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Three Persons in One God?

God is the one communion of three divine persons? How can this be?

The Hebrew scriptures themselves point to this. In Genesis 1, God says, "Let us create man in our own image." (Genesis 1:26) What is that image? Male and female. (Gen. 1:27) Male and female together are the image of God.

In Genesis 2:23 we read that "a man …. clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh." So now we have two persons in one flesh. And this is the image of God. And when those two persons come together in love, they generate a third person who shares* their one flesh. So now we have THREE PERSONS in ONE FLESH, ONE FAMILY. And this is the IMAGE of GOD. Just as there can be three persons in one family, so there is three persons in one God.

Three divine persons share one divine nature, just as three human persons can share one human flesh. God is a communion of three persons, three infinite divine persons having one divine nature. This is utterly unique. Therefore, God is indeed one. There is no other. three Persons in one God.

In a nutshell: Just as in one family three persons share one human flesh, so in the one Godhead three Persons share one divine nature.

Further thoughts: What is "the family" as intended by God? According to Genesis, it is a communion of persons sharing one human flesh. Male and female come together as husband and wife and become one flesh manifested in the generation of a child. (Gen. 2:23; 5:1-3) A communion of three human persons sharing one human flesh. This is how God created man to be. And it is this communion of persons in one flesh that is the image and likeness of GOD (Gen. 1:26-27; 2:23; 5:1-3) - God Himself being a communion of three divine Persons sharing one divine nature.

OBJECTION: In Deuteronomy God refers to Himself in the singular, so if he is a communion of Three persons sharing one divine nature why does He not refer to Himself in the plural?

ANSWER: I would say that God refers to Himself this way because that is how He first refers to mankind (made in His image and likeness). In Gen. 5:1-2, we read that God created man in His likeness. What is that likeness? Male and female (Gen. 5:2). Male and female together as one flesh manifested through the generation of a child sharing in that one flesh is the likeness of God (Gen. 5:3). And then how does God refer to this communion of persons? He calls them (plural) "man" (singular). Collective Singular. This communion of persons sharing one flesh and which is the image and likeness of God, God Himself refers to in the collective singular. If God refers to the "image and likeness" of Himself this way, it only makes sense that He would refer to Himself (the Source rather than the image) this way. And so God does refer to Himself in the Collective Singular in Deuteronomy.

*A note on share/sharing. I am using the term in this discussion, not in the sense that one person has a part of the one flesh or one divine nature, but rather that there is one flesh or one divine nature that each person shares in FULLY/COMPLETELY.



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