IS GOD A TRINITY? PART TWO
ONE GOD:
The Biblical scriptures teach there is a single God who is responsible for the existence and sustenance of all things. This monotheistic approach is the cornerstone of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Judaism and Islam believe this God to be of a single undifferentiated substance and therefore an undifferentiated single entity. Trinitarianism theology teaches God to be of single substance with that substance differentiated into Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
To ancient
Mark 12:32: "Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.
Mark 12:34: When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the
Apostle Paul also affirms there is only one true God. I Corinthians 8:4: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. Here we see Paul contrasting the one true God with idols and showing that idols are not gods for there is only one God. Here again there is nothing explicit or implicit as to the composition of this one God.
A review of scripture reveals numerous statements in both Old and New Testaments that testify to a monotheistic view of God. Here are just a few such statements.
Deuteronomy 4:35: ... the LORD is God; besides him there is no other.
Deuteronomy 4:39: Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.
Deuteronomy 32:39: "See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me.
Isaiah 45:5: I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.
Isaiah 44:24: This is what the LORD says-- your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,
I Corinthians 8:6: Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord (kurios), Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
1 Timothy 2:5: For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
The monotheistic view of God is sometimes referred to as a Unitarian (not to be confused with the
Unitarianism is thus contrasted with Trinitarianism which defines God as one substance but differentiated or distinguished into three coequal and coeternal persons. Unitarians sometimes accuse Trinitarians of being polytheistic by believing in a pluralistic God. Trinitarians respond that they believe in one God but that this one God is composed of three coequal and coeternal persons. There are some Christians called Binitarians who believe God’s oneness is composed of the two persons of Father and Son but the Holy Spirit is a common power to the both of them and is not a person of the oneness that is God.
As briefly discussed earlier in this series, some sects of Christianity see the one God as a God Family currently consisting of two Divine God Beings, Father and the Son. It is believed humans can be born into this family through resurrection. Some go so far as to say we will become God as God is God. Those taking this position get around accusations of polytheism by defining the one God as a God Family. Under this concept, the Father and the Son are seen as two separate individuals with the Holy Spirit being mind and power common to the both of them. The family of God concept does not view God as being one entity having plural composition as seen in Trinitarianism. Father and Son are viewed as two separate entities, coeternal but not coequal as the Father is seen as greater than the son. While the Father and Son are seen as being of the same substance, they exist as separate Beings.
Polytheism by definition is the belief in two or more separate gods looked upon as having Divine attributes with no particular god seen as a one and only true supreme God. Monotheism by definition is the belief in God being one single entity of single substance and being Supreme above all else that might be called god. Viewing God as a family of two or more Divine individuals with potential for additional members appears on the surface to be polytheism. On the other hand, if the Father is considered the one and only Supreme God within a Family of Divine Beings where the Son is lower in status than the Father and where others of lower status are able to become part of this God family, this concept would not come under a strict polytheistic definition.
As can be seen, most Christians view God in a monotheistic manner and therefore feel they are in harmony with what the Biblical scriptures teach as to God being one or there being only one God. The problem is that there are two different definitions of monotheism. Unitarians view statements about God being one as statements of God's undifferentiated singleness of composition. Trinitarians and Binitarians see statements about the oneness of God as a differentiated plurality of composition. Therefore, the question before us is not the oneness of God per se but how that oneness is to be defined.
THE COMPOSITION OF GOD:
Trinitarianism is all about the composition of God. Trinitarianism teaches the one true God is composed of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Therefore the Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God. It is firmly maintained that this composition is the one substance called God. God is not three Gods but one God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This one God is of single substance but manifested as three distinctions of the single substance.
Some believe the Trinitarian composition of God has its roots in the Old Testament (OT) including the Shema. The word translated "one" found in the Shema is from the Hebrew echad. Because of the manner in which this word is used in various OT scriptures, it is felt oneness can be seen as being composed of more than a single entity. This word is felt to express “compound unity.” It is argued that echad, when modifying a collective noun such as “cluster,” implies a plurality in echad. An example that is used is Numbers 13:23: “they cut off a branch bearing a single (echad) cluster of grapes.” Since the word “cluster” is a collective noun in so much as it implies more than one entity making up the cluster, it is felt echad, in modifying the noun, implies more than one entity. Some other scriptures used to suggest echad implies a “compound unity” are as follows:
Genesis 2:24: For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one (echad) flesh. Here we see two individuals being defined as one.
Genesis 34:16: Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We'll settle among you and become one (echad) people with you. Here we find “one” including several cultures of people.
Ezra 42:64: The whole (echad) company numbered 42,360. Here “one” is translated whole and includes thousands of people.
AUTHOR’S COMMENTS:
To argue that echad can signify more than a single entity making up oneness is problematical. The Hebrew echad is associated with the numerical one and appears hundreds of times in the OT as designating the absolute singleness of something where there is no hint of differentiation of the one. In the example of the man and woman becoming one flesh, however, there is a differentiation as we see two separate fleshes making up the one flesh. We know that a man and women do not literally become one flesh but remain two separate fleshes. Therefore we know this is a figurative statement where their oneness does not mean they literally become one single flesh.
In the example of two peoples becoming one people, the two peoples still remain autonomous. They become one only in the sense of becoming one cultural group through intermarriage. Their oneness as a people does not involve them becoming a single substance. Trinitarian theology demands that God is of a single substance but the substance is composed of three persons. These persons are seen not as autonomous but as of single substance and nature. The one cultural group in our example above does not become of single substance and nature which is what echad, by itself as a numeral one, implies. When dealing with a collective noun such as “people” the sense of plurality is in the collective noun and not in the modifier. Therefore the use of echad as a supposed “compound unity” to define the tri-unity of God is an unnecessary and forced methodology in support of Trinitarianism.
Some will argue that because the Hebrew elohim, translated God in the OT, is a plural (collective) noun, it shows plurality within God. Therefore when echad is used in association with elohim the sense is that there is one God in which there resides plurality. We will address the elohim issue in depth below.
It is also argued that if the writer of the Shema had wanted to express an absolute oneness of God he would have used yachid in the Shema rather than echad. The Hebrew word yachid is felt to express the idea of absolute oneness in the OT. For example in Genesis 22:2, God says to Abraham: "Take your son, your only (yachid) son, Isaac.” Yachid appears eleven times in the OT scripture and is never used in association with God. This argument has no real credibility.
In summery, when echad is found with a noun suggesting plurality, such as in Numbers 13:23, it indicates a single unit of that plurality. When the Shema identifies the noun God as “one,” it is identifying God as a single unit. The Shema does not, however, define the composition of that single unit. Unitarians define this single unit as undifferentiated. Trinitarians define the single unit of God as differentiated and therefore a plurality. Trinitarians argue the oneness of God is defined as the plurality of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Shema simply states there is one single God as opposed to many gods but it does not define the composition of this one God. As indicated above, the real question before us is what does the oneness of God mean. Is there evidence for there being plurality of Being in the one God? The remainder of this multipart series will deal with identifying whether the one true God is a plurality of Father, Son and Holy Spirit or identified in some other way. In so doing, we will also consider the nature of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
GOD AS ELOHIM IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:
Genesis 1:1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The Hebrew word for God in this passage is elohim. This word appears over 2,000 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and is used most of the time to identify the one true God. Elohim appears in a plural form and because elohim appears in a plural form, some have concluded this word has an implicit connotation of there being plurality of Being in the one God. Proponents of the “Family of God” concept place great weight on this connotation as establishing God as two separate God Beings of Father and Son.
The Hebrew Soncino Commentary shows elohim to be a plural word in the Hebrew language and “is often used in Hebrew to denote plenitude of might.” The Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon of the Old Testament defines elohim as “plural of majesty.” The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament states the plural elohim is “usually described as a plural of majesty and not intended as a true plural when used of God as this noun is consistently used with singular verb forms and with adjectives and pronouns in the singular.” Examples of this are found in association with the creation account in Genesis chapter one.
Genesis 1:27-31: So God (elohim throughout) created man in his (singular pronoun) own image, in the image of God he (singular pronoun) created him; male and female he (singular pronoun) created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then God said, "I (singular) give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I (singular) give every green plant for food." And it was so. God saw all that he (singular) had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day.
Further evidence that elohim does not imply plurality of being in and of itself is found in the use of this word in other scriptural passages where it does not relate to the creator God. For example, in Exodus 7:1 we read, “Then the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God (elohim) to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.” Moses is one single person and obviously not made up of several persons as is believed by Trinitarians to be the case with God. Another example is found in 1 Samuel 5:7 where the Philistines had captured the ark of the God of Israel and set it next to their god Dagon in the
1 Samuel 5:7: When the men of
Here we find elohim freely used to describe both the God of Israel and Dagon the god of the Philistines. There is no reason to believe Dagon was of plural composition. The god of the Amorites, called Chemosh, is called elohim in Judges 11:24. It is obvious when looking at the manner elohim is used throughout the OT scriptures it simply means plenitude of might or plural of majesty as the Hebrew Lexicons clearly show. Therefore, this word is used to define not only the one true God but also pagan gods, and human beings who are granted or perceived of having great authority and might. This word is also seen as pertaining to angels. In some cases it is found by context to identify a group of “gods,” either supernatural in nature or referencing man.
In view of elohim being used to define not only the one true God but also pagan gods, other supernatural beings and even man, it should be clear that elohim does not intrinsically mean Deity. Other information must be known to establish Deity allowing for elohim to describe the one true God.
In Psalm 8:4-5: we read, “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings (elohim)” (NIV). The Septuagint (The Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures made around 250 B.C.) translates elohim in this passage as angelos which is the Greek word for angel or messenger. The King James and New King James translations apparently follow the Greek and translate elohim as angels. The American Standard, New American Standard and Revised Standard translations of the Bible translate elohim as god in this passage which indicates these translators are translating directly from the Hebrew text. By translating elohim as “heavenly beings” it appears the NIV translators are taking a somewhat neutral approach. It is the Septuagint that the writer of Hebrews apparently used when he quotes from this psalm and goes on to describe Jesus being made in the same fashion as man.
Hebrews 2: 6-9: But there is a place where someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet." In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
The writer of this document is quoting Psalm 8:4-5 and using the Greek translation of elohim as angels. What is interesting is that elohim is recognized as having plural meaning in this Psalm as it is translated as the Greek plural angelos. In English it is then translated into the English plural of angels or messengers as some translations have it. What is of greater interest is that the writer to the Hebrews teaches that man and Jesus were made a little lower than elohim. If the Psalmist is using elohim to refer to the one true God, this has implications as to our understanding of the origin and the nature of Jesus. Was Jesus a coequal member of a Triune God who through incarnation became man and thus with man became lower than elohim or was Jesus lower than elohim from the beginning which would suggest He was created that way or eternally existed that way. If elohim is referring to angels in this passage, there is the question as to when Jesus became lower than the angels. We will be studying the relationship of Jesus to elohim in depth as we move along in this series.
It is sometimes argued that Genesis 1:26: “Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness..,” shows a plurality in God because of the use of plural pronouns “us” and “our.” In verse 27, however, there is an immediate return to the use of singular pronouns to modify the word for God (Elohim). “So God created man in his (singular) own image, in the image of God he (singular) created him; male and female he (singular) created them.” The singular pronouns show God as a single entity. Yet the language of Genesis 1:26 indicates this single entity called God is communicating with others having the same image and likeness as that with which God intends to create man.
Trinitarian theology teaches that God is a single entity (one substance) made up of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To a Trinitarian, therefore, the singular pronoun identification of God in the above passages is not a problem because God is believed to be of a single substance made of plural composition. Trinitarians believe in the singularity of God but define that singularity as composed of plurality no different than many believe man is a singularity composed of the plurality of body, soul and spirit. Genesis 1:27 is therefore seen as God literally talking to Himself as part of the plurality that is the one God. This is seen as analogous to a man talking to his singular self made up of the plurality of body, soul and spirit. Humans talk to themselves all the time where it is believed the human spirit (mind) interacts with the soul (life) and material body of the man.
So while it is evident that elohim, as it relates to the one God, does not imply plurality of Being in and of itself as seen in its association with singular modifiers, Trinitarians see plurality in elohim because of what is stated in Genesis 1:26 and a variety of other scriptural passages which we will examine as we continue in this series. Since Unitarians do not define God as a plurality, they do not see God talking to Himself in Genesis 1:26. Unitarians see God talking to an attendant council of angels and possibly other supernatural beings who themselves may have been created in the image and likeness of the one God. Job 38:1-7 is cited where God is speaking to Job about His creation of the earth and refers to it being a time when, “all the angels shouted for joy.” Trinitarians see Elohim as possibly talking to a pre-existent Jesus, the Son, and the person of the Holy Spirit who are part of a Triune Godhead. On the other hand, we could be simply looking at a figure of speech as it is very common to use collective words such as we, our and us in conversation while all the time meaning one. I just did so when I wrote, “we could be simply…”
GOD AS “YHWH” IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:
While elohim does not have intrinsic meaning of deity, the word YHWH does. This word appears 6,828 times in the OT and is understood to be the actual name of the Creator God. YHWH is invariably accompanied by singular personal pronouns and verbs in the singular. YHWH is often referred to as the Tetragrammaton, which is a Greek word meaning “word of four letters.” The Hebrew language does not have vowels but only consonants and semi-consonants. YHWH is composed of four semi-consonants. Vowels must be supplied in the speaking and writing of this language. Between the seventh and tenth centuries A.D. a group of Jewish scribes and scholars called Masoretes began to insert “vowel points” in the Hebrew text for better clarity of meaning but left YHWH as is. Consequently we can’t be sure how to pronounce or write this name to this very day.
YHWH is an English transliteration of this Hebrew name for God. A transliteration is the taking of letters in one alphabet and matching them to corresponding letters in another alphabet. Since the vowels are missing in YHWH, all spellings of YHWH are interpretations of what the transliteration YHWH may sound like. For example, the American Standard Bible spells YHWH as Jehovah and the New Jerusalem Bible spells YHWH as Yahweh. Other spellings that are used include Yahveh, Yehweh,Yahvah. I describe these renditions as spellings because they are neither transliterations nor translations. As already mentioned, transliteration is a letter for letter rendition of a word. Since vowels are not present in YHWH, an attempt to spell it with words having vowels is not transliteration but interpretation. Translation is identifying the meaning of words in one language and then finding words in another language that best represent that meaning. Those spelling YHWH in different ways are not establishing meaning for YHWH but simply interpreting the sound of this word.
Exodus 3:6: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. This spelling occurs seven times in the KJV. Since Jehovah is but one of many ways to try and spell YHWH, this spelling is no more accurate than any other. Of the various spellings considered over the centuries, according to some scholars, Yahweh appears to be the most likely way to render YHWH.
The precise meaning of YHWH is much debated. It appears to be taken from the Hebrew root word hayah which has the meaning of “be” or “become.” YHWH came to signify self existent one or eternal one. In Exodus 3:13-14, God identifies Himself to Moses as ehyeh asher ehyeh which is often translated into English as "I am that I am." We will discuss ehyeh asher ehyeh in greater depth when we address the “I Am” statements of the NT later in this series. We will see that ehyeh asher ehyeh is not the name of God but is a declaration of God’s intention to fulfill His covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We will see that God’s name is YHWH which is made plain in Exodus 3:15.
Exodus 3:13-14: Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, `What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: `I AM has sent me to you.'"
Exodus 3:15: God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, `The LORD, (YHWH) the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
As already mentioned, when the Masoretes began to add vowel points to the Hebrew text they left YHWH as YHWH. However, in 134 passages where YHWH appears in the text they substituted the Hebrew word Adonai (sometimes spelled Adonay) translated as Lord with a capitol L to designate the one true God. This was done because it was believed the name YHWH was to sacred to pronounce, a belief long time extant in
GOD AS LORD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:
The Hebrew word adon is used multiple hundreds of times in the OT in association with Elohim, YHWH, and man. Adon is translated as Lord or lord depending on the suffix attached to this word. Its basic meaning is lord or master. It is used to describe the owner of someone or something. When found as descriptive of YHWH or Elohim this word appears in the Hebrew with the suffix “ai” as Adonai. When adon appears with the suffix “i” it becomes adoni and in this form is never used to describe Deity but is applied to man. Adoni is often translated into the English word master. For example, the servants of Abraham consistently refer to him as adoni which is translated master. The Pharaoh of Egypt is called adoni. So are Joseph and the kings of
Adonai is mostly seen as a reference to Deity and is often found in a plural form but modified by a singular pronoun. In such cases it takes on the same meaning as the plural elohim and signifies plural of majesty. Since the root word adon can reference both God and man, the word does not have intrinsic meaning of Deity as does YHWH. In its form as adonai, as is true of elohim, it is sometimes applied to an angel or a human who has attained a high status. However, adonai is used the majority of the time in association with YHWH. Adonai is found 449 times in the OT in association with YHWH or Elohim in reference to the one true God.
YHWH is translated as LORD in most English translations and adonai is also translated as Lord but with a capital L followed by lower case letters instead of all caps. Adoni is translated as lord with all lower case letters except in Psalm 110:1, where in many translations adoni is found to be translated Lord with a capitol L. This has led many commentaries to assume the Hebrew in this passage is adonai rather than adoni. This assumption has led to Psalm 110:1 being used as major scriptural support for the Trinitarian concept of God as it is believed David references the Father and Son as both being God in this passage.
Psalm 110:1: The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."
The word translated LORD in Psalm 110:1 is YHWH and therefore the one true God is identified by His name. The second word Lord in this passage is adoni. This form of the Hebrew word adon is not used in the Hebrew Scriptures to identify Deity but always references man in some position of authority and power. Here are several examples where adoni is used to refer to man in contrast to references to God as YHWH and Elohim.
1 Kings 1:36-37: Benewah son of Jehoiada answered the king, "Amen! May the LORD (YHWH), the God (Elohim) of my lord (adoni) the king, so declare it. As the LORD (YHWH) was with my lord (adoni) the king, so may he be with Solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord (adoni) King David!"
1 Samuel 24:6: He said to his men, "The LORD (YHWH) forbid that I should do such a thing to my master (adoni), the LORD's (YHWH) anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD. (YHWH)”
Numbers 36:2: And they said, The LORD (YHWH) commanded my lord (adoni) to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of
Adoni is used in reference to man and a few times to angels in every one of the 198 passages in which it occurs in the Hebrew Scriptures. Of these 198 occurrences, 23 times adoni is translated as “to my lord,” with a small case of the letter L and is seen as addressing a human leader. In the Septuagint (Greek rendering of the Hebrew Scriptures) translation of Psalm 110:1, adoni is translated as “ho kurios mou” which in English means “my lord.” Only this once, in Psalm 110, is adoni translated into English with a capitol L to suggest Deity. In every passage where adoni and YHWH appear in the same sentence, adoni is found to reference a human in contrast to YHWH God. It is interesting to note that some English versions of the scriptures, such as the Revised and New Revised Standard Version, the New American Bible and the Moffatt translation, do not use the capitol L for “lord” in Psalm 110:1, but use the lower case L because the translators realized the Hebrew word adoni does not mean Deity and therefore should not be made to look as though it does. In view of all this, it is interesting to look at what Apostle Peter wrote.
Acts 2:34-36: For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, "`The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." ' "Therefore let all
Apostle Peter shows the prophetic nature of David’s statement and records that the Lord, who David referred to, is none other than Jesus Christ, to whom has been given authority and power as the promised Messiah. Note that Peter says God has made Jesus Lord and Christ (Greek Christos which means anointed one). When Peter says God has made Jesus Lord, it must be understood that to be consistent, Peter is using Lord in the same sense as David did and David used the word adoni which is not used of Deity but of man throughout the OT. Peter is saying that God has elevated Jesus to a position of lordship (having power and authority) as the promised Christ (the anointed one). Notice also that in the quote from the Psalm, “YHWH says to adoni “sit at my right hand” which implies a separation of Beings as opposed to the non-separation that Trinitarianism demands.
It is believed by Non-Trinitarians that Psalm 110:1 provides absolute proof that Jesus is not God as God is God but is instead God's agent in facilitating His will. Jesus is seen as the lord Messiah who now operates at the right hand of the LORD (YHWH) who sent Him. Position A Non Trinitarians see Psalm 110:1 as evidence that Jesus was lord in the same way as others were lord in the OT with the exception that Jesus was directly begotten by the Father, was given fullness of the Holy Spirit, lived a sinless life and through crucifixion and resurrection was elevated to the highest position of power and authority possible in the universe while remaining under the Father.