Reflective narrative:
One God, Three Persons: How and why the First Three Commandments must be obeyed and why they are given to us separately
For two thousand years Christians have tried to speak faithfully about the one God who has made Himself known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Israel was right to guard against any thought of multiple gods, for there is only one true God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yet from the very beginning, that one God has chosen to reveal Himself in three distinct ways. This is not a Christian invention. It is the story Scripture itself tells: before Sinai, at Sinai, and after Sinai with the coming of the Messiah.
Before Sinai: Three Revelations Already Given
Long before Moses stood on the mountain, God was already making Himself known in three inseparable ways.
The Father, unseen.
The God of Abraham called His people out of idolatry, demanding their undivided allegiance (Gen 12:1–3; Exod 12:12). He revealed Himself as El Shaddai—God Almighty (Gen 17:1). Yet He warned, “You cannot see My face, for man shall not see Me and live” (Exod 33:20). The Father is the unseen source of all, the one true God who alone is worthy of worship.
The Spirit, drawing near.
From the beginning, God’s Spirit was active: hovering over the waters at creation (Gen 1:2), breathing life into Adam (Gen 2:7), filling Joseph with wisdom (Gen 41:38), leading Israel as a pillar of cloud and fire (Exod 13:21–22). Moses’ first encounter at the burning bush was a voice from fire, not an image (Exod 3:2–6). Israel later heard, “You heard a voice but saw no form” (Deut 4:12). The Spirit was God’s chosen way of being present with His people, without image or idol.
The Son, foreshadowed in visible form.
Even before the incarnation, God sometimes appeared in human likeness, pointing ahead to Christ, the true Image of God. The Angel of the LORD spoke with God’s own authority, and Hagar declared, “You are the God who sees me” (Gen 16:13; cf. Exod 3:2–6).
At the oaks of Mamre, Abraham lifted his eyes and saw three men standing before him; yet the narrative says, “the LORD appeared to him” and Abraham spoke with one of them as with God Himself (Gen 18:1–2, 22–33).
Jacob wrestled with a “man” and said, “I have seen God face to face” (Gen 32:30).
These were not idols fashioned by human hands, but living revelations given by God Himself—anticipations of the day when His Son would come as the perfect Image, showing the Father fully (John 14:9).
At Sinai: The Pattern Inscribed in the Commandments
When God gave His commandments, He could have given Moses one long sentence: “Worship Me alone, make no images, do not take My Name in vain.” Instead, He divided them into three separate words (Exod 20:3–7). Why? Because He was revealing the same three ways He had already drawn near, and would draw near again.
First Word — Who we worship (the Father).
“You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exod 20:3). The Father claims undivided loyalty: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD is one” (Deut 6:4–5). He is the God and Father of His people (Deut 32:6; Isa 63:16).
Second Word — How we approach (the Spirit).
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image” (Exod 20:4). Israel heard a voice but saw no form (Deut 4:12). God comes near on His own terms—by His Spirit who fills, guides, convicts, and indwells. The command protects His chosen way of presence from our attempts to control Him with man-made substitutes.
Third Word — How we bear His Name (the Son).
“You shall not take the Name of the LORD your God in vain” (Exod 20:7). At Sinai God was already preparing His people for the true Image who bears His Name. He promised His Messenger with “My Name in him” (Exod 23:20–21), and then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders saw the God of Israel and ate and drank in His presence (Exod 24:9–11)—as Christians understand as the pre-incarnate Son, the visible One who can be seen without destroying the beholder. The prophets deepen this: a child called Mighty God (Isa 9:6) and the Son of Man given everlasting dominion (Dan 7:13–14). The command teaches God’s people to carry His Name truthfully, not emptily—fulfilled perfectly in the Son who bears the Father’s Name and manifests it to us (John 17:6), and who by His Spirit forms us into His image so we bear that Name with integrity.
After Sinai: The Messiah and the Full Revelation
In the fullness of time, the same three ways became complete in Christ and His sending of the Spirit.
The Father sent His Son, and Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father in heaven” (Matt 6:9). The one true God was revealed as Father of all who believe.
The Son came as the perfect Image: “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). In Him the invisible God became visible without destroying us, because He came in human flesh to redeem.
The Spirit was poured out to indwell believers (Acts 2:1–4), convict of sin, guide into truth, and seal God’s people as His own (John 16:13–14; Eph 1:13–14).
Thus the pattern was not broken but fulfilled: the same God who revealed Himself before Sinai, and inscribed His revelation at Sinai, now reveals Himself fully in Christ and the Spirit poured out.
The Wisdom of Order
The sequence of the first three commandments is deliberate.
At Sinai (before the Messiah):
Allegiance to the Father (first).
Nearness by the Spirit, not images (second).
Bearing the Name, foreshadowing the Son (third).
Here the Spirit’s place before the visible Image guarded Israel against filling the gap with idols. God withheld the true Image until the appointed time.
In the Messiah (at the time of the cross):
The Father still claims allegiance.
The Son now comes first in visible glory, showing us the Father perfectly.
Only then does the Spirit indwell believers, empowering them to bear the Name.
The shift is purposeful: once Christ came, the danger of counterfeit images was ended, because the true Image was now revealed. Idolatry is silenced by fulfillment, not just prohibition.
One God, Not Three
This is not a new invention, nor a plurality of gods. From Eden onward, the one true God has revealed Himself in three personal ways:
The Father, who cannot be seen directly.
The Spirit, who draws near without form.
The Son, who shows us the Father perfectly.
The first three commandments were never meant to be just the first three “thou shalt nots.” They are God’s own explanation of how He would draw near to us, reveal His true Image, and make us bearers of His Name. And so, whether Jew or Gentile, we are not asked to invent clever illustrations of the Trinity or to reduce the mystery of God into a triangle, a chord, or three candles burning as one. Nor are we asked to solve the puzzle of “three Gods in one.” God Himself has already given us His definition—clear, sufficient, and living—in His first three commandments. They are not arbitrary prohibitions, but revelations of how the one true God draws near: the Father who claims us, the Spirit who indwells us, and the Son who shows us the Father perfectly.
Look no further. In these three words, God has already told us who He is and how He will be known.
