“What’s your
name?”
It’s a pretty
simple question, one we answer without even thinking… until you ask it about
God. Throughout the Bible, God is described with many names. Some
of them describe a particular attribute of his nature or his authority. Others
point towards a powerful action he has taken: “I am the God who brought you out
of Egypt.”
But some names
are unique. Take the first name for God given in scripture: Elohim. It is
used over 2,500 times in the Bible. In our scripture reading for today, this
name of God shows up in the first verse: “In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) That sums it up.
This is the God who spoke the universe into being and will be the Judge of all
mankind when he calls our world to a halt. This may be the most powerful
of God’s name. It is the name above all names, for there is only one God, the
God.
Yet there is a
little surprise in this name: Its plural!
So how can there
be only One true God if his name, Elohim, is a plural masculine term? One
of the great mysteries of God’s nature is captured in this name. God is
one, yet he is three. Notice the language used in verse 26: “Then
God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let
them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the
livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the
ground." We sometimes use the term “God-head” to describe this
aspect of God’s nature. He is God the Father, God the Son and God the
Holy Spirit. Many symbols have been used through the centuries to try to
graphically portray what the mind can't quite wrap itself around.
One well known
Irishman who came to be called “St. Patrick” responded to confused seekers with
a simple image. He held up a shamrock to the angry pagans who were
demanding an explanation about how God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one God
yet three beings. The preacher asked them if he was holding up one leaf
or three. If three leaves then why one stem? If one stem then why three leaves?
The crowd was silenced and St. Patrick said; "And if you cannot explain so
simple a mystery as the shamrock, how can you hope to understand one as
profound as the Holy Trinity?"
Whatever mental
picture you use, Elohim is a name that should give us confidence. No
matter what words we use to try to explain this we always fall short. God is
too big for us; at least he is too big for our small minds with such limited
capacity. We serve the God who made it all and the one who will see us through
it all. We can rest in the power of Elohim!
Take time to
meditate on this great name of God today and be humbled as you consider all he
is and all he does. As he commanded us, "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the
earth." (Psalm 46:10)
God bless you as
you love Elohim with all you are!
- Jeff Walling
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