Study The Word
Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning God [Elohim] created the heavens and the earth. And the Spirit of God [Ruach Elohim] moved upon the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:26
And God [Elohim] said let us make [asah: fashion, design] man in our image [tselem: shape, image, figure] after our likeness [demûth: model, likeness, design]:
Have you ever pondered or questioned the plurality in Genesis 1:26 when God says, “Let us make man in our image”? This is in connection with the use of the Hebrew “Elohim,” which is plural, meaning “Gods,” and not the use of “Eloah” or “El,” which means God. If you’ve been a Christian for a while, you’ve probably heard people teach that the plurality refers to the Trinity or Triunity, meaning the plurality is “Father, Son (the Word – Jesus), and Holy Spirit.” For a very long time, I thought it was that simple but didn’t realize that it was even simpler and was written there all along.
The crux of the entire truth was revealed from the beginning, in the first line of Genesis chapter 1: “In the beginning God [Elohim] created the heavens and the earth. And the Spirit of God [Ruach Elohim]….” There it is: Elohim = Ruach Elohim. That means every time you see Elohim, it is referring to Ruach Elohim; that means this is the same personality. Elohim and Ruach Elohim are one person. That’s the first part, which very simply reveals that Elohim is the Spirit of God—Elohim is the Holy Spirit. How incredible is that? The scripture is telling you that every time you see Elohim, just know it is Ruach Elohim—the Spirit of God.
רוּח rûach Spirit אלהים ‘ĕlôhı̂ym God’s – Spirit of God’s, Spirit of God
Now, the next question would be, what is this plurality about? Because Genesis chapter 1, verse 3 says, “And God [Elohim] said, Let there be light: and there was light.” This verse is where a lot of scholars would pivot, saying, “Well, God said, that is where we get the Word; that’s Jesus, and that is what qualifies the plurality.” This is because John chapter 1, verse 1 states that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Yes, the Word was present, but He had not yet been revealed as the Word; only Ruach Elohim—the Spirit of God—was revealed. So, until Jesus shows up thousands of years later, creation is attributed only to the revelation of Ruach Elohim—the Spirit of God. Even Jesus Himself said “..God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth; for the Father seeks such to worship Him.” So Jesus saying here that God- who is also the Father is Spirit – Ruach Elohim. That is why throughout Genesis chapters one, two, and three, all you read is “Elohim” or “Ruach Elohim.” There is no revealing or revelation of the personality of the Word of God as a divine personality at creation, even though technically the Word of God was present, “in the bosom of the Father,“(John 1:18) God the Father being Ruach Elohim—the Spirit of God. Now, this isn’t a theological conundrum; it’s the glorious revelation of the nature and mystery of the Godhead and our origin and identity in Him.
And it is important for us to understand these truths so that we can also understand the true source and origin of our image and identity. Someone rightly said that you cannot know where you are going if you do not know who you are and where you came from. So, this knowledge is key in understanding our true identity, our true origin, and our true value.
Let’s deal with the plurality in question: Why is the Spirit of God revealed here as plural, which gave us the expression “let us make man in our image”? The plurality of Elohim, as revealed in the scripture and given to us by several witnesses, has to do with the understanding that God—Elohim, in His fullness—is seven Spirits. That is revealed to us in Isaiah 11:2: “And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;“. Herein lies the plurality of Elohim clearly: “…and the spirit of the Lord…. the spirit of wisdom and understanding… the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord...”, giving us seven manifestations of Ruach Elohim—the Spirit of God.
נשׁמה neshâmâh breath – breath, wind, spirit
Isaiah 11:2, the prophet Isaiah wasn’t just blessing us with mere poetic language; he was disclosing a profound revelation of the multifaceted nature of the personality of the Spirit of God—Elohim. Revelation 4:5 further reveals this, speaking of “seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” And again, in Revelation 5:6, we see the Lamb with “seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” This is the reason for the plurality of God in Genesis.
Why seven spirits? Because seven is the number or symbol signifying fullness, signifying the completeness of the Godhead. This profound understanding of Elohim as the Spirit in His glorious fullness changes everything! This is an unveiling of the very nature of the One who created us. So when He said, “…let us make“—let us who? What He was saying there is, “Let us [the Spirit of the Lord, of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge of the fear of the Lord] make man in our image and in our likeness!” Khayayayaa!
So I was made in the image of the Spirit of the Lord; I was fashioned in the image and likeness of the Spirit of wisdom; I was designed in the image and likeness of the Spirit of understanding, counsel, might, and of the fear of the Lord! “I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” in the image of Elohim.
This truth empowers us to grasp the magnificent scope of God’s wisdom, understanding, counsel, and knowledge that are at work in us through the Spirit now that we have been reunited with Ruach Elohim in Christ Jesus. Hey, when you operate in this consciousness, you tap into the very essence of Elohim, the God of all fullness!
Listen, I’m different! Ayaa! If you ever get to know or be around me, you’d know that this guy is different! Why? It’s because I’ve come to a place in my life where the grace of God raised me to understand this stuff, haha!
I am not ordinary! You can never be ordinary after God reveals to you this stuff!
I can never be put down, I can never be shamed; there’s nothing that can ever put me down in this life visible or invisible—it’s too late! I know where I come from, and I know where I’m going; I know who I am! Glory to God!!
Okay, so a profound truth we uncover in God’s Word revealing the very hand that fashioned us and breathed life into our being: we see Moses, in Genesis 1:26; 2:7, which says it is Elohim—the Spirit of God. And then the Prophet Job, who lived even before Moses and walked with God, echoes this profound revelation concerning man’s creation by Elohim—the Spirit of God. In Job 33:4, he declares, “The Spirit of God has made [asah: fashion, design] me, and the breath [neshâmâh: breath, spirit] of the Almighty [Shaddai] has given me life.” Think about this: Job, a prophet with direct communion with God, stated unequivocally that it was the Spirit of God—Elohim—who made man and breathed into him the breath of life. He said this and was given revelation of this even before Moses recorded the full account in Genesis 1 and 2.
This is the foundational truth about our origin! When we consider the first Adam, we see the Spirit of God’s work. But it doesn’t stop there, does it? The witness of the Spirit continues with the Second Adam, Jesus Christ. While only John in his Gospel and Epistle is the sole witness that tells us that the Word was in the beginning and created all things, and the Word was God—God being Elohim because the God that was revealed to us in Genesis as Elohim was the only One revealed in the beginning. The Word was not revealed, and so Jesus was not there. Many scholars do not understand this; Jesus, the Son of God was not there at the creation in Genesis. But Matthew and Luke, in alignment with Job and Moses, reveal to us that it was the Spirit of God—Elohim—who is also responsible for the conception of Jesus. Matthew 1:18 says Mary “was found with child of the Holy Ghost,” and Luke 1:35 affirms, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee…“
עשׂה ‛âśâh made – fashion, make, design
The testimony of two or three witnesses consistently points to the undeniable truth that: it is the Spirit of God—Elohim at work! Moses, Job, Matthew, Luke, and even Paul (who speaks of Jesus being “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of Holiness” in Romans 1:4) all confirm this.
When we seek to understand who created man, we can not rely on just one account. We need the record of two or three witnesses- “for at the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” Do you see the consistent thread? Moses, Job, Matthew, Luke, and Paul all bearing witness to the Spirit as the divine agent of creation, of the universe, of the first man, the second man, and of the new creation. And He will be the divine agent of the creation of the new heaven and the new earth. This multiplicity of witnesses establishes the truth beyond doubt: it is the Spirit of God—Elohim—who creates, makes, forms, breathes life, and quickens! Moses, in Genesis 1:1, speaks of Elohim—the Spirit of God [Ruach Elohim]—moving and creating. Then, we have the powerful witness of Job, who lived even earlier, stating clearly in Job 33:4 that “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life.” That’s already two witnesses, perfectly aligning! But God gave us more;
over and above that, Matthew and Luke reveal to us who Jesus’s Father was—the Holy Spirit—Ruach Elohim. And when He is raised from the dead, who comes to raise Jesus from the dead? It is Him again—His Father—the Spirit of God—Ruach Elohim.
Paul, the apostle by revelation, in Romans 1:3-4 reveals that Jesus Christ “is declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” A divine act empowered and carried out by the same Spirit—Ruach Elohim. Romans 6:4 reinforces this: “…that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father...” Who is this “glory of the Father“? It is the same Spirit of God—Ruach Elohim. And critically, Romans 8:11 proclaims, “if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you…” Do you see this? Now I could go on and on but I’m sure you understand this now. The Spirit, the very same Ruach Elohim who moved over the waters in Genesis 1:2, is the one who created man in His own image and likeness in Genesis 1:26, went on and fashioned and designed him in Genesis 2:7, and is the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead!
צלם tselem image – shape, image, figure, form
In Christ, we now bear the completeness of His image and likeness. This is our present-day reality in Christ Jesus! Born of the Word of God, we are fashioned and designed in the image and likeness of the Spirit of God—Ruach Elohim! Never forget this! That same resurrection power, this quickening Spirit, Ruach Elohim, dwells in you! Think about the ramifications: the same power that defied death and conquered the grave is resident within your spirit! You were made in His image and in His likeness; that is why He can come, fill you, and live inside you—that is why it is possible, if you ever wondered why or how! This means that sickness, weakness, and limitations have no dominion over you when you consciously align with your true identity and are in touch with your roots, your origin, which is imbued with the Spirit’s power, the power of Ruach Elohim.
Renew your mind; do it today. Don’t see yourself as you did before now. Make the change in your mind today and start living in the consciousness of your true identity, your true image. You are born of the Word of God, made, fashioned, and designed in the image of the Spirit of God—Ruach Elohim. This is a revelation that grounds us in our divine design. We are not accidental; we are the intentional, Spirit-breathed, Elohim image-bearing creations of God. What an incredible, unshakeable, eternal truth and identity to anchor your existence on! There is no higher knowledge of self than this. Nothing can ever make me see myself as less than this.
Pray The Word
Heavenly Father, thank You for fashioning me and making me in Your image and in Your likeness. Thank You Father for the grace to assume the fulness of my identity through this knowledge from today. Thank You Father, for the light of the knowledge of my true identity and origin from You in Jesus’ name, amen.
Speak The Word
I am fearfully and wonderfully made by the Spirit of God, the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of counsel, the Spirit of might, knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. I am a bearer of the image of God! I am fashioned and designed to look like Him, be like Him and function like Him. I live and walk in this consciousness of my identity and my origin, in the name of Jesus!