Youre right, theyre all good but not perfect because only God IS perfect. show me your glory. A person distinguishes himself from others by saying me, mine, you, yours, etc. A being is the whole nature or essence of something. As a doctrine (belief), the trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate and distinct persons united in one being- God. The trinity is a mystery that cannot be fully comprehended. 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). Jesus loves us so much that he did not obliterate people who died, with power that set stars in the universe. The Egg Analogy God is like an egg. I remember asking my Life Group last year, How have you heard the Trinity explained? I braced myself for the inevitable reply. 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. Water Analogy - God is like water, or H2O, which can exist in 3 forms. Each part of the egg make up only one portion of the wholethe yolk is not the fullness of the egg. Because God is utterly unique, all comparisons will fail at some point. ANALOGY OF CHARACTERS. This is a place to find encouragement and hope from God's Word as you move through your busy life. God is NOT like H2O in that He does not need the right pressure and temperature to exist as three persons. God is like an egg in that He is 3-in-1 God the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. The divine persons are really DISTINCT from one another, and not merely different roles of God at different times. Modalism is a heresy because it denies the distinction of God. 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. 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. 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). Some people falsely claim the Trinity is a form of . And whos the Holy Spirit? But Hes God too, right? There are three different cloves that represent the three different persons of the trinity. Depth isnt the same thing as height and height isnt the same thing as width, yet all three together are what comprise space. Although the water changes forms it is still H2O. 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. Just like an egg, none of the parts are co-equal, nor are all of the parts necessary for the egg to exist. St. Augustine, one of the most important Fathers of the Church, wrote a great deal on the doctrine of the Trinity. The Unseen Father is in Christs mind. The egg white represents Gods Spirit. As a doctrine (belief), the trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate and distinct persons united in one being- God. Jesus is the Holy Spirit that saves us. 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. Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. But the Bible is CLEAR in its teaching. A good follow up verse to help explain is the baptism of Jesus. 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. For example, we know that God didnt create humanity because He bored or lonely. What does that really mean? I think the analogy of the Sun works well. Its hard to explain! The Unseen Father would have been put into Satans prison. Adorn your liturgical vestments with classic images from the Monastery Icons collection. As a result, this analogy actually teaches modalism. In other words, God may manifest Himself as the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. Many of us would use analogies to explain the Trinity. Perhaps youve heard the analogy that the Trinity is like H2O (the molecular symbol for water). Here are eight bible characters that you might not know about, but should. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of tritheism. 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 TRUTH IS: The Father, Son, and Spirit are three different persons who are all equally one God. Now were going to look at how some people often misunderstand the Trinity. 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. 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. Or, we can quote Daniel Webster; a strong Christian- I do not pretend fully to understand the arithmetic of heaven now. . Modalism teaches that the trinity is not three distinct persons, but just different modes that God reveals himself to human beings. All these make up one egg just as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit make up one God. The Son "proceeds" from the Father, and the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father and the Son.". The Unseen Father and Father that is seen existed at the same time. Now God can be in you by His Spirit! The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. I know in the past Ive used analogies that werent the best (more on those later.) The Trinity is pretty weird: the Father (or Mother), Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are in some sense distinct from one another, but are all unified in another sense. 1B) This son of Graham and Lois Armstrong is Dave. Space Analogy God is like space. That helps explain the concept quite well- the oneness, unity of God with the distinct three persons of God- Father, Son, and Spirit. Father, Son, Holy Sprit : 3 persons, 1 great relationship, Copyright 2023 Fervr | Terms of Service. For instance, we know that God is perfectly loving. In an attempt to explain the Trinity, there are some bad examples people use, and some better ones. MULTIPLICATION ANALOGY. When we separate them we can fall into the error of tritheism, which is the worship of three individual deities as one. 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. Here are a couple "usefully flawed" analogies for the Trinity. I did read about the shamrock analogy! The shell, while important, is no longer needed. What portion of the analogy holds true with Church Teaching? 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. I dont believe that God wishes us to be confused about the Three that are so apparent throughout the Old and New Testaments. Light comes from God. Few topics of discussion in the Christian faith are more confusing than the idea of the Trinity. Analogies that we present would always be insufficient as none of them would equate to the incomprehensible beauty of God. And let us once more come to illustrations. These hand embroidered emblems are made with metallic gold-plated thread with silver content, printed on canvas. Arius was condemned by the council of Nicea in 325 AD. He has one essenceone substance. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of modalism. The problem with this analogy is that it denies the distinction of persons in the God-head. Jesus was standing in the Jordan River, His Father speaks from heaven above, and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him as a dove. 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. Both are one. 2 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each God. 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. The Holy Spirit is like the heat that the sun produces, unseen yet powerful and effective in making the sun felt. He has been relationally fulfilled within Himself since forever. Or what? The early church labeled this view "tritheism". Each one is fully 100% God. This analogy sounds pretty good, but it is fatally flawed in that is describes the Son and Spirit as creations of the Father. In other words, this view denies Gods oneness. 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). None of the 3 are less divine than the others. There's a simple reason they don't work: The Trinity, as such, isn't like anything in creation. Its impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. It is the Central Mystery of our Christian faith. We can always rebut these claims with another equation: 1 x 1 x 1=1. 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! What is the Trinity? To return to my Life Group anecdote, after our discussion I asked why does it even matter?. This book is now available in a published format for easy sharing and classroom use. Do you know why I keep saying God is like an egg (or H2O) but God is not like an egg (or H2O)? I can only shake my head when He does these things! Being the brightness of the eternal Light, He Himself also is absolutely eternal. The watermelon has a skin, pulp and seeds; the egg is shell, yolk and egg white. Matthew 3:16-17- As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. He differs from the Father, but was and still is God. In using analogies, we need to acknowledge the demerits and limitations of the said analogy. It falls into the heresy of tri-theism. The visual form of God seperated from Jesus on the cross. When discussing God, especially in regards to his nature, being and persons, a simple statement to articulate the Trinity is: God is 1, *. Thanks, Ann! Eggs are one, yet comprise yolk, shell and albumen. A, distinguishes himself from others by saying me, mine, you, yours, etc. A. is the whole nature or essence of something. Sending of another: The Father sends the Son, and both the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit. This is the error of Arianism (not to be confused with Aryanism, which is also bad). 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. The analogy breaks down because the three cloves are overly distinct and cannot represent the unity of God. Another wrong illustration is using ourselves: I am one person, but also a wife, mother, and writer. Bach, and has released two previous CDs, one . The military would like to have that power. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. The scientific analogy that will be provided in a few moments is truly inadequate to describe the Holy Trinity. Trinity Egg Analogy . This is one of the reasons we say that "God is LOVE". Shively You can throw away one part of an egg (e.g., shell) and still have essentially an egg. An egg is made up of shell, white and yolk. Which ones have you heard? Im giving God the credit for stirring this memory, and am extremely grateful. 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. Devils cannot grab ahold of them to cast them into Satans prison. In other words, one stuffness. However, He exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Yet we do not have three gods but ONE God. Dont grieve the Holy Spirit out of you. 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. The problem with this analogy is that it also leads to the heresy of MODALISM. Over the course of church history there have been several heresies that have cropped up that deny one of these three truths. An analogy illustrates that in a similar way, one shamrock can have three leaves on it, and the trinity has three persons that comprise one God. The Sun was created on the forth day. We recommend you adhere these emblems to your vestments by mounting on the material with fabric glue and then stitching them . God controls that light. 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.). He explains why the doctrine of the Trinity is essential to the gospel even if it seems abstract or confusing, highlights why all analogies and metaphors are of limited value when thinking about the Godhead, and responds to the . 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. Water can be ice and steam, yet they are the same element. The Church should not forget that these heresies still exist in the present day and is even being taught by some priests and catechists. He is one God in three persons, all at the same time. The Holy Spirit prays for us. So God performs 3 different roles/relationships but 1 God. This is the one I used long ago when trying to explain the Trinity to a group of 1st-5th graders. Lord of all, we bow before thee. Unfortunately, an analogy from the limited realm of creation may not be sufficient in explaining Gods nature. I bet I havent sung or heard this song in years! We have the creeds for just that reason. Proof texting is when we cite a bunch of bible verses to support a theological stance. From time to time, Doctors of the Church used analogies, but with care. In part one, we looked at what the Bible has to say about the Trinity. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father., 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Each one is fully 100% God. Though I find the video to be hilarious and often . The Trinity is Like an Egg How the analogy goes: The Trinity is like an egg. If youve been involved in ministries for children or young people, questions about the Trinity have most likely come up. Who is God? For the Trinity, instead of using the formula 1+1+1, we use 1x1x1. His ways are higher than ours, but isnt that a comfort?! Yet, these persons are not separate from one another. The military would end up destroying themselves. God is not made up of 3 parts like the 3 parts of the egg. The Holy Spirit is the shell, Jesus is the egg white, and the Father is the egg yolk. While an egg has a yolk, a white and a shell to make up the whole, each part is only ever . This is why Jesus said, He who has seen Me, has seen the Father (John 14:9). It can also be a liquid and called water. It should bring us to realise that we truly are finite creatures standing before a sovereign, transcendent, divine mystery. Since these bad analogies tend to lead to a heresy, we will examine the main three areas of heresy concerning the trinity. Ontological means the nature or essence of something. 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. Unfortunately, most of them actually give us the wrong idea about what the Trinity is. TO AVOID HERESIES, LET US LIVE BY WHAT HAS BEEN REVEALED TO US: 1. Not just for explaining it to others, but to bolster our own faith and see how each One works in our lives. Does that make sense? My intention is merely to address some common erroneous analogies, including water. Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. 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. and Holy Spirit are only parts of God (egg and sun). 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. Located in the heart of Quebec's historic district, it is a source of inspiration for visitors from around the world. So, the egg analogy doesnt work after all. Or have you ever tried to teach kids about the Trinity? God is one. They say that three separate beings exist 2. However, keep in mind that the one being who is God is a personal being. Did I leave out any analogies? I write to see memory and language wrestle with reality. we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,neither blending their personsnor dividing their essence. One popular and simple illustration of the Trinity is the egg. How can God be Three in One? It is not existing as 3 different parts (persons) at the same time. In one egg you have the white, the yoke, and the shell composing one full egg. Tritheism denies that there is only one God. We might call one side A, another side B, and the other C. So, there is a distinction between each of the sides, yet, all three are the same. H2O can exist as a solid, a liquid and a gas but they are all still H2O. But the Father is not the Son or the Spirit. When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. Infinite thy vast domain, everlasting is thy reign.. The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. The egg white represents Gods Spirit. God is much bigger and much greater than we can understand, and to be honest, I'm ok with that. 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. 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). This is just as bad as the Water analogy and leads to the same error. 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. Truly, it is a Mystery. Stars were made on the forth day. Take a moment and give it a try. My prayer is to infuse God's character into your everyday lives with short ( 4-5") devotions and Bible Studies every Monday morning. 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). All three persons exist at the same moment in history. Some have taken on the task of explaining how Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist as one. Unfortunately, there is a problem with this view of the Trinity. Among the most popular analogies for the Trinity, two in particular stand out; and most of the others resemble one of them. He has the world and our individual lives within His supremely capable hands. We worship one God who exists in three persons. Water at room temperature is liquid. This analogy explains that the Father is like the sun. The egg has a shell, the whites and a yoke. Its a very common explanation within the church to try to explain how God, who clearly exhorts His followers to preserve His supreme oneness (Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 4), could also be identified with Jesus (Titus chapter 2 verse 13), and the Holy Spirit (Acts chapter 5 verses 3-4). THE TRUTH IS: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not simply names designating modalities of the divine being, for they are really DISTINCT from one another: He is not the Father who is the Son, nor is the Son he who is the Father, nor is the Holy Spirit he who is the Father or the Son. (CCC 254), 3. There are some analogies that come close. The Trinity is foundational and at the heart of our Christian faith. We can touch the cord, but not the power it is insulating. They are equally eternal, powerful, sovereign, and worthy of worship. 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. So, in God, there are three distinct persons. For example, triangles are not the kinds of things that are personal. 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. Share your thoughts with us in the comments! 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. Armstrong. Yeah its definitely a hard thing to understand, let alone explain to little ones ! Each character of the trinity has in one another (cf. I think the illustration that represents the Trinity most accurately is the egg example. Some think of God as H 2 O, which is sometimes a solid (ice), sometimes a liquid (water), and sometimes a gas (steam). Somewhere in the recesses of my mind lived the doctrinal truth about the Trinity. H2O can only ever be one form at a time. But its all water. But thats not how they understood it. 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. Jesus would have remained in the tomb, or hell, had Jesus sinned. Only the Son became incarnate, took on flesh. Here are 8 Bible Characters Who Should Be More Famous. God does not morph from one person to another, nor does God exist as three separate beings. copyright 2009 by H.D. There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Paul explains our finite understanding of beliefs like the Trinity as looking into a poor-quality mirror- a distorted image; dim and unclear. I believe that the best way to talk about the Trinity is to simply say that God is one God, who eternally exists in three Persons.
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