How can the Word be God and be with God simultaneously without creating the meaning of two Gods?

Question

I am trying to reconcile the principle of individual uniqueness as expressed in the Bible with the meaning conveyed in the book Saint John. All human beings are special in their own way through their personal attributes such as voice, character, dream, desire, ambition et cetera, and if we are made in the image of God then God is also unique like we are. Jesus and God are two separate individuals, that truth is seen in the conversations God and Jesus engage in such as

sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool

I have glorified it and will glorify it again

but John writing under the influence of the Holy Spirit said The Word who most Christians believe to be referring to the Lord Jesus Christ, says that the Word was God, and that he was with God. How can Jesus be God and be with God for it is written God is one

1 Timothy 2:5

For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

for John seems to create a meaning of plurality of God when God is singular according to Paul to say the least, for if Jesus is a unique individual and he is God and The Father is a unique individual and He is God then there are two Gods. How to reconcile these two?

Answer 1

Without any intention to disrespect other viewpoints, I give below my understanding of this highly controversial topic:

Answer

Scripture basically provides Revelation which the physical human cannot otherwise know through equations or formulas; God cannot be analyzed in a test tube.

So, Scripture categorically says, “the Word was God and the Word was with God” in John 1:1.

Now the question is: how is this possible when there is only one God?

Explanation

My exegesis might be controversial and may ruffle certain feathers.

I was amused to learn that the apostles of Jesus and the other NT writers consistently followed the tradition set by the Septuagint translators.

The latter translated the Hebrew word “Elohim” into Greek as “Theos” which later was translated into English as “God”. They also translated “Yahweh” and “Adonai” into Greek as “Kurios” which later was translated into English as “Lord”.

So, what is Elohim or who is Elohim=Theos=God?

Sequence of Information and IT

Information Technology says that meaningful information comes from a particular sequence of alphabets and words (“specified complexity”). This is true in the case of DNA language or computer programming language.

For example, try to read this:

"Owhearuyo?"

We cannot read them because they are in random order without any meaning. I arrange the same alphabets in a different order/sequence:

"Who are you?"

Now we can read and understand them because the same alphabets are in a meaningful sequence. However, this is not what I wanted to say to you. So I rearrange the same alphabets again:

"How are you?"

Now the meaning has changed with just one shuffle.

There is a similar sequence of information in the language of Scripture we see in Genesis first chapter. Let us see that:

Gen 1:21: “And God (Elohim) created the great sea animals, and all that creeps, having a living soul, which swarmed the waters, according to its kind (“genus” in Septuagint); and every bird with wing according to its kind (genus)”.

Gen 1:24: “And God (Elohim) said, Let the earth bring forth the soul of life according to its kind (genus): cattle, and creepers, and its beasts of the earth, according to its kind (genus)”.

Gen 1:25: “And God (Elohim) made the beasts of the earth according to its kind (genus), and cattle according to its kind (genus), and all creepers of the ground according to its kind (genus)”.

Gen 1: 26: “And God (Elohim) said, let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”.

It is the sequence that verse 26 follows close on the heels of verse 25.

In effect verse 26 says:

‘And God (Elohim) said, let Us make man according to Our own kind (genus)’.

In other words, God (Elohim) created man according to the God (Elohim) kind!

So man is of the same genus or species as God is of! The only difference is that God is in the spiritual (“incorruptible”) realm but man is in the physical (“corruptible”) realm.

This explains why the great God Himself took all the pain to incarnate and pay the penalty for man’s sin.

This also explains how it was possible for God to incarnate as Man because God and man are of the same kind.

Elohim

Elohim is a uni-plural word like “family”, “team”, “kind” etc and is used singularly but can denote plural sense.

For example, let us read the famous Shema:

“Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God (Elohim) is one Jehovah” (Deut 6:4).

And the same Jehovah Elohim says in Gen 3:22:

“And Jehovah God (Elohim) said, Behold! The man has become as one of Us”.

Thus we understand from the Revelation in the Scripture that Elohim=Theos=God is the supreme Kind or Genus or Family.

Now, we can understand that Father is God and the Word who was with the Father from eternity is God; yet there is only one God.

Conclusion

The holy Apostles also set another tradition in the New Testament: they consistently applied the term Elohim=Theos=God to Father God and Yahweh=Kurios=Lord to Jesus Christ.

[It is not a surprise that Apostle Paul applies Isaiah 45:23, which clearly referred to Yahweh, to Jesus Christ (Phlp 2:10-11). In effect, Paul says that a true Christian should confess that Jesus is Yahweh and should worship (“every knee should bow”) Him]

However, they were not hesitant to call God the Father as Lord and Lord Jesus Christ as God because Jesus was “monogenes” which means “of one kind”.

Thus the Word was God and the Word was with God. Yet there is only one God.

Answer 2

• Trinitarianism: One God in three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).
• Binitarianism: One God in two persons (Father, Son).

I will argue from the Trinitarian standpoint (as I believe that to be scripturally based), but the logic from here will be similar to the Binitarian view.

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The doctrine of the Trinity:

The doctrine of the Trinity posits that there is

1. One God

2. Who exists in three persons:

   • God the Father,
   • God the Son (Jesus Christ),
   • God the Holy Spirit.

These three persons are distinct, yet they are all fully God. This is not to suggest that there are three Gods, but rather one God in three persons.

John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”

The “Word” (Logos in Greek), identified as Jesus, is described as being both with God (distinct from God) and as being God (fully God). This is not a logical contradiction but a paradox.

a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.

• a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory.

• a situation, person, or thing that combines contradictory features or qualities. (Definitions from Oxford Languages)

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This is where people believe that there is a logical fallacy or apparent contradiction.

Law of Non-Contradiction:

In classical logic this law states:

that something cannot be both true and not true at the same time and in the same sense

In this case, it would 'seem' to be a contradiction to say that “The Word (Jesus) is God” and “The Word is with God” (implying distinction from God).

However, the doctrine of the Trinity does not violate this law! Why? Because it’s not claiming that Jesus is both God and not God at the same time. Rather, it’s saying that Jesus (the Word) is both distinct from God the Father (in person) and identical to God (in essence or being). The context changes between the identity (person) and the essence (being), so it’s not a direct contradiction.

Law of Identity:

This law states:

that each thing is identical with itself. (A tree is a tree not a cat)

Perhaps the Trinity seems to challenge this law because it posits that the Father is God, the Son (Jesus) is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, yet the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father. This might seem like a violation of the Law of Identity, but it’s not when we understand that “is” is being used in two different senses here: “is” of identity (the Father is God) and “is” of predication (the Father is not the Son).

• “Is” of Identity: This is when we say that A is B, meaning A and B are the same thing. For example, when we say “Clark Kent is Superman,” we mean they are the same person. So, when we say “The Father is God,” we mean that the Father and God are the same being or essence.
• “Is” of Predication: This is when we say that A is B, meaning A has the property of B. For example, when we say “The sky is blue,” we mean that the sky has the property of being blue. So, when we say “The Father is not the Son,” we mean that the Father and the Son are not the same person within the Trinity. They are distinct persons, but they share the same divine essence.

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What

When we say “Jesus is God,” we’re referring to the divine essence or nature that Jesus shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is about what Jesus is in terms of His divine nature.

Who

When we say “Jesus is with God,” we’re referring to the personal distinction within the Godhead. This is about who Jesus is in relation to the Father and the Holy Spirit.

So, going back to the law, the sense in which Jesus is said to be God (divine essence) is different from the sense in which He is said to be with God (personal distinction).

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Being vs. Person

We need to understand the difference between “being” and “person.” In Trinitarian doctrine, God is one “being” in three “persons.”

• The term “being” refers to the nature or essence of God
• The term “person” refers to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each of whom possesses the fullness of the divine nature.

So, when we say that Jesus (the Word) is with God and is God, we are saying that Jesus shares in the divine nature (is God) and is a distinct person within the Godhead (is with God).

Answer 3

This is a difficult concept that many struggle with.

I and the Father are one. (John 10:30, YLT)

Yeshua was not meaning one person, one being; but rather of essence, power, goal, purpose. Duality, equal status but not one being. They are distinct; two divine persons, God the Father and God the Son.

And God saith, `Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness,..." (Gen. 1:26, YLT)

Yeshua was with YHVH in the beginning as the messenger / Word (Angel of the Lord). He came of His own will (1 John 3:16; 1 Tim 2:6; John 10:11, 15, 17-18; Gal 2:20; Eph. 5:25) in the form of man to be our Savior counting it not equal with YHVH, and submitted Himself to YHVH's will to be the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8).

6 who, being in the form of God, thought [it] not robbery to be equal to God, 7 but did empty himself, the form of a servant having taken, in the likeness of men having been made, 8 and in fashion having been found as a man, he humbled himself, having become obedient unto death -- death even of a cross, (Phil 2:6-7, YLT)

The Father sent the Son (John 4:34; 5:30-31, 37; 12:49; Gal. 4:4). Jesus contrasted His testimony of Himself as different from the testimony of the Father (John 5:30-31), but Yeshua was always submitting to and doing the will of the Father (Matt. 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 2:49; John 4:34, 6:38; 8:28-29)

Barnes Notes on John 10:30:

I and my Father are one - The word translated "one" is not in the masculine, but in the neuter gender. It expresses union, but not the precise nature of the union. It may express any union, and the particular kind intended is to be inferred from the connection. In the previous verse he had said that he and his Father were united in the same object that is, in redeeming and preserving his people. It was this that gave occasion for this remark. Many interpreters have understood this as referring to union of design and of plan. The words may bear this construction. In this way they were understood by Erasmus, Calvin, Bucer, and others. Most of the Christian fathers understood them, however, as referring to the oneness or unity of nature between the Father and the Son; and that this was the design of Christ appears probable from the following considerations:

1. The question in debate was (not about his being united with the Father in plan and counsel, but in power. He affirmed that he was able to rescue and keep his people from all enemies, or that he had power superior to men and devils that is, that he had supreme power over all creation. He affirmed the same of his Father. In this, therefore, they were united. But this was an attribute only of God, and they thus understood him as claiming equality to God in regard to omnipotence.

2. The Jews understood him as affirming his equality with God, for they took up stones to punish him for blasphemy John 10:31, John 10:33, and they said to him that they understood him as affirming that he was God, John 10:33.

3. Jesus did not deny that it was his intention to be so understood. See the notes at John 10:34-37.

4. He immediately made another declaration implying the same thing, leaving the same impression, and which they attempted to punish in the same manner, John 10:37-39. If Jesus had not intended so to be understood, it cannot be easily reconciled with moral honesty that he did not distinctly disavow that such was his intention. The Jews were well acquainted with their own language. They understood him in this manner, and he left this impression on their minds." Source: Biblehub

Of the same form as YHVH, Yeshua took on the job / function of our Savior, doing the will of the Father, with the powers the Father gave His Son to forgive, to raise the dead, to heal the sick, etc. He is our mediator with the Father.

for one [is] God, one also [is] mediator of God and of men, the man Christ Jesus, (1 Tim. 2:5, YLT)

One Father, also one mediator of the Father, and that mediator is Christ. It does not mean one being, or one entity. We worship the Father through the Son. In His prayer to the Father,

`And now, glorify me, Thou Father, with Thyself, with the glory that I had before the world was, with Thee; (John 17:5, YLT)

He was in the beginning with God, of the same glory as God, but not the same person / being. The Deity / Theotes (Strong's G2320 ) often translated as "Godhead," is the essence of power and purpose.

This article may help: Should we worship Jesus

Answer 4

The Apostle John's opening statements begin with One whose title is the 'Word'. 'Jesus' is not whom John is speaking of in his opening verses. The Word existed before the humanity called 'Jesus of Nazareth' was yet conceived, never mind born.

Indeed, the Word existed at the start of "the beginning". Further, the Word existed with God, "in the beginning". There was God, and the Word, in the beginning. And the Word is God. The Word made everything that was made, so could not have been made himself. In the Word is life, and light for men.

A person is then named, John the Baptist, sent by God to give witness of that light of the Word. The Baptist stresses that he is not that light (therefore, not the Word.) It is not until verse 9 that we are informed that this true light of the Word came into our world, but not as visible light, as the man, Jesus of Nazareth (born to the virgin Mary a few months after John the Baptist was born.)

It should be very clear, then, that any question about John 1:1-8 cannot include even a mention of the man, Jesus of Nazareth. When the Apostle John makes those astounding statements about the One who was with God from the beginning, and who is God, understanding will only come by accepting that there is no human person involved at this stage. John speaks of the very Being of God, before any creation started. God is apparently complex, not simple, not to be understood as created humans understand themselves.

John's opening chapter goes on to say more about the relationship of the Word with God (who is then called 'Father'). By this stage, the Word has been made flesh, dwelling as a human on Earth, people able to see, touch, and listen to this Jesus. However, the question only asks about the relationship of the Word to God, aeons before the man, Jesus, was conceived. "How can there not be two Gods?"

That question is answered by what God reveals of himself to humans. We can learn something of that with what the Father in heaven revealed to the Apostle Peter when Jesus asked who men thought he was. He often spoke of himself as the Son of Man (for he was fully human), but when Peter declared him to be the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus rejoiced because his Father in heaven had revealed that to Peter (Matthew 16:13-17). All those who understand that astounding fact had had the unknowable revealed to them by the Father in heaven, and Christ's Church is thereby built. All who form part of that spiritual gathering grasp something of the way the Father relates to the Son, in unity of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing like it in the universe. But beginning to understand it begins with "in the beginning", before any man called Jesus Christ existed. Stick to the Word of God. Start there. Perhaps God may be pleased to reveal more of this One to you.

Answer 5

Jesus and his God are indeed two.

It is those who are for the idea of a multi-person God, that interpret John 1:1 and assert that the word was God. No prophets apostles or servants of God spoke of a multi-person God in the scripture. There is no record of a God the Word creating in the bible. That the Word is God and was also the God it was with is a contradiction. Some say God is multi-person but only one being is another explanation that is self contradictory. Such reasoning aim to make polytheism fit into monotheism. A person is an intelligent being. The meaning of the word being, if redefined, should be provided.

If we say that the Word and the God it is toward/with are both Gods, then there are two Gods. According to Jesus and their law, he and his Father/God count as two as John 8:17-18. If the Word was with God, it could not have been the God that it was with. There is nothing in the scriptures that show God's word is a another person who is also God. What we find is God sending out his word in Psalm 107:19-29 ASV.

Then they cry unto Jehovah in their trouble, And he saveth them out of their distresses, He sendeth his word, and healeth them, And delivereth them from their destructions. Isaiah 55:11 is similar to John 1:1

Isaiah 55:11 ASV

so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Psalm 107:20 show that God's word is sometimes personified but it is never presented a a literal personal being. To hear God's word is to hear God. His word is not a separate person from Him

Let's examine the assumption of most that Jesus is the "word" in John 1:1 and "God" is the multi-person God (the Father, the Son and the holy spirit). Substitution show the inconsistent ideas that are the result of postulating the non biblical idea of a multi-person God.

Using substitution, we have, in the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with the Father, the Son and the holy spirit and Jesus was the Father, the Son and the holy spirit.

As most suppose John 1:1 declares Jesus as God, suppose I say, I was with my brother, it's plain that I and my brother are two separate beings. If I say was with my brother and I am my brother, then that would be a contradiction. That would also be true of Jesus and his God/Father.

Answer 6

This is a very good question; but also one of the most difficult questions in Christian theology--indeed, it may be the most difficult question. Furthermore, most of the debate between Jews and Muslims (on the one hand) and Christians (on the other) turns whether the Christian answer to this question is coherent.

Gregory of Nyssa himself addresses the question and says it "is [a] very difficult" question "to deal with." Augustine's On the Trinity is an attempt to come to knowledge of two "things" that are analogous to the distinction between the persons, namely things that we can experience and know that are, in one sense, the same, but in another, distinct.

Thomas Aquinas does a very good job of briefly explaining the terms "Word" etc. in his answer John commentary.

But there remains the necessity of coherently articulating the claims the Word is God and Identical with the Father, and yet distinct from and related to the Father. Here, it seems that the distinction must, in some sense, be founded on to another, so that we can say that God (the Father) and the Word are distinguished only with respect to to another, that is, to the Other of the two. That claim, however, is easily said in words, but, as I said, extraordinarily difficult to understand. Dante himself confessed that his speech falls further short of explaining these mysteries than a babe's "who still moistens his tongue at the breast" does at expressing the child's thoughts. I who am but a babe next to these giants must act as Job, and place my hand over my mouth.

Answer 7

How can sun-radiation be with sun and be acclaimed as "sun" - for instance, in a phrase: "please, remove curtains, I want sun (i.e. sun-radiation) to enter the room" - without a notion of two suns? Very nicely!

Similarly, you can take God-the Father to be just that, namely, God-the Father, eternally only due to the fact that He necessarily has His co-eternal Son, for the name "father" analytically entails a relation to offspring; and therefore, impossible for somebody to be acclaimed as father without him to have an offspring, a son or a daughter. Now, as we rightly say that God is always, eternally Father, so, He must necessarily and analytically, co-eternally have also offspring(s), and since we learn from John that this offspring is called Logos and Son, then we must out of logical necessity acclaim Him as co-eternal to God-the Father; in so far as co-eternal, then also co-unbegan (συνανάρχος in Greek Patristic terms) and co-uncreated, for nothing that is created and has a beginning is eternal (a created thing can be eternal in one future direction by grace of God, as are we, humans and angels, but it cannot be eternal in both directions, for its past is not infinite, whereas, on the contrary, the Logos is always with the Father in infinite past - ἦν in the ἐν ἀρχὴ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, that's why, is a past infinitive "was", denoting infinity in past also - and infinite future, moreover in the timelessness of eternity, not by grace bestowed by God-the Father, but essentially), and in a Biblical strictly binary perspective there is only one great division God vs. Creation, and since the Son/Logos is on the side of God, then He is God.

As simple as that.

The alternative is to consider that God is not eternally Father, but only God who at a certain moment of eternity (to use this oxymoron), probably out of boredom, created a supreme immaterial being, whom John calls "Logos" and "Son" - which he is not for he is a creature - and then, perhaps for the reason that this creature did not amuse Him enough well, He also created the world with all its curiosities - galaxies, plants, physical and chemical laws, animals, microbes, humans - already not alone, but, through the Logos, whom He created before; but why did not He create the universe without this Logos, directly and alone, - even Oracle of Delphi does not know! But shall we indulge in continuing with this mythology adhered to by Arius and his followers throughout the history, of whom we have not a deficit even nowadays? I do not think it worthwhile on the Biblical Hermeneutics site, but it will be very pertinent and amusing on mythology site, certainly.

Answer 8

So Few Against So Many! No, the Trinity does not beat logic. Please explain what you mean when you said, "I cannot just wrap my mind to understand how Jesus is different and is also the same in essence as The Father," What do you mean by using the word, "different?"

At John 1:1 there are two persons in view, God the Father and the His Son. Logically speaking if your with someone you can't be that someone. John 3:35, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." The Father cannot love the Son unless the Father is not the Son. The Father cannot love the Son unless He was aware of this distinction.

As I've said hundreds of times over six decades, "Give me an example of a son that does not share the same nature as its father? The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are the one God in nature or essence. God chose to manifest or reveal Himself as three DISTINCT persons.

As human beings we are all distinct persons from each other. You are not the person of your father or mother. What makes us human beings one is are shared nature. It is our nature that separates us from all that is not human. Just like Gods nature separates Hims from all that is not God. God did not make this hard to understand.

Answer 9

if Jesus is a unique individual and he is God and The Father is a unique individual and He is God then there are two Gods. How to reconcile these two?

What appears to be confusing the issue is the doctrine of the Trinity, which is non-biblical and doesn't really belong on this site. Asking "How do Trinitarians reconcile these two?*" would be much more appropriate on Christianity.SE.

What you state is exactly what the Bible says; there is nothing to reconcile.

The Bible presents the Father and the Son as two divine individuals in a relationship that is symbolized by the human family. Hermeneutic exegesis (not eisegesis with an assumption of Trinity) results in a binitarian view of God.

Answer 10

The term Man can refer to an individual man, or it can refer to the species of man (i.e. multiple men collectively). Similarly, God (Elohim) can refer to an individual entity or it can refer to multiple individual entities as a collection.

In Genesis 1:26, "God" is referring to more than one entity; a collection.

In Genesis 6:3, "man" is referring to mankind, the species of man; a collection.

Regarding John 1:1-2, the Word (Christ) was with God (Father) and was God (family/kind). Similarly, Eve was with man (Adam) and was man (species/kind).

An excerpt of commentary by John W Ritenbaugh speaking on the Godhead:

If one allows the Bible to interpret itself, it clearly shows that Elohim is an institution consisting of more than one Person. It is jarring to the ear to say "Gods is," because there is a plural noun and a singular verb, but it is not incorrect. Consider "United States of America." States is plural, but one does not say, "The United States are going to war." One says, "The United States is going to war." One uses a singular verb with a plural noun. Grammatically, we are speaking of collective nouns.

In other words, the Bible consistently shows multiple members in the Godhead (I believe only two members) and each member being distinct and unique. God is one because each member within the family/kind/species of God is one in unity, purpose, belief, direction, faith, spirit, and attitude.

We have to stop examining this from a trinitarian perspective.

Answer 11

Thanks to @Nephesh Roi for providing a very good and detailed answer, to add more to his answer, Moses already told us that the concept of God is plural through the very own words God uttered before creating man, Moses writes under the influence of the Holy Spirit and says that God said, but when God actually speaks uses a term that denotes a collection of distinct beings, he uses the term us, this makes us to think why didn't the Father say Let me create man in my own image after my own likeness?, it is because the other two must be involved in this process for reasons unknown to us and one of them maybe because they share in the same essence as God.

Now the serpent mixed truth and lies in his deception to Eve, he said that Adam and Eve will become like the gods if they ate of that fruit, I think the devil referred to the Holy Trinity when he used the term become like the gods

Genesis 3:5

“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Now God confirms this statement made by the serpent by using the term us when admitting that Adam and Eve have had an elevation of status and they are now aware of good and evil like the gods, so God indeed refers to a collection of individuals

Genesis 3:22

And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

The serpent actually uses the term God in his statement, but both Genesis 3:5 and Genesis 3:22 have a central theme which is man has become like God knowing good and evil but in the second verse God in admitting that Adam and Eve have learnt what good and evil are, uses the term us in referring to what the devil called God in the earlier verse so yes, The mystery of the nature of God is written in between the lines in the book of Genesis, it is true what the devil said about man knowing good and evil, that they shall become like God and God confesses and says man has become like one of us,compare the two statements and you will learn the truth.

statement by the devil

and you will be like God

statement by God

The man has now become like one of us

After the word like then you substitute God in the earlier statement with one of us in the later and any the beings in the us actually can accept the title God, for whoever glorifies The Son glorifies The Father and whoever glorifies The Spirit glorifies The Son and The Father and vice versa

Answer 12

The paradox of God's nature is first given in God's own words:

Genesis 1:26

And God said, "Let us make man in our image and after our likeness..."

God (plural) said (singular), "Let us (plural) make (plural) man in our (image) and after our (plural) likeness.

The rabbinic explanation for the presence of the plural verb and pronouns is a divine council. The New Testament revelation is Jesus was present:

Colossians :

¹² giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. ¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Colossians and other passages locate Father and Son in Genesis 1:26. Moreover, God's omniscience means the plans to make man were announced on the sixth day, but were in place before the first day:

Ephesians 1:4

just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

John 17:4

“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

If one removes the plural "us" from the plans, "God planned to make man..." the plural remains:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Then God said, "I will make man [let us make man] in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Father and Son were present from the planning and the work of creation.

Conclusion
There is a similar paradox in the created world. Light travels simultaneously as both wave and particle. Man can prove the wave-particle duality but it is inexplicable. Nevertheless, when the truth is believed, it becomes a fountain of knowledge unlocking secrets of the created world.

1 John 1:5

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

Once the truth of God's nature is revealed, Scripture must be reread with revealed truth in mind. We may lack the ability to further articulate what God has revealed, but the inability of the human mind to explain God, does not erase the ability to understand "Let us make..."

Addendum
Some verses which have the appearance of conflict, should be reread carefully with an open mind.

1 Timothy 2:5

For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus
εἷς γὰρ θεός εἷς καὶ μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων ἄνθρωπος Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς

Both times θεός is written without the article, and, obviously, there is no mention of the Father. In light of the New Testament which repeatedly describes God with the article and which repeatedly describes what the Father does, how should their absence here be understood? Was Paul careless? Did he forget about the Father? Or, is this a paradox like "Let us make..." which is fully intelligible since God is Father, Son, Spirit?

For there is one God [Father, Son, Spirit], and one mediator also between God [Father, Son, Spirit] and men, the man Christ Jesus

Answer 13

This is a matter of what is visible and invisible. I believe this is the best way to answer this question.

I try to provide mostly scripture with small explanations.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (Jn 1:1–5)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (Col 1:15–18)

Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. (Ga 3:20)

Explained: How is Jesus our mediator if God is one? Because what is between the invisible Father and His creation is Himself visible. Jesus Christ is the image/visible of the invisible/father. Jesus Christ is God in between His invisible Self and visible creation.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (Heb 11:1–3)

Explained: God spoke everything existence from what is invisible to what is visible. Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God, so was Jesus Christ created? No because He is the Word of God that spoke things invisible visible, so Jesus Christ was not created because He was always there but became God visible because He created the visible.

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Ro 1:20)

To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1 Ti 1:17)

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (Jn 1:18)

not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. (Jn 6:46–47)

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. (Jn 14:9–11)

Explained: Jesus Christ has seen the Father because He is from the Father and the image of the invisible Father. Nobody else has seen the invisible Father except the visible Son because He is from the Father. If you have seen the Son you have seen the invisible Father who can only be seen through the visible Son.

It was a blessing to be able to share what the Lord put on my heart.