A Triune God

and the Divine Nature of Jesus

God, it is said, and this according to Scripture, is One. Is God One God as in only One Person? Or is God Three Divine Persons in One Entity? How is it that a God could be One yet Three? To find the answers to these questions, we turn to Scripture.

Moses tells us God is One.

This verse known as the Shema is Israel's great confession. It is this verse that is often used to prove God is one Person. Yet there are other Scripture verses where God speaks of Himself in a plural sense.

In Genesis, God as "us" exonerates His ability to make man "in our image."

After man's fall, God speaks of man as having become as one of "us."

At the tower of babel, God as "us" causes man to speak different languages.

When calling the prophet Isaiah to speak to the Jewish people, God asks him "who will go for 'us?'"

It is Scripture such as these which may make Scripture appear to be contradictory. But indeed it is not. The answer can be found in a better understanding of Scripture by going to the original language in which these Scripture verses were written which is of course Hebrew.

In Hebrew, the word "yachad"(Strong 3161) means one and only one. This word is found in Scripture verses such as these: Genesis 22:2, Genesis 22:12; Judges 11:34, Psalm 22:21.

The Hebrew word "echad" (Strong 259) means a compound or unity of more than one referred to as one.

Examples of this word used in Scripture are...

where day and night are called one complete "echad" day...

and the numbering of a whole congregation as one "echad."

Man and woman together become one "echad" referred to as one man ( Gen. 1:27).

In the meaning of the word "echad," we can better understand the Shema.

The word "one" from this verse is not translated from the Hebrew word "yachid" meaning only one God. Instead it is translated from the Hebrew word "echad" which tells us there is more than one God who is comprised as One.

Like Adam and Eve who are two people joined as one entity created in the image of God, God is Three Persons in One Entity.

God, in this plurality of Oneness, can also be noted by the use of the Hebrew word "Elohim" (elohiym) (Strong 430) . Whereas the Hebrew word "Eloah" (Strong 433) is singular and means one, the word "Elohim" is plural and is used in Hebrew to define more than one.

The word "Eloah" is used 250 times in Scripture. The word "Elohim" is used 2500 times.

Examples of Elohim used in Scripture besides the Shema God (elohiym)as quoted from Deuteronomy 6:4 are those such as...

These examples refer to false gods.

But there are also Scripture verses which refer to God as the plural Elohim.

In each of these examples, the plural noun is followed by a plural verb, showing that God is spoken of in Scripture as plural (more than one).

Scripture showing God as Eloah can be found in that such as in Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy, Moses calls God one Person (Eloah) when God is defined as one Person.

Deuteronomy 32 15 But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God (Eloah) which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

Moses tells Jeshurun that in his arrogance he has forsaken the God who is his Creator and Rock of salvation.

John says this Creator is God the Son (John 1:3) while Paul refers to God's Son who is the Rock as Christ.

1 Corinthians 10 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Further Scripture showing God exists as more than one Person is found in Genesis where the patriarch Abraham speaks of God.

Notice Abraham actually calls God three Persons (a Divine Trinity).

The prophet Isaiah also refers to God as Three.

According to Isaiah, the three Gods are "I" (the Son), the "Lord God" (Father), and his "Spirit" (i.e. the Trinity: Father, Spirit, and Son).

The Book of Psalms speaks of two Gods...

The Father ("thy God") and the Son ("O God", "thee"). Notice the word "God" is plural, showing God to be more than one.

YHVH "I am that I am" also denotes a Triune God.

Exodus 3 14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.

Where Jesus as the Son of God is the "I am."

John 8 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

The Father is the Lord God (Isa. 48:16). The Angel (Hebrew "Malak": Messenger) (Strong 4397) of YHVH is the Son (Gen. 16:7; 16:13). Ruach Ha-kodesh is the Spirit of God (Gen. 1:2; Ps. 51:11; Isa. 11:2).

Moses mentions the Angel as one who has the ability to forgive sins.

This Angel or Messenger of God the Father is Jesus the Son of God because, like Jesus, he has the ability to forgive sin (v.21) (Matt. 9:2-7; 1 John 1:9).

Scripture proves God to be Three Persons.

Not three persons separate and distant from each other as found in false idol worship.

1 Corinthians 10 19 What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.

But like the Oneness of Adam and Eve, Three Divine Persons in one Entity, a Triune God.

Jesus knew Himself to be the Son of God.

Matthew 16 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, butmy Father which is in heaven.

New Testament writers understood the Triune God and the divine nature of Jesus.

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	A Triune God and the Divine Nature of Jesus

God, it is said, and this according to Scripture, is One. Is God One God as in only One Person? Or is God Three Divine Persons in One Entity? How is it that a God could be One yet Three? To find the answers to these questions, we turn to Scripture. Moses tells us God is One. *Deuteronomy 6* 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD. This verse known as the Shema is Israel's great confession. It is this verse that is often used to prove God is one Person. Yet there are other Scripture verses where God speaks of Himself in a plural sense. In Genesis, God as "us" exonerates His ability to make man "in our image." *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 creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. After man's fall, God speaks of man as having become as one of "us." *Genesis 3* 22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: At the tower of babel, God as "us" causes man to speak different languages. *Genesis 11* 6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. When calling the prophet Isaiah to speak to the Jewish people, God asks him "who will go for 'us?'" *Isaiah 6* 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. It is Scripture such as these which may make Scripture appear to be contradictory. But indeed it is not. The answer can be found in a better understanding of Scripture by going to the original language in which these Scripture verses were written which is of course Hebrew. In Hebrew, the word "yachad"(Strong 3161) means one and only one. This word is found in Scripture verses such as these: Genesis 22:2, Genesis 22:12; Judges 11:34, Psalm 22:21. The Hebrew word "echad" (Strong 259) means a compound or unity of more than one referred to as one. Examples of this word used in Scripture are... *Genesis 1* 5 And God called the lightDay, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first (echad) day. where day and night are called one complete "echad" day... and the numbering of a whole congregation as one "echad." *Ezra 2* 64 The whole congregation together (echad) was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore. Man and woman together become one "echad" referred to as one man ( Gen. 1:27). *Genesis 2* 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one (echad) flesh. *Malachi 2* 15 And did not he make one (echad)? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one (echad)? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed (shamar: protect) to your spirit (ruwach), and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. In the meaning of the word "echad," we can better understand the Shema. *Deuteronomy 6* 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God (elohiym) is one (echad) LORD: The word "one" from this verse is not translated from the Hebrew word "yachid" meaning only one God. Instead it is translated from the Hebrew word "echad" which tells us there is more than one God who is comprised as One. Like Adam and Eve who are two people joined as one entity created in the image of God, God is Three Persons in One Entity. God, in this plurality of Oneness, can also be noted by the use of the Hebrew word "Elohim" (elohiym) (Strong 430) . Whereas the Hebrew word "Eloah" (Strong 433) is singular and means one, the word "Elohim" is plural and is used in Hebrew to define more than one. The word "Eloah" is used 250 times in Scripture. The word "Elohim" is used 2500 times. Examples of Elohim used in Scripture besides the Shema God (elohiym)as quoted from Deuteronomy 6:4 are those such as... *Exodus 20* 3 Thou shalt have no other gods (elohiym) before me. *Deuteronomy 13* 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods (elohiym), which thou hast not known, and let us serve them. These examples refer to false gods. But there are also Scripture verses which refer to God as the plural Elohim. *Genesis 20* 13 And it came to pass, when God (elohiym) caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her,This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother. *Genesis 35* 7 And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God (elohiym) appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother. *Psalm 58* 11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God (elohiym) that judgeth in the earth. In each of these examples, the plural noun is followed by a plural verb, showing that God is spoken of in Scripture as plural (more than one). Scripture showing God as Eloah can be found in that such as in Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy, Moses calls God one Person (Eloah) when God is defined as one Person. Deuteronomy 32 15 But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God (Eloah) which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. Moses tells Jeshurun that in his arrogance he has forsaken the God who is his Creator and Rock of salvation. John says this Creator is God the Son (John 1:3) while Paul refers to God's Son who is the Rock as Christ. 1 Corinthians 10 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. Further Scripture showing God exists as more than one Person is found in Genesis where the patriarch Abraham speaks of God. *Genesis 18* 1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men (shalowsh enowsh: three people) (Strong 7969, 582) stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3 And said, My LORD, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant. Notice Abraham actually calls God three Persons (a Divine Trinity). The prophet Isaiah also refers to God as Three. *Isaiah 48* 16 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 (ruwach), hath sent me. 17 Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. According to Isaiah, the three Gods are "I" (the Son), the "Lord God" (Father), and his "Spirit" (i.e. the Trinity: Father, Spirit, and Son). The Book of Psalms speaks of two Gods... *Psalm 45* 6 Thy throne, O God (elohiym), is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. 7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God (elohiym), thy God (elohiym), hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. The Father ("thy God") and the Son ("O God", "thee"). Notice the word "God" is plural, showing God to be more than one. YHVH "I am that I am" also denotes a Triune God. Exodus 3 14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you. Where Jesus as the Son of God is the "I am." John 8 *58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.* The Father is the Lord God (Isa. 48:16). The Angel (Hebrew "Malak": Messenger) (Strong 4397) of YHVH is the Son (Gen. 16:7; 16:13). Ruach Ha-kodesh is the Spirit of God (Gen. 1:2; Ps. 51:11; Isa. 11:2). Moses mentions the Angel as one who has the ability to forgive sins. *Exodus 23* 20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. 22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. 23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. *This Angel or Messenger of God the Father is Jesus the Son of God because, like Jesus, he has the ability to forgive sin (v.21) (Matt. 9:2-7; 1 John 1:9).* Scripture proves God to be Three Persons. Not three persons separate and distant from each other as found in false idol worship. *1 Corinthians 10* 19 What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. But like the Oneness of Adam and Eve, Three Divine Persons in one Entity, a Triune God. Jesus knew Himself to be the Son of God. Matthew 16 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, butmy Father which is in heaven. New Testament writers understood the Triune God and the divine nature of Jesus. Matthew 28 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 2 Corinthians 13 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ (the Son), and the love of God (the Father), and the communion of the Holy Ghost (the Spirit), be with you all. Amen. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Works Cited Strong, James. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Hendrickson Publishers, Incorporated, 2009.