Does the Old Testament Teach That God is an Absolute Oneness or Plurality in Oneness?

Does the Old Testament Teach That God is an Absolute One or Plurality in Oneness?

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Introduction	Do more than One Person In the Godhead Appear Together?
Potential Points of Confusion	The Holy Spirit in The Old Testament
Does the Bible Teach Plurality in Oneness	The Testimony of Christ Concerning His Pre Existence and Divinity
How is The Oneness of God to be Understood	Conclusion
The Concept of The Plurality of Oneness of God in The Old Testament

Introduction

The Objective of this article is to:

Equip believers to intelligently demonstrate from the scriptures the teaching of the plural nature of God as found in Old Testament; Ultimately revealing himself as Father, Son, Holy Spirit in the New Testament

This will be done by looking at the grammar and context of scripture, rather than trying to understand the nature of God through a particular theological grid or denomination teaching.

The doctrine of the Godhead is seldom taught in the local church, if at all, or when taught it is inadequately treated, or treated as an theological academic exercise without practical application for evangelical or apologetic efforts, for this reason it is typically not understood by believers.

Some pastors and teachers have relegated the teaching of the Godhead to a mystery to hard to be understood or it is to hard to accept. Resulting in comments like the little mind of man cannot comprehend God as a cliché to justify not teaching about God. Not only are pastors and teachers guilty of such comments and attitudes, these comments are also found among the laity.

Some teachers have not availed themselves to properly understanding the scriptures dealing with the subject, as a result teaching is incomplete or misleading.

An ever increasing number of professing believers attribute to their own confusion of the teachings of Godhead in the Old Testament by ignoring or over looking passages that show God's plurality in oneness or they refuse to obey God's command to studying the scripture or set under sound teaching.

More and more have accepted a cultural, opinionated or denominational approach to understanding the scriptures rather than a grammatical / contextual approach. Which I believe is the correct approach to interpreting scripture.

In addition, God in his grace has accommodated us through the language of scripture concerning the revelation of himself and ultimately through the person of Christ (Heb 1:3) therefore, God has an expectation that we study the scriptural revelation he has provided.

Another point that must be kept in mind is that the Godhead (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) didn't come into existence starting with the New Testament. God in his plural nature is active throughout all of scripture (Old and New Testament). Therefore it is only natural you will see God present throughout all of scripture. Not just the Father not just the Son not just the Holy Spirit but the Triune God. It is the cults and the unlearned who attempt to teach otherwise.

The doctrine of the Godhead is under attack by organizations like the United Pentecostal and United Apostolic Churches who teach the heresy of modalism and others within Christendom who deny the Godhead. By the way to deny the Godhead typical leads one to deny the deity of Christ.

Islam claims that Christianity teaches three Gods others have accused Christians of creating the trinity as a doctrine unique to the New Testament, even claiming the plurality of God was not taught in the Old Testament. Some have claimed that the doctrine of the Godhead is a fabrication of the Roman Catholic Church or was borrowed from pagan religions.

An improper view of God leads one to either deny the deity of Christ and or the personhood of the Holy Spirit. This is the case in cultic groups such as the Jehovah Witness and Mormons.

It is sad that an essential doctrine of the faith receives little or inadequate attention among the followers of Christ. Very few Christians, can intelligently demonstrate from the scriptures the Bible's teaching on this subject, yet the Bible say's quite a bit about of it in both the Old and New Testament. This is not to say that it's possible to understand all there is about the triune nature of God without being God himself but at minimum we can learn what God has reveal about himself from the scripture grammar and context.

To quote Dr Michael Heiser academic editor of Logos Bible Software, " Since Christianity was Born out of Judaism, and the first converts where naturally Jewish. How is it that God fearing Jews could wrap their minds around the notion of worshiping and praying and speaking of the God of Israel as God and in the same breath do the same thing to Jesus. Why did they not see that as a problem? Why did they not think of it as a violation of monotheism or the Shema - the Lord thy God is one ?(Deut 6:4) The answer to that comes from the Old Testament because they had a two YHWH's mental back drop from their own scriptures, that when Jesus came along it was very easy to move toward him being the second YHWH the second power." This view was held until the second century AD and prior the New testament."^[2]

Potential Points of Confusion
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• Tritheism – This is not a teaching about Tritheism which is the teaching that the Godhead is really 'three separate beings forming three separate gods'.

• Modalism - a denial of the Trinity which states that God is a single person who, throughout biblical history, has revealed Himself in three modes, or forms. Thus, God is a single person who first manifested himself in the mode of the Father in Old Testament times. At the incarnation, the mode was the Son. After Jesus' ascension, the mode is the Holy Spirit. Yet the appearance of all three together clearly refutes this teaching.

• Polytheism -belief in a plurality of gods in which each deity is distinguished by special functions. The gods are particularly synonymous with function in the Vedic religion (see Vedas ) of India: Indra is the storm god, Agni the fire god, Vayu the wind god, Yama the god of death.^[8] While Christianity is the belief of "one" God who exist in three persons that are unified. Each person is co-equal, co-eternal and share the same essence or nature.

Language of Unity But Separate Personalities

It must be kept in mind that God is one in is essence, but distinct in his personalities as seen even in the Old Testament (YHWH, The Angel of the Lord, the Holy Spirit), therefore it is expected for this to be seen in scripture; both Old and New Testament.

Does the Bible Teach Plurality in Oneness
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In looking at the concept of "plurality in oneness" there are several Old Testament passages that give us insight into this subject. Lets consider the following passages:

Gen 1:5
God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one (echad) day.

Gen 2:24
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one (echad) flesh.

Num 13:23
Then they came to the valley of Eshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single (echad) cluster of grapes; and they carried  it on a pole between two men, with some of the pomegranates and the figs.

Ezk 37:16-17,19,22
16 “And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’
17 “Then join them for yourself one to another into one stick, that they may become one (echad) in your hand.
19 say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one (echad) stick, and they will be
one in My hand.” ’
22 and I will make them one (echad) nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and
they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms.

These verses paint a vivid picture of plurality in oneness as reflected by the Hebrew word 'echad' which stresses unity while recognizing plurality within oneness [3] . These passages clearly show a concept of plurality in oneness, its usage indicates that this concept was clearly understood and not foreign to the Biblical writers.

If the Holy Spirit wanted to show absolute oneness the Hebrew word would be 'yachid'. Strong's has the following meaning for 'yachid' - 1 only, only one, solitary, one. 1a only, unique, one.^[2] This meaning is clearly reflected in the following verses:

Genesis 22:2
2 He said, “Take now your son, your only [yachid] son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”

Genesis 22:16
16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only [yachid] son,

Judges 11:34
34 When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. Now she was his one and only [yachid] child; besides her he had no son or daughter.

Psalm 35:17
17 Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, My only [yachid] life from the lions.

Proverbs 4:3
3 When I was a son to my father, Tender and the only [yachid] son in the sight of my mother,

Jeremiah 6:26
26 O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth And roll in ashes; Mourn as for an only [yachid] son, A lamentation most bitter. For suddenly the destroyer Will come upon us.

Amos 8:10
10 “Then I will turn your festivals into mourning And all your songs into lamentation; And I will bring sackcloth on everyone’s loins And baldness on every head. And I will make it like a time of mourning for an only [yachid] son, And the end of it will be like a bitter day.

Zech 12:10
10   "I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only [yachid] son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.

How is The Oneness of God to be Understood
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How is this oneness to be understood, what is meant by "...God is one Lord"? As found in Deut 6:4

Is it to mean God is just simply one or is there a plurality in the oneness of God?. If God is a being who oneness is a plurality in his makeup is there scriptural evidence that indicate so? These questions can only be answered by looking at the revelation that God has given about himself in the Old Testament from a grammatically and contextual view.

A Grammatical view

Deut 6:4
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one (heb - echad) LORD:

It is interesting to note that yachid (absolute one) is not the word used to describe the oneness of God but echad (stresses unity while recognizing plurality within oneness)

It has already been shown that word for one(Heb- echad) means a plurality in oneness (Gen 1:5; Gen 2:4; Num 13:23; Ezk 37:16-17,19,22)

There is cumulative scriptural evidence that show God's being is plurality in oneness as the Holy Spirit as shown in scripture. The following will further address the issue of the plurality of God's being.

The Concept of The Plurality of Oneness of God in The Old Testament
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In the Old Testament God refers to himself using plural pronouns

Gen 1:26 - 26
Then God (Heb Elohim -plural noun) said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Gen 3:22 -
22 Then the Lord God (Heb Elohim -plural noun) said, “Behold, the man has become like one(Echad) of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”—

Is 6:8
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” (plural pronoun)Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Founder/Director of Ariel Ministries made the following observation in his article "JEWISHNESS AND THE TRINITY" about the plurality of God has mentioned in the following passages:

Ecclesiastes 12:1: Remember now your Creator ... (Literally: CREATORS.)

Psalm 149:2: Let Israel rejoice in their Maker. (Literally: MAKERS.)

Joshua 24:19: ... holy God ... (Literally: HOLY GODS.)

Isaiah 54:5: For your Maker is your husband. (Literally: MAKERS, HUSBANDS.)

Each word is plural in the Hebrew text. Therefore this understanding rest solidly on the Hebrew text and syncs up with the plural revelation that God gives about himself throughout all of scripture.

Are there Passages in the Old Testament that show God referring to someone else called God or referring to God in the third person? The answer to this is an unqualified yes as the following verses demonstrate. This table is not meant to be an exhaustive list but to establish a clear biblical teaching on the plurality of God's nature n the Old Testament.

Reference	Verse	Commentary
Exodus 23:20-22	20 “Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 “Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him. 22 “But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.	Conquest of the Land YHWH tells Moses that he will "send an angel before" him. The name of YHWH was in this angel (Exodus 23:21), that is to say, YHWH revealed Himself in him; and hence he is called in Exodus 33:15-16, the face of YHWH, because the very nature of YHWH was manifested in him. Another point to notice this angel had the authority to forgive sins. This is only true of God himself. Keep in mind that it is YHWH (God) that sent the angel who himself is identified as God with the name YHWH, therefore two personalities
Ps 45:6-7	6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 7 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your fellows.	v6 - God's throne is declare to be forever and the one sitting on the throne is said to be anointed by God "...Therefore God your God has anointed You..."
Is 13:17,19	17 Behold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold... 19 And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.	Here God says, "... I'am (First person) going to stir up the Medes..." against Babylon Israel. Then refers to God (in the third person), saying, " ...as when God overthrew..."

Amos 4:11	11 “I overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze; Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the Lord (YHWH).	The Lord (YHWH) speaks of himself in the first person "I overthrew" and in the third person as "GOD overthrew" " in execution of judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah.
Zech 3:1-2	1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 The Lord (YHWH) said to Satan, “The Lord(YHWH_[4]) rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord(YHWH) who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”	Here in Zechariah Joshua is standing before the you have YHWH calling upon YHWH to rebuke Satan. A clear reference to another personage called YHWH but again consistent with the meaning of echad (One) as found in Deut 6:4
Zech 12:8-10	8 “In that day the Lord (YHWH) will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. 9 “And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.	YHWH is said, to: (1) "defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem" (2) "pour out the Spirit of grace and supplication." In addition he says, "that they will look Me whom they have pierced." The is a direct reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. Keep in mind it is YHWH (V8) that is talking. Yet it is also he that says, "that they will look on Me whom they have pierced." a direct reference to Jesus. This YHWH cannot be the father, for it was the father who sent the son." (1 John 4:14)
Hosea 1:6-7	Then she conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord (YHWH) said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel, that I would ever forgive them. 7 “But I will have compassion on the house of Judah and deliver them by the Lord(YHWH) their God, and will not deliver them by bow, sword, battle, horses or horsemen.”	v6-7 Here we have YHWH speaking in the first person (v6 - ...the Lord (YHWH) said to him.., I will no longer....I would ever forgive. V7 - I will have compassion). Then refers to another YHWH by referring to him in the third person (v7 - deliver them by the Lord(YHWH) their God,

When exegeting the above passages it is clear that there is more than one person who is referred to as YHWH or Elohim (God) in the Old Testament. This is what one would expect to find, based on the meaning of 'echad' which stresses unity while recognizing plurality within oneness ^[3]:

These passages refute the teachings of Oneness groups such as Unitarians and Oneness Pentecostals, etc., despite their attempt to explain away the clear meaning of the grammar and context of these passages.

The Angel of the LORD
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The the Old Testament also reveals another personality that is visible yet is also given the name YHWH. The Old Testament calls him the “angel of The Lord”; Heb Malak YHWH. ( Ex 3:1-4; Gen 16:6-13). It is clear he his not a mere angel but is identified as YHWH Elohim and has appeared to man as indicated in the verses below:.

The Burning Bush Exodus 1:4

1 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
3 So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.”
4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

v2 - Here it said that "The angel of the LORD appeared to Moses

v4 says that it was,...YHWH...Elohim", that called to Moses out of the burning bush.

Sarai and Hagar Gen 16:6-13

6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.
7 Now the angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.
8 He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”
9 Then the angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority.”
10 Moreover, the angel of the LORD said to her, “I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count.”
11 The angel of the LORD said to her further, “Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has given heed to your affliction.
12 “He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, And everyone’s hand will be against him; And he will live to the east of all his brothers.”
13 Then she called the name of the LORD (YHWH) who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees”; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?”

Here "The angel of the LORD" (v7, v9, v10, v11) is identified as "...YHWH who spoke to her." v13

Do more than One Person In the Godhead Appear Together?
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Reference	Verse Text	Commentary
Judges 6:11:25	Gideon Is Visited 11 Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites. 12 The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD (YHWH) is with you, O valiant warrior.” 13 Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if the LORD (YHWH) is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD(YHWH) b bring us up from Egypt? But now the LORD (YHWH) has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 >The LORD (YHWH) looked at him and said, “Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?” 15 He said to Him, “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” 16 But the LORD (YHWH) said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.” 17 So Gideon said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me. 18 “Please do not depart from here, until I come back to You, and bring out my offering and lay it before You.” And He said, “I will remain until you return.” 19 Then Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour; he put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and brought them out to him under the oak and presented them. 20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. 22 When Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! (YHWH) For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.” 23 The LORD (YHWH) said to him, “Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD (YHWH) and named it The LORD is Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.	There are plainly two persons here identified by the grammar as deity. These personages appear to be merged in the narrative but distinguish by their actions 1. The Angel of the Lord v11,12, 20, 21 2. YHWH - v12, v13, v14, v16, Gideon is concerned that 'the Lord' (YHWH) is not with him and his people. He reminds the angel of the Lord of the misfortune that has befallen on his people by the Midiantes v13 But in verse 14 it is the not the "angel of the Lord that responds to Gideon but another personality called YHWH. v16 YHWH assures Gideon that he will be with him, just as the "angel of the Lord had said to him v12. v17 Gideon mentions that if he has found favor in in the sight of the Lord as the e angel of the Lord had said in v12 and YHWH v16. Gideon ask for a further validation by asking for a sign v17. The sign given him v20,21 after the angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. The Hebrew word for vanish is [halak /haw·lak/] it is from the Hebrew verb stem "qal" it means to go, depart, move, go away. It denotes to make linear motion to another place, with any form of transportation as in 2Kings 7:14. Thus the angel of the Lord departed from the location from where he was with Gideon in doing so he vanished from his sight. Even thought the angel of the Lord has vanished, YHWH is still there holding dialogue with Gideon and assures him that he will not die because he had seen the angel of the Lord face to face. v23 It appears from the passages two divine person are together with Gideon. The "angel of the Lord" and "YHWH"
EX 33:18-23 Ex 34:5-6	18 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” 19 And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” 21 Then the Lord (YHWH) said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; 22 and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 “Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.” Exodus 34:5–6 5 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the LORD. 6 Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;	One YHWH descends in the cloud and stands there with Moses, while with him he calls upon someone called the “name of the Lord” who is also identified as YHWH Dr Michael Heiser says the following: One figure is present: YHWH, enshrouded in a cloud beside Moses, steps out of the cloud in embodied form, reaches out with his hand and shields Moses. There are not two figures. YHWH is the Name, and the Name is embodied. Or Two figures are present: YHWH, enshrouded in a cloud draws Moses’ attention to a second embodied deity passing by, who is the "Name of the Lord". The Name then shields Moses with his hand as the YHWH in the cloud announces the passing of the Name. There are two figures, and one (the Name) is embodied.
Is. 48:12-16;	12 “Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last. 13 “Surely My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together. 14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; he will carry out His good pleasure on Babylon, And His arm will be against the Chaldeans. 15 “I, even I, have spoken; indeed I have called him, I have brought him, and He will make his ways successful. 16 “Come near to Me, listen to this: From the first I have not spoken in secret, From the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord GOD has sent Me, and His Spirit.”	The Three Personalities in the Same Passage In the Hebrew Scriptures you will also find all three personalities of the Godhead referred to I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last. - person one ( Spoken of in the first person). This person is obvious God speaking because he is responsible for creation Then in verse 16, the speaker refers to himself using the pronouns of "I" and "me" and then distinguishes himself from two other personalities by saying, "...now the Lord GOD has sent Me, and His Spirit.".
Is. 63:7-14	7 I shall make mention of the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, According to all that the LORD has granted us, And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has granted them according to His compassion And according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses. 8 For He said, “Surely, they are My people, Sons who will not deal falsely.” So He became their Savior. 9 In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. 10 But they rebelled And grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them. 11 Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses. Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them, 12 Who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, Who divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, 13 Who led them through the depths? Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble; 14 As the cattle which go down into the valley, The Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. So You led Your people,	Here is a look back to the time of the Exodus where all three personalities were present and active V7 - The Lord (YHWH) V9 - The angel of his presence V10, 11, 14 - The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament
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These following Old Testament passages clearly shows that the Holy Spirit is referred to as God and reflect attributes of personality and not an impersonal force or power as Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons, etc., try and teach. In addition he his referred to using personal pronouns, which again points to him as a person. The following table is not meant to be an exhaustive list but to establish clear biblical teaching on the person of the Holy Sprit (Hebrew -Kodesh Ruwach), showing him as God in the Old Testament.

Reference	Verse Text	Commentary
Isaiah 63:7-10	7 I shall make mention of the loving kindnesses of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, According to all that the LORD has granted us, And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has granted them according to His compassion And according to the abundance of His loving kindnesses. 8 For He said, “Surely, they are My people, Sons who will not deal falsely.” So He became their Savior. 9 In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. 10 But they rebelled And grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them.	Here is the Holy Spirit is said to have been grieved. This shows an attribute of personality. Grieving of the Holy Spirit is also mentioned in Eph 4:30. Where believers are instructed not to grieve him. CF Ps 78:40-41 where the same event is being referenced, here it says that EL was God that the Israelites
Ezk 11:5	11 Then the Spirit of the Lord(YHWH^[4]) fell upon me, and He said to me, “Say, ‘Thus says the Lord(YHWH^[4]), “So you think, house of Israel, for I know your thoughts.	Here the Spirit of the Lord is clearly connected to the name YHWH
Micah 2:3-7	3 Therefore thus says the Lord (YHWH[4]), “Behold, I am planning against this family a calamity From which you cannot remove your necks; And you will not walk haughtily, For it will be an evil time. 4 “On that day they will take up against you a taunt And utter a bitter lamentation and say, 'We are completely destroyed! He exchanges the portion of my people; How He removes it from me! To the apostate He apportions our fields.’ 5 “Therefore you will have no one stretching a measuring line For you by lot in the assembly of the Lord. 6 ‘Do not speak out,’ so they speak out. But if they do not speak out concerning these things, Reproaches will not be turned back. 7 “Is it being said, O house of Jacob: 'Is the Spirit of the LORD (YHWH) impatient? Are these His doings?’ Do not My words do good To the one walking uprightly?	v3 - Here it is stated that, " the Lord (YHWH) is planning against this family yet v7 - the questions are asked, " Is the Spirit of the LORD (YHWH) impatient? Are these His doings?’" Again the Spirit is connected with the name YHWH.

The Testimony of Christ Concerning His Pre Existence and Divinity
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ScScripture is vividly clear that Jesus himself had a realization of his divinity in which he place on par with the father himself and his pre-Existence as a person of the Godhead. His divinity and person hood would have been seen in the Old Testament in his pre-incarnation of which he himself made reference to in the following verses.

Reference	Verse Text	Commentary
John 8:51-53,56-59 cf Ex 3:14	51 “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.’ 53 “Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?” 56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.	These verses clearly show Jesus was aware of his deity by his use of the the name, "I' am" (greek =ego eimi) which means the self existence one) the same name that was used by God in the Ex 3:14 in his conversation with Moses. Jesus enemies understood his claims to deity and that these claims found their source in the Old Testament and where a reference to the God of the Old Testament. As a result of Jesus claims the Jews sought to stone him (John 8:59; John 10:33). Jesus distinguishes himself from the father John 10:31 yet at the same time claiming equality with the father by the statement , "I and the father are one."(John 10:30).
Ex 3:14	14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
John 10:30-33	30 “I and the Father are one.” 31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”
John 5:19	19 Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.	Jesus functions, in practical terms, as equivalent to God, in accordance with the basic principle of agency that “the one sent is like the one who sent him. I.E. he can do what the father does and in like manner He gives life as the father (John 5:21). His teachings is God's teaching (John 7:21)
John 17:5	5 “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.	Of his pre-existence (John 17:5) - Notice that Jesus ask the father to glorify him "... with the glory which I had with You before the world was." again showing Jesus awareness of his pre-existent as deity on par with the father

A point of note; Cross Reference the following verses in the letters of John (John 1:1, 15,18) and of Paul one will quickly notice they mirror the very words that Jesus taught concerning his pre existence and deity (cf. John 6:62; 8:58; 16:28; 17:11, 24; II Cor. 8:9; Phil. 2:6–11; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3; 10:5–8). Therefore reflecting the consistent understanding Jesus had of himself and that same understanding was mirrored by the New Testament writers.

Conclusion
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It is quite clear that the Old Testament scriptures teach that God is a plurality in oneness which Deut 6:4 teaches us. This is demonstrated in the used of the Hebrew word "echad" which stresses unity in oneness while recognizing plurality within that oneness.

In addition there are numerous passages that show God referring to himself in the first person then referring to someone else called Elohim, EL or YHWH in the third person.( Ps 45:6-7; Is 13:17,19; Amos 4:11; Zech 3:1-2; Zech 12:8-10; Hosea 1:6-7).

The Holy Spirit is also connected with the name YHWH as found in ( 2 Sam 23:2; Isaiah 63:10-11; Ezk 11:5; Micah 2:3-7). Thus indicating his deity. He also is shown to have attributes of personality, by the use of person masculine nouns such as he. The Holy Spirit is also shown to speak and can be grieved (Is 63:10 cf.; Eph 4:30).

It is out of the revelation of the Old Testament that form how God reveal's himself in his plural nature, and invisible YHWH the God no man can see and live (Ex 33:20; cf. John 1:18), and the visible YHWH who acted as a mediatoral figure between God and man known as "The angel of the Lord" who became the man Christ Jesus (Zech 11:8-10 cf. Matt 1:23; Phil 2:5-8). It is out of this Old Testament revelation that the first believers who where Jewish could go from worshipping the YWWH of the Old Testament to also worshipping Jesus; to the father son concept of God of the New Testament.

The teaching of the Old Testament is consistent with the teaching of the New Testament concerning the plural nature of God (John 1:1,18, Acts 5:3-4; Rom 1:7) of which we have come to know as Father, Son, Holy Spirit thus the one (ECHAD; Deut 6:4) God unified in oneness (essence).