Holy Trinity: The Eternally Relational Nature of God - Genesis 1:26-27

 

📖 Scripture

“Then Elohim said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth itself, and every creature that crawls upon it.’”
– Genesis 1:26

🔎 Examination

The doctrine of Holy Trinity isn't a riddle for ivory-tower theologians. It is the blazing revelation of the one true God, as He has made Himself known in Scripture. The Word of God declares that there is one God, eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: three distinct, co-equal, co-eternal Persons, one undivided divine essence. The doctrine isn't the product of church tradition or human speculation. It is the inescapable testimony of the sixty-six books of the Bible, the foundation upon which all true worship stands.

A helpful question is this: What was God doing before creation? Before angels existed, before the heavens and the earth were spoken into reality, before time itself began, what was God doing? Scripture reveals that the Father loved the Son before the foundation of the world (John 17:24). The Son delighted in the Father. The Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son. Before creation, God wasn't isolated, lonely, or incomplete. God existed in perfect, eternal communion.

This matters because love isn't something God learned. Love isn't the accidental or incidental byproduct of evolution, culture, or social dynamics. Love exists because it has always existed eternally within the very character and nature of God. The Father has eternally loved the Son. The Son has eternally loved the Father. The Holy Spirit eternally glorifies both the Father and the Son. Perfect, self-giving love isn't something God does—it is indivisible from who God is.

This immutable truth stands in direct contrast to the depraved worldview that idolizes self. Scripture reveals that humanity was created in God's image and likeness. Because our Creator is eternally relational, humanity was created for relationship: relationship with God, within marriage, in the family, in the local church, and in the broader community as salt and light. Isolation, hyper-individualism, radical independence, and self-exaltation aren't signs of strength or spiritual maturity; they are symptoms of sin's corruption of God's design.

The tragedy of The Fall wasn't merely disobedience. It was humanity's mutiny - attempting to replace God-centered worship with self-centered autonomy. Sin warps the focus of the heart inward. Instead of reflecting the selfless love revealed within Holy Trinity, depraved humanity craves self-preservation, self-glory, and self-rule.

Yet the Gospel reveals God's eternal plan of redemption. Before creation, the Father purposed redemption through the Son. The Son willingly came to accomplish salvation through His incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. The Holy Spirit regenerates sinners and unites them together in Christ as members of His Body & Bride through the proclamation of the Gospel. The work of salvation itself displays the perfect harmony and unity of Holy Trinity.

Therefore, the doctrine of Holy Trinity isn't some abstract understanding of God. It explains why we were created, why sin is so destructive, why redemption is necessary, and why the saints are called into loving communion and commissioned as Christ's Body and Bride. The eternally relational God establishes a redeemed people who increasingly reflect God’s character through joyful submission, sacrificial service, and worship in Spirit and truth… to the glory of our God of eternal Holy Trinity!

🤺 Action

• Test your understanding of God's nature through Scripture. “Now these Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.” (Acts 17:11). Does your understanding of God come from the full counsel of Scripture, or from traditions, assumptions, and popular teachings that have never been carefully examined?
• Examine whether your life reflects Christ's self-giving love. “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Can you not see for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you actually fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Does the pattern of your life increasingly display sacrificial love, humility, and service toward others, or does it reveal self-interest and self-exaltation?
• Evaluate your commitment to Christ's Body. “And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24–25). Are you functioning as a devoted member of Christ's local Body and Bride, or are you approaching church as a consumer, spectator, or occasional participant?
• Search the Scriptures concerning the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. “You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me.” (John 5:39). Have you allowed the full testimony of Scripture to shape your doctrine of God, or are you building conclusions from isolated passages?
• Repent of self-centered independence. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:3–5). Does your life reflect the relational, selfless character revealed in the one true God of Holy Trinity, or does it reveal the inward bent of depraved and selfish humanity?

🧠 Reflection

The God revealed in Scripture isn't solitary, distant, or detached. Before creation, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit existed in perfect communion, glory, and love. Humanity was created in God’s image and likeness to reflect that eternal reality, yet giving ourselves over to sin corrupted our worship and relationships. Through Christ's finished work at the Cross, and the regenerating ministry of the Holy Spirit, God restores His people to fellowship with Himself and with one another. The more we grasp and grow in the reality of Holy Trinity, the more joyfully we will live as devoted and functional members of Christ's Body & Bride, as we eagerly await His return.

✝️ Study

Q1: According to Genesis 1:26, whose image and likeness was humanity created to reflect?

Q2: How does John 17:24 reveal that love existed eternally before creation?

Q3: How does the eternal relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit provide the foundation for biblical anthropology and ecclesiology?

Q4: How does the unified work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in redemption demonstrate both distinction of Persons and unity of eternal divine essence?

Q5: Many claim that love, morality, and human dignity can be fully explained apart from the God revealed in Scripture. How does the doctrine of Holy Trinity expose the insufficiency of that claim while providing the only coherent foundation for objective love, personhood, and self-sacrifice?

Blessings & love,

Kevin M. Kelley
Pastor

BigIslandChristianChurch.com

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