WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH ABOUT GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT?
The Hebrew word translated "God" in every passage of Genesis 1 as well as in more than 2,000 places throughout the Old Testament is Elohim.
Elohim is a noun that is plural in form but normally singular in usage—that is, paired with singular verbs—when designating the true God. The word Eloah, meaning "Mighty One," is the singular form. Elohim, meaning "Mighty Ones," is plural. And, indeed, there are two Mighty Ones, the Most High and the Word. But, collectively, as Elohim, the two are seen as one God.
We should note that since Elohim is used of the God family, each family member can be referred to by this word. (Some Bible writers also use the word elohim as a plural noun with plural usage to describe false gods. So one crucial factor in comprehending the meaning of this Hebrew word is determining what is intended by the context.)
The Bible teaches a plurality within the Godhead in both the Old and New Testaments. Let us now look at some of these verses that support the plurality of God:
(Genesis 1:26 KJV) 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.
1. Angels do not create. We are not made in the image of angels.
2. There is no place in the Old Testament where a leader refers to himself with the term "us."
(Genesis 3:22 KJV) And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.
(Genesis 11:7 KJV) Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
(Psalms 45:6-7 KJV) Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
(Isaiah 6:8 KJV) Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
(Isaiah 48:16 KJV) Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.
(Matthew 3:16 KJV) And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
(Matthew 28:19 KJV) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Notice in Matthew 28:19 that there is one name and three manifestations and that He did not say, "in the names of".
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