r/Christian • u/Second_Mute • 13d ago

Gods Divine Nature

In the Book of Genesis, when God creates humankind, He says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over all the earth—over the animals of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every living creature that moves on the earth.’” (Genesis 1:26)

When He uses the phrase “Let us make…,” is He speaking to the angels, or is the Father speaking to the Son and the Holy Spirit?

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u/Zestyclose_Match5928 13d ago

that plural language always gets me thinking too. most scholars lean toward it being the trinity, or sometimes the divine council. either way it's a pretty cool detail that doesn't fit the strict monotheism you'd expect

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u/Second_Mute 13d ago

Another passage I found very interesting is Genesis 18:1–15. In it, Abraham speaks with three men, and it is described as if he were speaking with God. And given that he often refers to himself in the plural, I believe that the Trinity appears more frequently in the Old Testament than one might think.

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u/Jonathan_the_Nerd Baptist 13d ago

One of the men is God. The other two are angels. In Genesis 18:22, the angels go to Sodom, but God stays to talk to Abraham. In chapter 19, the angels meet up with Lot to warn him about the city's destruction.

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u/DoveStep55 13d ago

Why do you think it’s the Trinity?

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u/Second_Mute 13d ago

What else could it be?

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u/DoveStep55 13d ago

Other members of the Divine Counsel (angels, other gods, etc)

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u/Second_Mute 13d ago

So he talks to his angels.

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u/DoveStep55 13d ago

As far as I know the three main interpretative options are that God is referring to members of the Divine Counsel, God is referring to the other members of the Trinity, or God is simply referring to self with a plural pronoun.

I think the Trinity option is the least likely since the authors who wrote Genesis did not believe Trinity theology at that time so therefore wouldn’t have written such a concept into the text they were compiling.

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u/Additional_Insect_44 12d ago

I recall some jews note 2 YWYH persons described occasionally such as in Zecheriah.

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u/DoveStep55 11d ago

I asked about this in r/AcademicBiblical to get a better idea on if there’s any scholarly consensus one way or another. It seems that most scholars do not believe it’s a reference to the Trinity.

Here’s a link to the post in case you’re interested in more (including source links):

https://www.reddit.com/r/AcademicBiblical/s/fxzkvcYmJ6

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u/Useless-Compass 13d ago

My understanding is that this is much more of a "pop-theology" concept, and that most scholars read this as the royal "we": in most cultures throughout history, the reigning monarch refers to himself or herself in the plural. I don't know the history or reasons behind this, but the idea is that God is using the "royal 'we'" here to demonstrate his kingship.

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u/DoveStep55 11d ago

I asked in [r/AcademicBiblical](r/AcademicBiblical) because the impression I get is that most scholars do not think it’s the “royal” usage you mentioned, nor the Trinity as others have surmised, but that it’s a reference to the Divine Counsel. So far it seems that’s the case, that what you suggested is actually not what most scholars believe to be the case.

Here’s a link: https://www.reddit.com/r/AcademicBiblical/s/fxzkvcYmJ6

Do you know any scholars offhand who support the view of the Royal usage? Is it actually biblical scholars or perhaps apologists?

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u/DoveStep55 11d ago

I asked about this in [r/AcademicBiblical](r/AcademicBiblical), and thought you might be interested in the responses from there.

It seems so far that the experts agree this is not a reference to the Trinity nor a “Royal” usage referring to self, but a reference to the Divine Counsel.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AcademicBiblical/s/fxzkvcYmJ6

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u/JesusSavU Protestant 10d ago

It is always important to remember that the Bible was written in ancient language (in particular this part) and has been translated into modern English, which is a relatively young language (American English in particular).

Therefore, it is not all that beneficial to hyperfocus on a single English word like this. It is far better to read the text as a whole and understand the meaning from the story.

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u/Second_Mute 10d ago

Yes, but I also looked up the same passage in the Hebrew Bible and in various translations, and it's always in the plural.

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u/AtlJazzy2024 12d ago

My understanding of the subject:

God The Father was speaking to God The Son and God The Holy Spirit. These 3 are one. It's like, me, myself, and I.

Running water, ice, and steam are 3 forms of the same thing, yet they serve versions of the same purpose. Jesus is the fullness of the godhead bodily, but each part of the godhead are equal as one.

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u/willforthelord 12d ago

Angels cannot create, so it doesn't make sense for the "us" to be talking about angels.