The Plurality of the Singular God

When reading Genesis 1, at the surface level, we understand that before everything there was God and He alone created all things. This is a correct understanding; however, as you continue reading through the Bible and study more scripture, we see God reveal more to us and thus more is revealed about the Genesis 1 creation account.

For instance, the Bible never states when the angels were created. Yet, when reading Job 38:4-7, we find that God says the angels (sons of God) saw Him lay the foundation of the Earth, meaning they were created very early, near the beginning.

It is through this lens of the whole of scripture that we will endeavor to look at Genesis 1 with a fuller context to see what more can be learned about this chapter, as we learn more about God.

Let us Make Man

Genesis 1:24-26

“24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

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.”

Does it not seem strange that God says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”?

Jews and scholars may say that God is simply using a plural of majesty or a “royal we”. This means that when He says “us” He is speaking on behalf of His creation, much like how a king would speak on behalf of his subjects. God’s divine greatness and transcendence are seen as being emphasized through the use of plural pronouns.

This might be the case, or perhaps He is talking with the angels, as we mentioned they were there before man and have been seen in human form in a couple of passages.

Rather than make an assumption or try to force a certain belief, let’s let scripture speak for itself and see if it can give us a direct answer to this strange language which God uses.

In the Beginning

We’ll start first at the beginning:

Genesis 1:1

“In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth.”

Q: When reading this verse what other passage immediately comes to mind?

John 1:1

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John says it is the Word that is with God and also God. Some believe this to be of Greek influence based on the idea of the logos but the Old Testament also speaks of the Word.

The Word

Psalm 147:15

“He sendeth forth his commandment [upon] earth: his word runneth very swiftly.”

God’s word can sometimes be personified. This is mostly just poetic license, especially when used in the Psalms, but in specific cases it seems to be more than just spoken language.

Jeremiah 1:4-5, 11-14

“4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

11-14

“11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.

12 Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.

13 And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof [is] toward the north.

14 Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.”

This can seem pretty innocuous at first glance. The Word of the LORD says ___, just like the word of the king may say ___.

However, notice the pattern. The Word of the LORD says something and then the LORD says something. As if the word is speaking first and then the LORD is speaking after. Verses 11-14 especially seem to be an unbroken conversation about what Jeremiah sees, where the Word comes twice to speak as if it went back and forth.

This may not seem too convincing, so let’s look at something even more intriguing:

1 Samuel 3:7-10, 21

“7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.

8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here [am] I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.

9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.”

“And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.”

Q: How did the LORD reveal Himself to Samuel in Shiloh?

The LORD revealed Himself by the Word of the LORD.

Q: Yet, notice how it says He appeared again. How did we see God appear to Samuel the first time?

He came and stood and called. He was physically there yet, Samuel didn’t know the Word and thus Samuel didn’t know the voice. So, Eli had to tell him. It wasn’t until the 2nd appearance that Samuel knew the LORD because the Word had revealed Him.

John 1:18

“No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”

This is the same thing we see with Jesus. The Word is made flesh and reveals the unseen God to others.

Q: Going back to John 1:1, note that he doesn’t just say that the Word is with God, but also what?

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

The word is God. So, the Word that comes to Abraham or Samuel or Jeremiah is more than just language but a personal being. Now, this can seem quite jarring. Genesis 1 does not say, “In the beginning there is God and God”. In fact, all through the Hebrew scriptures we see quite the opposite:

One God

Deuteronomy 6:4

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:”

Deuteronomy 4:35, 39

“Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.”

“Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.”

Deuteronomy 32:39

“See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.”

2 Samuel 7:22

“Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.”

1 Kings 8:60

“That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.”

1 Chronicles 17:20

“O Lord, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.”

Isaiah 43:10

“Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.”

Isaiah 44:6, 8

“Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”

“Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.”

Isaiah 45:5, 21

“I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:”

“Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.”

Isaiah 46:9

“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,”

Galatians 3:20

“Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one."

Ephesians 4:6

“One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

1 Timothy 2:5

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

James 2:19

“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”

Mark 12:29, 32

“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord”

“And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:”

Although there may be many who are called gods, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8 (verses 5-6), there is only one supreme being. It is not the Canaanite’s Baal, nor the Egyptian’s Amun-Ra, nor the Hittite’s Tarhunna, nor the Moabite’s Chemosh, but YHWH, the most high God. There is none beside Him. So, where does John get this strange idea of God being alongside God when all these verses seem to contradict that?

God Distinct from God

The Messenger of YHWH

Genesis 31:11-13

“11 And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, [saying], Jacob: And I said, Here [am] I.

12 And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle [are] ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.

13 I [am] the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, [and] where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.”

We see this messenger first with Hagar and then with Jacob, Moses, Joshua, and Manoah (Samson’s father). He speaks for God and as God and is even called God by 3 of the people He appears to. Many times, such as this passage, the text transitions from saying the messenger is speaking, to saying God Himself is speaking, as though they are interchangeable.

However, it gets stranger still…

YHWH speaks of YHWH

Pay attention to the way God speaks to Moses in this passage.

Exodus 19:16-24

“16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.

17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.

18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.

20 And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.”

Again, pay attention to the way God speaks to Moses in these upcoming verses.

21 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish.

22 And let the priests also, which come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them.

23 And Moses said unto the Lord, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.

24 And the Lord said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the Lord, lest he break forth upon them.”

Q: God tells Moses to keep them away unless they get curious to gaze upon whom?

The LORD, who God warns will break upon them if they try to gaze upon Him.

How strange is this manner of speaking. God refers to God as a distinct person from Himself. Why does He not say “gaze upon me” or “I will break upon them” if He is that selfsame LORD? We know God speaks in the first person many times, so why not now?

Let’s look at even more instances.

YHWH saves by YHWH

Hosea 1:7

“But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.”

The LORD will save them, by the LORD?

YHWH Strengthens by YHWH

Zechariah 10:12

“And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.”

Q: I will strengthen them in the name of who?

The LORD.

Q: Saith who?

The LORD

So, the LORD refers to His strength and His name as belonging to the LORD, as though He is distinct from Himself. Remember, scripture is clear (specifically in Isaiah) where God Himself says that He alone is God with no one else beside Him and yet He speaks as if there is someone else with Him.

The Spirit of YHWH is upon YHWH

Isaiah 61:1-8

“1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;”

Notice that the Spirit of the Lord God is upon this individual.

“2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.

7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.

8 For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.”

YHWH says that the Spirit of YHWH is upon Himself?

The LORD is the messenger of the LORD?

Malachi 3:1

“The LORD Himself will come to His temple, He’s the messenger, saith the LORD”

God says that God will come to God’s temple. Why doesn’t God say He will come to His own temple? Why does He talk of YHWH who will come as distinct from Him?

YHWH Sent from YHWH

Zechariah 2:10-11

“10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord.

11 And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee.”

The LORD says that Israel will know that the LORD has sent Him?

YHWH on Earth and YHWH in Heaven

Genesis 18:1-2, 17, 20-22

“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 stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,”

Q: God appears to Abraham and how many men does Abraham see?

He sees three men

“And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;”

20-22

“20 And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;

21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.”

Q: What did the men do?

They went toward Sodom

Genesis 19:1, 5

“And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;”

“And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”

Q: How many men arrived at Sodom?

Two men arrived (although we see they are angels in the appearance of men).

Q: What happened to the 3rd man?

Genesis 18:22 says He is YHWH and remained yet with Abraham.

Q: What did YHWH come to do?

Genesis 18:20-21 says He came to see the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. Yet, He stayed behind awhile to talk with Abraham.

Genesis 18:33

“And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.”

Q: So, when YHWH left, where do you suppose He went?

He went to Sodom and Gomorrah! This is where we get the judgement of Sodom. God has seen their sin and, now that the angels have removed Lot and his family, God will destroy these cities.

Genesis 19:24-25

“24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;

25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.”

Q: YHWH had just spoken with Abraham and left to go and judge Sodom and Gomorrah. Yet, we see here that YHWH on Earth rains down fire from who?

YHWH in Heaven. Two distinct YHWH’s in two separate places, and yet both are YHWH.

This is the same strangeness that the ancient Jews saw. God and God, distinct from God. God who sends and God who’s sent.

2 Powers in Heaven

They read of these appearances of God and came to a stunning conclusion. There were 2 distinct YHWH’s who were yet both YHWH. Dr Michael Heiser summarizes the ancient Jewish view like this:

“The ancient Israelite knew two Yahwehs—one invisible, a spirit, the other visible, often in human form. The two Yahwehs at times appear together in the text, at times being distinguished, at other times not.

Early Judaism understood this portrayal and its rationale. There was no sense of a violation of monotheism since either figure was indeed Yahweh. There was no second distinct god running the affairs of the cosmos…This explains why these Jews, the first converts to following Jesus the Christ, could simultaneously worship the God of Israel and Jesus, and yet refuse to acknowledge any other god. Jesus was the incarnate second Yahweh. In response, as Segal’s work demonstrated, Judaism pronounced the two powers teaching a heresy sometime in the second century A.D.”

-The Two Powers in Heaven, Dr. Michael S. Heiser

YHWH who is visible and YHWH who is invisible. This belief was even held during the time of Christ and was only deemed heretical during the spread of Christianity. It is no wonder then that John is comfortable with using the terminology he uses in John 1. For a Jew like him, having YHWH alongside YHWH has always been present within the scriptures.

John 1:14

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Samuel heard a man and mistook Him for Eli because he did not yet know the Word which became flesh.

Colossians 1:15

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:”

Numbers 12:5-8

“5 And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood [in] the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.

6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, [I] the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, [and] will speak unto him in a dream.

7 My servant Moses [is] not so, who [is] faithful in all mine house.

8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

This helps to explain the conundrum of God dwelling in Heaven and yet appearing on Earth. The invisible God is in Heaven, as the Word (who is God) is made flesh and sent down to Earth. Jesus is simply the permanent version of that.

This is why Jesus says “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” in John 14:9, “I and my Father are one” in John 10:30, and “ye believe in God, believe also in me” in John 14:1!

But how can God be 2 and yet one? We actually have a Biblical precedent for this unique understanding:

Genesis 2:24

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

Two distinct individuals yet, in some way they are one. This is why Jesus prays that His apostles would be one as He and His Father are in John 17 (verses 11, 22), because there is such a thing as a oneness between distinct individuals.

Now, this isn’t one-to-one, as we aren’t God, but a helpful way that God has shown to better assist in comprehending His nature.

So, our understanding of Genesis 1:1 has shifted from “In the beginning God…”, to “In the beginning God… was with the Word, who is God.” Not another god beside Him or formed after Him, but the selfsame God. YHWH who is both invisible and visible. Distinct but one. This is what we find in the scriptures.

Further Study

For more passages that show Jesus is God see: What Man is That?, Was Jesus created?, & God as Revealed

The Spirit of God is God?

From Genesis 1:1 we move on to Genesis 1:2

“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.”

This is the first chronological appearance of God’s Spirit. Of course, God’s Spirit appears all throughout scripture.

Psalm 51:10-11

“10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.”

David calls God’s Spirit His holy spirit. The prophet Isaiah uses this phraseology as well:

Isaiah 63:7-10

“7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.

8 For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.

9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.”

Vexed: עָצַב ʻâtsab - pained, displeased, grieved

“But they rebelled, and grieved his holy spirit…”

Q: Does this wording remind you of another passage?

Ephesians 4:30

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

Both the old and New Testament call God’s Spirit the holy spirit of God, with the New Testament primarily using this language when talking about God’s spirit. So, when the Old Testament talks about the Spirit of God, it is referring to the same Holy Spirit that we see in the New Testament.

When reading through scripture, we see some very interesting things with God’s Holy Spirit.

Exodus 31:1-3

“1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:

3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,”

Q: Why doesn’t the LORD say “my spirit”? If He is God, why speak of God and God’s Spirit in 3rd person?

Genesis 6:3

“And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.”

Here we see God speak of His own spirit as “His spirit”. In Exodus 31, as we saw before, it seems as though God is talking of Himself as another person sometimes. It’s as though the Spirit of God is distinct from God who is speaking.

But wait, there’s more:

Acts 21:10-11

“10 And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

11 And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.”

The Holy Ghost is the Holy Spirit. The term ghost and Spirit are interchangeable (to clear things up). We see here that the Spirit speaks. Some may assume this is some new Christian teaching found only in the New Testament; however, that is not the case.

Ezekiel 11:5

“And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the Lord; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.”

The Spirit said…

Ezekiel 3:22-27

“22 And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.

23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.

24 Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.

25 But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:

26 And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house.

27 But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.”

Q: Who talked with Ezekiel?

God says He will talk with Ezekiel and yet the Spirit talks with him and tells Him to say the LORD God said the things which the Spirit is saying. It seems the line between God’s Spirit and God is starting to become more blurred.

John 16:7-8, 13-14

“7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:”

13-14

“13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”

John 16:26

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

There is a lot to examine here. The Holy Ghost is called He (multiple times); will speak the things He hears to Jesus’ followers; will comfort, guide, teach and show them the future. This sounds like the things a being with personhood does. Not only this, but notice where the Spirit comes from.

John 14:26 says He is sent by the Father of our Lord Jesus, that being God. Now, to most Christians this may not seem like odd language but it should stand out to us.

John 4:24

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

In Greek, Spirit = pnuema, in Hebrew, Spirit = ruach, meaning breath or wind

God IS a spirit. He IS breath. So, if this is what God is then how can He send His very being?

Imagine if we used this language.

“I, a man, will send my flesh to go and He will teach and speak and guide.”

I am flesh. To send my flesh would be to send myself, or else I would have to cut off a piece of my flesh to send out. Yet, we wouldn’t call that severed part of me He, nor would we say it has the ability to speak and teach and guide. Perhaps a clone of me could do that but that would be a copy of my flesh and not my flesh that I currently inhabit. This is also true of our breath.

1 Corinthians 12:7-11

“7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another [divers] kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.”

The text does not say that He gives to whomever God will but as He, the Spirit will. So, not only is the Spirit sent from God but He has a distinct will, much like Christ (Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22).

Acts 13:2-4

“2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.”

We see the same thing here where the Spirit calls Barnabas and Saul to a work that the Bible says He specifically called them to (it does not say that God called them to it).

So, God’s breath, His Spirit, has personhood, being called a He and being able to grieve, has the ability to speak, and even has a will on which He can act upon. This is what we should keep in mind whenever we see a passage mentioning the Spirit of God.

The Spirit is God?

Let’s now look at even more things which the Spirit does.

Job 33:4

“The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.”

Believed to have lived around the time of Abraham, we find Job saying it is God’s spirit, His ruach (breath), that has made him. Yet, David states it is God who formed Him, in Psalm 139.

It’s as if God and His Spirit are being used interchangeably, even though we have seen that they are distinct. Peter actually states this even more clearly.

Acts 5:3-4

“3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.”

Peter says to lie to God’s Spirit is to lie to God. Again, if God is a spirit, why make these distinctions?

2 Samuel 23:1-3

“1 Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,

2 The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.

3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.”

David makes it just as pronounced as Peter does. The Spirit spoke to Him, which is to say, God spoke to Him.

So, we have God, who is a spirit, and the Spirit of God, who is God. Yet, it gets even more striking than this.

The Spirit is Lord

Q: How many Lords do we, as Christians, have?

1 Corinthians 8:5-6

“5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)

6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.”

Q: We have only one Lord and His name is Jesus. Does that mean God isn’t our Lord?

Mark 12:29

“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments [is], Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:”

Also read as, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

Jesus, in reiterating the Shemah, found in Deuteronomy 6:4, says that the Lord is indeed our God.

In Greek, the words are as follows, kyrios our theos is one kyrios. So, YHWH is our one kyrios and theos.

Going back to 1 Corinthians 8:6, in Greek it reads as, “But to us there is but one theos, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one kyrios Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.”

If Jesus is our one kyrios, does that mean God is not our kyrios? Of course God is our one kyrios. As we saw in Mark 12:29, YHWH is our one kyrios and theos. So, that must also mean that Jesus is not barred from being our one theos.

John 20:28-29

“28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

Thomas says my kyrios and my theos, similar to what John is saying in John 1.

It doesn’t just end there. When Peter says Ananias has lied to the Holy Ghost and calls Him God in Acts 5, Luke also uses the word theos. So, the Spirit is also our one theos; meaning, we have 3 who are our one theos.

Here’s where it gets even more interesting:

2 Corinthians 3:3, 6, 15-17

“Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.”

“Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.”

15-17

“15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.

17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

Paul says the Spirit of the Lord is the Lord! Kyrios is that Spirit of the living God, the Spirit of kyrios!

Thus, we have 3 who are our one kyrios and theos.

So, our understanding of Genesis 1 has shifted again. We now see that “In the beginning God…was with the Word, who is God, and with the Spirit of God, who is God.” And it is this person known as the Spirit of God who we see moves over the water in Genesis 1:2.

Absolutely remarkable! This is what the scriptures say and yet, if this is true, shouldn’t we see this evident all throughout, including in the Old Testament? If it takes all this intricate study then it kind of seems like God has made it unnecessarily difficult for us to know this. Shouldn’t we expect to see His unique nature more obviously talked about?

The Plurality of the Singular God

Let us Make Man

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.”

With all that we have now seen, it does not seem so strange at all that God says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”. Afterall, God is with the Word and His Spirit.

Although some will still claim it is a plural of majesty or a “royal we”. There is a problem with this reasoning based on what is said in the following verse:

Verse 27

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

God creates man in His own image, not in the image of any other. So, for God to say “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” and yet make man in His image and likeness alone makes it extremely strange for God to be talking to anyone else or on behalf of others.

God must be speaking with someone else who has the ability to say man was created in His image. This would be God alone.

The Johannin Comma

John most prominently presents this in John 1. So, we should look to him to see what more he has to say about the plurality of the singular God.

1 John 5:7

“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

Depending on what Bible version you have, you may find that most of this verse is omitted or included as a footnote. This, they will say, is because it was a later addition that didn’t appear in the Greek manuscripts until the 15th Century AD.

However, there is good reason to believe it is not a later addition but originally written by John.

While we do have over 5000 Greek New Testament manuscripts with only 11 later copies containing the comma, only about 500 of them actually contain 1 John at all. Of the manuscripts that do contain 1 John 5:7-8, only about 12 are actually dated “early”, being from the 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, & 10th century, respectively. So, this comma being missing from manuscripts does not necessarily mean it is inauthentic.

There are a couple reasons why the comma could be missing from manuscripts.

Copyist Error

The first possible reason for its exclusion was that it may have been skipped over by well-meaning copyists.

1 John 5:7-8 in Greek

οτι τρεις εισιν

οι μαρτυρουντες

εν τω ουρανω

ο πατηρ ο λογος και

το αγιον πνευμα

και ουτοι οι τρεις

εν εισιν και εν

τη γη τρεις εισιν

οι μαρτυρουντες

το πνευμα και το

υδωρ και το αιμα

και οι τρεις εις το

εν εισιν·

As you can see, the beginning of verse 7 and verse 8 contain the exact same phrase, meaning a scribe could have accidentally skipped ahead.

Deliberate Removal

Another reason for no early Greek manuscripts is because they were likely removed or omitted by heretics and due to this deliberate removal, later copyists did not have intact copies.

Jerome

Jerome, who lived from 347-420 AD and who translated the Latin Vulgate, attests to this:

“Just as these are properly understood and so translated faithfully by interpreters into Latin without leaving ambiguity for the readers nor [allowing] the variety of genres to conflict, especially in that text where we read the unity of the trinity is placed in the first letter of John, where much error has occurred at the hands of unfaithful translators contrary to the truth of faith, who have kept just the three words water, blood and spirit in this edition omitting mention of Father, Word and Spirit in which especially the catholic faith is strengthened and the unity of substance of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is attested.”

Jerome, in the prologue to the Canonical Epistles appended to Codex Fuldensis (Translated by T. Caldwell)

Jerome was likely speaking of the Arians who believed Jesus was a created being. This issue is what led to the 1st Council of Nicaea where the deity of Jesus was not formed but affirmed with scripture.

The Arians were predominantly in control of the Greek copies around the time of Jerome and would definitely prefer the clearest verse on God’s plurality to be removed from the scriptures.

Socrates of Constantinople

Socrates of Constantinople, who lived from 380-440 AD, also touches on the deliberate attempt to corrupt 1 John.

“Now in any event, he did not perceive that in the Catholic epistle of John it was written in the ancient copies, ‘Every spirit that severs Jesus is not from God.’ For the removal of this [passage] out the ancient copies are understandably by those who wished to sever the divinity from the human economy. And thus by the very language of the ancient interpreters, some have corrupted this epistle, aiming at severing the humanity from the divinity. But the humanity is united to the divinity, and are not two, but one.”

Historia ecclesiastica, VII:32

This helps to explain why we have so few copies of 1 John. It was actively being removed by heretics.

The “Early Church Fathers

We should note that while we may not find the Johannin Comma in old Greek manuscripts, it is found within old Latin manuscripts like the Frisingensia Fragmenta and Codex Speculum within the 5th Century AD.

Not only this, but we have those known as the “early church fathers” who quote the comma as early as the 200’s AD. Tertullian, who lived from approximately AD 155-240, writes the oldest allusion to it, while Cyprian is the first to directly quote it.

Cyprian, 200-258 AD

“The Lord says, “I and the Father are one; “ and again it is written of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, “And these three are one.”

Treatise I:6

Origen, 184-253

“Behold, the eyes of bondservants in the hands of their lord, as the eyes of a bondwoman in the hands of their lady, so are our eyes towards the Lord our God, until he may pity us; spirit and body are the bondservants of the Lord Father and Son; but the soul is the bondwoman of the lady Holy Spirit. And the Lord our God is three, for the three are one.“

Selecta in Psalmos (from the commentary of Origen on the Psalms), PG XII, 1304

Athanasius, ~296-373

“But also, is not that sin-remitting, life-giving and sanctifying washing [baptism], without which, no one shall see the kingdom of heaven, given to the faithful in the Thrice-Blessed Name? In addition to all these, John affirms, ‘and these three are one.‘”

Disputatio Contra Arium (Disputation Against Arius)

Priscillian of Avila in 380 AD

“As John says, There are three that give testimony in earth: the water, the flesh and the blood; and these three are one and there are three that give testimony in heaven: the Father, the Word and the Spirit; and these three are one in Christ Jesus.”

Liber Apologeticus

See Also: Priscillian of Avila and the Johannine Comma

Augustine, 354-430 AD

“Therefore God supreme and true, with His Word and Holy Spirit (which three are one), one God omnipotent, creator and maker of every soul and of every body;”

City of God, Book V, chapter 11

“Three things then we know to have issued from the Body of the Lord when He hung upon the tree: first, the spirit: of which it is written, ‘And He bowed the head and gave up the spirit:’ then, as His side was pierced by the spear, ‘blood and water.’ Which three things if we look at as they are in themselves, they are in substance several and distinct, and therefore they are not one. But if we will inquire into the things signified I by these, there not unreasonably comes into our thoughts the Trinity itself, which is the One, Only, True, Supreme God, Father and Son and Holy Ghost, of whom it could most truly be said, ‘There are Three Witnesses, and the Three are One:’”

Against Maximinus, Book ii. c. 22 §. 3.

Around 390-424 AD, the council of Carthage was called to convert North African Bishops to Arianism. The North Africans chose Eugenius as their spokesman.

Eugenius of Carthage in 484

“. . .and in order that we may teach until now, more clearly than light, that the Holy Spirit is now one divinity with the Father and the Son. It is proved by the evangelist John, for he says, ‘there are three which bear testimony in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one.“

Confession of Faith (Libellus Fidei)

With 350 Bishops present, if the Johannin Comma is not original to John or if there was any debate over it, why did the Arians not attack this point?

The Plurality of the Singular God

God Distinct from God

Calvary Landmark