The Great Debate: Can One God Be Three, or Is There a Triune God?
For many years my Jewish friends have challenged my understanding of one God in “three persons” or as evidence of three separate personalities.
“You are a polytheist!” one says with great heat, attacking me before any discussion has even begun. “We believe in only one God!”
“One God cannot be three gods. It is an impossibility,” another says more calmly.
“How can you believe there is one God and that there are three gods at the same time? If Jesus is God, then how could He have been born only two thousand years ago?” another asks, with genuine desire to understand but also misstating my position.
For a long time, I fell back on a wide variety of Bible teachings. Perhaps I should state this before going further: I believe that the Bible is God’s inspired Word. I include in that statement the Hebrew Bible of the Masoretic Text and the New Testament as given in the Textus Receptus and translated into English in the King James Bible. I do not elevate any writings of man to that same level, no matter how learned the author may be.
In a recent discussion on this issue of “One God versus Three Gods” with a young friend who was at that age where we have all been — old enough to believe we know nearly everything, and young enough to still have time to discover how wrong that belief is — I attempted to explain my position.
I was stonewalled by the constantly repeated phrase: “You believe Jesus was God. That He was God’s son. Jews don’t believe in three Gods!”
Each time I began a new attempt to give reasons, my friend repeated the same mantra. Even though I myself am Jewish, the objection continued.
Since I am writing now instead of debating, perhaps I can share some of my positions.
Gideon’s Experience
Take Gideon’s experience in the Book of Judges.
Judges 6:6–10 (KJV):6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,8 That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;10 And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.
The previous passage sets the stage for Gideon’s experience by explaining why Israel was suffering. God sent a prophet to convict them and to explain His reasoning for allowing the Midianites to invade their land. This is an example of His patience with Israel.
Judges 6:11 (KJV):And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
When one studies the Bible carefully, the phrase “angel of the LORD” becomes clear. In many cases it refers to a theophany — an Old Testament appearance of God in human form. This is whom we recognize as the pre-incarnate Jesus.
Judges 6:12 (KJV):And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
It is interesting that the Lord (Jehovah) sees those He calls in a very different light than they see themselves.
Judges 6:13 (KJV):And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
This question of Gideon has been asked throughout the centuries by both Jew and Gentile alike: “If God is with us, then why don’t we see proof of it now? Has the Lord forsaken us?”
Judges 6:14 (KJV):And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
We love the phrase, “Go in this thy might.” When God sends a person to do His will, they must do what they can, and then God’s strength is added. He does not do for us what He has commanded us to do ourselves. But when our strength is nearly exhausted, His begins to lift the load.
Judges 6:15–16 (KJV):15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
The conversation moves from question to answer. Gideon is basically saying, “I’m a nobody.” How often the Lord loves to use “nobodies”! That way His glory receives all the credit when victory is won. Notice also that the Lord assures Gideon the victory is already decided.
Judges 6:17–19 (KJV):17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
Gideon needed more than words. He asked for a sign from the “angel of the LORD.” He then prepared a sacrifice. And let us remember — sacrifices are for God, not for mere angels.
Judges 6:20–21 (KJV):20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
Here even a casual reader notices the truth: this “angel of the LORD” is no angel at all, but God Himself. Angels do not receive sacrifices. Only God does.
Judges 6:22–24 (KJV):22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Gideon now realized he had seen God. He feared death, for no man may see God and live. Yet God reassured him. Many centuries later, when Jesus came as the sacrifice for the sins of the world, thousands saw Him face to face and lived. Gideon built an altar and called it Jehovah-Shalom — “The LORD is Peace.”
Creation and the Plurality of God
Before Gideon, in the very beginning, there is Genesis.
Genesis 1:1 (KJV):“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
The Hebrew word for God here is Elohim. This word is plural, not singular.
Genesis 1:26 (KJV):“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
The rabbis themselves, long before Christianity, wrestled with this. Rabbi Simeon ben Jochai in the Zohar described God as Father, Shechinah, and Master-Builder — three within one Elohim. They recognized a unity with distinction.
Echad: A United Oneness
Deuteronomy 6:4 (KJV):“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.”
The Hebrew word here is echad, meaning a united oneness. It is the same word used in:
Genesis 2:24 (KJV):“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
Man and woman remain two distinct persons, yet in marriage they become one. In the same way, God is one — a united oneness, not a solitary being.
Later Jewish tradition replaced echad with yachid (meaning solitary “one”) in the Shema, to avoid supporting the Christian teaching of the Trinity. But God’s Word itself uses echad.
The Spirit of God
The Spirit of God is also revealed throughout Scripture as personal and active:
Exodus 31:3 (KJV):“And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.”
1 Samuel 10:10 (KJV):“And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.”
2 Chronicles 24:20 (KJV):“And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you.”
Conclusion
The issue is not interpretation, denominational boundaries, or arguments between religions. The issue is simply this: what does the Bible, in its own words, teach?
The consistent witness of Scripture is that God is one — and yet within His unity, He reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Not three gods. Not a solitary god. But one God, united in essence, revealed in three persons.
“You are a polytheist!” one says with great heat, attacking me before any discussion has even begun. “We believe in only one God!”
“One God cannot be three gods. It is an impossibility,” another says more calmly.
“How can you believe there is one God and that there are three gods at the same time? If Jesus is God, then how could He have been born only two thousand years ago?” another asks, with genuine desire to understand but also misstating my position.
For a long time, I fell back on a wide variety of Bible teachings. Perhaps I should state this before going further: I believe that the Bible is God’s inspired Word. I include in that statement the Hebrew Bible of the Masoretic Text and the New Testament as given in the Textus Receptus and translated into English in the King James Bible. I do not elevate any writings of man to that same level, no matter how learned the author may be.
In a recent discussion on this issue of “One God versus Three Gods” with a young friend who was at that age where we have all been — old enough to believe we know nearly everything, and young enough to still have time to discover how wrong that belief is — I attempted to explain my position.
I was stonewalled by the constantly repeated phrase: “You believe Jesus was God. That He was God’s son. Jews don’t believe in three Gods!”
Each time I began a new attempt to give reasons, my friend repeated the same mantra. Even though I myself am Jewish, the objection continued.
Since I am writing now instead of debating, perhaps I can share some of my positions.
Gideon’s Experience
Take Gideon’s experience in the Book of Judges.
Judges 6:6–10 (KJV):6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,8 That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;10 And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.
The previous passage sets the stage for Gideon’s experience by explaining why Israel was suffering. God sent a prophet to convict them and to explain His reasoning for allowing the Midianites to invade their land. This is an example of His patience with Israel.
Judges 6:11 (KJV):And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
When one studies the Bible carefully, the phrase “angel of the LORD” becomes clear. In many cases it refers to a theophany — an Old Testament appearance of God in human form. This is whom we recognize as the pre-incarnate Jesus.
Judges 6:12 (KJV):And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
It is interesting that the Lord (Jehovah) sees those He calls in a very different light than they see themselves.
Judges 6:13 (KJV):And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
This question of Gideon has been asked throughout the centuries by both Jew and Gentile alike: “If God is with us, then why don’t we see proof of it now? Has the Lord forsaken us?”
Judges 6:14 (KJV):And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
We love the phrase, “Go in this thy might.” When God sends a person to do His will, they must do what they can, and then God’s strength is added. He does not do for us what He has commanded us to do ourselves. But when our strength is nearly exhausted, His begins to lift the load.
Judges 6:15–16 (KJV):15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
The conversation moves from question to answer. Gideon is basically saying, “I’m a nobody.” How often the Lord loves to use “nobodies”! That way His glory receives all the credit when victory is won. Notice also that the Lord assures Gideon the victory is already decided.
Judges 6:17–19 (KJV):17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
Gideon needed more than words. He asked for a sign from the “angel of the LORD.” He then prepared a sacrifice. And let us remember — sacrifices are for God, not for mere angels.
Judges 6:20–21 (KJV):20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
Here even a casual reader notices the truth: this “angel of the LORD” is no angel at all, but God Himself. Angels do not receive sacrifices. Only God does.
Judges 6:22–24 (KJV):22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Gideon now realized he had seen God. He feared death, for no man may see God and live. Yet God reassured him. Many centuries later, when Jesus came as the sacrifice for the sins of the world, thousands saw Him face to face and lived. Gideon built an altar and called it Jehovah-Shalom — “The LORD is Peace.”
Creation and the Plurality of God
Before Gideon, in the very beginning, there is Genesis.
Genesis 1:1 (KJV):“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
The Hebrew word for God here is Elohim. This word is plural, not singular.
Genesis 1:26 (KJV):“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
The rabbis themselves, long before Christianity, wrestled with this. Rabbi Simeon ben Jochai in the Zohar described God as Father, Shechinah, and Master-Builder — three within one Elohim. They recognized a unity with distinction.
Echad: A United Oneness
Deuteronomy 6:4 (KJV):“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.”
The Hebrew word here is echad, meaning a united oneness. It is the same word used in:
Genesis 2:24 (KJV):“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
Man and woman remain two distinct persons, yet in marriage they become one. In the same way, God is one — a united oneness, not a solitary being.
Later Jewish tradition replaced echad with yachid (meaning solitary “one”) in the Shema, to avoid supporting the Christian teaching of the Trinity. But God’s Word itself uses echad.
The Spirit of God
The Spirit of God is also revealed throughout Scripture as personal and active:
Exodus 31:3 (KJV):“And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.”
1 Samuel 10:10 (KJV):“And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.”
2 Chronicles 24:20 (KJV):“And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you.”
Conclusion
The issue is not interpretation, denominational boundaries, or arguments between religions. The issue is simply this: what does the Bible, in its own words, teach?
The consistent witness of Scripture is that God is one — and yet within His unity, He reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Not three gods. Not a solitary god. But one God, united in essence, revealed in three persons.