| GOD: WHO HE IS,
AND WHAT HE IS
Section
2 - God's Titles and Offices
His Name
God's
Titles and Offices
To begin with, the Scriptures
use a number of different words when referring to God. These are not names
but titles indicating the office held or the function in view.
EL - SUBJECTOR, singular,
Hebrew,
means The One Who Subjects Others To Himself.
The KJV renders it: might,
power,
strong, God,
and El (as in Immanu-el)
and speaks of mighty men in Ex.15:15. The Greek equivalent is Theos
Ps.68:35
…The El
of Israel, He gives strength and staunchness to His people.
ELOAH - TO-SUBJECTOR,
singular, Hebrew,
means Subjector Of Others To Another.
It is found mostly in the book of Job. The KJV rendering is: God.
Ezr.5:1
prophesied to the Judeans …in the name of Eloah of Israel Who was
over them.
ELOHIM - TO-SUBJECTOR(S),
is the plural form of ELOAH.
The KJV rendering is: God.
It is used of Moses (Ex.7:1),
the
judges, who were effectively subjectors (Ex.22:8,9,20,28; 23:13,24,32,33;
etc.),
and also of false gods (Ex.12:12; 20:3,23).
In Gen 1:1, ‘the Elohim created’, the verb created is in the singular
(as in ‘the government decides’ and ‘the army moves’)
In the Greek our Lord used Theos and its grammatical variants.
Deut.32:17
They sacrificed to demons, not Eloah,
to elohim--they had not known them before--to new ones that came
from nearby;
THEOS - PLACer, Greek,
means One Who Determines The Placings Of Others.
An example of this function or office is Act.17:26
where out of Adam He makes every nation of mankind, placing them on the
earth,
and specifying the setting of the seasons and the bounds of their dwelling.
LORD - ADJUDICATOR,
from the Hebrew Adun,.
The KJV rendering is, variously: Adoni, lord, master, owner.
The Greek is Kurios with its grammatical variants, from stem meaning
SANCTIONer.
Here the KJV rendering is: lord,
master,
owner, sir.
SUPREME (The) - from
Hebrew Oliun which means ON, uppermost, supreme.
The KJV rendering is: Most
High, on high, upper,
uppermost.
The Greek equivalent is
Hupsistos,
HIGHEST:
Most High
WHO SUFFICES (The
One) - from the Hebrew Shddi.
The KJV rendering is: Almighty.
The Greek equivalent is
Pantokrator,
ALL-HOLDer:
Almighty
Some of these titles are
used in combination with others. It is here that the lack of differentiation
between titles becomes most apparent and the impact of the verse is lost.
Some examples:
Gen.46:3
I am the El, the Elohim of your forefather. …
* KJV,NIV,RSV …I am
God, the God of your father…
Ps.78:35 Then
they remembered that Elohim is their Rock,
And El, the Supreme, is their Redeemer.
* KJV …God [was] their
rock, and the high God their redeemer.
Dan.5:21 …the
Supreme Eloah is in authority in the kingdom of mortals,
and whom He is willing is He setting up over it.
* KJV … till he knew
that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men,
Ps.68:35 Fear
inspiring is Elohim from His grand sanctuary;
The El of Israel, He gives strength and staunchness to His people.
Blessed be Elohim!
* NIV You are
awesome, O God, in your sanctuary;
the God of Israel gives power and strength…
Praise be to God!
Dan.3:26 Shadrach,
Meshach and Abed-nego,
servants of Him Who is the Supreme Eloah of Elohim, step out and
come hither.
* KJV, NIV, RSV … servants
of the most high God,…
By not recognising that some
of these titles may be used of others besides the true God Himself, many
have drawn wrong conclusions in some places where they meet with the translation,
God.
Most, for example, when reading the Old Testament have taken it for granted
that it was the one and only true God Who spoke to Moses from the burning
bush and Who also spoke to him and gave him the Law on Mt.Sinai. A more
careful reading will show us that it was an ‘angel of the Lord’,
one
of the Elohim delegated by God and who, therefore, represented Him,
who met with Moses (cf. Ex.3:2; Act.7:30-53). If we heed the advice of
Scripture to endeavour to study and to rightly cut the word of truth
(2Tim.2:15), we will understand that there are
many to whom such
titles of office and function may be assigned. Even Christ is sometimes
called ‘God’ in
this delegated and representative sense (Jn.20:28;
Tit.2:13; Heb.1:8,9)
1Cor.8:5,6
For even if so be that there are those being termed gods,
whether in heaven or on
earth,
even as there are
many gods and many lords,
nevertheless for us
there is one God, the Father, out
of Whom all is, and we for Him,
and one Lord,
Jesus Christ, through Whom all is, and we through Him.
Ex.22:28 You
shall not maledict the elohim [judges],
a prince among your people you shall not curse.
* KJV Thou shalt not
revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
Ps.45:6,7 Your
throne, O Elohim, is for the eon and further; …
Elohim Your Elohim has anointed You.
* Heb.1:8,9 Thy throne,
O
God, is for the eon of the eon,…
Thou art anointed by God, Thy God,
Ps.82:1 Elohim
is stationed in the congregation of El;
Among the elohim is He judging:
* RSV God has taken
his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
Ps.82:6
I Myself have said: you are elohim, And sons of the Supreme
are all of you.
* RSV
I say, "You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of
you;
* Jn.10:34,35 `I say
you are gods'… to whom the word of God came
(and the scripture can not be annulled),
Ps.97:7 May
all the servants of a carving be ashamed,
The ones boasting in useless idols; Bow down to Him, all you
elohim.
* NIV All who
worship images are put to shame,
those who boast in idols-- worship him, all you gods!
2Cor.4:4 … the
god of this eon blinds the apprehensions of the unbelieving…
* KJV In whom
the
god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not
Deut.32:16,17 RSV
They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods; [NIV: foreign gods]
with abominable practices
they provoked him to anger.
They sacrificed to demons
which were no gods,
to gods they had
never known,
to new gods that
had come in of late, whom your fathers had never dreaded.
Ps.96:5 For
all
the elohim of the peoples are useless idols,…
* RSV: the gods
of the peoples
From all this it becomes obvious
that the title ‘GOD’ or ‘ELOHIM’, therefore, does not signify or entail
either supremacy or un-createdness; and that it does not qualify or establish
the essential nature of any ones with the title. It is an error, therefore,
to conclude that, since the title ‘GOD’ is used of Christ, or of men, or
of messengers, that these are un-created, supreme, or that they have the
same essential nature of THE Supreme.
Therefore, and Scripture
is emphatic about this fact, though there are many other ‘gods’ who claim
the title and glory, there is ONLY ONE Who IS GOD - ‘the Father, out
of Whom all is’ (1Cor.8:5,6)! He is the God of Jesus Christ (Mt.27:46;
2Cor.1:3; Eph.1:3,17). And HE rules over all other ‘gods’ (Ps.95:3)!
His
Name
The Hebrew Scriptures also
refer to God by His name, Yahweh. As far as we know, though the various
titles of God have also been assigned to others, His name, Yahweh, He reserves
for Himself!
Isa.42:8
I am Yahweh, The Elohim!
That
is My name, and I will not give My glory to another,
Ex.3:15 …sons
of Israel, Yahweh, the Elohim of your fathers…
This
is My name for the eon, …
Ps.83:18 …You, Whose
Name is Yahweh, Yours alone,
Are the Supreme over all the earth.
Ps.18:31,32 … any
Eloah
apart
from Yahweh?…any Rock except our Elohim?
He is the One, El,
Ex.6:2,3
to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob as the El-Who-Suffices;
as… Yahweh, I was not fully realized
1Chr.29:18 Yahweh,
Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers,…
Ex.5:1 …Thus
says Yahweh the Elohim of Israel, Dismiss My people…
Ex.3:18 …say
to him: Yahweh, the Elohim of the Hebrews, has met with us….
This name, Yahweh, is from the
Hebrew YHVH, termed the tetragrammaton, and is sometimes
called the ‘time name’ of God as it relates to His being.
Yahweh =
‘will be - (is be)ing - was’
This meaning is demonstrated
in the introduction to the book of Revelation:
Rev.1:4
…from him which is, and which was, and which is to come;…
Literally, it is:
ho ön
= THE BEING, ho ên = THE WAS, ho erchomenos
= THE COMING One.
After He has come, however,
this name is shortened by omitting the last element:
Rev.11:17
"We are thanking Thee, Lord God Almighty, Who art and
Who wast,
for Thou hast taken Thy
great power and dost reign.
Rev.16:5 …"Just
art Thou, Who art, and Who wast, Benign One,
seeing that Thou judgest
these,…
The KJV rendering is: LORD or
GOD in small capitals except in Ex.6:3; Ps.83:18; Isa.12:2; and 26:4 where
it is ‘Jehovah’.
April 2001
Back to:
....Main
menu of articles
....Section
1 - Introduction
.....................God
is Spirit
.....................He
is Unknowable Apart From His Revelation
Proceed to:
....Section
3 - Yahweh:
Only He is God
......................He
is the Only Source
....Section
4 - The
Creator
......................The
Supreme Subjector & Placer
....Section
5 - Constant
and Reliable
......................The
God and Father of Jesus Christ
....Section
6 - The
God and Father of Believers
......................Conclusion
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