P. Douglas

Having Faith is: ASKING God for things, AND BELIEVING you will receive them - Mark 11:22-24.

Monday, October 29, 2007

God Is Many, But One

Many people do not know what the scriptures mean when they say that there is one God (e.g. Romans 3:29-30). The scriptures do not mean that God is a single entity that cannot be broken down into sub-entities. But rather God is a massive assembly of exalted beings, that form a single, overall union.

The following scriptures point out that there are multiple Gods.

Deuteronomy 10

17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.

Daniel 11

36 "The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.
37 He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.
38 Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his fathers he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.

The following scriptures point out that God's angels are also God.

Exodus 3

1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
3 So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up."
4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!"
And Moses said, "Here I am."
5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."
6 Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

Judges 13

17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?"
18 He replied, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding."
19 Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched:
20 As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.
21 When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD.
22 "We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. "We have seen God!"

Further, the following scripture points out that all men and women who have faith are gods / God.

John 10

34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are gods’?

The following scripture indicates that this number is huge.

2 Esdras

4 Ezra 2

42) I, Ezra, saw on Mount Zion a great multitude, which I could not number, and they all were praising the Lord with songs.
43) In their midst was a young man of great stature, taller than any of the others, and on the head of each of them he placed a crown, but he was more exalted than they. And I was held spellbound.
44) Then I asked an angel, "Who are these, my lord?"
45) He answered and said to me, "These are they who have put off mortal clothing and have put on the immortal, and they have confessed the name of God; now they are being crowned, and receive palms."
46) Then I said to the angel, "Who is that young man who places crowns on them and puts palms in their hands?"
47) He answered and said to me, "He is the Son of God, whom they confessed in the world." So I began to praise those who had stood valiantly for the name of the Lord.
48) Then the angel said to me, "Go, tell my people how great and many are the wonders of the Lord God which you have seen."

The above scriptures indicate that the number of Gods present is very large. Other scriptures indicate that this number is even more massive. E.g. the following scripture indicates that the Holy Spirit who dwells in those who have faith, are angels.

The Gospel Of Phillip

"As for the unclean spirits, there are males among them and there are females. The males are they which unite with the souls which inhabit a female form, but the females are they which are mingled with those in a male form, through one who was disobedient. And none shall be able to escape them, since they detain him if he does not receive a male power or a female power - the bridegroom and the bride.One receives them from the mirrored bridal chamber. When the wanton women see a male sitting alone, they leap down on him and play with him and defile him. So also the lecherous men, when they see a beautiful woman sitting alone, they persuade her and comple her, wishing to defile her. But if they see the man and his wife sitting beside one another, the female cannot come into the man, nor can the male come into a woman. So if the image and the angel are united with one another, neither can any venture to go into the man or the woman."

In the above scripture, the  image is a person's soul (which is an image of the Father), and the angel is the Angel of the Holy Spirit, who is referred to (in the Bible) as the Holy Spirit living in someone. Now if angels of the Holy Spirit reside in all those who have faith; these angels are God; and the number of men and women who have faith is enormous, then you see that the number of Gods belonging to the Godhead is simply gigantic.

The above is not even a whole picture of the Godhead. There are many Gods, each having a large number of members - where each member is God. Therefore those who say that all of God (i.e. the entire Godhead) is a single entity is in error. God is a massive assembly of exalted beings, who form a harmonious union, and are hence one.