From the earliest chapters in Scripture, God refers to Himself in a unique way.
- God’s single name is written in the plural form. (Gen 1:1)
- God refers to Himself saying, “Let US make man in our own image” (Gen 1:26) then the text proceeds to say that God made man in His own (singular) image (Gen 1:27).
- God commissions Isaiah saying, “Whom will I send? who will go for US?”! (Isaiah 6:8)
- The Lord’s anointed says He is in the beginning with God, and that He and God’s Spirit are sent by the Lord God (Isaiah 48:16)
God is, in the cases listed above acting of His own power and authority and referring to Himself at the same time as ONE and MORE-THAN-ONE. Unlike Allah, the one God of the Muslims, the Living God knows what it is to be in a relationship! Yes, he’s the only God, there is none beside him, but He is not a lonely god.
Of course, this wasn’t very clear in the Old Testament. God’s self-revelation wasn’t made crystal clear until later. For now, we can come to terms with this truth. In our loneliest and darkest moments, we can take comfort in the fact that God, making us part of His family, does not start a relationship but rahter brings us into a truly unique and eternal relationship.