In writing to the Corinthian assembly, the apostle Paul makes a statement that to many modern day believers might sound absurd, even blasphemous. This is what he wrote: “For though there be (many) that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there be gods many, and lords many, but to us (Christians) THERE IS BUT ONE GOD, THE FATHER, of whom are all things, and we in Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him. Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge…” (See I Corinthians 8:5-7).
Even today, in the 21st Century, there is not the knowledge among many professing Christians, that there is but one supreme being,, and that is God the Father. Even Jesus conceded, “the Father is greater than I.” (See John 14:29).
The term “Godhead” is found only three times in the scriptures, and it is only the apostle Paul who uses that term. In Acts 17:29 he tells a crowd in Athens, Greece assembled on Mar’s Hill, “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.” Now notice that he is speaking of God the Father with that statement as he speaks of our being His offspring, not His brethren!
The next time Paul uses the term “Godhead” is in Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” Here Paul explains that the Jews were without excuse for rejecting the invisible Supreme Being for a golden calf and later other deities as this invisible God had made the sun they were later driven to worship. (See Ezekiel 8:15-16).
The third and final time we find the term “Godhead” in the scriptures is in Colossians 2:9. Starting with verse 8, we read: “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” All the fullness of God the Father was revealed in and through the life and character of Jesus Christ. Many have been mistaught that the term “Godhead” refers to the trinity – God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit, when the term always means the Father alone.
In Ephesians 4:4-6, we read these words: “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling, one Lord (Jesus Christ), one faith, one baptism, ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL WHO IS ABOVE ALL (including the Son), and through all, and in you all.”
Peter writes, “Jesus Christ..is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him (by none other than God the Father, the Head of all, the Most High!)” (See I Peter 3:21-22).
Christ’s Aged Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley