Space consists of three things: height, width, and depth. The analogy breaks down because the three cloves are overly distinct and cannot represent the unity of God. The problem with this analogy is that it also leads to the heresy of MODALISM. . So, in God, there are three distinct persons. What makes it hard is that all of our analogies and metaphors fall short of capturing what the Trinity actually is. History, lifestyle, family, music, theology, scripture, literature, the saints, church history, parenting, politics, prayer, the pope, and more. Who is God? This is the Christmas paradox. God Himself explains why some things are still a mystery: For as heaven is higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9) Our human minds can never understand all of who God is and how He thinks and acts. 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. 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. H2O can exist in three forms: liquid, gas and solid. Born in England in 1961, Benjamin Waterhouse Benjamin Waterhouse has been the organist of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity since 2000. But theres one problem: the water analogy is not the biblical picture of God. If you're looking to dive deeper into God's word, here are 6 kinds of bible study tools and resources 9 Influential Female Leaders in the New Testament. You are an egg! But understanding the Trinity is important. They suggest that only one God exists but this God transforms or morphs into each of the different persons Let's begin with the second view. in which all 3 persons may act or speak as one. God is kind of like a man who is a father, a son and an uncle God is kind of like a three-leaf clover, or a triangle; one object, but three different, identifiable leaves, or sides* God has revealed some mysteries from the Old Testament in the New Testament (the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the coming of the Messiah, salvation by grace through faith, etc.) The more I reflect on Easter, the more Ive realized how much its become a consumeristic holidayeven Did Jesus really rise from the dead? 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). 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. 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. However, it breaks down on the level of equality: No one keeps or eats the shell of an egg. Sending of another: The Father sends the Son, and both the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit. The egg shell is the image of the yolk and the white. The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. What we can understand and accept is that God exists eternally as one divine nature, substance, or essence, comprising three co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial personsthe Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Son is not the Father or the Spirit. What portion of the analogy holds true with Church Teaching? Each person is fully the one God, but is also distinct. He has one essenceone substance. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith. The unseen Father is in Christs mind. The three distinct notes come together to make one beautiful sound. They say that three separate beings exist, 2. Hi Im not a theologian and I dont disagree with what you say but when you state that we know the persons of the Trinity have perfectly loved for eternity etc how do we know? Deuteronomy 6:4- Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. This verse is also the beginning of the Jewish Shema prayer; their confession of faith. These three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - exist together in complete unity, with no separation, as one divine being. The three parts create a unified whole. This analogy explains that the Father is like the sun. Our words should dissipate and be replaced instead with an awestruck adoration and wonder, as we realise the only appropriate response is to fall to our knees and humbly worship the one truly perfect, unified divine essence, comprising three diverse, co-equal and co-eternal divine persons. The Trinity are three distinct persons who exist apart from each other. Yet God lovingly chose to create and eventually redeem us anyway (both thoroughly Trinitarian acts), at great cost to Himself. (Describing God as LOVE is my favorite way of understanding the Trinity. Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. So, part of understanding the Trinity is realizing that God is personal and relational. For example, I would say, "God is like an egg." This is because the H20 is changing forms in representing each person. in that while water can change into vapour or ice, Jesus cannot change into the Father or the Holy Spirit. This view teaches that three separate beings exist. The very definition of the heresy known as Modalism/Oneness is that there is one person existing in three different modes or manifestations. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9). No analogy is perfect, but we want to be careful of using wrong ones that may confuse people. One thing that Ive found helpful is using the Trinity to illustrate truths we know about God. God is Great, I always try to figure out how to explain it to my Sunday school kids and they get confused which i get, how would you explain it to them? The meme above discourages the use of analogies in explaining the Trinity. 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. Modalism teaches that the trinity is not three distinct persons, but just different modes that God reveals himself to human beings. They all exist as fully God, with none of them lacking in any attribute or aspect that defines God. This would make Jesus something less than fully God. Your email address will not be published. In this analogy, God is compared to a man. The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith. 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. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength (1 Corinthians 1:25). It does not imply Jesus was created if you emphasize that the Sun existed from eternity past. He can even be all three at the same time. Some have taken on the task of explaining how Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist as one. There are some analogies that come close. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9). In contrast to the Ontological Trinity, there is the Economic Trinity. Jesus was standing in the Jordan River, His Father speaks from heaven above, and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him as a dove. When the Bible talks about God, it may be referring to Jesus Christ in a specific instance, the Holy Spirit in another and God the Father in a third occasion. So while its tough to make sense of the Trinity, the Trinity actually helps us make sense of so many things we believe. Three Gods or one? The mystery is in the "how" this is accomplished; something we will finally understand in heaven. Its hard to explain! The Egg- One egg has three parts: shell, whites, and yolk . It became real to me because I have experienced His love, grace, guidance, redemption, conviction of sin, and fellowship that comes from Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Egg and I - Part Two 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). When discussing God, especially in regards to his nature, being and persons, a simple statement to articulate the Trinity is: God is 1, *. 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. . Each one is fully God. When it comes to the Trinity, we tend to forget that an analogy is an "aptness of proportion" or a "resemblance of relations," not an identity of relations. I think the illustration that represents the Trinity most accurately is the egg example. An explanation that is so common, and seemingly does elucidate how something can simultaneously be three and onecan it really be that bad? It is so important that to deny the trinity is to deny Christianity. The Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 but more like 1 x 1 x 1. The Unseen Father is in Christs mind. Jesus is the visual form of God. The trinity is Like a man who is a father, husband, and son. It is still important that we have some understanding of the concept, however. Similarly, people have used the example of the apple in the same way- skin, flesh, and seeds. Part 2. What is the Trinity? Let's use an egg to explain the Holy Trinity! However, keep in mind that the one being. Truly, it is a Mystery. Water can exist in liquid at room temperature. Haydn describes himself as a five-point Calvinist, but he recognises that many faithful Christians disagree. So if all of these explanations are heretical, what is a good analogy? show me your glory. This analogy denies the unity of the God-head. Should Women Really Keep Silent in Church? 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. He differs from the Father, but was and still is God. I know in the past Ive used analogies that werent the best (more on those later.) True, we humans are image bearers but nothing in creation serves as an analogy for the Trinity because the Trinity is a doctrine of special (biblical) revelation not nature or reason. So much of what we know about what God does is wrapped up in who He is. ORDER from Barnes and NobleAmazon.com or wherever fine books are soldISBN-13: 978-1978167643Return to Cafe Logos Homepage | Bite-Sized Bible Bites, The Egg and i -A Simple Explanation of The Trinity. How so? The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called Jehovah (or Spirit of Jehovah), given divine attributes, and are distinguished from one another. The problem with this analogy is that an egg yoke is of a very different substance than a shell. Water is water, but exists in three different forms: liquid, frozen, or steam. Here are 8 Bible Characters Who Should Be More Famous. If the Sun existed from eternity past then so were the light rays from the Sun. What happens when an egg hatches? As a doctrine (belief), the trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate and distinct persons united in one being- God. They are three in one egg. It is still H20, but just different forms. I and My Father are One (John 10:30). 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. All three persons exist at the same moment in history. Scripture however, doesnt depict God this way. His ways are not my ways! It is a miraculous invention, the egg. Though I find the video to be hilarious and often . 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*. For example, triangles are not the kinds of things that are personal. This is perhaps the most common analogy for the Trinity. This is the error of Arianism (not to be confused with Aryanism, which is also bad). is not). Required fields are marked *. The word trinity is not in the Scriptures, but is a word used to describe the three in one God revealed in the Bible. 1:8-12; 1 Pet. 1A) Dave is a son of Graham and Lois Armstrong. You know, that bearded guy on the throne who looks something like Zeus, right? For instance at the baptism of Christ, the Father, Son and Spirit are all distinctly present and interacting (Matthew chapter 3 verses 16-17). Your email address will not be published. Each of the divine persons is GOD WHOLE AND ENTIRE, and there is one God. Vestment Emblems. For sure, our everyday experience does not include using our finite minds to understand the infinite! The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. But if they give us a warped idea of what they are trying to explain, they arent helpful illustrations. Here many of the creeds help us in clearly articulating the trinity. Armstrong. The analogy breaks down because I can simultaneously be a father, husband, and son to any one person. Surely this is a better understanding of the water analogy! 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.
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