Trinity in Creation

By Solomon White

This article is the fifth in a new series called Theology for Everyone. We believe that theology is inherently practical, so in this series, we will be taking a deep dive into some doctrines of faith and discuss how they apply to our everyday lives. You can read our other articles here.

Genesis 1:26- Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

Trinity In Creation

Creation is truly a wonderful thing. A quick look around at the universe will reveal wonders beyond anything we could imagine to create and being the conscious, self-aware beings we are, and it’s common to ask from where it all came. But since no one was there at the beginning of the universe, we rely on God to reveal how he created everything. He does so in Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The word for God here in the original Hebrew is Elohim, which is a plural form. The writer, Moses, is using this plural form instead of the more specifically relational term Yahweh. God shows us that all three persons of the triune God are present at creation, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  

Christianity is a monotheistic faith meaning that we worship one God, not many gods. When God addresses himself, he usually does it in the singular as in Isaiah 45:5 where he says, “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me, there is no God” But when he’s talking about creation, he uses the plural form. Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’” This highlights the fact that all three persons of the Holy Trinity are at work. 

The word “God” is plural in Genesis chapter 1 and in verse 2, scripture says, “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” This is the third person of God, the Holy Spirit, present at creation. The Spirit plays a more active role in the creation of the first man, Adam. Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” The word “breath” in Hebrew is also connected with wind and spirit. Since this is in the context of God creating man in his image, we can see that the Holy Spirit is present here as well. All three persons of the Holy Trinity permeate throughout the creation narrative. One scarcely becomes distinguishable from the other. This is not an accident or a muddling of the writing of scripture. It’s a clear indication that all three persons of the triune God take part in creation. 

Genesis 1:3 says, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” A crucially important point to take from this verse is that God speaks things into creation. God is the only being that can create out of nothing (ex nihilo). All the ways humans create things are ultimately a reshaping of existing matter. God not only creates form and order out of chaos, but he also creates matter from non-matter by the power of his Word. John 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was at the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” All things were made by the Father through his Word, who is his Son, and became flesh in the form of the man Jesus Christ. 

Meant for Redemption

After the question of what and how comes the natural question of why, the glorious aspects of creation such as the celestial wonders of deep space, beautiful landscapes, the laughter of children, love, reason, music, alcohol, these things are simple to understand why God created them the way they are. But other things are hard to discern. Disease, death, pain, loss, Mondays, taxes, why did God create these? We can say that these things are consequences of the Fall, but then that leads to why God created the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the first place? Why did God create the serpent in the garden that would deceive Eve and lead to the fall and the introduction of all terrible things into the world? Did God set up humanity for failure? Essentially, why the Fall? The answer is because God is a God of redemption. 

The covenant of works and the covenant of grace are familiar to Christians who see God as more than a clean-up crew sweeping up after our messes. God does not dispense remedies as man muddles along, making mistake after mistake. In scripture, we see that God makes covenants with humanity in a binding relationship. The covenant of works was given to Adam until he broke it in the Fall. The second Adam, Jesus Christ, fulfilled the covenant of works, and by his death and resurrection, a new covenant of grace was made between God and his chosen people. But before the creation of the universe, there was another covenant made between the three persons of the Holy Trinity. That is the covenant of redemption.

The covenant of redemption is a covenant made by the Father, enacted through the Son, and sustained by the Holy Spirit. God sent his Son to be born on earth, live a sinless life, and die for our sins on the cross, thereby redeeming his people back to himself. Also, God’s kingdom is established on earth, and one day the entire universe will be redeemed back to God in a new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:1). Christ’s mission on earth was not a “plan b” after God’s first plan of Eden fell through. Not at all. This was the plan from even before creation. Philippians 2:5-8 says, “Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Here we see a willing Son who was sent to fulfill his Father’s work. This is not a reluctant change of plans. Jesus emptied himself. He humbled himself. It wasn’t forced or put upon him against his will. For this is the will and nature of God to redeem.

Redeeming God

The God of scripture is a redeeming God. If this God were to create a universe, it would be one to be redeemed. That’s the reason for the Fall. That’s the reason for the existence of pain and anguish in this world because God is a healer and comforter. That’s who he is and how he creates. 

There is relief and redemption from sin and pain. It’s found only in Jesus Christ. There is more to life than the worldly, Godless doctrine of survival and death. As the great master, Yoda said, “Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.” Scripture agrees. God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into us, making us image-bearers of himself, worthy of a certain dignity and respect over all other creation. 

Just as all persons of the trinity took part in creation, all persons take part in redeeming that fallen creation. God calls, the Son redeems and justifies, and the Holy Spirit dwells within us, sustaining us in a lifelong pursuit of sanctification (2 Thess 2:13).  God’s work continues. He created and is now redeeming. The hopeful and energizing message to us Christians is that we are taking an active role in that redemption of the earth right now. Christ’s church will grow in the world. As the prophecy of Jesus’ birth says, “of the increase of his government there will be no end” (Isa 9:7). After Christ’s resurrection, he gave the great commission to spread the good news to all nations (Matt 28:18). The gospel is powerful enough to succeed in human history. If we believe that, we will be spurred to action and see true revival in our land. So let’s bear the image of our redeeming God and take back what rightfully belongs to us as heirs of this world. We are the king’s kids, for God’s sake. Let’s start acting like it.