In Genesis 1, God created the beasts on the sixth day. "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness….' So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (vv. 26-27).

Notice the word God is the same word used in verse 1: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." It's the Hebrew word Elohim, a word that's frequently used in the Old Testament to refer to God.

It's a plural noun, but it's singular in meaning. In Hebrew, -im is the plural masculine form. It's as if the verse reads "gods," yet it's used as a singular noun in this passage. Notice the sentence construction: "God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image.'" But when it continues, it doesn't say, "So They created man in Their image." It says, "So God created man in His own image."

We're getting a hint of the Trinity as early as Genesis 1. Who else would God have been speaking to when He said, "Let Us make man in Our image"? He wasn't speaking to the angels. Angels didn't create anything—they were part of God's creation themselves.

God was speaking to Himself. This is inter-Trinitarian communication. This is the Father and the Son and the Spirit convening together: "Let Us make man in Our image." But notice the singular in verse 27, "God made man in His image." It's a hint of the Trinity.

The Bible teaches that there is one God existing in three distinct Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Bible also clearly teaches the oneness of God in the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 6:4 says, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!"

Many people get confused when they read about God's oneness and then find other verses that seem to speak of the Trinity, or the triune nature of God. If the Bible is so adamant about the oneness of God, why do Christians teach the triune nature of God? It's simply because the Bible teaches the triune nature of God.

There are many creative explanations and analogies that can be helpful in trying to grasp the nature of the Trinity, but they are limited. I don't know if any of them are perfect. But it's not impossible to begin to understand.

For example, if you look at a cold lake in Alaska when the sun is shining on it, you'll see vapor hovering above the lake. There's ice on the surface at the edges of the lake, and there's liquid in the middle. It's all water, but it's water existing in three states: gas, solid, and liquid.

We should be careful not to trivialize God and reduce Him to a formula. It's one of the imponderables of Scripture. You'll never get your mind fully around it.

There's much more that could be said. But here's what I want you to remember: Our God is the I AM, the Self-existent One, the Creator, the Mighty God, the Uncaused Cause.

He is eternal, He is always faithful, and He is always available.