Yahweh’s evolution into an all-embracing ruler god for Canaan was one of the initial breakthroughs to new concepts of deity.
He took this as an initial step toward monotheism.
Table of Contents
God the Father
The Bible depicts God as Father; Jesus Christ himself called Him Father. Anyone who comes to faith in Christ experiences Him as their spiritual father-son relationship grows stronger over time, becoming part of this intimate family of faith through baptism and receiving Jesus as their savior. According to Scripture, all living creatures day and night “never cease saying: ‘Holy, Holy, Holy Is The Lord Of Lords Who Has Been And Is To Come! ‘” (Revelation 4:15).
Many people believe that when Isaiah addressed God as “Father,” he meant only that He created Israel. While this may have been part of what Isaiah meant by this term, the New Testament shows otherwise – showing instead how all three members share one unified identity and relationship between themselves.
Isaiah saw God as far more than simply Israel’s Creator; thus Jesus could be considered an embodiment of this divine concept.
Additionally, the New Testament quotes Old Testament passages which call God “Father”. According to this explanation provided by NT writers, when these passages call God Father it does not refer to Jesus’ mother or father but rather his divine nature as one who shares that divine quality with both. Jesus therefore shares this divine essence with both – meaning He shares in its power just like Him! Hence NT writers were able to refer to Jesus as Being Father without violating monotheism – when speaking about “Father”, they were not talking about someone separate and distinct from Him! This enabled NT writers who could refer to Him as Being Father without violating monotheism. When speaking of “Father”, they did not refer to someone separate and distinct from their Son but rather someone with the same divine nature – therefore not breaking monotheism rules!
God the Son
Jesus alone was mentioned as God in the Bible; all other references are directed at his Father when using the term. If one subscribes to Trinity doctrine, however, then Jesus could be considered one of three co-equal beings with equal natures and powers – this would conflict with biblical monotheism.
Jesus consistently upheld the monotheism of his Jewish heritage during his ministry, endorsing the Shema, which begins with “Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God; Yahweh alone.” When asked which commandment was most important he quoted Deuteronomy 6:4-5 while when asked which was second he quoted Deuteronomy 11:13 which states: ‘Love the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.” Jesus understood that using “yahweh” himself could cause confusion among his listeners between himself and Old Testament figures like Yahweh mentioned throughout Scriptures.
Jesus clearly demonstrated this unity when he mentioned his Father in John 17’s Prayer of Renunciation and stated “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Jesus played an essential part in God’s plan for salvation as He sent Jesus down from Heaven to save humanity from Satan and take back what had been taken from Eden by coming down on clouds with angels or flashing lightning bolts – thus necessitating human sacrifice which He accomplished on our behalf through Jesus.
Another key point to keep in mind is that the Son shares the name YHWH with both Father and Holy Spirit, leading many scholars to refer to him as the YHWH of Old Testament, hence where this phrase originates from. No new name has been created here; rather it comes from trinitarian doctrine which asserts there are three distinct persons with divine nature who all possess this name YHWH; therefore each can be identified individually with this divine aspect as Father/Son/Holy Spirit can share one name but still uses this name YHWH for each.
God the Holy Spirit
The Bible speaks of three Persons that comprise God: He is Father, Jesus is Son, and Holy Spirit. These three individuals can all be addressed as “God”, yet are distinct in relation to one another in personal terms. Yet all three share one essence – in other words if you remove one of these people from the Trinity you no longer have God!
The Holy Spirit is a person, worthy of love, worship, and communication (Neh 9:20; Acts 13:2; Romans 8:26). He creates, displays omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence – qualities that establish Him as being co-equal with both Father and Son and co-eternal with both. Additionally, He shows willfulness and discretion; loves, testifies, teaches and prays – possessing all characteristics which make up an individual (John 16:13).
Old Testament Scripture repeatedly references Yahweh as God and this number alone serves as an astonishing demonstration that He alone is our Creator and Lord. On average, its presence can be found six or more times on any given page in Old Testament texts and provides overwhelming proof that Yahweh is truly our Lord and Creator.
Jesus made clear when He arrived that Father and Son are one in purpose while He sent helper Holy Spirit as helper. At Jesus baptism, all three members of the Trinity came together, with Father speaking from heaven while Son spoke from water and Holy Spirit descending like dove on him – this being an illustration that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share one purpose while remaining distinct entities.
As difficult as it may be to comprehend, understanding the Trinity as three separate people is impossible. All three Persons share characteristics associated with God, yet are only truly understandable when seen from a trinitarian angle. When discussing Yahweh God it is vital that we appreciate him as part of an inter-trinitarian reality as that is how He was revealed in scripture.
God the Baals
Baal was a fertility deity venerated throughout Canaan and Phoenicia as the supreme deity. His worship then crept into Israel and Judah during Ahab and Jezebel’s reigns when their priestesses conducted rituals honoring Baal and its associated goddesses Asherah and Astarte cults; these goddesses provided spiritual protection against natural disasters like drought. Baal also reigned supreme over agriculture and weather–two aspects essential to human survival — making him an essential deity.
He was considered the god of love, war, fertility and sexuality. Israelites practiced syncretism combining worship of Baal with Yahweh; prophets frequently condemned such idolatry while warning against Baal’s fertility rites as dangerous forms of idolatry.
Biblical narratives about Baal’s encounters with rival deities on Mount Carmel depict this battle between traditional polytheism and emerging monotheism. The events take on similar tones to those described in Babylonian Enuma Elish, which chronicled a great battle among gods to determine the fate of creation; Marduk triumphed over chaos god Tiamat, depicted as primeval ocean or deep, who split herself apart to form sky, sun moon earth spheres.
Baal’s main flaws for worship were his desire for women and inability to sustain rain; nevertheless he was revered as a god of warfare as well. Reminiscent of Zeus and Indra in appearance and behavior; similarly haughty and arrogant when it came to his palace and banquets – often complaining about them and grumbling when visitors arrived for celebrations or banquets at his palace; Baal also engaged in sexual encounters with animals which may explain his sometimes being called the “Calf God.”
Baal, in one encounter with sea god Yamm, advised Koshar to construct a window through which he could hear its raging waters. Later he dispatched messengers to Mot’s infernal filthy home; Mot was the god of drought, sterility and death who was not easily overcome by Baal; similarly Jesus used Satan as an allegory for spiritual adultery as He called Satan “Beelzebub”, emphasizing this link between Baal worshippers and demons (1 Corinthians 10:20).
