How do you reconcile the first Commandment with the trinity?

I learned that in grammar school - back when we started ever day with the "Pledge of allegiance", and the Lord's Prayer: "Our father which art in Heaven, Harold be thy name".

Clearly it is Christ.

I don't find they contradict. For me personally I find that God from the beginning introduced the notion of one even though it contains different distinct individuals. God created man, singular yet said that one, was comprised of two distinctions, male and female. A man leaves his father and mother and becomes one flesh. We are one body yet we are comprised of many members. Both are definitions by God how he defines one.

I have oft wondered when God said let us create man in our image. Is there a possibility of the totality of that. Is it possible that by creating us as one yet two distinct individuals. He was actually creating us in that aspect of his image.

Not only do we have his word but he also put us in a real world situation that we live in daily so that we can better understand him, to have relationship with him. I have come to the conclusion myself that creation is by no means an accident but thought out to the last detail. I believe creation was purposeful as a way for God to have us live out who he is so we can better understand him.

For example we have parables that God and the kingdom can be likened to so that we can understand him and understand the nature of our relationship. I believe he created the natural so that we could understand the spiritual or him. Things like family, marriage, light, darkness, and etc. He created these as a lived out experience and real example to understand him for the purpose of understanding our relationship.

So I find that it is he who introduced the notion of being one can be comprised of separate distinct individuals. So there could be the possibility that being created in his image also includes man being created as one yet in two distinctions.

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Hello stilllearning, always lovely to see you and hear your thoughts on a matter. I have been thinking about this "in the image of God" idea a bit of late also, because in Ezekiel we are told the entities which Ezekiel encountered were in the image of a man, and yet they each had four faces, feet like the hooves of calves, wings studded with eyes under which were hands, etc. LOL. How like a man is that really? .

Many say being made in the image of God means something tripartite such as soul spirit emotions, and yet really the Bible does not articulate what it means at all beyond saying we were created in His image. I can think of that as being the image He held of how it would be, such as when an artist has an image of something in their mind and creates a likeness of it to represent it, something which may or may not resemble the artist in any way. Just a few random thoughts on the matter .. I do hope you are well .

image is not really accurate, image makes one think of physical appearance. In the Hebrew it is likeness, which could have physical similarities or could not but have other similarities.

דְּמוּת likeness, similitude

Ezekiel 1:5-8, "and out of the midst of it came what looked like four living creatures. And this was their appearance מַרְאֶה : they had the likeness דְּמוּת of a man. And each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calves’ foot. And they sparkled like the appearance of polished bronze, and under their wings on their four sides were the hands of a man. And each of the four had faces and wings –

appearance is sight, appearance, vision; מַרְאֶה

Correction: in Ezekiel, the beings are said to be in the likeness of man...

SpeakTruth101 said:

image is not really accurate, image makes one think of physical appearance. In the Hebrew
it is likeness, which could have physical similarities or could not but have other similarities.

Click to expand...

Thank you, I did realize that after posting, but had work matters to attend to...

Still, said to be in man's likeness with very much different does cause pause...

Your absolutely right, it was the preincarnate Jesus Christ, (known as the angel of the Lord( who appeared to the Fathers and others in the Old Testament. It was not the person of God the Father. This is confirmed by Jesus Himself at John 5:37 and at John 6:46.

Webers.Home said this: "
Ex 24:9-11 . .Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and
seventy of the elders of Israel: and they saw the God of Israel: and there
was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it
were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the
children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and
drink."

He then said this:
And yet:

● Ex 33:20 . . You cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live.

● John 1:18 . . No one has ever seen God

Plus:

There are many incidents throughout the Old Testament-- too numerous to
count --wherein folks heard an audible voice spoken by someone identifying
themselves as God and/or Jehovah. And yet:

● John 5:37 . .The Father who sent me . . .you have never heard His voice.

That claim was addressed to the Jews; who I think would strongly disagree
seeing as how it can be easily shown that God/Jehovah spoke to their patriarchs with a voice that could be heard and understood.

The voice that was heard was God's voice and the designation Father is never mentioned in the OT. Also, the angel of the Lord was physically seen in the OT. Look what Hagar says the angel of the Lord at Genesis 16:13, "Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, "Thou art a God who sees;" for she said, "Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?"

The problem with Webers.Home is that he does not know how to reconcile these "apparent" contradictions with God can be seen and even talk from heaven with the words of Jesus where He cannot be seen. The answer is "obvious" (at least to some) that the angel of the Lord is God in the person of Jesus Christ. I'm writing this for your benefit because Webers.Home put me on his ignore list. Any other questions I will be happy to address.

IN THE ANGEL OF THE LORD,
bluto

They are not contradictory because they are part of the definition for the Trinity.

here you go: https://www.calvarychapelboston.com/Biblical Basis Trinity Bowman.pdf

Agreed, in the likeness how? Im not sure... Maybe a similar upright form? Thats all I could think?

That is not the definition of the Trinity.

"
One God, Three Persons

The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Stated differently, God is one in essence and three in person. These definitions express three crucial truths: (1) the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, (2) each Person is fully God, (3) there is only one God.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons. The Bible speaks of the Father as God (Philippians 1:2), Jesus as God (Titus 2:13), and the Holy Spirit as God (Acts 5:3–4). Are these just three different ways of looking at God, or simply ways of referring to three different roles that God plays? The answer must be no, because the Bible also indicates that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons.

For example, since the Father sent the Son into the world (John 3:16), he cannot be the same person as the Son. Likewise, after the Son returned to the Father (John 16:10), the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit into the world (John 14:26; Acts 2:33). Therefore, the Holy Spirit must be distinct from the Father and the Son.

In the baptism of Jesus, we see the Father speaking from heaven and the Spirit descending from heaven in the form of a dove as Jesus comes out of the water (Mark 1:10–11). John 1:1 affirms that Jesus is God and, at the same time, that he was “with God,” thereby indicating that Jesus is a distinct Person from God the Father (see also John 1:18). And in John 16:13–15, we see that although there is a close unity between the three persons, the Holy Spirit is also distinct from the Father and the Son.

The fact that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons means, in other words, that the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father. Jesus is God, but he is not the Father or the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God, but he is not the Son or the Father. They are different Persons, not three different ways of looking at God.

The personhood of each member of the Trinity means that each Person has a distinct center of consciousness. Thus, they relate to each other personally — the Father regards himself as “I” while he regards the Son and Holy Spirit as “you.” Likewise, the Son regards himself as “I,” but the Father and the Holy Spirit as “you.”

Often it is objected, “If Jesus is God, then he must have prayed to himself while he was on earth.” But the answer to this objection lies in simply applying what we have already seen. While Jesus and the Father are both God, they are different Persons. Thus, Jesus prayed to God the Father without praying to himself. In fact, it is precisely the continuing dialogue between the Father and the Son (Matthew 3:17; 17:5; John 5:19; 11:41–42; 17:1ff) that furnishes the best evidence that they are distinct Persons with distinct centers of consciousness.

Sometimes the Personhood of the Father and Son is appreciated, but the Personhood of the Holy Spirit is neglected. Sometimes the Spirit is treated more like a “force” than a Person. But the Holy Spirit is not an “it,” but a “he” (see John 14:26; 16:7–15; Acts 8:16). The fact that the Holy Spirit is a Person, not an impersonal force (like gravity), is also shown by the fact that he speaks (Hebrews 3:7), reasons (Acts 15:28), thinks and understands (1 Corinthians 2:10–11), wills (1 Corinthians 12:11), feels (Ephesians 4:30), and gives personal fellowship (2 Corinthians 13:14). These are all qualities of personhood.

In addition to these texts, the others we mentioned above make clear that the Personhood of the Holy Spirit is distinct from the Personhood of the Son and the Father. They are three real persons, not three roles God plays.

Another serious error people have made is to think that the Father became the Son, who then became the Holy Spirit. Contrary to this, the passages we have seen imply that God always was and always will be three Persons. There was never a time when one of the Persons of the Godhead did not exist. They are all eternal.

While the three members of the Trinity are distinct, this does not mean that any is inferior to the other. Instead, they are all identical in attributes. They are equal in power, love, mercy, justice, holiness, knowledge, and all other qualities.

Each Person is fully God. If God is three Persons, does this mean that each Person is “one third” of God? Does the Trinity mean that God is divided into three parts?

The doctrine of the Trinity does not divide God into three parts. The Bible is clear that all three Persons are each one-hundred-percent God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each fully God. For example, Colossians 2:9 says of Christ, “in him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form.” We should not think of God as a “pie” cut into three pieces, each piece representing a Person. This would make each Person less than fully God and thus not God at all. Rather, “the being of each Person is equal to the whole being of God” (Grudem, Systematic Theology, 1994, page 255). The divine essence is not something that is divided between the three persons, but is fully in all three persons without being divided into “parts.”

Thus, the Son is not one-third of the being of God; he is all of the being of God. The Father is not one-third of the being of God; he is all of the being of God. And likewise with the Holy Spirit. Thus, as Wayne Grudem writes, “When we speak of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together we are not speaking of any greater being than when we speak of the Father alone, the Son alone, or the Holy Spirit alone” (Ibid., 252).

There is only one God. If each Person of the Trinity is distinct and yet fully God, then should we conclude that there is more than one God? Obviously we cannot, for Scripture is clear that there is only one God: “There is no other God besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:21–22; see also Isaiah 44:6–8; Exodus 15:11; Deuteronomy 4:35; 6:4–5; 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:2; 1 Kings 8:60).

Having seen that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, that they are each fully God, and that there is nonetheless only one God, we must conclude that all three Persons are the same God. In other words, there is one God who exists as three distinct Persons.

If there is one passage which most clearly brings all of this together, it is Matthew 28:19: “Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” First, notice that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinguished as distinct Persons. We baptize into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Second, notice that each Person must be deity because they are all placed on the same level. In fact, would Jesus have us baptize in the name of a mere creature? Surely not. Therefore each of the Persons into whose name we are to be baptized must be deity. Third, notice that although the three divine Persons are distinct, we are baptized into their name (singular), not names (plural). The three Persons are distinct, yet only constitute one name. This can only be if they share one essence.

Is the Trinity Contradictory?

This leads us to investigate more closely a very helpful definition of the Trinity which I mentioned earlier: God is one in essence, but three in Person. This formulation can show us why there are not three Gods, and why the Trinity is not a contradiction.

In order for something to be contradictory, it must violate the law of non-contradiction. This law states that A cannot be both A (what it is) and non-A (what it is not) at the same time and in the same relationship. In other words, you have contradicted yourself if you affirm and deny the same statement. For example, if I say that the moon is made entirely of cheese but then also say that the moon is not made entirely of cheese, I have contradicted myself.
..."
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-is-the-doctrine-of-the-trinity

Of real importance is that the concept represented by the word “Trinity” does exist in Scripture. The following is what God’s Word says about the Trinity:

1) There is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:4; Galatians 3:20; 1 Timothy 2:5).

2) The Trinity consists of three Persons (Genesis 1:1, 26; 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8, 48:16, 61:1; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14). In Genesis 1:1, the Hebrew plural noun "Elohim" is used. In Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7 and Isaiah 6:8, the plural pronoun for “us” is used. The word "Elohim" and the pronoun “us” are plural forms, definitely referring in the Hebrew language to more than two. While this is not an explicit argument for the Trinity, it does denote the aspect of plurality in God. The Hebrew word for "God," "Elohim," definitely allows for the Trinity.

In Isaiah 48:16 and 61:1, the Son is speaking while making reference to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Compare Isaiah 61:1 to Luke 4:14-19 to see that it is the Son speaking. Matthew 3:16-17 describes the event of Jesus’ baptism. Seen in this passage is God the Holy Spirit descending on God the Son while God the Father proclaims His pleasure in the Son. Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 are other examples of passages that present three distinct Persons in the Trinity.

3) The members of the Trinity are distinguished one from another in various passages. In the Old Testament, “LORD” is distinguished from “Lord” (Genesis 19:24; Hosea 1:4). The LORD has a Son (Psalm 2:7, 12; Proverbs 30:2-4). The Spirit is distinguished from the “LORD” (Numbers 27:18) and from “God” (Psalm 51:10-12). God the Son is distinguished from God the Father (Psalm 45:6-7; Hebrews 1:8-9). In the New Testament, Jesus speaks to the Father about sending a Helper, the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17). This shows that Jesus did not consider Himself to be the Father or the Holy Spirit. Consider also the other instances when Jesus speaks to the Father. Was He speaking to Himself? No. He spoke to another Person in the Trinity—the Father.

4) Each member of the Trinity is God. The Father is God (John 6:27; Romans 1:7; 1 Peter 1:2). The Son is God (John 1:1, 14; Romans 9:5; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:8; 1 John 5:20). The Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 3:16).

5) There is subordination within the Trinity. Scripture shows that the Holy Spirit is subordinate to the Father and the Son, and the Son is subordinate to the Father. This is an internal relationship and does not deny the deity of any Person of the Trinity. This is simply something our finite minds cannot understand concerning the infinite God. Concerning the Son see Luke 22:42, John 5:36, John 20:21, and 1 John 4:14. Concerning the Holy Spirit see John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7, and especially John 16:13-14.

6) The individual members of the Trinity have different tasks. The Father is the ultimate source or cause of the universe (1 Corinthians 8:6; Revelation 4:11); divine revelation (Revelation 1:1); salvation (John 3:16-17); and Jesus’ human works (John 5:17; 14:10). The Father initiates all of these things.

The Son is the agent through whom the Father does the following works: the creation and maintenance of the universe (1 Corinthians 8:6; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17); divine revelation (John 1:1, 16:12-15; Matthew 11:27; Revelation 1:1); and salvation (2 Corinthians 5:19; Matthew 1:21; John 4:42). The Father does all these things through the Son, who functions as His agent.

The Holy Spirit is the means by whom the Father does the following works: creation and maintenance of the universe (Genesis 1:2; Job 26:13; Psalm 104:30); divine revelation (John 16:12-15; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Peter 1:21); salvation (John 3:6; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:2); and Jesus’ works (Isaiah 61:1; Acts 10:38). Thus, the Father does all these things by the power of the Holy Spirit.
https://www.gotquestions.org/Trinity-Bible.html

That which was not part of the definition was saying three persons are one person.

John 1:14
King James Version
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The Son of God was not adopted, but Jesus as man was adopted as a King.

Here is what we say, please read it https://www.calvarychapelboston.com/Biblical Basis Trinity Bowman.pdf

How about you leave your answers first.

good discussion all

....because the bible is clear that there are three separate unique entities - Father, Son, Holy Spirit that comprise one God.

Precisely.