Daily Bible Study Tips: Reader Questions Answered
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Were the three Persons of God, i.e., the Trinity, present from the beginning?
If so, who exactly is being referred to when the scripture talks about the Lord, the LORD, or God, and are these names used interchangeably?
Trinity. Yes, the three Persons of God were present from the beginning; see Genesis 1:2, “The Spirit of
God hovered over the face of the waters,” and John 1:1, 14, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … and the Word became flesh and pitched a tent among us.” Certainly the Spirit is referred to many times in the Old Testament, although it’s not clear to me that the Hebrews and Jews considered the Spirit to be a second Person. The Old Testament (OT), however, knows very little about the Son.
We worship one God in three Persons, and with 2000 years’ experience, we still sometimes find this concept a little difficult. Prior to their return from the Exile, the Jews worshipped God and about a dozen pagan gods off and on. My opinion – without any scriptural basis – is that God was having so much trouble teaching us to be monotheistic that he didn’t want to confuse us too early with three Persons, even though all three were always present.
Names. There are several Hebrew and Greek words that are translated God, G
OD, Lord,
L
ORD, Jehovah, Messiah, Christ, Spirit of the L
ORD, Spirit, and Holy Spirit. (Pay attention to the presence or absence of small caps in “Lord” and “God”; they are important.) You also see
“the L
ORD God,” “Lord G
OD,” and “Lord God.” These are all distinct in the Hebrew and Greek, so they are not completely interchangeable. Usually you can tell them apart in English if you know the trick, but I’m guessing that that’s only about 90% true and depends on what translation you are reading.
Just about any name for God in the Old Testament is referring to God the Father. God the Holy Spirit is
usually explicitly called the "Spirit of the L
ORD" in the OT. God the Son has many names
in the OT, but most are recognizable as a Person of God only if you have already read the New Testament.
The prophets speak about the Messiah or “anointed one,” but this more often refers to an anointed prophet or king than it does to the Son.
In the New Testament, God the Father is normally called God or God the Father. God the Holy Spirit is
normally called the Spirit or the Holy Spirit. God the Son again has many names, chiefly Jesus, Christ, Jesus Christ, Lord, Messiah, the Son of God, and the Son of Man.
The table below gives you a brief guide to what words are usually translated as what. Some comments amplifying
the table follow it.
Old Testament
| Hebrew |
Literal Meaning of Hebrew |
Usual OT Greek
Translation | Literal Meaning of Greek |
Usual English Translation |
| YHWH |
Actual name of God |
Kurios |
Lord, lord, master, sir |
LORD or GOD, Jehovah |
| Elohim |
God or gods |
Theos |
God, god |
God or gods |
| Adonai |
Master or Lord |
Kurios | Lord, lord, master, sir |
Lord, lord |
| Ruach |
Spirit, wind |
Pneuma |
Spirit, wind |
Spirit |
| Messiah |
Anointed one |
Christos |
Anointed one |
Anointed one, Messiah |
New Testament
| Greek
| Literal Meaning of Greek
| Usual English Translation |
| Theos |
God, god |
God, god |
| Kurios |
Lord, lord, master, sir |
Lord, lord |
| Pneuma |
Spirit, wind |
Spirit, wind |
| Christos |
Anointed one |
Christ |
YHWH is the actual name of God. No one knows exactly how to pronounce it, because for several thousand years
no one said it out loud, and originally Hebrew was written without vowels. There are vowel points in later
manuscripts that help the reader distinguish between words with the same consonants (for example, rd could be
red, read, rid, rod, reed, or even aired). When you are reading Hebrew and come to YHWH, you think and say
adonai. (This is to prevent you from blaspheming by accident.) The vowel points with YHWH in Hebrew
Bibles are the vowels for
adonai. “Jehovah” is a made-up name for God that uses the consonants YHWH
and the vowels for
adonai. When you see “Jehovah,” “L
ORD,” or “G
OD,” nearly always
the original Hebrew is YHWH and the OT Greek is
kurios, which is the translation of
adonai.
Hebrew uses the plural form for a singular entity in order to denote majesty or greatness. (Kings and queens
do this in English; it is called the “royal we.”)
Elohim is a plural form that means “gods” when the
context is talking about pagan deities and “God” when it is talking about the one true God. The Greek
theos also means either God or god, depending on the context. When you see “God,” nearly always the
Hebrew is
Elohim; and the Greek is
theos.
The Hebrew
adonai means “master” or “lord” or “Lord” or even “sir,” depending on context, and is
translated accordingly. When talking about God, it’s nearly always translated as “Lord.” The Greek version
of the OT uses the word
kurios – which also means master, lord, Lord, or sir – as a direct translation
of
adonai. So when you see “Lord,” probably the Hebrew was
adonai or the Greek was
kurios.
When
kurios is used in connection with Jesus, it’s usually translated “Lord,” even though its actual
meaning to the person who was speaking depends on context. Prior to the crucifixion, it is likely that most
people intended to address Jesus as sir, master, or lord (like an English lord). Probably the first person to
address Jesus as
kurios and really mean “Lord” was Thomas, when he said, “my Lord and my God.” That is
pretty unambiguous. In the Gospels, you should probably understand “sir” or “master” when you see someone
saying “Lord” prior to the resurrection. If a Gospel is
talking about “the Lord,” or if it is
after the resurrection or in the letters, you should understand “Lord,” because by the time the disciples and
apostles wrote the New Testament, they understood that Jesus was God the Son.
Copyright 2007, 2011 by Regina L. Hunter
Opinions expressed on this page are solely those of the
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Bible-study participants. Thanks to the
Holy Spirit for any useful ideas presented here, and thanks to all the readers
for their support and enthusiasm. All
errors are, of course, the sole responsibility of the author.
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