The "Triune" God in the Old Testament

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Valerie
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The "Triune" God in the Old Testament

Post by Valerie »

From the "Sabbath" thread:
Josh wrote:
I can affirm that Jewish people aren't too concerned about Christians not keeping the Sabbath. They're far more concerned about us not keeping the dietary laws, and also concerned we believe in multiple gods due to our Trinitarian doctrine.
I have never really witnessed one on one with a Jewish person about this- how do they wrestle with things stated in Genesis?


There are numerous passages that teach that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are distinct persons and yet each hold the attributes of deity.

But the Bible also emphatically and unambiguously declares that there is only one God (Isaiah 44:8; Isaiah 45:18; Deuteronomy 6:4; Malachi 2:10, James 2:19; Mark 12:29 ). Hence, taking all the Scriptures into account, orthodox Christian theology has always affirmed that the one true God is triune in nature—three co-equal and co-eternal persons in the Godhead.

ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY HAS ALWAYS AFFIRMED THAT THE ONE TRUE GOD IS TRIUNE IN NATURE.
This triune God (or Trinity) began to allude to this aspect of His nature right in Genesis 1:26–27. There we read that “God said, ‘Let us make man in our image’ . . . God created man in His image.” Here God is a plural noun, said is in the third-person singular verb form, and we see both the plural pronoun our and the singular His referring to the same thing (God’s image). This is not horribly confused grammar. Rather, we are being taught, in a limited way, that God is a plurality in unity. We can’t say from this verse that He is a trinity, but God progressively reveals more about Himself in later Scriptures to bring us to that conclusion.

In Isaiah 48:12–16 we find the speaker in the passage describing himself as the Creator and yet saying that “the Lord God and His Spirit have sent Me.” This is further hinting at the doctrine of the trinity, which becomes very clear in the New Testament. There are many other Old Testament Scriptures that hint at the same idea.

In Matthew 28:18–20 Jesus command His disciples to baptize His followers in the name (singular) of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. John’s Gospel tells us that “the Word” is God who became man in Jesus Christ (John 1:1–3, 14). Jesus was fully man and fully God. Many other verses combine together to teach that God is triune.

(From: https://answersingenesis.org/who-is-god ... is-triune/)

Or:

3.2.1 References to the triune God in the Old Testament

The first reference to the activity of the triune God is recorded in the first account of creation (Genesis 1: 1-31; 2: 1-4). There it states: "And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1: 2) and also: "Then God said, 'Let us make man in Our image, according to our likeness'" (Genesis 1: 26). "Elohim", the designation for God used in the original Hebrew text, is plural. It means "the Divine" as well as "gods" and should be understood, in light of the gospel, as a reference to the triune God.

The various divine manifestations, for example "Angel of the Lord" (Genesis 16: 7-11, 13; Exodus 3: 2-5; Judges 6: 11-16), "Spirit of God" (Genesis 1: 2), or "Spirit of the Lord" (Judges 3: 10; 1 Samuel 16: 13) are also interpreted as references to the mystery of the trinity of God.

The events and references in which the number three appears also allude to the Trinity:

The three messengers of God who visited Abraham (Genesis 18) are understood in Christian tradition as a reference to the mystery of the divine Trinity.

The activity of the triune God in the priestly blessing from Numbers 6: 24-26 is interpreted in the same way: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."

The angel's threefold praise in the inaugural vision of the prophet Isaiah is also considered an indication of God's trinity: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" (Isaiah 6: 3).

(From: http://www.nak.org/catechism/3-the-triu ... testament/)

Does the Jewish translation not word these passages the same, such as "Let us make man in "Our" image"? Does theirs say "My" image instead?

Have you discussed that with them Josh when they feel we worship 3 Gods?
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Josh
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Re: The "Triune" God in the Old Testament

Post by Josh »

I do not discuss theology with my acquaintances who practice Judaism.

The OT doesn't really teach Trinitarianism. Nobody anywhere ever espoused that before the age of the New Testament church.
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