god vs higher-up

god and higher-up both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
god	Yes	No	No	No
higher-up	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, higher-up is a hypernym of god; that is, higher-up is a word with a broader meaning than god:

god: a man of such superior qualities that he seems like a deity to other people
higher-up: one of greater rank or station or quality

Other hypernyms of god include superior, superordinate.

god (noun)	higher-up (noun)
a material effigy that is worshipped	one of greater rank or station or quality
any supernatural being worshipped as controlling some part of the world or some aspect of life or who is the personification of a force
a man of such superior qualities that he seems like a deity to other people