In the Old Testament, God is described by the Hebrew word Elohim. Notably, in the book of Genesis, God refers to Himself as “us.” The fact that God is recorded as Elohim, which is a plural term, and refers to Himself as “us” when speaking, has been regarded as a challenge for many theologians for a long time. There have been various interpretations of the use of the term “us” in Genesis 1, such as the insistence that “us” refers to the Trinity or that it is God and the angels beside Him; however, no one has been able to give a clear answer.
The Enigmatic “We” of Genesis
Instead he [God] says, “Let us make man (adam) in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26) . . . This passage has long been a puzzle for interpreters of the Bible. Mysteries of the Bible, Reader’s Digest Association Inc., p. 21
What is the true meaning of Elohim in the Bible? It is God the Father and God the Mother, who created humankind in Their own image. God the Father and God the Mother have been working together since the creation of the world, leading all humankind to salvation.
Elohim Means Gods
Elohim [אֱלֹהִים] means Gods. According to the popular belief that there is only one God, God should only be described in the singular form in the Bible. Surprisingly, however, the term for God is consistently expressed by the use of the plural word Elohim in the original text of the Bible. In Hebrew, there is a singular noun for God or Deity. It is El or Eloah. However, Elohim was used about 2,500 times to describe God.
The Bible was written by prophets who were moved by the Holy Spirit, and it is a book that testifies about God the Savior (2 Pe 1:21; Jn 5:39). Then, what does it mean that the word God is expressed in the plural form about 2,500 times in the Bible? In the Bible, God directly refers to Himself with the plural pronoun “us.”
Then God [Elohim] said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, . . .” Ge 1:26
If the Creator [Elohim] who made humankind referred only to God the Father, then He should have said, “Let me make man in my image, in my likeness.” However, God specifically said, “Let us.” This is clear evidence that the word Elohim, which indicates God, is actually plural.
Elohim Is God the Father and God the Mother
If we continue to think that there is only God the Father, it will be difficult to understand what is written in Genesis 1. However, it is not that difficult if we discard the fixed idea that there is only God the Father and believe the Bible as it is written. Let’s find the answer to this riddle in the following verse.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Ge 1:27
When God created humankind in the image of God, male and female were created. This means that both male and female images of God exist. Humans have long called God “Father” because they only recognized the male image of God. Then, what should we call the female image of God? Without a doubt, we should call Her “Mother.” Thus, there is not only God the Father but also God the Mother. That is the reason why God said, “Let us make man in our image.” Therefore, the God who created all things and saves humankind is Elohim, that is, God the Father and God the Mother.
The Work of God Who Said “Us”
God the Father and God the Mother have been carrying out the work of redemption together since the creation of the world. In the beginning, They created the heavens and the earth together (Ge 1:1–26), and They continued the work of salvation from then on. Let’s review the scene where Noah’s descendants built the Tower of Babel.
The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. Ge 11:6–9
God said, “Let us go down and confuse their language.” Here, the word “us” indicates God. It is because in verse 7, it is written, “Let us confuse their language,” and in verse 9, it is written that the LORD confused the language. Therefore, these words mean that God the Father and God the Mother together stopped the work of building the Tower of Babel. God the Father and God the Mother also worked together when appointing a prophet to send on Their behalf.
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isa 6:8
Here, the “Lord” in “the voice of the Lord” refers to God. God did not say, “Who will go for me?” but “Who will go for us?” This shows that even though the name of God the Father was recorded as a representative, God the Father and God the Mother have always worked together since the beginning of the creation.
The Reason God Elohim Was Written as “One”
Some insist that God can never be two, because the Bible says that God is “only one” (1 Ti 2:5; 6:15). However, a careful study of the Bible shows that it is not contradictory that God Elohim is described as one. In order to understand God Elohim more accurately, let us take a look at Adam and Eve, who were created in the image and likeness of God. Adam and Eve clearly exist as two separate people. However, in the Bible, they are sometimes described as one man.
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, . . . Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, . . . For if the many died by the trespass of the one man . . . Ro 5:12–15
Here, the “trespass of the one man” indicates Adam’s sin. In actuality, it was Eve, not Adam, who sinned first. This verse should have been written, “the trespass of the one woman, Eve,” or “the trespass of the two people, Adam and Eve.” However, the Bible says that it was the trespass of one man, Adam. This means that Adam and Eve are regarded as one.
Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. Ge 2:22–24
This is the case with Adam and Eve who were created in the image of God, and the same is true of God, their original form. Although God exists as two—God the Father and God the Mother, we can still say that God is one. The Bible is written as if Adam sinned alone even though Adam and Eve, two separate people, sinned together. Therefore, it is not wrong for the Bible to record that God the Father did things alone that in actuality God the Father and Mother did together.
The Bible teaches that the people who know God will receive the Holy Spirit and the blessing of the water of life (Hos 6:3; Jn 4:10), and those who do not know God will not be saved (2 Th 1:8; Hos 4:1, 6). Once we correctly know and recognize Elohim—God the Father and God the Mother—that the Bible testifies about, we can receive the blessing of the water of life (Rev 22:17).
