Is God 3 or 1?
"Is God three or one?"
Consider this phrase :
"Mark & Spencer" opens daily from 10 AM to 10 PM."
Why is the singular verb "opens" used instead of the plural "open"?
Because there is only one Mark & Spencer - Mark & Spencer is 1 entity. They could issue a statement declaring that there is only one genuine Mark & Spencer (since there are counterfeits). Internally, Spencer could say to Mark, "Hey... you are the true Mark & Spencer," because Mark & Spencer are two persons.
In the language of the Bible, "Elohim" is plural (suffix "-im": cherubim, seraphim, etc.), yet it possesses the nature of "Echad" (unity)—unlike "Yachid," which implies a singular entity devoid of other components.
There are many instances in the Bible where "Yahweh" (God's name) speaks using the pronoun "Us" (referring to Himself).
The word "Us" here is not used merely to sound more dignified; it is genuinely plural.
Genesis 3:22 "Then the Lord God (Yahweh Elohim) said, 'Behold, the man has become like one of Us...'" — so God would not say "Us" if He were truly singular.
Genesis 11:7 "'Come, let Us go down and confuse their language there so they will not understand each other.'"
Does this imply "polytheism" rather than "monotheism"?
You can determine your answer using this simple logic:
Imagine a small town called Jagokarta. There is only one store there: M&S. If I go to that store, does it mean I am visiting two stores? Or just one store (a "monostore")?
Likewise, in this universe, there is only one Elohim—whose name is YHVH—not Baal, Zeus, Dagon, or any other.
So, don't get confused by the idea of "God being one yet three, and three yet one"; just remember the "Mark & Spencer" story mentioned above, or it could also be A&W (Allen & Wright) 👌
It is better to learn about the concept of redemption, because God's love does not negate His justice. Imagine living in a kingdom where the king upholds justice; if the prince committed an act of injustice against your family, the king—despite loving his own son—could not simply forgive him out of that love alone, for your family would not receive fair treatment. The law must be upheld; the price for the prince's sin had to be paid.
If Satan—formerly an angel of God who chose to rebel and become the father of evil (God didn't create the devil) —was judged by God, then this system of justice must also apply to God's other creations; a debt cannot simply vanish on its own without payment.
That is why, from the very beginning, there was a need for spotless blood to be shed in atonement for our sins (this is illustrated as early as Genesis 3:21, where God Himself made garments of animal skins and clothed Adam and Eve—a foreshadowing of the shedding of the Redeemer's blood - Jesus fulfilled this - John 1:29).
No human being could die to redeem others; that is why the Word of God—who was with God from the beginning and was God Himself (John 1:1-14)—had to become 100% human and sinless in order to die (without inheriting the bloodline of a human father, which carries the stain of original sin—science confirms that the placenta serves only to transport oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, and waste products)
This is the reason why the Lord Jesus was born without a biological father—leading Him to be called the Son of God; it was not simply a matter of God wanting to show off that He could create a human being without a father, devoid of any logical reason.
John 10:17-18
"The Father loves Me, because I lay down My life (intentionally) that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father."
2 Corinthians 5:21 "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
Side notes:
That is why the Lord Jesus, who used to call God "Father", suddenly on the cross He shouted, "Eli Eli, lama sabachtani?" (Matthew 27:46) which means "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?". Because it was at that moment that God the Father left Jesus as punishment for our sins, he functioned as God who condemned our sins to Jesus' body - "Eli" / "My God" here is "singular" (not "Elohim"), because the other was being a human on the cross who endured our separation from God since Adam & Eve decided to rely more on "the knowledge of good & evil" than their union with God - that's when death entered the world (Genesis 2:17, 3:1-7).
If the story of A&W (Allen & Wright) were written in the style of John’s account in John 1:
From the beginning, Allen was with A&W, and Allen was A&W. If, at some point, Allen were to carry out an A&W mission—such as opening a branch in a specific city—he would be 100% an A&W representative; there is nothing strange about this story if we understand the context.
Similarly, regarding the origin story in Genesis, the very entity that opposed God’s plan of salvation is the same character that sought to bring death into the world—introducing confusion into God’s plan of salvation.
Thus, the "WHY" behind God intentionally coming as a human must be considered in order to better understand His plan of salvation & His sacrificial love for the mankind His beloved.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
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