In Genesis 1:26, God refers to Himself as “us.”
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, . . .” Ge 1:26
This passage has been considered an unsolvable mystery to those who believe in God. Many people have known God in the singular form for a long time, so it is difficult to understand the word “us.” As a result, some insist that “us” in the book of Genesis refers to the Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; however, “us” in the book of Genesis cannot refer to the Trinity.
The Reason “Us” in the Book of Genesis Is Not the Trinity
Humankind was created in the image and likeness of God. If we interpret “us” in the book of Genesis as the Trinity, we come to misunderstand God’s will.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Ge 1:27
God made male and female in the image of God. Because the male and female images exist, this means that God’s original image must be male and female. If “us” in Genesis 1 refers to the Trinity, either the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit must have a female image; however, nowhere in the Bible can we find that the Trinity is described as a female.
In addition, if humankind was created in the image of the Trinity, there must be three images; however, the Bible tells us that there were only two images: male and female.
The Trinity Means Three in One
According to the Bible, the Trinity means God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one and the same God. Because of this, the Trinity can never be described in the plural. Through many verses, the Bible testifies that the Trinity is one. The Old Testament testifies that Jesus is God (Jn 5:39). It prophesied that Jesus, who would be born as a child, was Jehovah God.
For to us a child [Jesus] 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, . . . Isa 9:6
In this verse, the “child” refers to Jesus who came as a man; however, God the Father mentioned in the Old Testament is Jehovah. Because the Son Jesus is called Father, it shows that Jesus and Jehovah are one.
The Son and the Holy Spirit are also one entity. “The Lamb and the bride (the wife of the Lamb)” in Revelation 19 is expressed as the “Spirit and the bride” in Revelation 22.
“For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.” Rev 19:7
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Rev 22:17
Here, the Lamb refers to Jesus (Jn 1:29). Comparing the two verses, we can see that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one and the same.
As we can understand from the word Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one and the same. In other words, God the Father plays the role of the Son and the Holy Spirit according to each age. At the time of the creation of the world, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit did not exist separately. Instead, the Trinity existed as one entity. If God the Father was alone, He would not have said “us.” This shows that there is more than one God.
“Us” Refers to God the Father and God the Mother
If “us” does not refer to the Trinity, who exactly does “us” refer to? We can find the answer by looking at male and female who were created in the image of God. Men testify to the existence of the male image of God and women testify to the existence of the female image of God. The Bible tells us that the male image of God is our Father.
“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, . . .’ ” Mt 6:9
If the male image of God is our Father, who is the female image of God? She is our “Mother.”
But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. Gal 4:26
The “us” in Genesis 1:26 does not refer to the Trinity, but God the Father and God the Mother. If we think that there is only God the Father, the “us” in the book of Genesis will remain an unsolvable mystery. When we remove our traditional thoughts about the Bible, we can correctly understand God who said “us” and “our.”