In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1 KJV).

It was a moment I never imagined I would see. Perhaps I would call it one of the great moves of God's Spirit in the history of the 20th century. It was a time when an entire nation was awakened to the realization that there is a God who rules and reigns in the affairs of human history. It was an instant in which the spirit of atheism was blown out of a nation.

That moment was the close of the Romanian revolution. On Jan. 1, 1990, I entered Romania during the closing days of the revolution. Exactly one week earlier, Nicolae Ceaucescu, the God-hating dictator of Romania, had been assassinated. Ceaucescu had persecuted Christians severely. From preschool to post-graduate university, everyone had been taught that God didn't exist. Yet, as I walked the streets of Romania in those closing days of the revolution, people would gather around me and begin to shout, "Existe Dumnezeu! Existe Dumnezeu!” (There is a God! There is a God!).

Faith erupted in the hearts of an entire nation. The country had not yet come to Christ. (That's the task of the church today.) But in one Divine moment, an entire nation was awakened to the fact that there is a God and He rules in the affairs of human history - that He is our Creator and Ruler. And that's the first step in coming to know God through faith in Christ. It's the first step to finding victory in our personal lives, our families, and our nations.

The first name used in the Scripture for God is Elohim. Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning [Elohim] created the heaven and the earth." If a person doesn't know God as Elohim, then he'll never experience victory in his life. A nation that doesn't know Elohim will never know the blessings He has in store for it.

The name "Elohim" occurs over 30 times in the first chapter of Genesis and well over 2000 times in the Old Testament. It basically means that there is one God who has created us, and He rules and reigns over all creation. This knowledge of Him as Creator and Ruler is fundamental for our victory. It's from this basic knowledge that praise and worship flow. It's that knowledge that enables us to understand our purpose and meaning in life.

The name "Elohim" contains the mystery of the Trinity. Many people have asked me where the Trinity is found in the Bible. It's found in the very first verse of the Bible. "Elohim" is a plural noun that is continually accompanied by singular adjectives and verbs. For instance, in Genesis 1:1, the word "Elohim" (God) is a plural noun, but the verb "created" is a singular verb used with singular nouns. Also, in Isaiah 45:5, the Bible says, "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me" (KJV). Notice the singular pronoun used for God. Yet, the Scriptures say, "there is no God (Elohim) beside me."

We discover the fullness of God in the first chapter of the Bible as God is called "Elohim." There we find the great mystery of "the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” - the One Creator of the universe, the One who rules and reigns on high. It's this knowledge of God, the great "Three in One," that causes us to live with great confidence. When we know "Elohim," we know the One who rules and reigns in the affairs of human history. Even more personally, we find our purpose and meaning in life.

Even as Romanians cried out in 1990, "Existe Dumnezeu! Existe Dumnezeu!" our hearts must be raised in worship to proclaim, "There is one Creator and Ruler of the universe! There is one Creator and Ruler of the universe!" And His name is Elohim.