Oct '24 • Morning quiet time/reflection
Hey Boys! Reflection on the Trinity in Genesis 3:22
I would like to first apologize for my inactivity, for those who don't know me, my name is Howie and I'm a friend of Ethan, we met this summer working together at Aptive. I live in St. Louis and I am a senior at UMSL studying philosophy. But it's been on my mind to think of something to write and share with everyone. I try to do my bible reading in the morning, and previously I have not had the extensive time I would need to sit down to think and reflect and then write about it also with all the homework I also have to do. anyway but I thank the Lord that today I have had time and I found something wonderful that I wanted to share.
For some context I am doing a systematic theology class with my church, during our meeting last night we sent over the doctrine of sin, and we took some time to read through Genesis 3 and the Fall of man. and last week was about creation. I have not been through Genesis 1-3 in a long time, a it was very refreshing to read that after having a lot more knowledge of the Bible now. but one of the things I noticed in Genesis 3 was a curious sentence in verse 22.
Genesis 3:22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever”
I noticed that here when God spoke he used the plural pronouns "us" now overall this is something that I have been familiar with, I have studied the trinity extensively and even created a document about the biblical proofs for the trinity,
(See here) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/19PwtapGsAGnDp89GGc1G6K5zGOnUyOds0gLg1Xd4WSI/edit?usp=sharing)
and in Genesis there are 2 other times where God uses plural pronouns in conversation, Genesis 1:26 and Genesis 11:7. Genesis 1:26 is the more famous passage with this and I have heard several other ways to interpret it, such as God is addressing a divine council or heavenly court, or using the royal plural/plural of majesty.
I was excited to find Gen 3:22 and be able to add it to my list, but ive been reflecting on being more careful about my presupposition and not just searching for verses to add as ammunition for proof texting, want to seek for understanding with the context and hold consistency in my interpretation of the Bible. so I did what anyone would do and I started asking ChatGPT. and after some critical questions and consideration I got an interesting response.
Now obvious I know there should be some hesitation, ChatGPT is not a perfect source, it can be wrong, it can be manipulated, and develop a bias to the user knowing their preferences. So that should be the first thing to keep in mind when reading my conversation, but none the less I think I tried to remain objective and with the analysis of the text when seeking consistency amidst the context of each passage I think the take away is clear: looking at Genesis 1:26, 3:22, and 11:7 together, the consistent use of plural pronouns in God’s speech seems to suggest a dialogue or communion that aligns well with the concept of a multi-personal God. While alternative interpretations like the divine council or royal plural exist, these explanations often fall short of fully accounting for the context in which God speaks and acts.
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Hey Boys! Reflection on the Trinity in Genesis 3:22
