The term Godhead is found three times in the King James Version: Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20; and Colossians 2:9. In each of the three verses, a slightly different Greek word is used, but the definition of each is the same: “deity” or “divine nature.” The word Godhead is used to refer to God’s essential nature. We’ll take a look at each of these passages and what they mean.
In Acts 17, Paul is speaking on Mars Hill to the philosophers of Athens. As he argues against idolatry, Paul says, “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” (Acts 17:29, KJV). Here, the word Godhead is the translation of the Greek theion, a word used by the Greeks to denote “God” in general, with no reference to a particular deity. Paul, speaking to Greeks, used the term in reference to the only true God.
In Romans 1, Paul begins to make the case that all humanity stands guilty before God. In verse 20 he says, “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” (KJV). Here, Godhead is theiotés. Paul’s argument is that all of creation virtually shouts the existence of God; we can “clearly” see God’s eternal power, as well as His “Godhead” in what He has made. “The heavens declare the glory of God; / the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1). The natural world makes manifest the divine nature of God.
Colossians 2:9 is one of the clearest statements of the deity of Christ anywhere in the Bible: “In him [Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” The word for “Godhead” here is theotés. According to this verse, Jesus Christ is God Incarnate. He embodies all (“the fulness”) of God (translated “the Deity” in the NIV). This truth aligns perfectly with Colossians 1:19, “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [Christ].”
Because the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ, Jesus could rightly claim that He and the Father are “one” (John 10:30). Because the fullness of God’s divine essence is present in the Son of God, Jesus could say to Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
In summary, the Godhead is the essence of the Divine Being; the Godhead is the one and only Deity. Jesus, the incarnate Godhead, entered our world and showed us exactly who God is: “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18; cf. Hebrews 1:3).
How would anyone know about such a godhead? Did they ever meet God? if so, please describe him to a world which hungers for such revelation.
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-Chi
tt’s all in the book, available to all. Surely worth your lifetime to examine its claims 😉
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Thanks for the post. The term “Godhead” has always been a poor translation and implies an incorrect indication of God’s actual Person. Yet, because many Christians insist that the KJV is the best and only proper and correct English translation, saying such often brings a strong reaction. I am glad you used the Greek words but if anything at all it will prove such Greek words existed within Holy Writ long before any English words. Thanks to Wycliffe (1382) and later Tyndale (1525-34), whose translation makes up the bulk of the later KJV (1611), we have excellent but certainly not perfect English translations. Also, the KJV was written with a decided authoritative bias which lends itself well to English terms such as “Godhead.” Later translations more correctly use the term “Divine Nature” as reflected in the original Greek.
Also, the problem that many Christians perceive the Lord Jesus as something or someone less than God is only exacerbated by the use of such terms. Do we say that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God indwelled by the Father, or do we say that God became incarnate? The Scriptures you quote and many others state very clearly that the Lord Jesus is obviously God Himself, but the fact that the Lord Jesus is also a human being has a tendency to confuse people.
Paul, in attempting to explain God’s nature or makeup—His Divine Nature—says God is not like graven images fashioned by humans (Acts 17:29), claims God’s Divine Nature is obvious (Romans 1:20), and also claims that all of God dwells in the Lord Jesus (Colossians 2:9), something the Lord Jesus also claimed in that He said the Father dwells in Him, and should illustrate clearly that the Lord Jesus must be God and not simply a lesser “divine” or a part of God.
Good study. And thanks for the visit.
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Thank you for the link..
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Godhead is an interesting term, but it is not something I had looked at before.
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