Trinity

I'm not exactly sure if this answers your question.

But sometimes I think of this. It would be impossible to say God is love and God is righteous, if in eternity past there was a time before God ever had anyone to love and ever had anyone to treat righteously.

Also, if there is no Member of the Godhead Who exemplifies submission to God, then how can God Himself be our example of obedience. It would mean He is asking us to show a character-trait never before done within the Godhead.

If there is no plurality within the Godhead, then in eternity past it would not have been possible for God to enact love and righteousness. Those qualities would have existed merely in His own mind and heart - but He could not have enacted them. He would have merely been. Merely existed. But we couldn't say anything about His character or holiness or righteousness or love.

Actually we couldn't even be sure about anything God said. If there is no plurality within the Godhead, it would mean God could have done anything in eternity past - and there would be no witness of what He did and of what sort of character He was.

Every word is confirmed by two or three witnesses. So if there was no eternal witness within the Godhead, then God's own Word couldn't be confirmed. His own testimony about Himself couldn't be confirmed.

In order for His Word and character to be confirmed, He would have to rely on a created being to act as witness and confirm His character and truth. But that would make God insufficient as Truth within Himself.

It would mean that God's own testimony that He is love and that He has always been righteous could not be confirmed.

And what if that external witness became unreliable - it would mean God's Truth, Word, love and righteousness could no longer ever be really confirmed.

But the fact there is plurality within the Godhead, means God qualifies to confirm Himself. It confirms that He is God. Confirms He is Truth. Confirms His own testimony about Himself. Confirms His Word. It confirms His love and eternal righteousness. It makes He Himself our example, and confirms His right to expect obedience from us.

So I think it's brilliant that the Godhead consists of plurality.

I know the Old Testament says, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our Lord is One". But that can't contradict plurality within the Godhead, or else the Jews' own Scriptures contradicted themselves.

(Because in Genesis it says, ’Let US (plural) make man in OUR (plural) image...’.

In Psalms it says, 'My Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, til I make Thine enemies Thy footstool’.

In Daniel also it mentions one like unto the Son of Man appearing in the fire.

And Daniel saw One appearing before the Ancient of Days, receiving an eternal Kingdom.)

Those and other Old Testament verses express plurality within the Godhead.

So when it says the Lord our God is One - it doesn't deny plurality. It meant that God was not divided against Himself. (Unlike mythical pagan deities who were constantly at War with each other, jostling for the right to Supremacy.) And I'm sure there are other levels of meaning in it too. But there has always been the concept of plurality within the Godhead, though not always understood as clearly as Jesus explained it.

John said there are Three who bear record in heaven.

Jesus existed eternally with the Father.

The New Testament calls the Spirit the eternal Spirit. So each of the persons within the Godhead were eternally part of the Godhead. It means Jesus didn't only become the Son of God when He was born. He was always with God.

Within the Godhead, there is hierarchy in some sense. Because Jesus said, My Father is greater than I. Yet there is also a sense in which they are equal, because Paul said He thought it not robbery to be equal with God.  The equality comes because of their membership with each other. But the equality does not deny plurality.

Beautiful isn't it!