Yes, in the Bible we read that God said, "Let us make man in our image" in
Genesis.
There are various other verses which coincide with what 1John 5:7 says: "For
there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the
Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
In Deuteronomy 6:4 we read, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the
LORD is one LORD!" It is very interesting to read this verse in the Hebrew
text because the Hebrew name for God in the Old Testament is the name
"Elohim" and it is a plural noun.
The literal translation would be, "The Lord our Gods, the Lord is one Lord."
"One" in this passage is the Hebrew word "echad." It has a very interesting
meaning. The word, "echad," comes from the Hebrew root which means "to
unify" or "to collect together", a "united one." The Hebrew word, "echad" is
also used in Genesis 2:24 where it says, "...and they shall be one flesh..." It
means to unify.
J. Vernon McGee writes in his commentary Volume 1, p.551
"Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:"
That is a tremendous statement. "The LORD" is the Hebrew tetragram
transliterated YHWH or JHVH, translated in English as Jehovah. "God" is
the translation for Elohim. Elohim is a plural word....It [the verse]could be
translated, "Hear, O Israel: Jehovah, our Trinity is one Jehovah." ....The
message that the nation Israel was to give to the world was the message of
the unity of the Godhead, the oneness of the Godhead. Jehovah, our Elohim,
is one Jehovah.
Chuck Missler writes in his Book "The Creator Beyond Time and Space"
The word used for God in Genesis 1:1 is "Elohim," which is a form of the
word "El." In the context of Genesis 1:1, there can certainly be no doubt as to
who is doing the creating. In the Hebrew language the "im" ending imputes
plurality. Therefore, "Elohim" is the plural from of the word "El."
Now, let's Look at some verses of Scripture in the Old
Testament which tell us of the Trinity:
Gen 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.
Gene: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:
Gene:11:7: Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that
they may not understand one another's speech.
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.
Psalm 110:1: A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at
my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Prov 30:4: Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath
gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who
hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his
son's name, if thou canst tell?
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, hath sent me.
Creators in Ecclesiastes 12:1?
Ecclesiastes 12:1: Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while
the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have
no pleasure in them; In the original Hebrew text for this verse, "Creator" is
plural. The Hebrew word for Creator is the plural form of the word "bara"
which means to create out of nothing.
Young's Literal Translation, 1898 says:
"Remember also thy Creators in the days of thy youth, While that the evil
days come not, Nor the years have arrived, that thou sayest, 'I have no
pleasure in them.'"
The plural Creator is also seen in Isaiah 54:5, where the prophet states:
"For thy Maker is thy husband, Jehovah of Hosts is His name, And thy
Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, 'God of all the earth,' He is called.'"
(Young's Literal Translation, 1898)
In this verse the word "Maker" is the plural form of the word "asa," which
means to form or make.
In the New Testament we read:
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal
power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
These THREE are ONE:
1John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
"Let US make man in our image, after our likeness..."
Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity:
There are some Messianic Jews as well as some "Christian" sects who claim
that Jesus was not God. To agree with them is to disagree with what the
Scriptures tell us. Scriptures testify that Jesus is God. Jesus, Himself, proclaims
that He is God.
John 1:1-3 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.
John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the
world knew him not.
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.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through him might be saved.
Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from
heaven.
Luk 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and
scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any
means hurt you.
John 8:54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my
Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
John 8:55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I
know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his
saying.
John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and
was glad.
John 8:57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and
hast thou seen Abraham?
John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before
Abraham was, I am. ( See Exodus 3:14)
John 8:59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and
went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
The Jews wanted to stone Jesus because they understood what Jesus was
saying. Jesus was stating that He is the "I AM" the eternal, self-existent God
who spoke to Moses from the burning bush. When the Jewish leaders were
arresting Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane:
John 18:4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went
forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?
John 18:5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am.
And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.
John 18:6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am, they went
backward, and fell to the ground.
Did you let that sink in? Jesus said, "I am" and they went backward and fell
to the ground. How Awesome and Powerful!! (Remember the "he" in your
KJV is in italics and was added by the translators to help the meaning but what
Jesus actually said to them was, "I am".)
After His arrest, Jesus told the high priest that He was the Son of the Blessed:
Mark 14:60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying,
Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
Mark 14:61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest
asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
Mark 14:62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on
the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Jesus now sits on the right hand of the Majesty on high:
Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time
past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Hebrews 1:2 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;
Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, (See John 1:14) 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;
Anyone who doubts the Deity of Christ and yet professes to be a Christian is
not reading the Bible. The Bible states plainly that the Messiah was to be
called the mighty God. If one believes Jesus is the Messiah, then one must
believe that Jesus is God:
Isaiah 9:6 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, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
The LORD is speaking in Zechariah 12:10, And I will pour upon the house of
David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and
they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in
bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Closing Thoughts:
The Trinity is found throughout Scripture. Jesus is the Second Person of the
Godhead. The Old and New Testaments are in agreement on every subject.
God wrote the book and we are to read HIS WORD every day and study it and
to know it. Every answer can be found within the pages of God's Holy Word.
Copyright © 2003 Cobblestone Road Ministries
All Rights Reserved
For more study on the Trinity in the Old Testament, read:
JEWISHNESS AND THE TRINITY by Dr. Arnold G Fruchtenbaum
Articles of Interest:
Proof that Jesus Is Messiah from the Tanakh
The Need of Salvation - Why Messiah Had To Die
Jesus The Great I Am
Genesis.
There are various other verses which coincide with what 1John 5:7 says: "For
there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the
Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
In Deuteronomy 6:4 we read, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the
LORD is one LORD!" It is very interesting to read this verse in the Hebrew
text because the Hebrew name for God in the Old Testament is the name
"Elohim" and it is a plural noun.
The literal translation would be, "The Lord our Gods, the Lord is one Lord."
"One" in this passage is the Hebrew word "echad." It has a very interesting
meaning. The word, "echad," comes from the Hebrew root which means "to
unify" or "to collect together", a "united one." The Hebrew word, "echad" is
also used in Genesis 2:24 where it says, "...and they shall be one flesh..." It
means to unify.
J. Vernon McGee writes in his commentary Volume 1, p.551
"Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:"
That is a tremendous statement. "The LORD" is the Hebrew tetragram
transliterated YHWH or JHVH, translated in English as Jehovah. "God" is
the translation for Elohim. Elohim is a plural word....It [the verse]could be
translated, "Hear, O Israel: Jehovah, our Trinity is one Jehovah." ....The
message that the nation Israel was to give to the world was the message of
the unity of the Godhead, the oneness of the Godhead. Jehovah, our Elohim,
is one Jehovah.
Chuck Missler writes in his Book "The Creator Beyond Time and Space"
The word used for God in Genesis 1:1 is "Elohim," which is a form of the
word "El." In the context of Genesis 1:1, there can certainly be no doubt as to
who is doing the creating. In the Hebrew language the "im" ending imputes
plurality. Therefore, "Elohim" is the plural from of the word "El."
Now, let's Look at some verses of Scripture in the Old
Testament which tell us of the Trinity:
Gen 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.
Gene: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:
Gene:11:7: Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that
they may not understand one another's speech.
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.
Psalm 110:1: A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at
my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Prov 30:4: Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath
gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who
hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his
son's name, if thou canst tell?
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, hath sent me.
Creators in Ecclesiastes 12:1?
Ecclesiastes 12:1: Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while
the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have
no pleasure in them; In the original Hebrew text for this verse, "Creator" is
plural. The Hebrew word for Creator is the plural form of the word "bara"
which means to create out of nothing.
Young's Literal Translation, 1898 says:
"Remember also thy Creators in the days of thy youth, While that the evil
days come not, Nor the years have arrived, that thou sayest, 'I have no
pleasure in them.'"
The plural Creator is also seen in Isaiah 54:5, where the prophet states:
"For thy Maker is thy husband, Jehovah of Hosts is His name, And thy
Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, 'God of all the earth,' He is called.'"
(Young's Literal Translation, 1898)
In this verse the word "Maker" is the plural form of the word "asa," which
means to form or make.
In the New Testament we read:
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal
power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
These THREE are ONE:
1John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
"Let US make man in our image, after our likeness..."
Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity:
There are some Messianic Jews as well as some "Christian" sects who claim
that Jesus was not God. To agree with them is to disagree with what the
Scriptures tell us. Scriptures testify that Jesus is God. Jesus, Himself, proclaims
that He is God.
John 1:1-3 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.
John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the
world knew him not.
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.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through him might be saved.
Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from
heaven.
Luk 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and
scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any
means hurt you.
John 8:54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my
Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
John 8:55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I
know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his
saying.
John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and
was glad.
John 8:57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and
hast thou seen Abraham?
John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before
Abraham was, I am. ( See Exodus 3:14)
John 8:59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and
went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
The Jews wanted to stone Jesus because they understood what Jesus was
saying. Jesus was stating that He is the "I AM" the eternal, self-existent God
who spoke to Moses from the burning bush. When the Jewish leaders were
arresting Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane:
John 18:4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went
forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?
John 18:5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am.
And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.
John 18:6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am, they went
backward, and fell to the ground.
Did you let that sink in? Jesus said, "I am" and they went backward and fell
to the ground. How Awesome and Powerful!! (Remember the "he" in your
KJV is in italics and was added by the translators to help the meaning but what
Jesus actually said to them was, "I am".)
After His arrest, Jesus told the high priest that He was the Son of the Blessed:
Mark 14:60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying,
Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
Mark 14:61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest
asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
Mark 14:62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on
the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Jesus now sits on the right hand of the Majesty on high:
Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time
past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Hebrews 1:2 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;
Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, (See John 1:14) 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;
Anyone who doubts the Deity of Christ and yet professes to be a Christian is
not reading the Bible. The Bible states plainly that the Messiah was to be
called the mighty God. If one believes Jesus is the Messiah, then one must
believe that Jesus is God:
Isaiah 9:6 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, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
The LORD is speaking in Zechariah 12:10, And I will pour upon the house of
David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and
they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in
bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Closing Thoughts:
The Trinity is found throughout Scripture. Jesus is the Second Person of the
Godhead. The Old and New Testaments are in agreement on every subject.
God wrote the book and we are to read HIS WORD every day and study it and
to know it. Every answer can be found within the pages of God's Holy Word.
Copyright © 2003 Cobblestone Road Ministries
All Rights Reserved
For more study on the Trinity in the Old Testament, read:
JEWISHNESS AND THE TRINITY by Dr. Arnold G Fruchtenbaum
Articles of Interest:
Proof that Jesus Is Messiah from the Tanakh
The Need of Salvation - Why Messiah Had To Die
Jesus The Great I Am
| Is the Trinity Found in the Old Testament? |
