Genesis 1:26 — Another Trinitarian Misunderstanding?
Quick Facts
One of the most frequently quoted verses used to support the doctrine of the Trinity is Genesis 1:26:
"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.'"
Many Trinitarians claim that the words "Let Us" reveal that God consists of more than one divine person—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
But is that really what Genesis is teaching?
When the passage is read in its immediate context and compared with the rest of Scripture, the answer is far from obvious.
Is Elohim Plural?
Supporters of the Trinity often point out that the Hebrew word Elohim is grammatically plural.
However, if Elohim always meant multiple divine persons, then Genesis 1:1 would effectively read:
"In the beginning, Gods created the heavens and the earth."
Yet the Bible consistently teaches that there is one God, not several gods acting together.
Throughout Genesis 1 the word Elohim is paired with singular Hebrew verbs, showing that although the noun has a plural form, it is functioning grammatically as a singular subject.
This is why virtually every Bible translation correctly renders it:
"God created..."
—not—
"Gods created..."
The doctrine of the Trinity claims there is only one God, yet at the same time teaches three distinct divine persons who are each fully God. Critics argue that this creates an apparent tension that Genesis itself does not express.
The Immediate Context Answers the Question
Rather than stopping at Genesis 1:26, we should continue reading.
Genesis 1:27
Berean Standard Bible
"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."
Notice the repeated singular language:
God
His
He
He created
There is no statement that:
"We created..."
or
"Our image."
Instead, the narrative immediately returns to singular language.
The author deliberately emphasizes one Creator.
If Genesis 1:26 were intended to reveal three co-equal divine persons creating together, many readers would expect verse 27 to continue using plural language.
Instead, it repeatedly stresses one Creator acting alone.
The Hebrew Text Confirms This
Even the Hebrew text of Genesis 1:27 continues using singular grammatical forms.
The verbs describing creation are singular.
The pronouns referring to God are singular.
The passage naturally reads as the work of one Creator.
This is consistent throughout Genesis 1.
God Alone Created Everything
Genesis does not stand alone.
Many later Scriptures explain who created the universe.
One of the clearest is Isaiah.
Isaiah 44:24
"Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: 'I am Yahweh, who makes all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by Myself.'"
Notice the repeated emphasis:
I
Alone
By Myself
There is no mention of another divine person assisting Yahweh in creation.
God specifically says He acted alone.
Modern Bible translations often replace God's personal name Yahweh with "LORD", but the Hebrew text clearly identifies the speaker as Yahweh, the God of Israel.
Isaiah 45:12
God says:
"I made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host."
Again the language is unmistakably singular.
I made
My hands
I commanded
The emphasis throughout Isaiah is that one God alone is the Creator.
So Who Was God Speaking To?
Genesis 1:26 never actually says God was speaking to Jesus or to the Holy Spirit.
That assumption is brought into the text.
Many biblical scholars—including numerous non-Trinitarian scholars—have suggested other possibilities, including:
God addressing His heavenly court of angels.
A plural of majesty or excellence.
A form of divine deliberation.
Whatever explanation one adopts, Genesis 1:27 immediately identifies only one Creator carrying out the work.
Does the Bible Ever Say Jesus Was Present at Creation?
Many Christians believe Jesus personally existed before creation.
However, there is no verse that explicitly says:
"Jesus always existed before creation."
Instead, this conclusion is drawn from passages that are interpreted in that way.
For example, many understand John 1:1 as describing a pre-existent person.
Others understand the Word (Logos) differently—as God's own self-expression, wisdom, purpose, or spoken word that ultimately became fully revealed in Jesus Christ.
John later writes:
"The Word became flesh." (John 1:14)
Rather than saying a second divine person became human, some understand this as God's own message, purpose, and self-revelation becoming embodied in the man Jesus.
Likewise, Revelation calls Jesus:
"The Word of God." (Revelation 19:13)
This title identifies Jesus as God's perfect spokesman and representative.
Hebrews Makes an Important Distinction
Notice how Hebrews begins.
Before Jesus came:
"Long ago God spoke to our fathers through the prophets..."
(Hebrews 1:1)
Only afterward do we read:
"...but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son."
(Hebrews 1:2)
The writer distinguishes between God's previous ways of speaking and His speaking through His Son.
There Is No Other God Beside Him
Throughout Scripture God repeatedly declares His uniqueness.
Deuteronomy 4:35
"The LORD is God; there is no other besides Him."
This theme appears throughout Isaiah as well.
God repeatedly says there is no other beside Him.
Those who reject the doctrine of the Trinity argue that this language is difficult to reconcile with the concept of three co-equal divine persons who are each fully God.
What About Elohim?
Hebrew scholars have long recognized that Elohim often functions as a singular title when referring to the God of Israel.
The famous Hebrew grammarian Wilhelm Gesenius described this usage as a plural of excellence (pluralis excellentiae), rather than a numerical plural.
In other words, the form emphasizes greatness, majesty, or supremacy—not multiple divine persons.
This explains why Elohim is normally accompanied by singular verbs throughout the Hebrew Scriptures.
Even the few grammatical exceptions do not change the consistent biblical pattern that the God of Israel is treated as a singular being.
The Jewish Understanding
It is also significant that ancient Judaism never understood Genesis 1:26 as teaching a Trinity.
For centuries before Christianity, Jewish interpreters understood God to be one.
Likewise, Jewish expectation of the Messiah was that he would be the promised descendant of David—not God Himself.
Commenting on Micah 5:2, traditional Jewish interpretation understands the Messiah's origin as existing in God's eternal plan rather than as a person literally living before creation.
Psalm 72:17 similarly speaks of the Messiah's name existing "before the sun," which many understand as referring to God's foreordained purpose rather than the Messiah's personal existence.
Conclusion
Genesis 1:26 certainly raises an interesting question.
But when the immediate context is allowed to explain itself, Genesis quickly returns to singular language:
God created
His image
He created
The wider testimony of Scripture repeatedly declares:
God alone created all things.
God stretched out the heavens by Himself.
There is no other God beside Him.
For these reasons, many conclude that Genesis 1:26 does not reveal a Trinity, but should instead be understood in harmony with the Bible's consistent declaration that Yahweh alone is the one true Creator.
Further Reading
John 17:5 — Trinitarian Confusion and Misunderstanding
Does Elohim Mean One, Two, or Three?
John 1:1 — What Is the Word?
Isaiah 44:24 — Yahweh Alone Created All Things
Who Is the One True God?
Is the Trinity in Genesis?
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