Apostolic Antiquity

I remember attending a Christian camp when I was thirteen years old. I have grown up in an Apostolic household, and before I left, my mother warned me to be careful about doctrines that differed from what was in the Bible. During the week, it became known that I did not believe in the Trinity. That distinction set me apart.

One morning, on my way to chapel, a missionary invited me to sit down and discuss Scripture. He attempted to show that the doctrine of the Trinity was revealed in the Old Testament, particularly in Genesis 1:26. He argued that the plural language in the verse demonstrated a plurality of persons within the Godhead.

Genesis 1:26 reads as follows:

“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Many Trinitarians have viewed these plural pronouns as evidence of a plurality of personalities within the Godhead. However, there have been many other alternative views to this verse. Most modern Trinitarian scholars do not consider Genesis 1:26 a direct “proof text” for the Trinity, although it is frequently used in popular, non-academic settings. While historically interpreted as a hint of the Trinity, contemporary scholarship largely recognizes that “Let us” most likely refers to God addressing the divine council (angels) or uses a plural of majesty. Traditional Jewish interpretation of this verse has been that God is addressing the angels. And we know that the angels were present at creation. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding… when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4, 7). “Morning stars” has traditionally been understood as angles (read Revelation 12:4)

Furthermore, if “God” refers to a divine unity of persons in this instance, then who is that divine unity addressing? If some other, then there is not only a Trinity but some other involved in that process of creation in some way. But if this be so, then there is no longer any necessity to say that there are multiple divine persons, only a communication between God and some other. However, if we say that the divine Trinity was contemplating within itself, saying in unison, “Let us!” then why could this not same language be used by a single divine person contemplating within Himself? As we see, even we do likewise. We may often say out loud, even when nobody is present with us, “let’s see what we can do today.” It literally means, “let us see what we can do today.” If then this same language can be used by a single person, then once again the need to assume a divine triad or plurality has been removed.

But yet another possibility has been proposed: that one of the divine persons was speaking to the others. But if the Father is commanding both the Spirit and the Son, then how can they be co-equal? We understand that Christ obeyed the Father in that He was a human come to serve, but this was because He had emptied Himself, ignored His reputation, and made Himself the form of a servant (Philippians 2:6–9). If we are to say the Son and the Spirit obeyed the Father’s commands as divine persons, are we also to say that they emptied themselves? Not only Christ, but the Spirit also? Did those divine persons delude themselves of their equal honor and glory to become obedient to God the Father for the purpose of creating mankind? Surely not. Therefore, this should not be interpreted (according to Trinitarian standards) as one divine person commanding the other two.

Some still might object that the Father was not “commanding” the other two persons, simply addressing them without any regard to their position or rank. However, this begs the question. Why did the Father address and not the Son or the Spirit? Was this pure randomness? Also if all three Hypostasis are all knowing there is no need for communication. The simplest explanation these contradictions and logical fallacies is that God is not three but one, and He was not speaking to other divine persons but that His words “Let us…” was not a command but a declaration of divine sovereignty and power as the one God of creation.