3 Open to God

God is. God is what he is regardless of what we think or say. And God presents us with questions we cannot hope to resolve with dogma. We have to take him as he reveals himself to us over time, or we can never know him at all. But who am I talking about when I speak of God this way? For the most part, when we speak of God, people will think of the one Jesus called, “Father.” But it soon becomes apparent that the word “God,” in the Bible, means more than that. Consider how God is introduced to us:

In the beginning Elohim created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Elohim moved upon the face of the waters. And Elohim said, Let there be light: and there was light (Genesis 1:1-3).

I am using the Hebrew word for God, Elohim, for a reason. The word is plural. It is the plural of Eloah which means a god or the God. We keep stumbling over words when we talk about God because in our language, as in Hebrew, the word “god” has more than one meaning. In one passage, elohim even refers to devils: “They sacrificed unto devils, not to Eloah; to elohim whom they knew not, to new elohim that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not” (Deuteronomy 32:27).

Now there is nothing especially hard about this. We commonly use the word “god” to refer to the real God and to other gods. We know the difference by the context. The Hebrews did the same thing. What is difficult is the use of the plural for the one God. I have already noted the argument that the plural in this case is an idiomatic way of referring to the One God. But that leaves some questions unanswered. A lot of the confusion arises because of the choices made by biblical translators, and because of English usage of the word “god.” For example, in the laws regulating slavery, there is this example:

And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges [Hebrew: elohim] (Exodus 21:5-6).

The New International Version and the King James Version both render elohim as “judges” in this passage, while the New American Standard Bible and the New Revised Standard Version say that he will bring the man before God. So we have a semantics problem with the word God both in Hebrew and in English. We might do well to put this question on the shelf for the time being and read a little further in Genesis:

And Elohim said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So Elohim created man in his own image, in the image of Elohim created he him; male and female created he them (Genesis 1:26-27).

Now if you are the inquisitive sort, you may wonder who God is talking to when he says, “Let us make.” And this is an example of the kind of problem we create for ourselves when we try to explain too much about God.

There are two poles in the discussions of the nature of God. One, which encompasses most of mainstream belief is the doctrine of the Trinity – the belief that God is three persons in one Godhead. The other pole argues that the Trinitarian view is polytheistic and insists that there is only one God and that he is one, not three. Both points of view present us with difficulties.

Think about this in terms of the creation. The Apostle John said, "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3). So taking John in the plainest terms possible, anything that exists either has always existed or was made by God. Everything that is was made by him. And if there is no one else who is eternal, then before creation, God existed alone.

The way some people see it, 7000 years ago, God lived alone in solitary splendor (or, if you are scientifically inclined, 14 billion years ago). Then he created everything out of nothing. But before that, for all of eternity, God was alone. From what we know of God from the rest of the Bible, that makes no sense at all, but never mind. It doesn’t have to make sense to us for now.

But just suppose for a moment that God was not alone. Take the context of John’s statement on creation. It is in the opening remarks of his Gospel:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not (John 1:1-5).

At first blush, this seems to be a conundrum. How can he be with God and be God at the same time? It is not a problem if we accept as fact that the Hebrew word Elohim is plural. The Word was God and was with God. There were two who were called God. So it makes perfect sense for God to say, “Let us make man in our image.” God was not alone.

Now the mind that can’t deal with paradox comes to a dead end here. If there are two who are called “God,” then God is not one but two. And if there are two Gods, then we are suggesting polytheism. Early Christian thinkers could not accept that, and were driven to think of God as a Trinity, only one God who is three persons in one “Godhead.” Never mind that this is nowhere stated in the Bible. To the western mind, it had to be that way to be rational. In the Old Testament, God was severely presented as One. Then, the Gospel presents Jesus as the Son of God which suggested that he was also God. The Jews therefore considered Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God as blasphemy.

This came to a head one day as the Jews kept pressing Jesus on his identity. “ How long dost thou make us to doubt?” they insisted. “If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly”( John 1:1-5).

Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.

Now how should we take this last statement? Jesus was on earth and his Father was in heaven, so they are plainly not the same person. This puzzle is answered in the doctrine of the Trinity by concluding that the “Godhead” is composed of three persons who are one God. If that is a little hard to grasp, you can take comfort in knowing that people who believe it call it a mystery. “Godhead” is a word coined to take in the idea of a Triune God.

It may be a little easier if we can think of God in his own terms. And the way Jesus describes the relationship is in terms of family – Father and Son. God is one family with more than one member of the family.

But there is no question how the Jews took Jesus’ statement. They started picking up stones to throw at him. When he asked them which of his good works deserved stoning, they replied: “For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God” (John 10:33).

To the Jews, there was but one God. And for Jesus to claim to be the Son of God was, to them, tantamount to claiming divinity for himself. Jesus then goes straight to the semantic difficulty presented by the word “god.” The Jews should have known this.

Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?"

As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him" (1 Corinthians 8:4-6).

The Orthodox Church explains it this way:

“First of all, it is the Church's teaching and its deepest experience that there is only one God because there is only one Father.

“In the Bible the term "God" with very few exceptions is used primarily as a name for the Father. Thus, the Son is the "Son of God," and the Spirit is the "Spirit of God." The Son is born from the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father -- both in the same timeless and eternal action of the Father's own being.

“In this view, the Son and the Spirit are both one with God and in no way separated from Him. Thus, the Divine Unity consists of the Father, with His Son and His Spirit distinct from Himself and yet perfectly united together in Him.” – www.oca.org

This troublesome little passage actually points us in the right direction. How is it possible for there to be only one God and yet many gods in heaven? What Paul is saying in his own way is that the problem is mere semantics. There is one God, who is the Father. At the same time, there are many who are called elohim. The word “God” is used in two distinct ways and only discerned by the context. And because Paul recognizes the semantic difficulty, he qualifies his “one God” statement by explaining that there is but “one God the Father.” This is the one most of us refer to when we speak of God. And in that sense, there is indeed only one God.

So far, so good, but what about these elohim in heaven? Who are they? I don’t know, but there is a suggestion in a fascinating description of God’s throne in Revelation. There was one sitting on the throne whose appearance, as best John could describe it, was like an opaque crystal that radiated a green iris of light around his throne. Arrayed around this throne were 24 other thrones upon which were seated 24 “elders,” all clothed in white and wearing crowns (Revelation 4:4).

Who are these people and what are they doing there? In the Bible, elders are judges and judges are elohim. These all have crowns and their seats are called thrones. The place fairly crackles with power, and there are creatures around the throne who sing praises to God. When they do, the 24 elders rise from their seats, fall before the throne of God and cast their crowns down before him.

This place is alive with power. And it is populated with, what, spirit beings? Would we dare call them elohim? We might, but let’s not decide that yet. Let’s put it on the shelf while we continue to think it through.

The introduction to the book of Hebrews takes some pains to develop our idea of God. God, the author says, spoke in time past to the fathers through the prophets. Now, in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. The Son of God has been appointed heir of all things, and it was by the Son that the worlds were made (Hebrews 1:2).

It is apparent as you read the first chapter that the Son of God is a different class of being from the angels. God never said to any angel, “You are my Son, this day have I begotten you.” The relationship is totally different. The angels are to worship the Son. What follows is a stunning revelation.

But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows (Hebrews 1:8-9).

The speaker says to the Son, “Thy throne, O God . . .” The Son is addressed as God. Then, in a surprising turn, the Son is told that God, even his God, has anointed him. The Son is God and has a God. Even the structure of this sentence is revealing. The “even thy God” is necessary because he has addressed the Son as God. I know it is awkward, but by my math, that makes two Gods.

Are we polytheists, then? No, because although there are many who are called elohim, we acknowledge only one because only one is supreme. At this point the discussion can dissolve into endless arguments over the semantics of God, but let’s not go there.

We know that the Father is God. We know that the Son is God. We know that they are one. We know that the Holy Spirit is one with them. Does that make us Trinitarians? By one definition, it might. By another it might not. Does it mean that we are polytheistic if we believe in more than one who is God? By one definition, it might. By another it might not.

I can’t think of a better example to show the uselessness of hanging labels on people. On the other hand, I have to admit, tongue in cheek, that it may be useful in excommunicating people who disagree with us.

But the author of Hebrews is not finished. He has more to say about this. If the angels are a different sort of being from the heir, what is their role? He answers, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"

Angels, heavenly messengers, are the servants on this great plantation. We are the immature heirs of the plantation. Jesus obtained his more excellent name by inheritance. We will finally do the same. John addressed this in a letter.

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. 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 (1 John 3:1-3).

It is this passage that led C.S. Lewis, among others, to conclude that it is the destiny of man to become God. And by that, I think he meant, we shall become Elohim.

The rigid “one God” dogma precludes all that. It even denies the divinity of Jesus himself and denies that he ever existed before his human birth. But Jesus himself dashed that idea. He told the Jews that he had known Abraham. “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day,” Jesus said, “and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:55-56).

The Jews were mortified. “Thou art not yet fifty years old,” they exclaimed, “and hast thou seen Abraham?” Jesus replied: “Before Abraham was, I am.”

There was no mistaking what Jesus intended by this. The Jews understood all to well. They started gathering stones to kill Jesus for blasphemously claiming to be God.

Yes, Jesus was the Messiah, but he was much more than that. Yes, He was a great teacher, but he was much more than that. But he could be neither the Messiah nor a great teacher if his central claim is untrue. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God in that special way that made him God in the flesh.

I began with the first chapter of John, and I return there. Having established that the Word was not only with God but was God, John went on to say, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”