Response to “Even the Demons (Part 1): Do Other Gods Exist?”

Originally posted on jonmoffit.com. Read Dr. Grumbles' original article here.

First, I want to thank Dr. Drew Grumbles for his kind tone, clarity, and willingness to engage publicly and carefully with the claims I’ve made about the existence of other "gods." I truly appreciate his effort to approach a sensitive topic with pastoral concern and theological care.

We actually agree on quite a bit:

• There is one true, living, uncreated God—Yahweh—who alone is to be worshiped.

• The church has often downplayed the reality of spiritual beings and warfare in Scripture.

• The “gods” behind pagan idols are not fiction—they’re real spiritual beings who deceive and enslave.

• Belief in a divine council or spiritual assembly in heaven is not a departure from confessional Reformed orthodoxy.

Where We Differ

Our main disagreement centers around the word god. In the article, Drew argues that demons and angels are only “so-called gods”—not “properly” gods. He compares this to how God is said to have an “arm,” though we know that’s metaphorical.

But here’s where I think the issue needs more clarity: You seem to assume a single, universally agreed-upon definition of the word god, but it’s not clear where that definition comes from. Is it philosophical? Systematic? Is it drawn from how the Bible uses the word elohim?

I’ve written several articles exploring how the Bible uses elohim. It doesn’t mean “deity” in the way we might think. It refers to spiritual beings who dwell in the unseen realm. Yahweh is unique among the elohim—not because He’s the only one who exists, but because He’s the only uncreated, sovereign, Most High God.

If Paul can call Satan the “god of this world” (2 Cor 4:4), and if Psalm 82 shows God judging other elohim, we shouldn’t be afraid to say what Scripture says: these beings are real. They’re not equal to Yahweh, they’re not divine by nature, but they are real spiritual entities that Scripture refers to as gods.

Why It Matters

This isn’t about semantics—it’s about seeing the full picture of Scripture. The biblical authors wrote with a supernatural worldview. When we flatten or redefine their terms to fit our modern assumptions, we risk missing the spiritual drama unfolding across the pages of Scripture.

The first commandment—“You shall have no other gods before me”—only makes sense if there were other spiritual beings competing for worship. The point isn’t that they were imaginary. The point is that they are not Yahweh.

One Honest Question

Drew, in your article you use the term god quite a bit but don’t define it. Will you be offering a definition in the coming articles? And if so, will it come from the way Scripture uses the word elohim, or from somewhere else?

I genuinely look forward to how you’ll unpack this in future installments. Thank you again for the respectful engagement and the opportunity to keep digging into the text together. I also encourage readers to check out Doug Van Dorn’s response to your article, where he helps explain the historical and biblical usage of the word god in both Hebrew and Greek. His article is titled “Gods vs. God: Unmasking the Semantic Showdown in Biblical Monotheism.”