoun used in conjunction with his identity is the singular pronoun "He.""... he called Night...." They was not the first mentioned pronoun. He is not they, andthey are not he, if we are inclined to believe standard word definitions. Standard word definitions are critical to our faith in Scripture. God used our languagesto speak to us. Why? It was because we could not understand the One who conversesin unknown and heavenly tongues, which can only be understood by revelation (seeDaniel 5:1-9, 17-29 ). So, God uses our language to make his mysteries clear and plain,

so that in knowledge we may seek, find, know and understand him (see Isaiah 43:10 ,Jeremiah 9:24 ). Singular pronouns abound in Genesis 1 . There are nine pertaining to Elohim comparedwith three plural references to Elohim. The plural pronouns are found in Genesis 1:26 .The first three singular pronouns precede the 26th verse and six follow the same verse.Of the nine singular pronouns, seven of the nine are in the third person (he, him) andtwo are in the first person (I). Couple this with the fact that there are 32 references to a

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singular deity called God or Elohim in this chapter, the weight of the evidence stackssignificantly in favor of a singular person. Combined, there are 41 singular references toGod compared with two plural ones in Genesis 1 . Who would construct a triune,trinitarian, tri-theistic God, composed of multiple persons in any format when the weightof the textual evidence is so heavily weighted in favor of a singular person in the

Godhead? A Case For God's Plurality:What shall we say then to address these plural pronouns (us, our)? These pronounsexist in the textual context of the narrative of Genesis 1 . That context has already beenclearly defined. God is singular. Elohim is singular. Singular pronouns reference theCreator. All these descriptors are self ascribed by the Creator. He uses them beforeand after Genesis 1:26 . The plural pronouns then, derive their interpretive applicationwithin the narrative context of the Creator who is self-described as a singular person.

 Any interpretation that ignores these facts is unreliable and not worthy of anyone's trust. Next, let us follow deductive reasoning to define these plural pronouns. Genesis 1:26says the following: 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them havedominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, andover all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Gen 1:26(KJV) 

 As mentioned previously, the narrative context influences our interpretation of the text.The narrative concerns itself with the origin of the Earth, the surrounding constellationsand all known life on the planet. Its central figure is the Creator and the focus of the text

is on his work - creation. So then, the question of the hour is, who or how many createdthe heaven and the earth? This must be answered to comprehend the significance of the plural pronouns. "Let us make man...." Is there more than one Creator or are there many creators of theheaven and the earth? Who did all the creative work as written in Genesis 1 ? Well, letus deduce based on who or what could have been included in the definitions for theplural pronouns in Genesis 1:26 :

! God/Elohim

!

Elohim's angels

! The Devil

! The devil's angels

! The elements God created (any number or combination of them)

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The Bible does not record angels creating anything neither does it record the devil, hisangels nor any other element performing any creative work in the beginning, after thebeginning or at the end of time. God is the only Creator recorded in Scripture and he iswritten about in a singular context as a singular person.! Ecclesiastes 12:1

! Isaiah 40:28

! Isaiah 43:15

! 1 Peter 4:19

! Malachi 2:10

Hmmm. It is clear that God is the only Creator recorded in the word of God, which is his

account of his interaction with the Creation he himself made. Therefore, I cannotoverstate his exclusivity as Creator and singularity as a person. No other context existsby which we can move forward with a proper understanding of the plural pronouns, usand our in Genesis 1:26 . Seeing then God / Elohim is the only Creator of animate and inanimate matter in thematerial world, he could not have been speaking to anyone other than himself! I stressagain that he is singular, an individual, therefore, us and our could only be construed asreferences to components of his being rather than a plurality of persons co-existingwithin him, or in whom he lived vicariously through. On what basis is this thesis formed?It is formed on the deity simile God makes concerning himself. This remarkable

testimony is found in Genesis 1:26-27 .26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let themhave dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over thecattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon theearth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created hehim; male and female created he them. Gen 1:26-27 (KJV)

The word image is central to the proper understanding of the plural pronouns usedhere. The Hebrew word for image is "tsehlem" and it is translated image 16 times in theOld Testament record, including this one. It means:

! shade

! phantom

! an illusion

! resemblance

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! a representative figure

! an idol

The word likeness is also used by God to describe his final handiwork and that wordcomes to us in Hebrew as "demut" meaning:! resemblance

! concrete model

! shape

! similtude

The end result of this creative work was man (mankind). Man was made in the image

and likeness of God. As such, he shared God's shape, resembled God's form andrepresented God's figure. He was a model of what God is like, and that model was asingular man with three main component parts: a body, a soul and a spirit. I reason thisway because the image of the man was the resemblance of God. Although none of ushave seen God, we have seen the representative figure of him, we have seen hisshade, shadow or phantom; we have seen his shape, his similtude or concrete model.We have seen man, therefore we have seen the figure of God. Adam was an accuraterepresentative figure of what God looked like and he was a single unit comprised of body, soul and spirit... just like God must be! Therefore, I conclude that God spoke to himself and all of his component parts, for it

was in that image and only in that image that man was made. Man was not made in theimage of any other otherwise, he would be a concrete model of that option. So, if atriune God exists (God's essence in three other persons or three persons in one God) ,no model of that deity exists anywhere in nature and lo, there is no new thing under thesun. Genesis sets the precedents for all things known to man. It seeds all matter andthe knowledge of such matter. There is no triune seed involving persons in its text, butthere is a triunity of composites. A Case for a Tri-Composite Being Comprising a WholeHaving seen the concrete model of God and acknowledging his composite being, isthere Biblical proof that God shares this structural platform? Observe the following:

! John 4 :24 says that God is a Spirit = Spirit

! John 1:1 -2 says that God is the Word (Logos-Gr) = Soul (reason, intelligence,emotion, thought, computation). I need to break this down.

9 God is a Spirit

9 The Word (intelligence) was with God or God/the Spirit has intelligence

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9 The Word was God or the Spirit is intelligence/intelligent

! John 1:3 says all things were made by the intelligence of God and that withoutGod's intelligence, nothing was made that was made (Intelligent Design)

! John 1:14 says the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us = Body

There is no clearer breakdown of God having these components (body, soul and spirit)as part of his being than the one we are given in John 1 . Does man have thesecomponent parts? Observe:! 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, 23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly;

and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless untothe coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thess 5:23 (KJV)

 Apparently, we do, just like God. However, having three parts does not make three

wholes. God is a singular person. Are there three persons in any God and is Godexclusively resident in three persons? The Bible declares the following:! 8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the

tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For inhim dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete inhim, which is the head of all principality and power: Col 2:7-10 (KJV)

  Apparently the Godhead permanently resides in the man Christ Jesus and outside of his body, the fulness of the Godhead cannot be found. The fulness of the Godhead is inhim, and in him alone are we complete. So, when God spoke in Genesis 1:26 , hespoke to himself.

 A Case for God Speaking to Himself (by thought or speech)! Genesis 1:26

! Genesis 6:6-7

! Hebrews 6:13

The Scriptures encourage us to muse or think to ourselves about God's goodness andour need of him. Whether by the use of our lips or by the course of our thoughts, we,mankind made in the image of our Creator, speak to ourselves, just like he does to

himself.! Psalm 103:1-5

! Luke 12:16-19

! Luke 15:15-19

 

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ConclusionI conclude then that Elohim / God is a singular person, who is a Spirit, with intelligenceor a Soul, framed in a shape. This singular person made man in his own image andlikeness - a concrete model of himself (self-sculpture). Therefore all the singular references to Elohim, all the singular pronouns referring to Elohim, all the plural

pronouns referring to God's composite nature and the concrete model of that singular Elohim agree, like instruments of a symphonic orchestra playing together in their parts. Elohim is not a trinity of persons but of composites, which make him a singular whole.That singular Elohim is the Elohim of the whole Bible. He is the great, exceeding andmighty God who created the heaven and the earth. It is he in whom there is life and hislife, lighteth the whole world. He was in the world over 2000 years ago and the worldwas made by him and without him, nothing was made that was made. He is the God of the Old Testament revealed to us in the New Testament - not as a different Creator, butas the Creator with an identifiable image, and marked with a personal name. The imageof God bore the form of man and His name is Jesus. 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thyGod with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words,which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach themdiligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, andwhen thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.Deut 6:4-7 (KJV)