The GOD of ISRAEL:
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by: Mark Robinson Bible Verses Powered by RefTagger The class discussion had taken an interesting twist. I was in a program pursuing a master’s degree in Judaic Studies, and the professor was an Orthodox rabbi with a doctorate in Semitic languages. He was engaged in an intense debate with a student affiliated with the Hasidic Lubavitch movement. The argument centered around the first words of Genesis 1: “In the beginning God created.” The professor stated that the grammar of this verse demanded that we understand God as a plurality in unity. This statement was not well received by the young Lubavitch student, and for the next 15 minutes he argued with the professor. At one point he said, “You are giving our enemies ammunition for [belief in] the Trinity.” The professor responded that he didn’t believe in the Trinity and was simply sharing what the grammar demanded we understand concerning this verse. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Lubavitch student agreed with the professor—the grammar indeed demands that we understand God as a plurality in unity. However, he facetiously added, “I don’t see three anyway; I only see two.” Does the Bible teach that there is one God—or three? If there is only one God, how are we to understand the nature of this God? Does the Christian concept of the Trinity have pagan or biblical origins? These questions can only be answered by carefully considering of an objective source—the Bible. Like the Lubavitch student, we are influenced by our traditions and preconceptions. Let’s take a look at what the Jewish Scriptures teach about the nature of God, putting aside our preconceptions and letting God speak to us through His Word. PLURALITY IN UNITY Many passages from the Jewish Scriptures teach the same truth that the professor was arguing for in Genesis 1:1—that the person of God is a plurality in unity. Dozens of other verses in the Jewish Bible confirm this fact through both grammar and content. The cumulative evidence of the Jewish Scriptures gives strong support for this belief. Genesis 1:1, the first verse in the Bible, introduces the concept of God as a plurality in unity. It is seen in the first three words of the Hebrew text: “Bereshith bara Elohini” (“In the beginning God created”). Elohim is a plural word. The context of the passage determines how this word is translated in the Hebrew Scriptures. When it is used to speak of the one true God, it is translated “God,” as it is in Genesis 1:1. When Elohim is used to speak of false deities, such as in Exodus 20:3, it is translated “gods.” The verb in this sentence is bara. In grammar, the noun and the verb should agree, but in this instance they do not. Elohim is plural, and bara is singular. How are we to understand this apparent discrepancy? Are we to translate this “gods”? No, because there is only one God, and Elohim is correctly translated in Genesis 1:1 as “God.” The best explanation is that God is a plurality in unity. The professor used this argument in the class discussion of this verse. In English, Genesis 1:26 clearly shows the concept that God is a plurality in unity: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” The personal plural pronouns “us” and “our”1 are used in conjunction with the singular nouns “image” and “likeness.” We would expect this verse to read, “Let us make man in our images, after our likenesses.” But such is not the case. The conclusion must be that the speaker, God, is speaking to the same one, in essence, as Himself—God. The use of plural pronouns with singular nouns demands that we understand God as a plurality in unity. Deuteronomy 6:4 is possibly the most familiar verse in the Hebrew Scriptures to the Jewish people. Although many Jewish people could not give the Scriptural reference, they are referring to this passage when they say that God is one. This verse is commonly called the “Shema”: “Shema, Yisrael, Jehovah Elohenu Jehovah echad” (“Hear, 0 Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD”). The word for “one,” echad, helps us understand the nature of God. In the Hebrew Scriptures, echad is used in the sense of an absolute one at times, and in the sense of a compound unity at other times.2 For example, in Genesis 1:5 God said, “And the evening and the morning were the first day.” Two things—evening and morning—make up one day. Genesis 2:24 uses the term echad in the same way. In speaking of a man and a woman uniting in marriage, it says, “and they shall be one flesh.” Two people—a man and a woman—become one. Ezra 2:64 says, “The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand, three hundred and threescore.” The Hebrew word echad is translated “together” in English. In this text, the word echad is used as a compound unity of 42,360 people in one congregation.3 There are other Hebrew words that could have been used to better communicate an absolute singularity. Yachid is primarily used to mean an absolute one. For example, in Genesis 22:2 God commanded Abraham, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac.” This use of yachid (only), in adjective form, speaks of Isaac to the exclusion of all others. If God had wanted to communicate an absolute one, the better word would have been yachid. Instead He chose the word echad. We can conclude from this that Deuteronomy 6:4, rather than speaking against a plurality in unity, actually gives further weight to this belief. Thus this verse, in concert with dozens of other passages, makes a strong case for the nature of God as a plurality in unity. Genesis 19:24 confronts readers with an occurrence common throughout the Hebrew Scriptures: Apparently there are multiple LORDS (Jehovahs).4 A review of the context of Genesis 18 and 19 leading up to this point is helpful. Abraham hosted three men (18:2), one of whom was Jehovah (18:1, 13, 22). The other two men were angels (19:1) who eventually went to Sodom and Gomorrah (18:22), leaving Abraham standing with the LORD (Jehovah). In Genesis 19:14—16, only the two angels were present during the events that transpired in Sodom. Verses 17—25 record the removal of Lot and some members of his family from Sodom. These verses clearly indicate that the LORD (Jehovah) was then in Lot’s presence. In Genesis 19:24, “the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven.” The LORD (Jehovah) on the earth, in the presence of Lot, rained down fire and brimstone from the LORD (Jehovah) in heaven. Clearly, two Jehovahs are mentioned in this verse. How can we reconcile this passage with the clear teaching that there is only one God? The only possible way is to understand that God is a plurality in unity. Psalm 110:1 presents the same dilemma as the passage in Genesis 19. David, the writer of this passage, was the king of Israel. As king, he was the highest human authority in Israel. The only authority over him was God. David wrote, “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” The first “LORD” is Jehovah; the second “Lord” is Adonai, which means “master.” David was saying, “God [LORD] said unto my God [Lord].” As in Genesis 19:24, there is a problem of reconciling this clear teaching of two Gods with the biblical truth of only one God. Again, the only way to do so is to understand that God is a plurality in unity within the Godhead.
If a plurality in unity can clearly be seen in Scripture, the next question must be, How many entities make up this plurality? Several passages in the Jewish Bible confront this issue. We will examine two such passages from the book of Isaiah. Isaiah 48:12 —16 is probably the clearest teaching in the Hebrew Scriptures that the plurality in unity is three, or a triunity. In verse 12 the speaker says, “I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.” Who are the first and the last? Isaiah 44:6 identifies Him as “the LORD” (Jehovah). This verse can also be used in the same way as in some of the previously mentioned passages. It speaks of “the LORD, the King of Israel, and his redeemer, the LORD of hosts”—two LORDS (Jehovahs) in one verse. To reconcile this with a belief in one God is to embrace the concept of a plurality in unity. The speaker in Isaiah 48:13—15 is the same speaker as in Isaiah 48:12. In the first part of verse 16 He says, “Come near unto me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I.” The second part of verse 16 says, “and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.” The “me” in this passage is the one who has been speaking throughout, whom we have identified as Jehovah God. Verse 17 identifies Him as “the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” Clearly, two Jehovahs are presented in these verses: the “Lord GOD” and the “me” (the “LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel”). Along with the Spirit mentioned in verse 16, three persons of the Godhead are named. Again, to reconcile this passage with the truth of one God, we must believe in a plurality in unity, which this passage defines as three in one. Isaiah 63:7—10 again presents the concept of three persons making up the plurality in unity. Verses 7—8 mention the “LORD” and describe His loving-kindness and concern for His children. This is the same as the Father of the New Testament. In verses 8—9 He is referred to as the “Savior” and “the angel of his presence.” This speaks of the Son of the New Testament. In verse 10 the Holy Spirit is mentioned and clearly identified as a personality. AN ILLUSTRATION Romans 1:20 says, “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.” According to this verse, two things are clearly seen in God’s creation of the world—His eternal power and Himself (the Godhead)—even though those two things are invisible. His power can be seen in the expanse of the universe and the strength of the sun, as well as in the atoms that make up all created things. How do we see the Triunity of God in the creation of the world? Genesis 1:1 explains that “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”Our universe is essentially triune, consisting of three distinct but interrelated principles: time (beginning), space (heaven), and matter (earth). Everything in creation fits into one of these three categories. This illustration can be taken a step further. Time is a triune concept. It is a single entity consisting of three distinctions—past, present, and future. Each of these distinctions can stand alone, and each is time; yet to fully understand the concept of time, we must combine them. Time is one, revealed in three separate but interrelated ways. The concept of space is also fully realized only when we understand it as triune—height, width, and depth. Each of these elements standing alone is space, but a complete understanding of space demands an understanding of its triune nature. Finally, matter is triune—made up of energy, motion, and phenomena. Although each element is independent of the others, they are interrelated. Again, as with time and space, to fully understand the concept of matter, we must see these three distinct but interrelated parts of which it is comprised. In the same way, God is one existing in three persons—not three gods, but one God who is fully understood and revealed as a Triunity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. THE MESSIAH IS GOD Another issue must be considered in light of the truths already examined. How does the Messiah fit into the biblical teaching that God is a triune being? A number of passages from the Jewish Bible taught the Jewish people of the Old Testament that the Messiah would be God. Micah 5:2 taught that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, but it also taught another important truth: The Messiah is eternal. In other words, the one born in Bethlehem would be God in the flesh. Speaking of the Messiah, this passage says, “whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” Psalm 90:1—2 states that only Jehovah is “from everlasting.” Therefore, the one to be born in Bethlehem would be Jehovah. Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,” thus identifying the Messiah as being born and, at the same time, being a Son who is given. This verse also calls Him “The Mighty God.” Clearly, Isaiah was teaching that the child to be born would be God. Jeremiah 23:5—6 also taught that the Messiah would be God: “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” The King Messiah would be called the LORD (Jehovah). Obviously, He would be God because He would be called Jehovah.
The three persons of the Triunity are referred to in the New Testament as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The concept of God having a Son should not be foreign to the Jewish people because it is taught in the Jewish Bible. Proverbs 30:4 asks the following questions: Psalm 2:12 commands us to “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they who put their trust in him.” This verse is very instructive, especially in light of the admonition given in Jeremiah 17:5, 7. Verse 5 states, “Thus saith the LORD, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man.” Verse 7 states, “Blessed is the man who trusteth in the LORD [Jehovah].” Because God has instructed us to put our trust in the Son (Psalm 2:12), that Son must be God. Worship directed to anyone but God is condemned by the same Bible that instructs us to worship (kiss) the Son. Therefore, the Son must be Jehovah, the God of Israel. The biblical teaching is clear: The Messiah is God (one of the three persons of the Triunity). He left heaven and came to Earth as a man to be our Redeemer—to die and rise from the grave-and all of this to provide forgiveness for our sins. A FINAL THOUGHT It is difficult to put aside preconceptions and consider something entirely different from what we have been taught and therefore believe. This is especially true when it comes to religious issues. We should believe God before men and traditions. Will you give further consideration to what the Bible—God’s Word—says about the Triunity and related subjects, such as Jesus’ claims to be the Messiah and God? It is vitally important that you do so. The biblical evidence is clear that Jesus is the Messiah, as well as God. It is God’s desire that you have a personal relationship with Him through the Messiah. We would like to help you know Him. Please write or call us if you have any questions about the triune nature of God, or if you would like additional material about the God of Israel and Jesus the Messiah.
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