God: One, Two, & Three

Moses, the prophet and leader of the tribes of Israel in ancient times, wrote,

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one (Deuteronomy 6:4).
Yet, in another place, Moses wrote (concerning the creation of man by God),
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...” (Genesis 1:26a).
The first is an example of God’s singularity, while the second is a portrayal of His multiplicity.  So, then, is God singular or multiple?  In fact, God is BOTH singular AND multiple (see singular and multiple).  Christians believe that God’s multiple nature is manifested as the facets of the Father, the Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah predicted the coming of the Son of God in the following way:

Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign:  The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel [God with us] (Isaiah 7:14).
Isaiah also provided the following prophecy, a more detailed description of the Messiah and Son of God to come:
For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
But how could Jesus, the Son of God, also be the “Everlasting Father” if they each are distinct members of the Trinity?

Jesus himself claimed, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).  He also stated, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (14:9b).  Thus, we get an indication that, indeed, somehow Jesus and the Father can exist as One.

In a vision of God, after having described four supernatural living creatures, Ezekiel wrote,

Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man (Ezekiel 1:26).
This is a depiction of “a figure like that of a man” on the throne of God.  Something similar was seen by John in his heavenly vision:
Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.  He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth (Revelation 5:6).

Here, the Lamb (Jesus, the Son of God) is shown to be coexisting, in the same space and at the same time, with the Father on the throne.  Furthermore, the Holy Spirit (in the form of “the seven spirits of God”), as well, is coexisting with both of Them on the throne.  This is a manifestation of God as One, Two, and Three entities—all at once.

In all of these cases, Jesus is not separate from the Father; He is coexisting, singly, with the Father in both space and time.  Yet, at any moment, Jesus the Lamb can “project” out from the Father (just as the Holy Spirit can and does) and sit at His right hand  (Mark 16:19; Acts 2:33, 7:55,56; Romans 8:34b; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 10:12).  In this separate state, Jesus could take the scroll “from the right hand of him [the Father] who sat on the throne” (Revelation 5:7).

Another representation of the Unity of Jesus with the Father is seen after the opening of the Sixth Seal, when the “face of Him” (Father and Son/Lamb together), sitting on the throne, is seen.  At that future time, the “great day of Their wrath” will be imminent (Revelation 6:16,17).

Yet another example is when the “throne of God [the Father] and of the Lamb” is seen in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 22:3b), which will be part of the new Creation.  Observers will see His face (22:4a)—the face of the Father/Jesus.  The latter will take place in the eternal state, following the creation of the new heavens and earth (21:1a), which is why Jesus also is the Everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6b).

Jesus is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15a).  God, the great Creator (1:16a), humbled and lowered Himself to mankind’s level by projecting the physical manifestation of Himself—Jesus—out of eternity and into our created three-dimensional realm (Philippians 2:7), being born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25).  This He did to become our great and wonderful Savior.  Praise be to God for that!

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