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True meaning of the word 'God':

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Part 01 - Introduction to the Trinity Doctrine.
Part 02 - The Father is the Supreme and Most High God.
Part 03 - Who is Jesus?
Part 04 - True meaning of the word 'God'.
Part 05 - Scriptures that are used to support the Trinity doctrine.
Part 06 - What christians have said prior to Nicea.
Part 07 - How the Trinity doctrine came about.
Part 08 - Why challenge the Trinity doctrine?
Part 09 - Trinity doctrine conclusion.
Part 10 - How can the Trinity doctrine be wrong?
Part 11 - 100 verses that show God and Jesus to be different.
Part 12 - Join a discussion on the Trinity doctrine.

Part 04 (True meaning of the word "God")

An important but much overlooked fact when reading the word 'God' in the bible we find that in both the Old and New Testament are translated from many different words and each original Hebrew or Greek word for 'God' have a wide range of uses.

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
2) the Godhead
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 given the title god whether he be an angel or a man. In addition, someone or something that takes takes the place of God is also called a god, or a false god.

So let's look at some biblical verses that apply the word God (Theos) to denote different identities.

Below we see a verse where the word 'theos' is used when referring to 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.

Now you will see a verse where the Greek word 'theos' is used to describe Jesus.

John 20:28-29 (English-NIV) 
28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God! (theos)"
29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

The word 'theos' in the next verse is used to describe Satan as he is the author 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).

The word (theos) is also used to describe Man see below.

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, idols, and mankind. 

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.

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?

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 that are 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.

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.

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

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

"Elohim" is also used to describe 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 this Psalm.

Even 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)!

These scriptures show us that the word 'God' is actually a term and is not always used to describe the Most High God, rather it is a term that can apply to many types of authority.

It is very important to read each verse in its correct context e.g., The Most High God is completely different to the god of this age. 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 and not a name, but does God have a name? '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 President Bush goes to Germany they will pronounce his name George Bush, they won't change it into a German word. 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. Therefore when we read the word God in the bible, it is important to consider the context in which it is written.

Now YHWH declares in Psalm 2:7 the following:

"I will declare the decree: YHWH hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee."

Therefore YHWH (God) is the Father of Jesus. Jesus cannot be YHWH. Jesus is the Son of YHWH, otherwise known as the Son of God.

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