Genesis 1:1a In the beginning God (‘elohiym)

‘elohiym is the plural form of ‘elowahh which is used in reference to false gods. The plural form implies the trinity of God. While God is God alone He did say in Genesis 1:26 “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:”

‘elohiym in its first use in the bible is tied more to what God does than a name. ‘el in the Hebrew means God as a title and the prolonged version of the name indicates works He performs or characteristics. In this case the creator of heaven and earth.

Elohim: The plural form of EL, meaning “strong one.”

El Shaddai:“God Almighty.”

El Elyon: “The Most High God.”

El Olam: “The Everlasting God.”

Then there are the Yahweh (YHWH): expressions of God.

Yahweh (YHWH): Comes from a verb which means “to exist, be.” Similar to what He said to Moses at the burning bush, “I AM THAT I AM.”

Yahweh Jireh (Yireh): “The Lord will provide.”

Yahweh Nissi:“The Lord is my Banner.”

Yahweh Shalom:“The Lord is Peace.”

Yahweh Sabbaoth:“The Lord of Hosts.”

Yahweh Maccaddeshcem: “The Lord your Sanctifier.”

Yahweh Ro’i: “The Lord my Shepherd.”

Yahweh Tsidkenu: “The Lord our Righteousness.”

Yahweh Shammah: “The Lord is there.”

Yahweh Elohim Israel: “The Lord, the God of Israel.”

Singular in name and action is Adonai: Like Elohim, this too is a plural of majesty. The singular form means “master, owner.”

So God, rather than a name, is who He is in character and action.

(references from Strong’s Concordance and Bible.org)

1 John 1:1-3 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

There was a day many years ago, when the words in the bible were just words. They could have been a mystery novel, fiction, boring, and easily ignored if it wasn’t for a moment in my life when those words came to life. What others had seen, heard and done in the furtherance of the gospel were meaningless, just words, until God manifested Himself to me.

Dead words became the Word of life the moment I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart. It is no different for you than it was for me. How this God might have manifested Himself in your life will be different, because we as individuals are different, similar but not the same.

If you have not received Christ into your heart, the Word of life is dormant and the bible will not speak to you as it does to believers. If you are not saved, I encourage you to go back to all the devotionals in January of 2017 and read them all. If you can find it in your heart to accept Jesus Christ as Lord then you are more than welcome to come back and join us in searching out this mystery, the Word of life.

For the rest of us who believe, let us move on to who is this God.