ELOHIM:
The very first name we have in the Bible of God is found in Genesis 1:1. It is rendered as ‘God’ in most English translations. This is a plural noun, meaning more than two. It is used with singular verbs; the dual form ‘Eloah’ is used in Job. The first part, “El” means God and is attached to His might, power, majesty, glory, and authority. The second part “Ohim” means His plurality nature, so we can clearly see in this first Scripture God is introduced as the Almighty Trinity. Elohim occurs 2,570 times in the OT, 32 times in Genesis .
Elohim means several things:
1. God as Creator, Preserver, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Transcendent, Mighty and Strong. This name implies God’s control over all things, His stamp on every stray molecule, pure sovereignty over the universe. If not for this, everything in the universe would be the same, and there would be no diversity. Ecclesiastes, Daniel and Jonah used Elohim almost exclusively.
Gen. 17:7, 6:18, 9:15, 50:24;
1 Kings 8:23;
Jeremiah 31:33;
Isaiah 40:1)
2. Even though this name is a ‘plural’ meaning more than one, it may not in and of itself prove the Trinity (the Trinity is proven by several means and arguments; although it definitely testifies to it! This means there is unity in diversity, that without this name God would not be known to us as stable and unifying, and to our understanding He would be chaos to us.
3. Because of the nature of this name, Elohim, meaning unity in diversity, and again communicating to us His triune nature, has cause many theological debates over the millennia. Critics to the Trinity say this refers to God’s kingship, and ancient kings often referred to themselves in plural form (plural of majesty); however there are other words that can be used to say this. But as a title for God, this ‘‘plural of majesty’’ tells us of His total diverse, yet unifying, nature.
4. This name encompasses all of the God characteristics, all of the essence, all of the fullness. This name puts the emphasis on His ‘fullness’ meaning we are to fully realize His Godhood and sovereignty over the entire universe, including ourselves.
Thus for us today we must never think of God as one-dimensional, that we can control Him by a simple understanding or category. Nor can we fully understand Him in a simple slogan, such as God is just Love. We cannot reduce God down to our choosing or understanding, but we can know Him as He revealed Himself to us. God is complete and “full’!
