We wont find the word Trinity in the Bible, but the concept is shown in many verses. I bet I havent sung or heard this song in years! Each one is fully 100% God. However, keep in mind that the one being who is God is a personal being. Since these bad analogies tend to lead to a heresy, we will examine the main three areas of heresy concerning the trinity. What does that really mean? One popular and simple illustration of the Trinity is the egg. It is a miraculous invention, the egg. Jesus Person is the image of Gods Person (Hebrews 1:3), and the Invisible Spirit of the Father that is in Him - God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (II Corinthians 5:19). Although he is one he has different roles to different people. However, many of our faithful, and even priests, attempted to simplify the Mystery of the Trinity and made it easier to understand by using MODELS AND ANALOGIES, giving birth to modern-day heresies/fallacies about the Trinity. The three parts create a unified whole. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQLfgaUoQCw. In Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9) Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9). The Bible teaches three truths: 1 - there is one God. Take a moment and give it a try. The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. Holy Trinity, the downtown Greek Orthodox church that was partially destroyed by fire 11 years ago, was a special place for 57-year-old Georgiou. Wow! Three persons is false. This analogy denies the unity of the God-head. The egg white represents Gods Spirit. Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. Although God is transcendent, sovereign, unapproachable light, He has condescended to reveal something of Himself to His creation. Devils cannot grab ahold of them to cast them into Satans prison. These three Persons are all equally God and all equally Persons. In part one, we looked at what the Bible has to say about the Trinity. Explaining the Holy Trinity. We define a person as one having a will and who is distinguishable from another person. Here are a few common illustrations: The Egg- One egg has three parts: shell, whites, and yolk. Devils see that Spirit as a tempestuious fire. 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 teaching of the trinity is clearly taught in Scripture and must be preserved as such. Also, the egg is made up of three distinct and unalike parts. Water Analogy God is like water, or H2O, which can exist in 3 forms. We can touch the cord, but not the power it is insulating. For sure, our everyday experience does not include using our finite minds to understand the infinite! This analogy sounds pretty good, but it is fatally flawed in that is describes the Son and Spirit as creations of the Father. While it captures the idea that God is one, it doesnt do such a good job of showing how God is three and one at the same time. Humans as we are, we cannot fully understand how the three divine Persons, though really distinct from one another, are one and the same God. We find it in all four Gospels. - well, sort of. So whats one good way to explain what the Trinity is? He wondered how it was possible that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit could be inseparable, while, in . These three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - exist together in complete unity, with no separation, as one divine being. How so? So, the egg analogy doesnt work after all. If we separate them we still may have God the Egg yolk, God the Holy Spirit Egg white and God the Son, the Egg shell/image, three individual parts of an Egg, but they cannot be a Trinity, or tri-unity unless they are unified and are seen as one Egg, so to speak. Before moving on I should note that providing a full theological explanation of Trinitarian doctrine is well beyond the scope of what I can do here. Jesus then becomes a created being and thus less than fully God. The Trinity is distinct in their roles and individuality, but united in their attributes of love, mercy, holiness, knowledge, etc. So, I shot down a lot of images that seems to be pretty helpful. 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. Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. The egg shell is the image of the yolk and the white. In one egg you have the white, the yoke, and the shell composing one full egg. ORDER from Barnes and NobleAmazon.com or wherever fine books are soldISBN-13: 978-1978167643Return to Cafe Logos Homepage | Bite-Sized Bible Bites. One of the more traditional analogies is to the states of water. Jesus was standing in the Jordan River, His Father speaks from heaven above, and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him as a dove. Under Arianism Jesus is less than fully God. The trinity is a like a Three-Leaf Clover. The Trinity are three distinct persons who exist apart from each other. There is what is called the 'triple point' the combination of pressure and temperature at which H2O can exist simultaneously in all three states: solid, liquid and gas. All these make up one egg just as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit make up one God. Understanding 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. I dont believe that God wishes us to be confused about the Three that are so apparent throughout the Old and New Testaments. It is the Fathers desire to join His Spirit with all of us as well for He has said They shall be My sons and daughters (II Corinthians 6:18). The Church should not forget that these heresies still exist in the present day and is even being taught by some priests and catechists. This analogy seems to make a lot of sense, but it actually reinforces a fatal misconception about the Trinity called modalism. One sits on the throne looking like Sardine and Jasper stone. Over the course of church history there have been several heresies that have cropped up that deny one of these three truths. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of modalism. This little child cannot look at one without experiencing a profound sense of wonderment and awe. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14). This analogy actually falls prey to the same error of modalism. The problem with this analogy is that an egg yoke is of a very different substance than a shell. Each part of the egg make up only one portion of the wholethe yolk is not the fullness of the egg. The egg analogy is very simple but it is OK to show something as simple as an egg can be one and yet three. For the Trinity, instead of using the formula 1+1+1, we use 1x1x1. Despite its potential obscurity, Trinity Sunday is a great occasion for me to revisit an old article on the Trinity. We Christians believe it on faith. In Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9) But this view, too, wont do. Starting with the three biblical affirmations, ask your kids to show you how these examples support or deny what the bible teaches about the Trinity. Or have you ever tried to teach kids about the Trinity? Admittedly, the idea of three distinct persons/expressions that are each fully God is part of the mystery. But remember, it is much better to let Scripture teach the 3 points above which establish the doctrine of the Trinity than to rely on analogies. RELATED: Did Jesus Really Rise From The Dead? 1:8-12; 1 Pet. They are three in one egg. The meme above discourages the use of analogies in explaining the Trinity. As a doctrine (belief), the trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate and distinct persons united in one being- God. In trying to describe what they saw in the pages of the Bible, the early church decided to use the word person to describe the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity: Egg Analogy The Holy Trinity is GOD in three divine persons GOD the FATHER GOD the HOLY SPIRIT GOD the SON But together they makeup and are still ONE GOD Like how an egg is made up of three things but is still ONE EGG. All Scripture is taken from the NIV version unless otherwise specified, Author Ignace Franz, translated by Clarence A. Walworth. Armstrong. 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 mystery is in the how this is accomplished; something we will finally understand in heaven. The Trinity is established by 3 Biblical truths, . It is the Central Mystery of our Christian faith. God is not made up of 3 parts like the 3 parts of the egg. Do you know why I keep saying God is like an egg (or H2O) but God is not like an egg (or H2O)? When discussing God, especially in regards to his nature, being and persons, a simple statement to articulate the Trinity is: God is 1 what and 3 whos*. But you cannot be broken when your faith is in Jesus, for the Spirit of the Son that lives in us and gives us the voice through which we cry Abba, Father, (Galatians 4:6,) this Spirit of the Father that dwells within you is there to strengthen, protect and guard your person. He taught that the son was at one point created by God the father. A chicken egg consists of a shell, a yolk, and an egg white, yet it is altogether one egg. They are equally eternal, powerful, sovereign, and worthy of worship. It only has 1 person acting in three different roles. Unfortunately, Arianism is still around and can found within the Jehovah's Witnesses teachings. Each one is fully 100% God. The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, constructed between 1800 and 1804, is the first Anglican cathedral to have been built outside the British Isles. All of the above Bad Analogies would perhaps do more harm than good if used in explaining the Trinity. Sure enough, one member answered Well Ive heard that the Trinity is like water: water can be liquid, gas (steam), or solid (ice), but its still the same water. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of tritheism. God is like H2Olike water. The white of an egg is the connection between the yolk and the shell. For instance at the baptism of Christ, the Father, Son and Spirit are all distinctly present and interacting (Matthew chapter 3 verses 16-17). The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. The problem with this analogy is it denies the unity of the God-head. [4] The goal of an analogy is to draw out similarities between it and its referent in illuminating ways, not to define the referent itself. This is why Jesus said, He who has seen Me, has seen the Father (John 14:9). And let us once more come to illustrations. Youre right, theyre all good but not perfect because only God IS perfect. 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). The Holy Spirit is Christs spirit in us guiding us into all truth. God is much bigger and much greater than we can understand, and to be honest, I'm ok with that. Cool it down, and itll eventually freeze into a solid. It may not appear to agree with common sense. What happens when an egg hatches? Jesus would have remained in the tomb, or hell, had Jesus sinned. 3. 1. 6And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons., , The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all., There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. 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 we can (and should) have a solid foundation to explain this core belief of our faith. However, in some instances, the use of carefully chosen analogies may be of help for some of our brethren in learning the teachings of the Church. That is heaven in a person. Jonathon serves as a lay pastor at Gospel Life Church in New Braunfels, TX and currently works as the IT Manager for a non-profit ministry. In Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). Water at room temperature is liquid. The above picture is a famous work of art by Andrei Rubilev, the great medieval Russian painter of Orthodox icons and frescos. 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. There was no relational deficiency that prompted God to create us. This means there is a sense in which all 3 persons may act or speak as one. 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. This is a bad analogy because it fails at the truth that all three persons comprise the fullness of God. It should bring us to realise that we truly are finite creatures standing before a sovereign, transcendent, divine mystery. A good follow up verse to help explain is the baptism of Jesus. In some ways, it resembles the tritheism view (Misunderstanding 2). I write to see memory and language wrestle with reality. Genesis 1:26- Let us make man in our image, in our likeness The plural us and our show more than one person was involved. God is NOT like H2O in that He does not need the right pressure and temperature to exist as three persons. Yet we do not have three gods but ONE God. 5And there are varieties of ministries and the same Lord. God controls that light. Yet there is only one God. But having lots 6 Bible Study Tools To Help You Dive Deeper. Our God is three in one. Thought of Tim Its amazing to think that everything will be so clear when we het to Heaven! In other words, God may manifest Himself as the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. In this episode, Fred Sanders discusses what it really means to say that God is a Trinitythree persons in one God. We can always rebut these claims with another equation: 1 x 1 x 1=1. You are an egg! How would you explain the Trinity if someone asked you right now? We have the creeds for just that reason. There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Yet, the trinity is mysterious. When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. God does not morph from one person to another, nor does God exist as three separate beings. Every kid in Sunday school thinks he knows all about God. No analogy is perfect, but we want to be careful of using wrong ones that may confuse people. Now, as youve probably guessed, this analogy also breaks down. Here are 8 Bible Characters Who Should Be More Famous. The Son intercedes as our High Priest before the Father. How can we ever explain our Most High, exalted, powerful, uncontainable, and most glorious God? You are an egg! However, keep in mind that the one being. I think the illustration that represents the Trinity most accurately is the egg example. In other words, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have a unique and unbreakable unity, and their existence together is the being that is God. An egg is made up of shell, white and yolk. Here are a couple "usefully flawed" analogies for the Trinity. Arius was condemned by the council of Nicea in 325 AD. Studying the Trinity poses difficulty to us Catholics. Truly, it is a Mystery. 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. He cares for his creation and his people. 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). As a result, this analogy can easily lead to tritheism in which there are three different gods which might share some like substance. 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. For example, we know that God didnt create humanity because He bored or lonely. Proof texting is when we cite a bunch of bible verses to support a theological stance. 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. This description that all persons are fully God is called the Ontological Trinity. The Unseen Father would have been put into Satans prison. Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. The wonders and ways of God may not be apparent or fully known at present, but we can still marvel at His supremacy and worship Him in wonder- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! The unity or oneness of God is also found in the Bible. John introduces us to the Trinity in John 1:1- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and Word was God. Jesus, the Word, was present in Genesis 1. We can touch the cord, but not the power it is insulating. My name is AnnMarie and I'm so glad you're here! The Father hears their intercessory prayers. The problem with this analogy is that it also leads to the heresy of MODALISM. Intercession: The Son intercedes as our High Priest before the Father. It is still important that we have some understanding of the concept, however. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit also exist eternally and concurrently. According to modalism, God does not actually exist in three persons. 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. This is why Jesus said, He who has seen Me, has seen the Father (John 14:9). I know in the past Ive used analogies that werent the best (more on those later.) Time Analogy God is like time. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. THE TRUTH IS: The Father, Son, and Spirit are three different persons who are all equally one God. There's a simple reason they don't work: The Trinity, as such, isn't like anything in creation. For example, an equilateral triangle (a triangle with three equal sides) has three sides. 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. 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. God created us for community, since God is communal and we were created in His image. Likewise we cannot have the Father or His Spirit without the Son I am the Way the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except by Me- John 14:6. The sun comprises the sun itself, its light and its heat. If all you had were an eggshell, you wouldnt have a very exciting breakfast. Born in England in 1961, Benjamin Waterhouse Benjamin Waterhouse has been the organist of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity since 2000. Misunderstanding 1: The transforming trinity The Bible teaches that the Father is God, that Jesus is God, and that the Holy Spirit is God. An explanation that is so common, and seemingly does elucidate how something can simultaneously be three and onecan it really be that bad? Part 2. This analogy denies the distinction of the God-head. 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. You know, that bearded guy on the throne who looks something like Zeus, right? Son and Holy Ghost are each fully God. Lost will be ashes under the feet of the righteous. The God of the Bible is one God. I never thought about it in that way some of these examples Ive never heard of. This is a place to find encouragement and hope from God's Word as you move through your busy life. Each of the divine persons is GOD WHOLE AND ENTIRE, and there is one God. Unfortunately, an analogy from the limited realm of creation may not be sufficient in explaining Gods nature. If the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three separate beings, then its not really clear how someone can say that God is one or that only one God exists. Jesus is the Holy Spirit. This may be my favorite verse of them all. It is still H20, but just different forms. The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. Each one is fully God. The analogy breaks down because I can simultaneously be a father, husband, and son to any one person. God is not made up of 3 'parts' like the 3 parts of the egg. The Son is like the light rays that visibly reveal the sun, as Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). 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 is a general rule when we study this Mystery using our human weakness since it is absolutely impossible for our human minds to comprehend the Divine. Paul explains our finite understanding of beliefs like the Trinity as looking into a poor-quality mirror- a distorted image; dim and unclear. Should Women Really Keep Silent in Church? Let's use an egg to explain the Holy Trinity! 1 Corinthians 8:6: Yet for us there is but one God.. But they are one God. Light comes from God. 7But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christs gift., , according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure., , But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith; praying in the Holy Spirit; 21keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.. What is wrong with what I said? Or, we can quote Daniel Webster; a strong Christian- I do not pretend fully to understand the arithmetic of heaven now. . If you looked at a single cloverleaf, you wouldnt call it a shamrock. 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). Thus, the Father Himself is not God, nor is the Son, nor is the Holy Spirit, but combining the three, there is one God. - well, sort of. Each Person in the Trinity (or the Godhead) is fully God and fully a Person. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. There are, however, some that work better than others. Few if any have every tried to teach the heresy of Tritheism, but it needs to be mentioned anyway. He got married there in 1965, and his four . If we separate them we still may have God the Egg yolk, God the Holy Spirit Egg white and God the Son, the Egg shell/image, three individual parts of an Egg, but they cannot be a Trinity, or tri-unity unless they are unified and are seen as one Egg, so to speak. The Trinity is a concept that is impossible for any human being to fully understand, let alone explain. If God has existed for all eternity in a perfectly loving Triune relationship, then it shows He is completely self-sufficient and requires no further relationship in order to complete or satisfy Himself. Yeah its definitely a hard thing to understand, let alone explain to little ones ! The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. For example, triangles are not the kinds of things that are personal. This is a worse analogy than the egg because it is more analogous to the heretical doctrine of Modalism/Oneness than for the Trinity. What makes it hard is that all of our analogies and metaphors fall short of capturing what the Trinity actually is. God does not just change forms but exists as three persons in unity. It leads to the heresy of MODALISM which teaches that God switches to different modes. In Arianism, the Son is not eternally equal with the Father, but was the Fathers first and best creation. Water Analogy - God is like water, or H2O, which can exist in 3 forms. He is married to Shamsa Lea, is the father of Amira, and loves boxing and studying Theology. RELATED: What Did Jesus Really Look Like? TO AVOID HERESIES, LET US LIVE BY WHAT HAS BEEN REVEALED TO US: 1. His being is somewhat of a mystery to us. The analogy breaks down because the three cloves are overly distinct and cannot represent the unity of God. This little child cannot look at one without experiencing a profound sense of wonderment and awe. And the reason we know that is because the Persons of the Godhead have perfectly loved each other for all eternity. How can God be Three in One? They say that three separate beings exist 2. The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith. The word God in this sense is defined as a single being, having all divine attributes. It is the Fathers desire to join His Spirit with all of us as well for He has said They shall be My sons and daughters (II Corinthians 6:18). The Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 but more like 1 x 1 x 1. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. But theres one problem: the water analogy is not the biblical picture of God. Similarly, in our aquatic analogy, water can appear in three different modes, depending on the environment, but the three are not co-existing. The yolk represents Gods Person, His Being, and His Holiness which generates Light that no man can approach (I Timothy 6:16). He can even be all three at the same time. These images fall short, because these components arent enough to be considered a whole on their own. Is He Jesus side-kick? He differs from the Father, but was and still is God. ANALOGY OF CHARACTERS. My prayer is to infuse God's character into your everyday lives with short ( 4-5") devotions and Bible Studies every Monday morning. In the same way, there is a God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. The mystery is in the "how" this is accomplished; something we will finally understand in heaven. Notice the distinction between persons and being. But, when it's heated, it turns into a gas (steam) and, when it's frozen, it turns into a solid (ice). When we think about influential New Testament leaders, most names are male. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called Jehovah (or Spirit of Jehovah), given divine attributes, and are distinguished from one another. This is the Christmas paradox. copyright 2009 by H.D. 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. Tritheism denies the unity of the God-head by saying there is just three different gods. I think the illustration that represents the Trinity most accurately is the egg example. Blessings! 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. Now God can be in you by His Spirit! Our limited intellects are unable to comprehend its reality, yet, our Scriptures and scholarly Tradition makes it known to us. Modalism teaches that the trinity is not three distinct persons, but just different modes that God reveals himself to human beings. There are some analogies that come close. The trinity is like water. It's impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. The egg shell is the image of the yolk and the white. Each PERSON is distinct from one another. The Father sends the Son, and both the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind lived the doctrinal truth about the Trinity. The military would like to have that power. In other words, one stuffness. However, He exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Dont you know Jesus? An essential factor lacking from those concepts is the relational quality of God. He completed a doctorate in 1990, looking at the question of harmonic rhythm in the organ music of J.S. Its all one person, simply functioning in three different roles. He was with God in the beginning.
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