Does the Bible teach there are other gods?
No. The Bible is frank that other beings are called elohim (gods) in Scripture, but it never presents any of them as rivals to Yahweh: they are creatures or representatives, never creators, never almighty, and never to be worshipped. Worship belongs to Yahweh alone, because there is no one else.
This question arose from studying What does it mean that God is one?.
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What the Scripture says
God's own claim leaves no room for rivals
The Bible's strongest statements come from God Himself: 'Yahweh himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. There is no one else.' He says it through Isaiah again and again: 'I am Yahweh, and there is no one else. Besides me, there is no God,' and 'Is there a God besides me? Indeed, there is not. I don't know any other Rock.' Whatever else Scripture may call elohim, it insists none of them is God in this sense.
It was shown to you so that you might know that Yahweh is God. There is no one else besides him.
Know therefore this day, and lay it to your heart, that Yahweh himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. There is no one else.
I am Yahweh, and there is no one else. Besides me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not known me;
This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.
Don’t fear, neither be afraid. Haven’t I declared it to you long ago, and shown it? You are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? Indeed, there is not. I don’t know any other Rock.”
Elohim is a title of office, not only a name
The Hebrew word elohim describes power and office as much as identity. God tells Moses, 'I have made you as God to Pharaoh': Moses bears divine authority without being divine. The same word appears for Israel's judges at the gates, who represented God's own judgment when theft cases came before them. Being called elohim means standing in God's seat of authority, not sharing God's nature.
Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I have made you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
then his master shall bring him to God, and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him for ever.
If the thief isn’t found, then the master of the house shall come near to God, to find out if he hasn’t put his hand to his neighbor’s goods.
The 'gods' of Psalm 82 are judged, not worshipped
'God presides in the great assembly. He judges among the gods.' However we read these figures, human rulers or spiritual powers, the psalm's plot line is decisive: they judge unjustly, God stands up in their midst, and He sentences them: 'you shall die like men.' They are creatures under judgment. No one worships them; no one prays to them; their end is death.
God presides in the great assembly. He judges among the gods.
“How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?” Selah.
I said, “You are gods, all of you are sons of the Most High. Nevertheless you shall die like men, and fall like one of the rulers.”
So-called gods are nothing to fear and nothing to worship
Paul, writing to a city full of cults, says there are 'many "gods" and many "lords"', and then immediately adds: 'no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other God but one.' Jesus quotes the Shema's command with approval: worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only. The Bible can name the powers people worshipped precisely in order to strip them of worship.
Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For though there are things that are called “gods”, whether in the heavens or on earth; as there are many “gods” and many “lords”; yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.
Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me,Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’”
You shall fear Yahweh your God; you shall serve him; and you shall cling to him, and you shall swear by his name.
One Almighty, and His Son shares His nature
The picture Scripture gives is not a committee of gods with one chairman. It is one Creator, without equal or competitor, who has revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That is why the New Testament can heap divine titles on Jesus without ever counting a second god: the Son creates all things and is worshipped by angels, because He is the one God's own Word made flesh.
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is no one else; I am God, and there is none like me;
has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.
For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
As you read, you may wonder…
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Who are the 'gods' (elohim) of Psalm 82?→“God presides in the great assembly. He judges among the gods.”If Jesus is the 'firstborn of all creation,' was He created?→“who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.”Do I need a priest to reach God?→“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”What does Scripture show us about Mary?→“Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord. My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,”Does it matter which Jesus I believe in?→“But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed.”Which modern portraits of Jesus preach another Jesus?→“He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?””How does Jesus becoming man show us the Father's love?→“For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”What does it mean that Jesus is the Lion of Judah?→“One of the elders said to me, “Don’t weep. Behold, the Lion who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome; he who opens the book and its seven seals.” I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.”Explore further
Why did Israel keep drifting into idolatry?→The Land & the Throne trail“He received what they handed him, and fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molten calf; and they said, “These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.””Hold onto these
Verses to meditate on
It was shown to you so that you might know that Yahweh is God. There is no one else besides him.
I am Yahweh, and there is no one else. Besides me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not known me;
God presides in the great assembly. He judges among the gods.
Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For though there are things that are called “gods”, whether in the heavens or on earth; as there are many “gods” and many “lords”; yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.
Don’t fear, neither be afraid. Haven’t I declared it to you long ago, and shown it? You are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? Indeed, there is not. I don’t know any other Rock.”
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