Yet there is only one God. He has been a member of the Royal Australian Air Force since 2007, and is now training to be an Air Force Chaplain. But the Bible is CLEAR in its teaching. These two analogies are the "water" analogy and the "egg" analogy. The trinity is a like a Three-Leaf Clover. (It is also why the Jews had an issue with Jesus calling Himself God.). This analogy actually falls prey to the same error of modalism. In order to accomplish this union with God and man, He allowed His Shell to be broken with the weight of our sins to cleanse our souls so His holiness can approach, for God cannot look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13). in that He is not made up of three parts one part () the Father, another part () Jesus Christ and a third part () the Holy Spirit. ANALOGY OF CHARACTERS. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also (John14:2, 3). This analogy sounds pretty good, but it is fatally flawed in that is describes the Son and Spirit as creations of the Father. Or have you ever tried to teach kids about the Trinity? Like modalism, the "three beings" view was rejected by the early church. Who is God? Thankfully he isnt a cage-stage Calvinist about it all. Water is water, but exists in three different forms: liquid, frozen, or steam. But God is the eternal Light, which has neither had a beginning, nor shall ever fail. Youre right, theyre all good but not perfect because only God IS perfect. H2O can only ever be one form at a time. So under modalism, God acts as the Father in the Old Testament, the son in the Gospels, and the Spirit in Acts and the Epistles. Jesus then becomes a created being and thus less than fully God. She would explode!" Space consists of three things: height, width, and depth. There are many mysteries to our faith. Haydn describes himself as a five-point Calvinist, but he recognises that many faithful Christians disagree. That is heaven in a person. It does not represent 3 persons existing simultaneously. The problem with this analogy is that an egg yoke is of a very different substance than a shell. When we separate them and view them as individual deities, that is the error of tritheism, which is the worship of three individual gods as one. Admittedly, the idea of three distinct persons/expressions that are each fully God is part of the mystery. If you looked at a single cloverleaf, you wouldnt call it a shamrock. The Father Matthew 27:45-46 (usually there is no argument that the Father is not God, since every place Jesus speaks to God, he is addressing the Father. He taught that the son was at one point created by God the father. A person distinguishes himself from others by saying me, mine, you, yours, etc. A being is the whole nature or essence of something. RELATED: What Did Jesus Really Look Like? He got married there in 1965, and his four . The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. When they used the word person, they didnt mean it in the same way that we do today. In Biblical Trinitarianism we can never have one without the other because they are one Spirit; each is the totality of the other which means we cannot have the Holy Spirit without the Father and the Son, We will come (into the believer through the Holy Spirit, John 14:23), and we cannot have the Son without The Father whose Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father (Matthew 10:20). This is just as bad as the Water analogy and leads to the same error. God does not morph from one person to another, nor does God exist as three separate beings. Similarly, light and heat are simply creations of the sun, yet it is the heresy of Arianism to claim that the Son or Spirit are mere creations of the Father. There are some analogies that come close. Answer (1 of 25): Cynics assert that the idea of the Holy Trinity is a logical impossibility. And for a mere mortal to have dared invent it and be able t. Check out verse four: Holy Author, Holy Word, Holy Spirit, three we name thee; Still, one holy voice is heard; undivided God, we claim thee, and adoring bend the knee, while we own the mystery. . The doctrine of the Trinity tells us that there's ONE GOD who is THREE distinct PERSONS existing as a community of self-giving and loving relationships with each other. Good and Bad Analogies of the Trinity - Answers . copyright 2009 by H.D. The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. I dont know how our majestic God feels about being compared to watermelons and eggs, but He is also a loving Father, and like any father, I believe God would seek to provide simple explanations so His little children can understand. The white of an egg is the connection between the yolk and the shell. The white of an egg is the connection between the yolk and the shell. One is a musical chord with three notes. When we separate them we can fall into the error of tritheism, which is the worship of three individual deities as one. This is a quick way to describe the doctrine of the Trinity namely, God is 1 being (the what is Gods nature, essence, being) and 3 whos (the whos being Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). To the other major monotheistic faiths (Islam and Judaism), it is rank heresyTrinitarianism is therefore definitional to Christianity. In an attempt to explain the Trinity, there are some bad examples people use, and some better ones. How can we explain what it means to have three persons in one being? God does not just change forms but exists as three persons in unity. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,, , Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. This is why Jesus said, He who has seen Me, has seen the Father (John 14:9). For since light is always in existence, it is manifest that its brightness also exists, because light is perceived to exist from the fact that it shines, and it is impossible that light should not shine. See the depths of Catholicism for yourself! If you need to use an analogy, then use a good one. Our God is three in one. So, I shot down a lot of images that seems to be pretty helpful. The Spirit white is connected to Jesus Person I will come to you (John 14:18) and the Fathers Person, We will come to him and make our abode with him (John 14:23). If water is inadequate, there are a wide array of alternative analogies we can turn to in modern theological parlance. For instance at the baptism of Christ, the Father, Son and Spirit are all distinctly present and interacting (Matthew chapter 3 verses 16-17). We can admit it is a mystery and accept that our incomplete knowledge cannot fully comprehend it. When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. The above picture is a famous work of art by Andrei Rubilev, the great medieval Russian painter of Orthodox icons and frescos. Try starting your explanation with a simple definition and then ask for further questions: No one can completely know or understand God. And when the time comes when death is allowed to crack your shell in its final hour and your believing soul is released; the Spirit of God that holds you will carry you in His arms to your heavenly home because In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. Here are four. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Memory, Understanding, and Will. I have the good one. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. This is not an exhaustive list: For further reading on the Trinity, I would recommend James Whites The Forgotten Trinity, Wayne Grudems Systematic Theology and online articles by CARM.org. Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. In Biblical Trinitarianism we can never have one without the other because they are one Spirit; each is the totality of the other which means we cannot have the Holy Spirit without the Father and the Son, We will come (into the believer through the Holy Spirit, John 14:23), and we cannot have the Son without The Father whose Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father (Matthew 10:20). Do you know why I keep saying God is like an egg (or H2O) but God is not like an egg (or H2O)? The egg has a shell, the whites and a yoke. The Trinity is distinct in their roles and individuality, but united in their attributes of love, mercy, holiness, knowledge, etc. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of modalism. The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. Before we look at a few bad analogies that many often use to try to illustrate the trinity, we need to first understand the doctrine itself. Many of these analogies have the best of intentions, but God cannot be described in a way we can fully comprehend or rationalize. When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. We came up with several practical implications of this doctrine. Time Analogy God is like time. A man might be a father to his children, a husband to his wife, and son to his parents. Similarly, in our aquatic analogy, water can appear in three different modes, depending on the environment, but the three are not co-existing. Here are some of them: The problem with this is that it leads to the view that God is a Trinity simply because He relates differently to us at different times. Therefore, we would rightly say, within the Ontological Trinity, there is no variation or distinction made. The Trinity is one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. In the same way, at one moment God is the Father, but at different times God morphs or transforms into the Son or Holy Spirit. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. So "son" = "Dave". There's a simple reason they don't work: The Trinity, as such, isn't like anything in creation. The trinity is a mystery that cannot be fully comprehended. We can touch the cord, but not the power it is insulating. Unfortunately, an analogy from the limited realm of creation may not be sufficient in explaining Gods nature. show me your glory. One cannot remove the Holy Spirit and still have the God as taught in the Bible. The scientific analogy that will be provided in a few moments is truly inadequate to describe the Holy Trinity. We believe in only one true God in all existence, in all places, at all times. There are two basic ways that people misunderstand the Trinity: 1. It is still important that we have some understanding of the concept, however. Surely this is a better understanding of the water analogy! Under Arianism Jesus is less than fully God. One popular and simple illustration of the Trinity is the egg. When we see them as three individual spirits, (God is one Spirit John 4:24), then that is the blasphemy of polytheism which is the worship of more than one God. Yet the orthodox view is that each person of the Trinity is fully divine. Each Person in the Trinity (or the Godhead) is fully God and fully a Person. Some people have suggested using an egg to explain how God can be both one and three. The apple seed alone is not an apple. This view, also known as "modalism", was rejected by the early church. This analogy is still not perfect because each of the aspect cannot stand as egg like each of the persons in the trinity can stand as God. However, Christians through the ages believe in the Trinity because the truths it represents are taught in the Bible. These three Persons are all equally God and all equally Persons. Modalism teaches that the trinity is not three distinct persons, but just different modes that God reveals himself to human beings. What portion of the analogy holds true with Church Teaching? Yet others have thought that H20 (water) shows us the Trinity since H20 can be three things: solid (ice), liquid (running water) and vapor (steam). Vestment Emblems. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9). Three persons is false. I know in the past Ive used analogies that werent the best (more on those later.) In the second instance, the truth of Gods Trinity reveals a further aspect of Gods love for His people. So God performs 3 different roles/relationships but 1 God. We also know that God didnt create humanity out of loneliness or boredom. They are three in one egg. The unity or oneness of God is also found in the Bible. God is like H2O in that the Bible may refer to a specific person of the Trinity but that person is still God. But Jesus makes it clear in John 10:30- I and the Father are One. The Greek word for one means one thing, not one person. They are united in their essence (spirit, nature) but not identical persons. Shively, This book is now available in a published format for easy sharing and classroom use. When discussing God, especially in regards to his nature, being and persons, a simple statement to articulate the Trinity is: God is 1, *. As a result the water molecule must change forms. We define a person as one having a will and who is distinguishable from another person. The idea that the Trinity can be compared to a shamrock is largely attributed to St. Patrick. But this view, too, wont do. Its downright hard to understand. Paul leaves the Corinthians with this blessing in 2 Corinthians 13:14- May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.. I remember asking my Life Group last year, How have you heard the Trinity explained? I braced myself for the inevitable reply. Its hard to explain! There are, however, some that work better than others. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind lived the doctrinal truth about the Trinity. Perhaps we must be content to admit that we cannot fully understand Gods nature in our finitude. Love your blogs! But this idea is central to the Christian faith. Because God is utterly unique, all comparisons will fail at some point. So whats one good way to explain what the Trinity is? What is H2O? The problem with this analogy is it denies the unity of the God-head. In the Scripture we see "the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" (Col 1:9). Although he is one man who is simultaneously a husband, a father, and a student, he would consider it Modalism to suggest that this is a good Trinitarian analogy. Yeah its definitely a hard thing to understand, let alone explain to little ones ! In one egg you have the white, the yoke, and the shell composing one full egg. Some who deny the Trinity claim 1+1+1=3, and therefore claim we worship three Gods. We can think of it this way: the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. Dont become discouraged if you cant answer the question to your liking. The problem here is it describes each part of the Trinity as 1/3 parts of the overall egg. Father, Son, and Spirit are each fully God (their own egg)- not fractions of one. This description that all persons are fully God is called the Ontological Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith. The Egg Analogy - This claims to be a good representation of the Trinity because Eggs have three distinct parts: the shell, the yolk, and the whites. The concept is literally unthinkable. Matthew 3:16-17- As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Now that we know the doctrine of the trinity and its corresponding major heresies, now we are ready to look at some bad analogies for the trinity. Jesus is the Holy Spirit. We recommend you adhere these emblems to your vestments by mounting on the material with fabric glue and then stitching them . 1. The Holy Spirit and Son do not send the Father. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Here are some common analogies that Christians have used about the Trinity: God is kind of like water which can be ice, liquid and steam. To help you out, here is a comical and silly video that teaches about these bad analogies. They are three in one egg. History, lifestyle, family, music, theology, scripture, literature, the saints, church history, parenting, politics, prayer, the pope, and more. I think the illustration that represents the Trinity most accurately is the egg example. This analogy seems to make a lot of sense, but it actually reinforces a fatal misconception about the Trinity called modalism. Some have used examples such as water, watermelons and eggs; the principle behind those illustrations is that even though each thing is one, it is also three. It is so important that to deny the trinity is to deny Christianity. Water has three states: solid, liquid, and gas. Dr. Bruce Ware does an excellent job in his book Big Truths for Young Hearts. There is one GOD in three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), 2. I do not have the time or space to exhaustively demonstrate in scripture these truths, but the Biblical witness teaches these three truths consistently about God. This is one of the reasons we say that "God is LOVE". Lastly, below is a helpful graphical chart explaining the doctrine of the Trinity I found from the Christian blog by Tim Challies found at Challies.com. But thats not how they understood it. If one of the sides were removed, then there would be no equilateral triangle. Some think of God as H 2 O, which is sometimes a solid (ice), sometimes a liquid (water), and sometimes a gas (steam). God is like an egg in that He is 3-in-1 God the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. At the Cathedral, we recognize that there are responsibilities that come with . This view teaches that three separate beings exist. A good example would be an electrical cord. In this analogy, God is compared to a man. The yolk represents Gods Person, His Being, and His Holiness which generates Light that no man can approach (I Timothy 6:16). This means there is a sense in which all 3 persons may act or speak as one. Jesus Person is joined to the Father by the Fathers Holy Spirit, because Gods Spirit is also Jesus Spirit - "But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you. This analogy explains that the Father is like the sun. H2O can exist in three forms: liquid, gas and solid. Pingback: 3 Reasons Why Jesus Humanity Really Matters Her & Hymn, Pingback: 3 Reasons Why Jesus' Humanity Really Matters, Pingback: How Jesus Teaches Us To Be Human Her & Hymn. The Bible teaches three truths: 1 - there is one God. What does that really mean? All these make up one egg just as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit make up one God. Learn how your comment data is processed. 3 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons. Space Analogy God is like space. You are an egg! Some people think that H2O cannot exist in all three states simultaneously but that is not true. From time to time, Doctors of the Church used analogies, but with care. The trinity is Like a man who is a father, husband, and son. Wow! However, Christians through the ages believe in the Trinity because the truths it represents are taught in the Bible. In reality, I change my role depending on who I am interacting with. It does not imply Jesus was created if you emphasize that the Sun existed from eternity past. Here are 8 Bible Characters Who Should Be More Famous. The problem with this analogy is that it would imply that there is only one Divine Person, who eventually multiplied Himself. Did I leave out any analogies? Water can be ice and steam, yet they are the same element. According to the first, just as water takes three forms (liquid, vapor, and ice), so too God takes the form of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus would have remained in the tomb, or hell, had Jesus sinned. Analogies often fall short. Dont grieve the Holy Spirit out of you. You can also catch up with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok Part 2. Infinite thy vast domain, everlasting is thy reign.. None of the 3 are less divine than the others. Through the brokenness of the Shell, His Son, the Spirit white pours out into our beings through our faith in what was done and believers are joined with the yolk, for it is by One Spirit we have access to God the Father (Ephesians 2:18). If the Sun existed from eternity past then so were the light rays from the Sun. The Egg and I - Part Two These images fall short, because these components arent enough to be considered a whole on their own. RELATED: The Biblical Principle Of Baptism By Fire. The teaching of the trinity is clearly taught in Scripture and must be preserved as such. (Which I just found out is in error). This analogy denies the unity of the God-head. On a whim, I looked up the lyrics at a later time. He was with God in the beginning. The 3 Most Common "Trinity Analogies" (and their limitations) The three most common go-to analogies for explaining the Trinity are water, an egg, and the sun. The yolk represents Gods Person, His Being, and His Holiness which generates Light that no man can approach (I Timothy 6:16). In Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). It is still H20, but just different forms. Therefore it behoves us to know what He has revealed (including the Trinity), and to lovingly worship Him accordingly. It is not important merely for the sake of tradition, or because the word itself is taught in the Bible (. (Describing God as LOVE is my favorite way of understanding the Trinity. The Trinity is Like an Egg How the analogy goes: The Trinity is like an egg. Im giving God the credit for stirring this memory, and am extremely grateful. This error denies something central to God that makes Him God. Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature. (Lateran Council IV), 4. I did read about the shamrock analogy! This is a quick way to describe the doctrine of the Trinity namely, God is 1 being (the, is Gods nature, essence, being) and 3 whos (the, being Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). It's impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. Because Gods Person is unapproachable, the Spirit White acts as insulation, for we know that it is through the Holy Spirit that God can communicate, speak through and interact with mankind. This analogy is an invalid comparison to the Trinity and is a heresy called PARTIALISM. . When we think about influential New Testament leaders, most names are male. Yet it appears to be almost entirely misunderstood within contemporary evangelical circles. Analogies that we present would always be insufficient as none of them would equate to the incomprehensible beauty of God. All Rights Reserved. Here are a few of the many verses giving evidence of the Trinity in the Bible: Genesis 1:1&2- In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. The Holy Spirit was an active participant in the creative process. The watermelon has a skin, pulp and seeds; the egg is shell, yolk and egg white. Rather, He created us in order to bless us. Christians believe, then, that only one God exists but this God exists as a unity of three persons: a Trinity. His being is somewhat of a mystery to us. Relationship Analogy (Husband/Son/Father) God is like a person with different relationships just as a man can be a Dad, but also someones Son, and also someones Husband. We wont find the word Trinity in the Bible, but the concept is shown in many verses. Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. What makes it hard is that all of our analogies and metaphors fall short of capturing what the Trinity actually is. TO AVOID HERESIES, LET US LIVE BY WHAT HAS BEEN REVEALED TO US: 1. But in the Godhead, each Person is fully and completely God unto Himself (even as they are all one God). We worship one God who exists in three persons. Sadly, theres something "rotten" about this egg analogy. And a voice from heaven said, This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. God the Father spoke from heaven and spoke of His Son, Jesus. When we see them as three individual spirits, (God is one Spirit John 4:24), then that is the blasphemy of polytheism which is the worship of more than one God. How can God be Three in One? Trinity Egg Analogy . I dont believe that God wishes us to be confused about the Three that are so apparent throughout the Old and New Testaments. This book is now available in a published format for easy sharing and classroom use. It should bring us to realise that we truly are finite creatures standing before a sovereign, transcendent, divine mystery. If then the sun were eternal, the day would never end; but now, for such is not really the state of the case, the day begins with the beginning of the sun, and ends with its ending. God is much bigger and much greater than we can understand, and to be honest, I'm ok with that. The Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 but more like 1 x 1 x 1. Yet, these persons are not separate from one another. The Egg- One egg has three parts: shell, whites, and yolk . 2A) Dave is a father of four children: three boys and a . The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called Jehovah (or Spirit of Jehovah), given divine attributes, and, (usually there is no argument that the Father is not God, since every place Jesus speaks to God, he is addressing the Father.). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called Jehovah (or Spirit of Jehovah), given divine attributes, and are distinguished from one another. If you only had an apple core, you wouldnt pack it in your lunch.
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