God manifestation

By David Bailey. Supporting article for the book Talking with God.

God manifestation is the foundation doctrine of the Bible and the purpose of God in the earth. God cannot tolerate any other powers before Him (Ex. 20:3; Isa. 44:8; Isa. 45:5,6,14,18,21,22). He desires to fill the earth with His glory (Num.14:21) or Himself (John 1:1). God desires to replicate His character in others so that ultimately, He will be all in all (1 Cor.15:28). To do this, God uses the principles of manifestation and representation.

We find the word manifestation in the New Testament. It is a translation of the Greek word phaneroo, which means reveal, show, or make plain. The expression, "God was manifest in the flesh" (1 Tim. 3:16), serves as a good example of the concept of God revealing Himself in others or representatives. If we don’t understand this concept, we will find it hard to understand parts of the Bible, and it can lead to misunderstandings and even erroneous beliefs.

God manifestation answers the issue of the “we” in Genesis 1:26. It is also often found “hidden” in English versions of the Bible, such as in Isaiah’s “I am the first (one) and the last (ones), I am he” (Isa. 41:4). It’s seen when angels spoke in the first person as if they were God Himself. It’s seen when prophets spoke, “Thus saith the LORD….” It is seen in Christ, who walked the earth as both the representative of God and as one who manifested Him to those with whom he interacted.

The titles of God particularly express the subject of manifestation and representation, and the most prolific of these is the Hebrew, Elohim.

Elohim in the Bible

Elohim is plural. It means “mighty or powerful ones”. The problem is that this plural noun is used with a singular verb. For example, in Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning Elohim (mighty ones, plural) he created (singular) the heavens and the earth”. The rules of grammar require the verb to be of the same number and gender as its nominative (the subject). Here, it is not.

The churches and lexicographers, in their perplexity, have tried to explain this plurality as the “plural of majesty”, such as the royal “we” (used in the expression, “We are not amused”, attributed to Queen Victoria). However, while God is truly majestic, this is not the intention with this seeming grammatical error. The Bible consistently uses this form of language for all plural forms of God’s titles. But, also, it attributes this plural word to individual angels, of Christ, of an idol, all of which is inappropriate to apply the “plural of majesty” principle. No, there is something greater behind this plural title. Moreover, the Bible applies the same plurality to singular entities in other titles of God, such as Shaddai (mighty ones) and Adonai (lords).

We observe that the Hebrew language assigns plurality to singular items of less importance than God. For example, in Hebrew, the word face is almost invariably plural, but usually used in a singular sense. The reason for this is helpful. A face has many expressions: a sad face, a happy face, a disgruntled face, an angry face, a tearful face, a contented face, etc. It is the same with Elohim. The many faces of the Elohim reveal God.

Elohim expresses God in manifestation through representatives. As mentioned in Chapter 15, the Bible uses Elohim of:

• angels
• men (judges)
• Christ
• God Himself

How can God Himself be described as Elohim, seeing the title often refers to angels? It’s easier to see this as a corporate body called Elohim. God is at its centre, for He is the one that is manifested in all the others, but they all represent Him.

We can view it like this:

This concept of a body with many members is scriptural (see 1 Corinthians 12).

As Brother John Thomas says in Phanerosis:

“The Mosaic and prophetic revelation concerning Deity is that there is one power, multitudinously manifested; and that these manifestations constitute god” (Phanerosis, 49).