The Tri-Unity of the Creator as Revealed in the Holy Scriptures
The Shema is Israel’s daily confession and the foundation of a disciple’s life. Yeshua affirms it as The Great Commandment—and weds it to the love of neighbor. Wholehearted devotion to God always spills over into sacrificial love for people.
Deuteronomy 6:4–5
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Matthew 22:36–40
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
1. “Hear… Love.”
In Scripture, hearing is never passive. The Shema summons us to hear so that we might love—with an undivided heart, a surrendered soul, and all our strength. Yeshua adds “mind,” showing that love engages our thinking, choosing, and desires.
2. Love for God—Love for People.
The second command is “like” the first because true love for God inevitably produces love for our neighbor. We cannot claim devotion to the Creator while withholding mercy from those made in His image.
3. From Duty to Delight.
Under the New Covenant, God writes His Torah on our hearts and pours His love into us by the Holy Spirit (Jeremiah 31:33). The Great Commandment becomes our great desire: to please the Father in all things and to serve others for His sake.
The Scriptures declare that God is One. Yet, from the very first verse of Genesis, the Hebrew text hints at a profound, majestic complexity within the nature of the Creator.
Genesis 1:1 states, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The Hebrew word used for God here is Elohim. It is a plural noun. Though a singular noun for God exists (El), the Scriptures overwhelmingly use the plural Elohim. Yet, in violation of standard grammatical rules, this plural noun is paired with singular verbs. Why?
The Shema provides the answer: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [Elohim] is one [Echad] LORD” (Deut. 6:4).
The Hebrew word Echad signifies a composite unity—a unity of more than one. It is the exact same word used in Genesis 2:24 when a man and woman become "one [echad] flesh," or in Ezekiel 37:17 when two sticks become "one [echad] stick" in the prophet's hand.
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is completely unified, yet exists as a profound Tri-Unity: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh).
Throughout the Tanakh, we see the Creator speaking of Himself in plural terms, taking counsel within the Godhead.
Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”
Isaiah 6:8
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”
Even more strikingly, the Prophets reveal interactions between the distinct persons of the Godhead.
Isaiah 48:16
“Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there.” And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit.
In this verse, the Speaker claims to be the eternal Creator who has been there "from the beginning." Yet, this eternal Creator states that He has been sent by "the Lord GOD" and "His Spirit." The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are distinct, yet entirely One.
The concept that God has a Son is not a Greek invention or a New Testament addition. It is embedded deeply within the Hebrew wisdom literature and the Psalms.
Proverbs 30:4 (The Mystery of His Name)
Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name? Surely you know!
Psalm 2:7, 12 (The Decree of the King)
I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.” ... Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.
The Prophets foretold that this eternal Son—the Mighty God—would one day step into time, take on human flesh, and physically rescue His people.
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
When Yeshua arrived, He did not claim to be merely a prophet. He claimed absolute unity with the Father. He claimed the eternal, uncreated Name of the Great I AM.
John 10:30
“I and the Father are one.”
Colossians 2:9
For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.
Zechariah 12:10 (The Pierced Creator)
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on Him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only child..."
In Zechariah, the LORD (YHWH) is speaking in the first person. He declares that the inhabitants of Jerusalem will look upon Me whom they have pierced. God is Spirit; He cannot be pierced with a physical spear. The only way the Creator could be pierced is if He stepped into human history as a man.
God is One. The Father orchestrated our salvation, the Son accomplished it on the cross, and the Holy Spirit applies it to our hearts. Blessed be His glorious Name forever.