The objection
Although Elohim is plural in form, when used for Israel's God it is usually combined with a singular verb. “Let us make humankind” could also mean God's heavenly council. This removes a widespread proof of the Trinity.
1. A plural form is not yet a doctrine of persons
In Genesis 1,1, the verb “created” is singular. The sentence presents one Creator. Neither several persons nor exactly three persons can be deduced from the word form elohim alone. Such a dictionary argument would claim more than the grammar supports.
This, however, refutes only an inadequate proof. The objection does not refute the Trinity. That would be the fallacy: A particular justification fails, therefore the doctrine it supports is false. The actual foundation is God's entire self-revelation.
2. The “Us” is immediately followed by a divine “He”
Genesis 1,26 contains the plural “Let us … in our image.” Verse 27 reports its execution three times with the one divine Creator as the agent: God created humankind in his image. Humans are not presented as the joint work of God and created co-creators.
The interpretation as an address to the heavenly council explains a possible conversational setting, but it must not make angels possessors of divine creative power. An address within God is compatible with later revelation; nevertheless, the complete doctrine of the Trinity does not follow from this verse alone. The text raises a question whose full answer is supplied only by the rest of the canon.[1]
3. The New Testament identifies the Creator more precisely
John 1,1–3 takes up the beginning of creation and distinguishes the Word from the God with whom it is. At the same time, the Word is God; everything that came into being came through it. 1. Corinthians 8,6 names the Father as the source and the Son as the one through whom all things exist. This is no longer merely about interpreting a plural.
These texts do not add a second, created creator alongside Israel's God. They say who the one Creator is. The distinction between Father and Word lies on the uncreated side of the boundary between God and the world. God's Spirit, too, already appears in the creation account as God's active presence (Genesis 1,2).
4. The direction of the proof matters
We do not infer God's entire being from a Hebrew word ending. We read the beginning of revelation in the light of its unfolding in Christ. This makes early statements more intelligible without retrospectively imposing a complete later vocabulary on them.
Precisely a firm conviction of the Trinity permits this accuracy. It needs no overstretched individual proof text. The clear statements about the eternal Word and the one Creator carry more weight than a supposed secret code in a plural form.
Biblical texts in context
Sources and further study
- Wayne Grudem, Biblische DogmatikCh. 14, section A.1, pp. 252–255: Old Testament indications of the Trinity.
- John M. Frame, The Doctrine of GodCh. 28, pp. 638–639: the relationship between Old Testament preparation and New Testament revelation.