Names of God; part 43. Elohim - our God the Highest, all powerful Creator.

Title: Names of God; part 43. Elohim - our God the Highest, all powerful Creator.

 

The Bible opens with "Elohim."

 

GEN 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

 

"In the beginning Elohim" is the foundation of all theology. God is unknowable except where He chooses to reveal Himself, and He is answerable to no one.

 

GEN 1:2 And the earth was [can be translated "became"] formless and void [used of judgment], and darkness [also used of judgment] was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

 

GEN 1:3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.

 

This light is distinct from the light of the sun, which would not be created until the fourth day. God is not specific in telling us exactly what this light is, but in reference to other scriptures, a good bet is that it is the Shechinah glory.

 

"Let there be" is one Hebrew word and "there was" is also one Hebrew word. They are both related to God's name Yavah which stems from the description, I am that which I am.

 

"Let there be" - yehi. "and there was" - vayehi. Stem from the root "to be" YHVH, the I AM.

 

GEN 1:4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

 

God did not destroy the darkness. He determined that the light was good and separated light from darkness. The two, light and darkness, would enter the battlefield together. This is a gracious act of God, for He could have judged the darkness fully as He will do at the end of the age, but His grace allows man to enter into the conflict.

 

The conflict of light and darkness would reach its apex when the Shechinah glory entered the world.

 

JOH 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 

"In the beginning," the Greek equivalent of baresheet, which is en arche, but this beginning was before GEN 1:1 as the Son of God, the Creator, existed eternally before the creation.

 

JOH 1:2 He was in the beginning with God.

 

JOH 1:3 All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

 

JOH 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

 

JOH 1:5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

 

The light was separated from the darkness. One cannot be both light and darkness; one cannot have both. Believers become sons of light. Their darkness is crucified and righteousness is imputed to them and they are justified as children of light who can then walk in the light.

 

GEN 1:3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.

 

GEN 1:4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

 

GEN 1:5 And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one [echav] day.

 

The word "day" (Hebrew: yom) can refer to more than 24 hours when it is used by itself, and some use that fact to fit Gen 1 into an evolutionary theory by making "day" in Gen 1 to refer to millions of years (and it is never ever used for that much time), but whenever the word is used with a number or a numeral, it always means twenty-four hours. The days of Genesis are 24 hour days.

 

And there is one more aspect of this first day that is special to us. It's not actually called the first day. It is called day one, yom echav. The number is in its cardinal form and not its ordinal form, which would be "first." All the other days are used in their ordinal form: second through seventh, but the first day, Let there be light is day one.

 

Echav - cardinal form of one. Often used of a compound of united parts and used of the Trinity in DEU 6:4 "Yavah is our Elohim, Yavah is echav (One)."

 

We will look at this verse in more detail in reference to the Trinity and the plurality of Elohim.

 

The plural Elohim is used and this is reasonable and consistent. Through the Bible, we find that all three members of the Trinity are the Creator.

 

All three members of the Trinity are the Creator.

 

The Holy Spirit is Creator, GEN 1:2; JOB 26:13; PSA 104:30.

 

GEN 1:2 And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

 

The Son is Creator, JOH 1:3; COL 1:16.

 

Rather than look at these verses as documentation for creation by the Trinity, look at them as one who is the brother or sister of the Creator and what impact that should have on your life.

 

COL 1:16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities —  all things have been created by Him and for Him.

 

This makes Christ Elohim with all authority. Nothing is above Him or even equal to Him. Nothing is even close.

 

The Father is Creator, PSA 102:25; PSA 100:3; GEN 1:1 .

 

PSA 100:1 Shout joyfully to the Lord [Yavah], all the earth.

 

PSA 100:2 Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before Him with joyful singing.

 

PSA 100:3 Know that the Lord Himself is God [Elohim];

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

 

PSA 100:4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving,

And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name.

 

PSA 100:5 For the Lord is good;

His lovingkindness is everlasting,

And His faithfulness to all generations.

 

The gates and courts refer to His kingdom. All of the sons have been entered into His kingdom, which He created, and due to that fact, every day we should be full of thanksgiving and praise, even when we are going through trials and thankfulness seems much more difficult.

 

PSA 102:25 "Of old Thou didst found the earth;

And the heavens are the work of Thy hands.

 

PSA 102:26 "Even they will perish, but Thou dost endure;

And all of them will wear out like a garment;

Like clothing Thou wilt change them, and they will be changed.

 

PSA 102:27 "But Thou art the same,

And Thy years will not come to an end.

 

PSA 102:28 "The children of Thy servants will continue,

And their descendants will be established before Thee."