Names of God

Elohim—The Triune Creator
Bro. Charley Buntin

Genesis 1:1-2:4

Basic Facts

--First word for God in the Bible

--The only word for “God” from Gen 1:1-2:4—When God considers creation in general, this is the word that He uses to describe Himself

--Possibly derived from “EL,” which means “the strong one”

“The word used is “Elohim”, which some derive from another, which signifies power, creation being an act of almighty power: but it is rather to be derived from the root in the Arabic language, which signifies to worship f9, God being the object of all religious worship and adoration…He who is the Creator of the heavens and the earth is the sole object of worship…It is in the plural number, and being joined to a verb of the singular, is thought by many to be designed to point unto us the mystery of a plurality, or trinity of persons in the unity of the divine essence: …there is no doubt to be made, that all the three Persons in the Godhead were concerned in the creation of all things, (Psalm 33:6). (John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament)


--Though the word is used to describe false gods and some men, it is used 2570 times to name the One True God

--The word is a singular plural—though plural in itself, when it refers to God, singular verb forms are used with the plural noun Elohim.

“…in the very first chapter of Genesis the necessity of a term conveying both the unity of the on God and yet allowing for a plurality of persons in found (Gen 1:2, 1:26). This is further borne out by the fact that the form Elohim occurs only in Hebrew and in no other Semitic language, not even in Biblical Aramaic….” (TWOT, vol 1, page 44)

--The Bottom line is that this word refers to God as the sovereign creator of all things

--Where is God’s Sovereignty here? It is found in this amazing fact—There is no conflict in the creation account—God’s work stands totally unopposed. This complete submission of the entire cosmos to God reminds me of Nebuchadnezzar’s surrender to God:

(Dan 4:34-35) "And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation. 35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, "What have You done?""




1. Elohim vs. the Scientists

a. There are several burning and largely irrelevant questions that dodge THE question about Creation

(1) When?

(2) How long?

(3) How long were the creative days?

(4) What can we learn from the fossil record?

(5) Is there a “gap” between Gen 1:1 and 1:2?

(6) What about the ages of time?

(7) Was there another creation before this present one?

b. The chief thing about all of these questions is that they are not of any importance in the final analysis, because God transcends them.

c. Burning Question—There are only four possibilities to explain the existence of the universe:

(1) Everything has always existed—this would violate every law of physics, as well as violating the Bible’s eyewitness testimony

(2) Everything made itself—this is Darwinism, the idea of accidental creation—this is especially problematic when one tries to see how it is that intricate and extremely complex existence just happened by pure chance.

(3) The Aliens brought it in—but where did THEY get it?

(4) God made everything.

d. So, which is it?

(1) There are a growing number of scientists, many who are not even believers, who reject the silly notion of accidental creation, that there had to be an intelligent alien lifeforce that made everything (we call Him Elohim)

(2) But all of that still avoids the main question: Is The Bible True, or is it False?

(3) Consider these facts:

(a) The Bible has been proven to be 100% correct as to the nature of human nature

(b) The Bible relates facts about science that were totally unknown when written—

(i) The Earth is a sphere— (Job 22:14) "Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks above the circle of heaven.'"

(Isa 40:22) "It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in."

(ii) The Bible’s prophesies have been proven to be 100% accurate and detailed

(iii) The prophesies about Christ that have been literally fulfilled number in the hundreds, and there are still some to come!

(c) All of the questions asked about creation ignore the supernatural—God is supernatural, beyond nature, above nature, surpassing nature—if He can speak a universe into existence, He can also create a mature universe, one that has the appearance of age, one that is finished—just like a master wood worker does not consider a job to be done until the final coat of finish is applied.

e. We are back to this: Elohim created all things because the Bible says He did, and because He claims in His Word that He did!

(1) The Prophets say that God did it

(2) The Psalmists knew and testified—Ps 19:1-6, Ps 139

(3) The Patriarchs knew of it—Job 38

(4) The apostles understood it—

(a) Col 1:15-20
(b) Heb 1:1-3
(c) John 1:3

(5) Christ Jesus Himself affirmed it—Mat 19

2. Elohim Created All Things

a. Before the beginning God existed

(1) John 1:1—The Son
(2) The Father—John 17:5, 24
(3) The Spirit—Heb 9:14, Gen 1:3
(4) Titus 1:1-2

b. Before God created the physical world, He created a spiritual one—

(Job 38:4-7) ""Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?"

c. God created the basic physics and structures of the universe

(1) (Gen 1:1) "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…”

(a) Note that all the vastness of space is considered side by side with the particular creation of one planet? Why?

(b) Because on THIS planet, God had determined to gather a people for His own glory

(2) In the beginning, in this verse, God created
(a) Matter
(b) Energy
(c) Time
(d) Space
(e) Motion
(f) Physics
(g) Chemistry
(h) Calculus
(i) Quantum mechanics

(3) “…2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep…”

(a) “the deep” and “the waters” are not to be defined by what we consider them to be. This is not a murky sea around some moribund island

(b) At this point, the earth was formless and void—what we might consider to be clouds of gas, particles, and other stuff. The “waters” were almost certainly not “water as we know them—note the chemical “oceans” on Saturn and Jupiter.


(c) The fluids, including gaseous fluids were all floating around—And, as yet, nothing had happened—And there was no visible light.

(d) Darkness—until God created the sources of physical light, there was nothing to see

(4) “ …And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters…”

(a) Here is the first definite mention of the Trinity

(b) The Holy Spirit is seen “brooding” over the face of the “waters.” Again, we must avoid picturing this in human terms—The Omnipresent Spirit of God was everywhere hovering in preparation for His role in Creation

(c) Then, the silence was broken.


(5) Creation by Command.
(a) He spoke a word, and everything began to form.

(b) “…3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good;

(6) “…and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day."

(a) God commands things to happen, and they happen

(b) (Psa 33:6) "By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth."

(c) Next was differentiation— (Gen 1:6-10) "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters….”The word “firmament” refers to a great expanse—I think we would call this firmament “space” The amorphous “waters” now began to divide.

(d) {7} And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. {8} And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

(e) {9} And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. {10} And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good." Here God creates the Earth

(i) The other planets were not yet formed—why this one?

(ii) Because THIS planet would be the planet upon which the great acts of Redemption would take place.

d. He created plant life, and He created the animals of all types—and in one of the great understatements of all time: (Gen 1:16)"… He made the stars also."

(1) Why are the stars so lightly held?

(2) Why are the myriads of suns and stars considered to be less in importance than man and his dominion?

(3) Did this not all take billions of years to accomplish? It would have, were it not for the fact that an Omnipotent God were running the show!

(4) He created the universe in six days, putting everything in place, giving the appearance of age, just as I might do in creating a table or home entertainment center.

(5) Because the main “show” of the universe is in the redemption of God’s people, all who would ever come to believe in Him!

3. Elohim And the Creation of the Human Race

a. Initial observations:

(1) Note: the details of man’s creation are revealed in 2:7-25—this is about man in general—we will cover that in a later sermon

(2) God created Man in His own image—what does that mean?

(3) He created man as male and female—He gave us NO OTHER CATEGORIES

(4) He commanded man to populate the earth—

(5) He gave man dominion over the earth

b. The Trinity was gradually revealed in the Bible—
(1) (Gen 11:6) "…And the LORD said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them."

(2) (Gen 1:26-27) "Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; … 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. …”

(3) The Trinity in the OT

(a) The Father and the Son—

(i) Psa 45:7 "You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions."

(ii) Psa 110:1 "The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."

(iii) Psa 2:7 ""I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You."

(b) The Spirit—Gen 1:2) "The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."

(c) The Trinity— Isa 48:16-18 "…And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit Have sent Me." 17 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God…”

c. Man was made in Elohim’s Image—Gen 1:26a “…in Our image, according to Our likeness;…” In what way are we in God’s Image?

(1) Not physical—it must be in ways that the animals do not share

(a) God is Spirit—Jn 4:24
(b) Moral—
(c) Emotional—passion, feelings
(d) Volition—free agency, the ability, within our nature, to make ethical choices
(e) Loving—the ability to choose to love
(f) Personally—the ability to form relationships, especially with God
(g) Creative—we make things we create artifacts,
(h) Communication—especially with God

(2) What is left of this image after The Fall?

(a) Still there—(James 3:9) "Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God."

(b) Marred by the Fall, injured in every part.

(c) Morals bankrupt

(d) Emotions twisted

(e) Our ability to choose is limited by sin

(f) True love impossible

(g) Relationship with God impossible without Christ’s sacrifice.

(h) Creativity perverted

(i) No communion with God

(j) Our sexuality, a great gift from God, is perverted and distorted

d. What will the restoration be?—(1 John 3:1-2) "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. {2} Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

e. Created to Rule—26b

(1) Dominion over the animal kingdom

(2) Gen 9:2 ""And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand."

(3) Psa 8:6 "You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,"

(4) James 3:7 "For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind."

(5) Paganism hates this doctrine—the pagan view of God is twisted and self serving by man

(6) Animals are NOT in the image of God, and they are not on an equal footing with man.

f. Bottom line, God has created us to rule and have dominion over the Earth, and we are commanded to do so.

4. The Act of Creation— 1:27-8

a. God Created man— 27 “Male and female!”

b. The Mission of the Race—This was the mission given to man from the beginning, and it was a detailed mission, a vast mission, a bold mission. Gen 1:28

c. “…Populate the Earth…”—Because God loves people
‘
d. “…Spread over the whole earth…—because God made the earth to be inhabited by man

e. Tame the Earth— “subdue it…”—tame its wild places, traverse its wilderness, explore it.

f. Be the livestock manager for the Earth—be over ALL the animals— “… have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth…”


g. Why has mankind always had the need to explore, tame the wilderness, climb the heights and plumb the deeps? Because of the echo of this charge given to man by God in the beginning.

5. The Implications of Being a Created Being –Acts 17:24-31

a. Knowing our Creator

(1) God is the Lord of Mankind

(2) God does not need man’s work or worship

(3) God controls the fates of nations

(4) The purpose of Providence is the great commission.

b. The Duty of Man

(1) Love God and Worship Him—

(a) Deu 6:5 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

(b) Obey God—(under the Law) Eccl 12:13 “…Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all…”

(c) Accountability—Eccl 14 “… For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil…”

(d) Knowing who we are—The world is confused about everything. Part of our job is removing the confusion.

c. The Duty of Fallen Man— (Acts 17:30-31) ""Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 "because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.""