DOES “LET US” IN GENESIS 1:26 IMPLY A TRINITY?
The phrase “let us” is used when a person is talking to another person or persons to join him/her in doing a particular thing.
There is no doubt that God was the one who uttered the words in Gen. 1:26. But the number of person(s) God was talking to in the verse was not made known. So, if anyone says the verse implies a trinity, it will mean God was talking to two people. This makes such an assumption an indefensible one.
There are other Bible passages that give us an idea of who God was talking to in Gen. 1:26:
”Through him [the Word, His Son], all things were made; without him, nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:3 NIV).
“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.” (Heb. 1:1-2 NIV).
“But for us, there is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live.” (1 Cor. 8:6 NLT).
“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.” (Col. 1:15-16 NLT).
“that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him… For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.” (John 5:23, 26 KJV).
These verses of Scripture have shown beyond any iota of doubt that two persons, God and His Son, were involved in the creation of all things. God was the one who ideated the creation. So, we can call Him the architect of creation, while the Son was the builder. Therefore, we see in Genesis God talking to His Son in all the verses where God said, “let there be” (Gen. 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 15, 20). It was only the Son that God also spoke to in Gen. 1:26. Only the two of them were involved in the creation of all things. No other being is seen in the Bible as a creator.
The Latin word “trinitas” from which the English word “trinity” was derived means three. It is therefore eisegetical to mention TRINITY where only TWO persons were involved in the creation, as seen in all the verses that give us insight into Gen. 1:26.
For those who care to separate Scripture from man-made theories, I am bold to let them know that Trinity is not a Bible doctrine. That doctrine was invented at the First Council of Constantinople in 381 CE when theological speculators created a third God known as God the Holy Spirit, the Maker and Giver of life. But neither Jesus Christ nor any of His apostles teach the doctrine of Trinity. Trinity was also not mentioned by any of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible, erroneously called the Old Testament by many Christians.
Conclusively, Genesis 1:26 does not imply a Trinity. The pronoun “us” used in the verse rightly refers to God, the Creator of all things, and His Son through whom He created all things.
