Home Christian Writings The true meaning of the word ‘God’ – The Trinity Doctrine Page 14

The true meaning of the word ‘God’ – The Trinity Doctrine

Part 01 – The Trinity Doctrine
Part 02 – Who is the Most High God?
Part 03 – Who and what is Jesus?
Part 04 – The true meaning of ‘God’
Part 05 – Supporting the Trinity
Part 06 – Pre-Nicene writings
Part 07 – Development of the Trinity
Part 08 – Why challenge the Trinity
Part 09 – Trinity Doctrine conclusion
Part 10 – An Apostasy
Part 11 – 100 indisputable proof verses
Part 12 – What is your confession?
Part 13 – The Roman Catholic faith
Part 14 – Trinity Doctrine resources

An important but much overlooked fact when understanding the word ‘God ‘in the bible is that both the Old and New Testament are translated from a number of different words and each original Hebrew or Greek word for ‘God’ have a wide range of uses.

Theos

Theos {theh’-os} is by far the most common Greek word that we translate as God or god. Below are the possible meanings of the word ‘theos’.

1) a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities
3) spoken of the only and true God
3a) refers to the things of God
3b) his counsels, interests, things due to him
4) whatever can in any respect be likened unto God, or resemble him in any way
4a) God’s representative or viceregent
4a1) of magistrates and judges

So the Father is God because of his authority. However God the author also sends messengers with his authority, so when our Father anoints someone to speak His words, that person is can be given the title ‘god’ whether he be an angel or a man. Also, someone or something that takes takes the place of God is also called a god, in particular a false god. In addition, the word god can be used when describing something great, like a great earthquake.

Let’s now look at some biblical verses that apply the word God (Theos) to denote different identities or as a description.

Below we see a verse where the word ‘theos’ is used when referring to the Father.

The Father

Ephesians 1:3 (English-NIV)
Praise be to the God (theos) and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Satan

The word ‘theos’ in the next verse is used to describe Satan / The Devil as he is the god of this world/age.

2 Corinthians 4:4 (English-NIV)
The god (theos) of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (theos).

Man

The word (theos) is also used to describe man / judges.

John 10:34 (English-NIV)
Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, `I have said you are gods (theos)’

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and again we see that the word “God” can apply to our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, Angelic & Demonic powers, mankind, idols, and even things or events.

El

The NIV & NASB translate the following 3 words as God “el” “eloah” & “elohim”
Each is a generic term, meaning “God” or “mighty one”.
Normally when one of these words occur in the OT, it designates either the true God or something that the pagan nations viewed as a god. In a few instances these words are also used of angels and human beings.

The Father

Below is a scripture that shows that the Father is God.

Malachi 2:10 (English-NIV)
Have we not all one Father ? Did not one God (El) create us?
Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers by breaking faith with one another?

Jesus Christ

The next verse uses the Hebrew word “eloah” which used to describe Jesus.
We will be looking at this scripture in more depth in Part 5 (Scriptures used to support the Trinity Doctrine).

Isaiah 9:6 (English-NIV)
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God (El), Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Idols

The following verse uses ‘Elohim’ to denote idols.

Exodus 20:23 (English-NIV)
Do not make any gods (Elohim) to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods (Elohim) of silver or gods (Elohim) of gold.

Elohim

The word “Elohim” is the most common word that is translated God in the Old Testament.

The Father

Genesis 1:1 (English-NIV) says:
In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth.

Man / Judges

“Elohim” can also be ascribed to Man. See next the verse.

Psalms 82:6 (English-NIV)
“I said, `You are “gods” (Elohim); you are all sons of the Most High.’

When Jesus said “you are gods (theos)”, as quoted previously on this page, he was actually quoting the above Psalm.

Angels

And, angels are called gods in Psalm 97:7. This verse is actually quoted in the Hebrews 1:6 and it is referring to the Angels.

Psalm 97:7
All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols; worship him, all you gods (Elohim)!

Earthquake or City

Finally the word elohim can be used to describe something that was exceedingly great like an earthquake or a city.

1 Samuel 14:15
And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great (elohim) trembling.

Jonah 3:3
So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly (elohim) great city, a three days’ walk.

Conclusion

These scriptures clearly show us the wide usage of the word that we know as God/god. It is a term or title that is used to identify God but is not always used in that sense. Rather it is a term that can apply to many types of authority, to idols, and even to things that are very great.

When the word God is being used to identify an authority, it is important to read the context because The Most High God is completely different to the god of this age and saying that God is always the one true God of Heaven and Earth, then we can mistakenly make Satan the one true God. In other words the type of God that is being referred to is determined by the adjective or context of the sentence. It is incorrect to read the word ‘God’ as the Most High God in every case. In fact the very term ‘Most High God’ leads us to conclude that there must be lesser gods.

We know that the word ‘Elohim’ is a term or title and not a name, but does God have a name? Yes he does. ‘YHWH’ which is called the “tetragrammaton,” meaning “the four letters,” is the revealed name of God, which scholars translate as Yahweh, Jehovah, Yahvah amongst others. Knowing that there is no such letter in Hebrew that makes the sound of a ‘J’, there are many Hebrew names that contain an emphasis on the *Yah* sound. Even Jesus name in Hebrew has this sound. ‘Yahshua’ is Jesus name in Hebrew and it is where we get the English name Joshua. But the word Yahweh is not actually a translation of the tetragrammaton, it is a transliteration meaning the sounds of those original Hebrew letters have been reproduced into another language. Other biblical names that have been transliterated include: Abraham, which in Hebrew is pronounced Abrawhawm and Sarah is pronounced Sawraw. Today if the president of the USA goes to Germany they will pronounce his name rather than change it into a German word of the same meaning. In the same way ‘Yahweh’ should be pronounced exactly the same in all languages.

God first reveals his name in Exodus.3:15 and Psalm 135:13
And Elohim said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, YHWH, Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

God’s response to Moses, shows us clearly that ‘God’ (Elohim) is not a name, but a title and we saw earlier how this particular title can refer to others including men, angels, and false gods.

Understanding the usage of the word theos and elohim in scripture clearly shows that these words are ascribed to more than God Almighty, especially when there is mentions of another person or thing. And the assumption that all who are called theos that are not the Almighty are by reason of that, a false theos, is not true either. Scripture applies theos and elohim in a positive way to men and angels. And can an earthquake be a false God?

Knowing that the Father is predominately the one being referred to when we see the word God, as pointed out, it is not always exclusively the Father. How many times is Jesus called God? Well let’s put it into perspective. Overwhelmingly it is the Father. Secondly, the term is used of false gods. Finally Jesus, angels, men, and Satan are mentioned only once  to a few times.

Discussion

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  • June 20, 2016 at 1:39 am#815050
    kerwin
    Participant

    hoghead,

    One point I was attempting to make in the other thread before our communications were became troubled is that Philo claimed that in LXX when theos does not have a direct article preceding it then it is a synonym of the logos (the Word). In John 1:1 John uses the word theos without a direct object preceding it which means according to Philo he is essentially claiming the Word is the Word. I short interpreting John 1:1 according to Philo’s point of view it is not evidence the Christ is God or that he is preexistent.

    June 20, 2016 at 11:23 am#815062
    hoghead1
    Participant

    Philo never wrote anything on Christ, probably did not know anything about him, and never wrote or knew anything about the Gospel of John.  Therefore, he is actually completely irrelevant to the discussion at hand.

    June 20, 2016 at 1:53 pm#815067
    kerwin
    Participant

    hoghead,

    I have to disagree with you because Philo did write about the Koine Greek language and its relationship to the logos. John either used those words to teach about the Christ or he and Philo obtained there idea from a similar source.

    My point was to reveal that point of view of at least one human from that time period there is no evidence of either the claim that Jesus preexisted his own conception or that he the Christ is God. All you have to oppose his view is the Trinitarian relation that arose later and evolved to its final state by the end of the fourth century.

    June 20, 2016 at 2:10 pm#815068
    hoghead1
    Participant

    There is absolutely no evidence that the writer of John was influenced by Philo in any way whatsoever.  There is really no comparison between the two, as Philo is essentially Platonic, whereas the Bible is not.

    June 21, 2016 at 10:39 pm#815094
    Miia
    Participant

    The true meaning of the word ‘God’?

    Perhaps easy.

    The Father, Son and Holy Spirit?

    ‘Where can I go to go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into Heaven you are there, if I make my bed in Sheol, behold you are there.’

    ‘If you have seen me, you have seen the Father’.

    Have you seen Jesus, have you heard Jesus?

     

     

     

    June 21, 2016 at 11:18 pm#815096
    hoghead1
    Participant

    Hello, Mia,

    True, on one hand, it is that easy.  On the other, it isn’t.   The problem is how the three members of teh Trinity can be best thought of so as to constitute one God.  Many wills ay that the Trinity denotes three separate, unique personalities.  This is thinking of the Trinity in term of teh modern concept or definition o f the term “person.”    The problem is that any teaching that claims three subjectivities within the Godhead automatically degenerates into tritheism.  The original Trinitarian concept of “person,” however, denoted something much closer to our modern idea of a role.  One personality, three roles, yes, that does work  well. So, when you ask someone, anyone, if they have seen Jesus, the first thing you should do is be clear on how you are defining the members of the Trinity.

    June 22, 2016 at 1:35 pm#815110
    Miia
    Participant

    Hello Hoghead 🙂

    The problem is how the three members of teh Trinity can be best thought of so as to constitute one God.

    One possibility is to see different parts of the one God. As I said to a friend; you could be walking (feet), stretching (arms) and thinking (mind).

    The original Trinitarian concept of “person,” however, denoted something much closer to our modern idea of a role.  One personality, three roles, yes, that does work  well.

    Yes.

    So, when you ask someone, anyone, if they have seen Jesus, the first thing you should do is be clear on how you are defining the members of the Trinity

    So, “have you seen the Son of God” would be the definitive question.

     

     

    June 22, 2016 at 1:37 pm#815111
    Miia
    Participant

    Hi,

    Bear in mind I am not necessarily a Trinitarian (yet!!!) I’m only seeing things from a completely Trinitarian and Oneness perspective, because they could have some merit.

    June 22, 2016 at 1:48 pm#815113
    hoghead1
    Participant

    Hello, Mia,

    Actually, I’m not really sure there is any way to appropriately put the  question.  With fellow Christians, it can be an annoying question, analogous to asking someone, “Are you a loyal American?”  I find that quite often someone who comes up and just starts asking something like, “Have you accepted Christ as your personal Savior”? generally is coming from a kind of  right-wing Christian background and wants to sell you, Christian or otherwise, on fundamentalaistic ideology.  Hence, the real question should be, “Do you go with Christian fundamentalism or the evangelical movement? ”  Usually those representing such movements are fairly intolerant  of others, Christians or not, who don’t follow fundamentalism.  They really don’t want any responsible theological dialogue.  No matter what you say, if you are not a fundamentalist, you are doomed to hell, according to them.

    June 22, 2016 at 1:58 pm#815114
    hoghead1
    Participant

    Hello again, Miia,

    I’m kind of lost where you are coming from.  You say you aren’t a Trinitarian but that you are working from a Trinitarian and Oneness perspective. On my end of it, I hear you contradicting yourself. If you aren’t Trinitarian, how can you be working from a Trinitarian and Oneness perspective?  Are you Oneness Pentecostal maybe ?  If so, that is still Trinitarian.  I realize some unreflective Christians have torn into the Oneness movement, claiming it isn’t truly Trinitarian because it understands the persons as modes or roles God plays.  But, as I pointed out, the original Trinitarian concept of person denoted  more of a role than a person in our sense of the term.  Also, many contemporary Trinitarian theologians go with what some  would call modalism.  I also  know that  many unreflective Christians go on and on about the   “heresy” of modalism.  However, I take that with a grain of salt.  The church fathers could be very modalistic.  That includes Tertullian, who supposedly  attacked the modalistic thinking of Sabellius. So, if you are Oneness in the sense I am using the term, I would label you as a Trinitarian.

    June 22, 2016 at 2:35 pm#815116
    hoghead1
    Participant

    Yes, Miia, that is exactly what I have in mind. Also, thinks for clarifying where you are in regard  to the Trinity.  I gather you are in the  process of considering options.

    June 24, 2016 at 8:28 am#815139
    NickHassan
    Participant

    Hi hoghead,

    Yes the divisions of men are preferable to those who dare not believe the spiritual words.

    June 24, 2016 at 9:46 am#815140
    Miia
    Participant

    Hi HH,

    Yes, considering the options. I have been an arian/ unitatian but was talking to family and others and I’m seeking truth and looking at things through their perspective. I also find the Eastern Orthodox quotes quite true, and wondered about their belief in the Trinity. Sorry I haven’t had much time to reply, though I’m reading 🙂

    June 24, 2016 at 12:57 pm#815141
    Ed J
    Participant

    Hi HH,

    Yes, considering the options. I have been an arian/ unitatian but was talking to family and others and I’m seeking truth and looking at things through their perspective. I also find the Eastern Orthodox quotes quite true, and wondered about their belief in the Trinity. Sorry I haven’t had much time to reply, though I’m reading

    Hi Miia,

    If you’re willing to consider the possibility that “The Trinity” may be correct,
    why not consider the possibility both views might be part of a bigger truth:

    (I explain this concept in the following thread…)

    Trinity and non-Trinity

    ____________
    God bless
    Ed J

    June 24, 2016 at 1:09 pm#815144
    hoghead1
    Participant

    Sorry, Nick, no time to respond to your post.  As I just said, too busy studying Scripture to bother with the divisiveness caused by men such as yourself.

    June 24, 2016 at 1:11 pm#815145
    hoghead1
    Participant

    Well, Ed, at least you are making the effort to study up.  That’s the way to do it.

    June 24, 2016 at 1:24 pm#815146
    Ed J
    Participant

    Thank you Hoghead1 (Locomotive Engineer),

    I also read the posts of people that are here to discourse with.

    I have studied the bible for over 40 years, and in that time
    I have discovered that the proof of God’s existence has
    been encoded into the “AKJV Bible” as “Proof of God”

    My presentation is now perfected to the point of doing you-tube videos.
    I have presented most of the information in “snippet form” on
    forums like H-net, my forum (Holy City Bible Code Forum),
    and quite a few others as well going on 7 years now.

    http://holycitybiblecode.forumotion.co.nz/t227-god-s-existence-has-now-finally-been-proven

    ____________
    God bless
    Ed J

    June 24, 2016 at 1:50 pm#815149
    hoghead1
    Participant

    Hello, Ed,

    Sounds interesting.   However, I’m not sure I quite understand what you are saying.  Are you saying there is some sort of hidden code or  in the KJV? If so, which KJV?  The 1611?  I’m going to guess ahead of time, no, here, as  the actual KJV 1611 had the Apocrypha and also is pretty unreadable to modern-day readers.  Between  the 1611 and the KJV today, there are about 20,000 changes in word usage, punctuation, etc.   I’m also unsure how you are using the term “proof for God.” Just saying,”But, man, the Bible says so” is not a “proof” for God. Hence, in theology and philosophy, “proofs” for the existence of God generally proceed in a much different direction.

    June 24, 2016 at 2:15 pm#815150
    Ed J
    Participant

    Hi Hoghead1,

    “The Authorized King James Version” which consists of the standard 66 books; The “AKJV Bible”
    can be purchased in any book store, and is FREE of all copyright laws and FREE on-line.

    The Apocrypha and the deuterocanonical books are considered non-inspired.

    Did you read Clement1 (The first epistle of Clement to the Corinthians)?
    (biblical ref. to Philip 4:3) Clement2 was not written by Clement.

    _____________
    God bless
    Ed J

    June 24, 2016 at 3:09 pm#815155
    hoghead1
    Participant

    You need to put in some qualifiers, Ed.  I and II Clement are not part of the  Apocrypha. In Catholicism and early Protestantism, the Apocrypha is viewed as inspired.  That’s why the Catholic church retains it.  KJV initially included it, thereby considering it inspired and canon.  However, by the 16 forties, the English divines  had changed their minds here, considered it a work of the Devil, and banished it.   Luther also retained it in his original Bible, though later Lutheran divines did drop it.  Authorship has ha little to do with whether a work was considered canonical or not.  Also, actually, inspiration had little to do with it.  I and II Clement, “the Shepherd of Hermes,” “Paul and the Acts of Teekel,”  and a whole host of other extra-canonical works, were  thought of as inspired  in the sense they were viewed  as  profitable for study and so were widely  read and esteemed by early Christians. Later, Calvin said that he would not have believed, had he no read the teachings of Augustine.  Luther said that the  ” Theologia  Germanica” should be read along with Scripture.

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