Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. ~Genesis 1:26-27
It’s interesting that God created man in His image. He could have made man any way He wanted, but He made us like Him. That means we were not created as an animal or micro-organism, but as people that have His characteristics in appearance and personality. Also of note is that when God was first creating things, He made the Holy Spirit, and they made Jesus (YHWH). THEN everything was created through Yahweh, the Son of God, because God was giving Jesus dominion from the beginning even though the man of Jesus would not be born in human form for thousands of years.
All things through Him were made, and without Him, nothing was made that was made. ~John 1:3
God has numerous facets to His person. You could say His personality is limitless, of course, and man over millenia have given Him names based on their experiences with Him. I was going to make an exhaustive list but found others have done it far better than I would have, so I linked it here.
The most important things to know about God’s names are that He begins existence as we know it, and He is Infinite in personality, and both of these facts about Him are illustrated in His very name. To begin with, His name starts with the first letter of the alphabet because He is the First. His Hebrew name is ALHYM. Most translate this as ‘Elohim’ but I prefer the original Hebrew lettering because A is not only silent (as He is) but it is obviously understood as the beginning, because A is the first letter of our alphabet. Even more interestingly, ALHYM is also plural in and of itself, because anytime Hebrew shows the YM at the end of words, it’s a tip-off that it is plural, or means more than one, otherwise, the M is left off. So in the very first words of the bible God is telling us He is first and He is plural. He is the OG of multiple personalities, but in Him it is not pathological. He is all things to all men, just as we are called to be.
בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית Bereshith (In the beginning) בָּרָ֣א Bara’ (created) אֱלֹהִ֑ים ALHYM (God Almighty) ~Genesis 1:1
These are the FIRST THREE WORDS in the bible. Note that God is plural before He created the Holy Spirit or Yahweh, which make up the Holy Trinity.
Father God’s names mean:
Creator, Strongman, Sovereign, Mighty, Everlasting, Seer, Father, Knower, Ancient One
Yahweh/Jesus’ name is I AM THAT I AM, or simply I AM. It is not plural.
His names mean:
Creator, Life Giver, Sanctifier, Forgiver, Shepherd, Friend, Family, HEALER, Righteous One, Provider, Protector, King, Peace Giver, Lord, Judge
Then we come to the final person of the Trinity: The Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit in Hebrew is ruach: Spirit, wind, breath Original Word: רוּחַ
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine Definition: Spirit, wind, breath
Meaning: wind, breath, exhalation, life, anger, unsubstantiality, a region of the sky, spirit
And in Greek is pneuma: Spirit, wind, breath Original Word: πνεῦμα Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter AND paraklétos (male): Advocate, Helper, Comforter, Counselor
It is usually attached to one of God’s names or Jesus’ names in the bible, as a force given to help man. As I have related before, I believe this is a feminine Spirit, but perhaps it also has male attributes due to its parakletos nature. The Holy Spirit acts like a glue or invisible cord to connect God and His Son to man, primarily to comfort, but also to heal, prophecy, and to bring justice when needed. The Holy Spirit is arguably the most ambiguous of the Trinity. It’s ethereal, effervescent, but also grounded in that it comes down from heaven and can be everywhere at the will of God. It is invisible and points to God the Father and the Son, who are more tangible.
I cannot help but notice that this is how women are. God has imbued women with the ability to be helpers to their men. And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” ~Genesis 2:18. Men who pass this up are making a grave mistake in that they are overlooking a pearl of great value available to them. This is not to say that every wife will have the power of the Holy Spirit, but that as created in His image, women are given gifts that men are not privy to and probably cannot even understand.
Finally, all of us are called to be all things to all men:
For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you. ~1 Corinthians 9:19-23
Just as God was All things to us first. ❤
~Song of Mary~ 