Thank you for the question on the Godhead, “If the Old Testament God and God are different beings, then how many gods have there been?”
If a person is unfamiliar with the Bible, the subject of the Godhead may be very confusing. One may hear that there is the God of the Old Testament or Jehovah, YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and conclude there are many gods in the Jewish or Christian faith.
In Deuteronomy 6, there is the Great Shema or the Great Confession of Israel to Hear and to Do this, “Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. 10 When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (A searchable online Bible in over 150 versions and 50 languages). Bible citations are in the New International Version.
The Hebrew word, God, is “Elohim” which scholars has noted that the noun is plural in form. Scholars has interpreted this plurality as being majestic in nature or plurality of being. Deuteronomy 6 declares that there is only one God, not a plurality of gods, but can there be a plurality of being in this Godhead? Depending on one’s reading and interpretation of the biblical text, each person must come to their own conclusion based on the text.
The Old Testament states clear that there is only one God, a monotheistic belief, not a polytheistic belief. God declares in Isaiah 45 the following words, “I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, 6 so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other” (NIV). There is only one God.
As one reads Deuteronomy 6, God first revealed himself to the patriarchs as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God gives a further revelation when Moses asked God what is his name in Exodus 3:11–15. God declared this to Moses, “Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever,
the name you shall call me from generation to generation” (NIV). Thus God reveals the name in which he wanted the Jewish people to call him: “I AM WHO I AM” or the letters YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This name is translated in our English text as LORD or YAHWEH as a pronunciation of his name.
Theologians or Bible scholars as they study the Biblical text have noted that Elohim, God, may/can be interpreted as plurality of persons in this one Godhead. I hold to that position. Here are some thoughts for one’s consideration.
As one reads Genesis 1:1, there is the mention of Elohim (God) and the spirit (Spirit) of God. As the biblical text reveals in later books, the spirit or Spirit is not just a impersonal force as a wind but a person who can be grieved, able to teach, comfort, lied to, convict of sin, etc. Jesus said this in John 14, “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you…5 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid“(NIV). One can do a further study on what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit in John 14–16. The Holy Spirit can’t be another “independent” God for that will make two separate gods and yet this being/person is mentioned in Genesis 1:1. Can it be the plural form of Elohim would include the Spirit of God in it? I believe so otherwise there would be a contradiction within the Scripture.
What about Jesus? Is he God or a lesser divine being? The early church had a divided opinion on the deity of Jesus Christ. Jesus declared that no one has seen the Father. John 1 says this, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (NIV). As I read and study the Scriptures, the angels are not able to see God directly as they can only see his majestic brilliance and majesty. The angels who stands closest to God covers their eyes with their two wings of their six wings for they are not even able to see God. God is seated in the throne in heaven. This leaves a question of the for the people who saw and talked to God. Who is he? This person is revealed as YHWH in Genesis 2 as Adam and Eve spoke to God or for Moses in the burning bush. The New Testament reveals this “third” person of the Godhead as the Word of God (John 1:1), as the Incarnated Son of God (Phil. 2:6–11, Heb. 1:1–14). Jesus made a claim that Abraham saw him and was glad when the Jewish leaders questioned him about his age (John 8:56).
Thus for many Christians, there is the belief that there is one God revealed with three beings in this Godhead. Christians baptize believers in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:18–20). Theologically, the plurality of the Godhead is called the Trinity.
SUMMARY: The plurality of Elohim reflects the majestic and beauty of the Godhead in three persons: The Father, The Son (YHWH), and the Holy Spirit. There is only one God.
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