"God consists of three distinct eternal Persons, or centers of consciousness. They are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. All three are a tri-unity, working together to accomplish the divine design and purpose in the universe. The fact that one God exists in three Persons is known as the doctrine of the Trinity. These three Persons are co-equal and co-eternal. They are also distinguishable or distinct from one another." {1}
God created everything out of nothing. “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” (Genesis 1:1-3). In the first three verses in the Bible, we see the plurality of God with the three Persons of God: God the Father, God the Son (also known as the Word), and God the Holy Spirit.
Although not fully revealed in Genesis 1:3, when God (the Word) said, "Let there be light," it is as the third Person of the Trinity. God, the Word, uttered these four words, and there was light. God then divided the light from the darkness, and the first day of creation began. During the six days of creation, when you see the words "And God said" (10 times in Genesis 1:3,6,9,11,14,20,24,26, 28,29), it refers to the second Person of the Godhead, the Word/Son, speaking the heavens, the earth, and the earth's inhabitants into existence.
"God" (or Gods) is the English translation of the Hebrew word "Elohim." Elohim is a plural noun, but it is almost always used with a singular verb, as in the first verse of Genesis 1, with "bara" (created) as the singular verb. The conclusion to be drawn is that, in some sense, "God" is both singular and plural. According to Deuteronomy 6:4, He is one. "The LORD (Yahweh) our God (Elohim) is one LORD (Yahweh)." Jesus reiterates this truth in Mark 12:29 when he quotes Deut. 6:4 and says this is the first of all the commandments. Yes, Elohim is one God but consists of three Persons.
“The word 'Jehovah' is based on the Hebrew term for the God of the Hebrews, YHWH or Yahweh. It is usually rendered in English Bibles as LORD. Many conservative theologians recognize that the name Jehovah or LORD typically applies to the Triune God collectively. But it also, in many cases, refers to the individual Persons of the Trinity, including Christ.” Christ is the second Person of the Trinity and is God, as are the other two Persons of the Trinity, the Father and the Holy Spirit. {2}
"In Scripture, we find what is known as the "progress of doctrine." This means that God did not say everything He wanted to say about a topic in one passage, or in the entire Old Testament for that matter. This is especially true with respect to the doctrine of the Trinity. The Trinity doctrine is revealed progressively throughout Scripture. While the truths of the Trinity are found in the Old Testament, it is only in the New Testament that we find the doctrine more fully revealed." {3}
In John 1, we see the rest of the creation story and the full revelation of the Trinity doctrine. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1-3). In these first three verses in the Book of John, we see the second Person of Elohim, who was involved in the creation of the universe. He is called the Word.
THE SINGULARITY AND PLURALITY OF ELOHIM
We see the plurality of the word "God (Elohim)" by the use of the plural pronouns "us" and "our" in Genesis 1:26, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." In reference to God, the plural pronoun "us" is also used in Genesis 3:22, Genesis 11:7, and Isaiah 6:8.
In Isaiah 6, Isaiah was called to be a prophet. On this day, Isaiah saw in a vision the glory of the King, the LORD of hosts. Isaiah thought he would die because of what he saw. "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts: (Isaiah 6:5). In Isaiah 6:8, "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" the LORD (Yahweh) uses the singular and the plural to refer to Himself. He says, "I, then He says, "us."
The conclusion is that these scriptures in the Old Testament foreshadow the doctrine of the Trinity, further revealed in the New Testament. One of the early Church fathers once said, "The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the N.T. Is the O.T. revealed." It is estimated that there are approximately 937 Scripture citations from the Old Testament found in the New Testament. See 937 Scripture Citations From The Old Testament, Found In The New Testament – Robert Clifton Robinson.
Some scholars say using plural nouns and pronouns of speech by the LORD is a "plural of majesty." The idea behind this is that a king or monarch speaks of himself in the plural. However, nowhere in the Old Testament do we witness a king speaking in this manner when referring to himself. Also, two other Hebrew names for God, "El" and "Eloah," are singular Hebrew words. When God the Holy Spirit, influenced the authors of the Bible to accentuate the oneness of God, the word El or Eloah was to be used. Likewise, the word Elohim was to be used when speaking of the plurality or tri-unity of God.
If God the Holy Spirit had wanted Moses (in the creation account and elsewhere) to use the singular words for God, He would have influenced him to do so. El is used 245 times, Eloah is used 57 times, and Elohim is used 2,606 times in the Old Testament. The plural "Elohim" is by far the most favored way to say God in the Tanakh.
An example in the Old Testament of both the singular "El" and the plural "Elohim" used together in a single verse is Genesis 35:11. "And God (Elohim) said to him, I am the Almighty God (El): be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee; and kings shall come out of thy loins." Five verses in the O.T. use the exact phrase "Almighty God," with the Hebrew word "El" for God. Also, two verses in the O.T. use the exact phrase "God Almighty," with the Hebrew word "El" for God. In these seven verses in the O.T., it wouldn't make much sense to use the plural Hebrew word "Elohim" with this phrase as it would read "Almighty Gods," as more than one God.
There are 37 times (verses) in the Bible where the English words "God" and "Almighty" are used together in the same verse (but not necessarily the exact phrase of "God Almighty" or "Almighty God"), which I find interesting. See below.
THE WORD
"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth" (Psalm 33:6).
"For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water" (2 Peter 3:5).
The Word is the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Godhead. John reveals Him fully in John 1:1-18. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not" (John 1:1-5).
Some scholars believe verse 1 of John 1 actually refers to pre-creation (and possibly when the angels were created), and verse 2 refers to the creation account of Genesis 1; otherwise, the two sentences appear repetitive. If this is true, the term "in the beginning" of John 1:1 here equals "before the world" or "before the foundation of the world," as in John 17:5, John 17:24, and Ephesians 1:4.
In Colossians 1:13-20, Paul speaks of the Word or Son of God. "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell" (Colossians 1:15-19).
The Son (or Word) was there even before the Creation account in Genesis 1. Colossians 1:16 says that He created the angels. In the Greek, the word for firstborn is “prōtotokos." Firstborn – from protos, meaning “first,” and tikto, meaning “to beget” – is used in His relationship to the Father, expressing His preeminence over creation, not in the sense of being the “first” to be born. In the Jewish culture, the firstborn usually had preeminence over the other siblings and inherited the bulk of the wealth of the patriarch after his death. Jesus was also the "firstborn" from the dead to be resurrected back to eternal life. This occurred on the third of the seven Feasts of the Lord, "Firstfruits."
Jeremiah 10:12 ties in with Genesis 1:1 (and John 1:3) in that it states that God established the world by His wisdom and power. “But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding He has stretched out the heavens" (Jeremiah 10:10-12). 1 Corinthians 1:24 says, "But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." In this verse, Christ is called the power of God and the wisdom of God.
“The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens” (Proverbs 3:19). The four-letter Hebrew word (transliteration) for wisdom, hakma, has a gematria of 5 + 40 + 20 + 8 = 73, and the place value of 5 + 13 +11 + 8 = 37. The seven Hebrew words in Genesis 1:1 have a gematria value of 2701. 2701 only has two factors or divisors (besides 1 and 2701), 37 and 73 (2701 = 73 x 37). 2701 is the 73rd triangular and the 37th hexagonal number. 37 is the 12th prime number and 73 is the 21st (or 3 x 7) prime number.
Isaiah 9:6 says, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God (El), The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." The five names given to the Son (Jesus) in Isaiah 9:6 add up in the Hebrew gematria to 1492, which is 4 x 373 (373 is the 74th prime number, aka perfect number). 74 = 37 + 37. The Greek word "λόγος," in the Greek Isopsephy system, transliterates to "logos" and is translated into English as "Word." The isopsephy value for λόγος is 373. For more information, see I AM, the Great Mathematician.
Proverbs 8 is called "The Excellence of Wisdom." Divine Wisdom reveals the Father. Divine Wisdom is the Son (or Word), the image and only begotten of the Father. "Jesus Christ is the one speaking in Proverbs 8. In the early verses, much of what is being said can apply to wisdom, but by the time you get to verse 22, there’s no longer any doubt that this chapter refers to the pre-incarnate Christ (the Word).
Proverbs 8:22-30 tells of the Lord’s existence before the Creation and then His participation in the event, which is confirmed in Micah 5:2 and John 1:1-2. Wisdom did not create the world and could neither have observed it nor rejoiced over it. Nor does wisdom bring life as belief in the Lord does, or the lack of it brings death as it does to those who hate the Lord. (Prov 8:35-36). Wisdom was never born, but long before the foundation of Earth was laid, Jesus agreed to be born as a man to die for the people's sins (1 Peter 1:18-20)." {4}
The end of Proverb 8 says, "Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whosoever finds me finds life and shall obtain favor of the Lord. But he that sins against me wrongs his own soul: all they that hate me love death" (Proverbs 8:34-36). Now, compare this verse to John 3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
Hebrews 13:8 says, "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever." The divine nature of Christ remains unchanged and is, therefore, immutable. The Word, the Son of God, the Son of Man, and Jesus Christ are all names for the second Person of Elohim.
OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT TRINITY SCRIPTURES
One of the most evident Old Testament scriptures of the Trinity is in Isaiah 48:16-17. "Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me. Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God (Elohim) which teaches thee to profit, which leads thee by the way that thou shouldest go." In verse 16, God the Son is speaking. He identifies the two other Persons of the Godhead, the Father (Lord/Adonai God) and the Holy Spirit, as the Persons who sent Him.
The Father is the One who sends the other members of the Godhead (as well as His messengers/angels) to the Earth to fulfill His will. However, in this case, it is both the Father and the Spirit who sends the Son. In verse 17, the Son clearly calls Himself "the LORD (Yahweh) thy Redeemer." When the word "Redeemer" is used (depending on the context), it usually refers to Jesus, the Son. He then says He is the LORD (Yahweh) thy God (Elohim).
In the NKJV translation, the sub-heading of Psalm 45 is called "The Glories of the Messiah and His Bride." Verses 2-5 make it abundantly clear that the King (of verse 1) refers to the Messiah. In verses 6-7, it is evident that this king is God Himself. "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: the scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter. Thou love righteousness, and hate wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows" (Psalm 45:6-7). Notice in the first verse how the Father calls the Son “God.” Then, in the next verse, the Father says He is the Son’s “God.” They are both God (Elohim), the first and second Persons of the Godhead.
Hebrews 1 discusses God's (the Father) revelation concerning His Son. It is obvious the Son is Jesus Christ. "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1:1-3). The Majesty on high is the Father.
Hebrews 1:4-7 reveals how the Son is greater than the angels and how they are to worship the Son. God would never allow the angels to worship anyone but Him. Hebrews 1:8-9 quotes directly from Psalm 45:6-7 regarding the Son being God and the Father being the Son's God. Hebrews 1:10 declares the Son's work at creation, "And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands."
Two of the members of the Godhead, the Father and the Son, are mentioned in 1 John 5. "And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life" (1 John 5:20). The first "him that is true" refers to the Father. The second one is the Son Jesus Christ. The true God is the Father and Son (and the Holy Spirit).
At the baptism of Jesus, we see all three Persons of the Trinity. "When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). The voice from heaven was, of course, the heavenly Father. Jesus is the Son of God, the second Person of the Holy Trinity.
The Trinity doctrine is plainly spelled out in Matthew 28:18-19, when the resurrected Jesus tells the eleven apostles, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
VISIONS OF GOD
The pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, the Word, used many approaches to send his messages to people in Old Testament times. “He spoke to Isaiah in visions, to Jacob and Daniel in dreams, and to Abraham and Moses personally (in a theophany as the Angel/Messenger of the Lord).
Scripture says that no man has seen God at any time (and live), as mentioned in Exodus 33:20, John 1:18, 6:46, 4:12. These verses refer to the Shekinah Glory of the Father and/or the Word. The only possible way to see the Glory of God is if His appearance is hidden by dark clouds, smoke, and fire or if it occurs in a dream or vision.
It was the second Person (the Son or Word) of Elohim, in His Shekinah glory, who came down Mt. Sinai in fire, smoke, thunder, lightning, and clouds, as recorded in Exodus 19:16-20. Nobody, including Moses, saw Him clearly as he was obscured from their sight. In Exodus 33:18, Moses asks to see the LORD's glory. And He said, "I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen" (Exodus 33:19-20).
Several times, men saw the Glory of the LORD in a vision or dream, like in Ezekiel 1."And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard the voice of one that spoke" Ezekiel 1:26-28.
Daniel had a vision of God the Father. "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened" (Daniel 7:9-10). The Ancient of days refers to God the Father.
Daniel also saw God the Son. "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:13-14). The Son of man refers to God the Son.
The Son of man is not explicitly described in Daniel 7:13-14. However, He is in Revelation 1. "And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters" (Revelation 1:13-15).
The descriptions of the Father and Son sound similar, don't they? In the New Testament, Jesus said, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30), and "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, Show us the Father?” (John 14:9).
John's vision of Christ in Revelation 1 continues, "And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death" (Revelation 1:16-18).
Four times in Revelation (Rev. 1:11,17; 2:8; 22:13) is the term "I am the first and the last" used. This term is also used three times in the Old Testament, all in Isaiah (Isaiah 41:4, 44:6, 48:12). Isaiah 44:6 says, “For the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts says this, ‘I am the First and I am the Last; And there is no God besides Me." (AMP translation). This verse says the LORD (Yahweh) is Israel's king and redeemer, and He is God (the only God).
Revelation 2:8 (and Rev. 1:18) identifies precisely who this "First and Last" is, “Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life." The only Lord who was dead and came back to life was Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity.
In tandem with "the first and the last" is the term "I am Alpha and Omega." It is used 4 times in the New Testament (Revelation 1:8,11; 21:6; 22:13). "And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son" (Revelation 21;6-7).
Who was it that spoke of the water of life? It was Jesus when he was speaking to the Samaritan woman. "If thou knew the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou would have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. But whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:10-14).
During the Feast of Tabernacles, before Jesus' death, Jesus spoke of rivers of living water (the Holy Spirit) flowing out of believer's bellies (John 7:37-38). These verses in the Old and New Testament prove that Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the one who was dead and came back to life, is the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, and He is God.
In John 12, John speaks of Isaiah's encounter with the LORD (Yahweh). "These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spoke of him" (John 12:41). The timing of John 12 is on Palm Sunday when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey as King of the Jews but was rejected as such because the people feared the Pharisees would put them out of the synagogue. Scripture tells us no man has seen God at any time. "No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him" (John 1:18). The Son (Jesus Christ) is the express image of His Person (Hebrews 1:3). The King that Isaiah saw (in a vision) in Isaiah 6:5 was of the pre-incarnate Jesus, the Word, who was in the beginning with God, and was/is God.
John had the ultimate prophetic vision of Jesus Christ in His glorious Shekinah glory, as the Word, when He will return to the Earth to defeat His enemies and establish His millennial kingdom. "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords"(Revelation 19:11-16).
THEOPHANIES OF GOD
As no man has seen God at any time (and live), in the O.T. it was sometimes necessary for God to manifest Himself to human beings in a visible form, individually or collectively. This is called a theophany. The word theophany comes from the Greek words “theos” (God) and “phaneia” (to appear). God usually makes his presence known to man as a man Himself, or sometimes even as an angel.
The Word, the pre-incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ, made many physical appearances in the Old Testament. Theophanies do not include visions (or dreams) of God or metaphors involving God but actual temporary appearances of God as a human being. However, in the New Testament, God appears not as a temporary human being but as one entirely permanent in the God-man, Jesus Christ.
One example of a theophany is found in Exodus 24. In Exodus 24, it says Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 elders of Israel went up the mountain, and they saw God. "And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink" (Exodus 24:9-11).
These 74 men experienced a "Christophany." A Christophany is a particular kind of theophany that includes a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ in human form. It does not include visions or dreams of God or metaphors involving God, but actual temporary appearances of God in the form of a human being. In the Old Testament, Christ appeared to humans in His pre-incarnate state. I believe this appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ was something more than just as a normal human being (per "as it were the body of heaven in his clearness"), but it wasn't as God (the Word) in His Shekinah Glory.
We will discuss the many theophany appearances of the LORD God in the next article.
Randy Nettles
Endnotes:
{1} The Trinity by Don Stewart
{2} Finding Jesus in the Old Testament by David Limbaugh, Regenery Publishing, pg.148
{3} The Trinity by Don Stewart
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