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. 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. To become the people we were always created to be. The scientific analogy that will be provided in a few moments is truly inadequate to describe the Holy Trinity. 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). 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. Few if any have every tried to teach the heresy of Tritheism, but it needs to be mentioned anyway. But the Trinity is our belief as Christians that God is one being who exists in three Persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. Yet it appears to be almost entirely misunderstood within contemporary evangelical circles. The Son intercedes as our High Priest before the Father. I have the good one. Celebrating Easter Is About so Much More Than One Hour on Sunday. Thankfully he isnt a cage-stage Calvinist about it all. In this episode, Fred Sanders discusses what it really means to say that God is a Trinitythree persons in one 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.. As John 1:18 says, Jesus is "the only begotten God, in the bosom of [God] the Father.". 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. In other words, this view denies Gods oneness. In other words, one stuffness. However, He exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Well the issue is, the water analogy is akin to the heresy of Modalism. You are an egg! Both are one. Few topics of discussion in the Christian faith are more confusing than the idea of the Trinity. Water can be ice and steam, yet they are the same element. Father, Son, Holy Sprit : 3 persons, 1 great relationship, Copyright 2023 Fervr | Terms of Service. This is the error of Arianism (not to be confused with Aryanism, which is also bad). 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. Intercession: The Son intercedes as our High Priest before the Father. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. The problem with this analogy is that it denies the distinction of persons in the God-head. The analogy breaks down because the three cloves are overly distinct and cannot represent the unity of God. God created us for community, since God is communal and we were created in His image. God controls that light. Three persons is false. I go to prepare a place for you. You can throw away one part of an egg (e.g., shell) and still have essentially an egg. We also know that God didnt create humanity out of loneliness or boredom. Adorn your liturgical vestments with classic images from the Monastery Icons collection. Time exists as 3 things: past, present, and future. THE TRUTH IS: The Father, Son, and Spirit are three different persons who are all equally one God. This is a bad analogy because it fails at the truth that all three persons comprise the fullness of God. It is a miraculous invention, the egg. They say that three separate beings exist, 2. That fire keeps devils away from the saved. When they used the word person, they didnt mean it in the same way that we do today. 1 Corinthians 8:6: Yet for us there is but one God.. 2. So if all of these explanations are heretical, what is a good analogy? But, when it's heated, it turns into a gas (steam) and, when it's frozen, it turns into a solid (ice). The idea that the Trinity can be compared to a shamrock is largely attributed to St. Patrick. The Holy Spirit is Christs spirit in us guiding us into all truth. They that dont have the Holy Spirit in them will talk like the Adversary. There are two basic ways that people misunderstand the Trinity: 1. This analogy sounds pretty good, but it is fatally flawed in that is describes the Son and Spirit as creations of the Father. His ways are not my ways! 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. When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. The idea that the Trinity can be compared to a shamrock is largely attributed to St. Patrick. Perhaps we must be content to admit that we cannot fully understand Gods nature in our finitude. One popular and simple illustration of the Trinity is the egg. The shortfall of this illustration, and others like it, is that God cannot be divided into "parts." 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. The beautiful depth of Gods eternal Triune nature is a sublime reality which should bring an end to our attempts to cognitively master Him. Its downright hard to understand. 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. We believe in only one true God in all existence, in all places, at all times. The problem with this analogy is that no one molecule of H2O can actually exist as solid, liquid, and gas at the same time. The word God in this sense is defined as a single being, having all divine attributes. There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9). You are an egg! They are unified in one divine being. 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. 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. We define a person as one having a will and who is distinguishable from another person. I know in the past Ive used analogies that werent the best (more on those later.) So, part of understanding the Trinity is realizing that God is personal and relational. We Christians believe it on faith. Take a moment and give it a try. God is not made up of 3 parts like the 3 parts of the egg. So while its tough to make sense of the Trinity, the Trinity actually helps us make sense of so many things we believe. Despite its potential obscurity, Trinity Sunday is a great occasion for me to revisit an old article on the Trinity. This is a bad analogy because it fails at the truth that all three persons comprise the fullness of God. The Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 but more like 1 x 1 x 1. 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. Your email address will not be published. Arius was condemned by the council of Nicea in 325 AD. There are some analogies that come close. You can throw away one part of an egg (e.g., shell) and still have essentially an egg. There are three different cloves that represent the three different persons of the trinity. It only has 1 person acting in three different roles. There are many mysteries to our faith. What does that really mean? This analogy actually falls prey to the same error of modalism. The Holy Spirit is like the heat that the sun produces, unseen yet powerful and effective in making the sun felt. If you only had an apple core, you wouldnt pack it in your lunch. The Bible teaches three truths: 1 - there is one God. , 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you., For further reading on the Trinity, I would recommend James Whites, Lastly, below is a helpful graphical chart explaining the doctrine of the Trinity I found from the Christian blog by Tim Challies. There was no relational deficiency that prompted God to create us. 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. MULTIPLICATION ANALOGY. Arianism clearly denies the deity of the three persons. 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.). A chicken egg consists of a shell, a yolk, and an egg white, yet it is altogether one egg. The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. These two analogies are the "water" analogy and the "egg" analogy. The angel answered (Mary), The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High (referring to the Father, italics mine) will overshadow you. Furthermore, this trinity is related to a shamrock, an apple, or an egg. In using analogies, we need to acknowledge the demerits and limitations of the said analogy. God is NOT like H2O in that He does not need the right pressure and temperature to exist as three persons. Thus the Father is in Jesus " I and My Father are One" (John 10:30), "The Father is in Me" (John 14:10) God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (II Corinthians 5:19). The egg (or apple) fails in that the shell, white, and yolk are parts of the egg, not the egg in themselves, just as the skin, flesh, and seeds of the apple are parts of it, not the apple itself. Let's use an egg to explain the Holy Trinity! How can we explain what it means to have three persons in one being? This view teaches that three separate beings exist. Memory, Understanding, and Will. This is a worse analogy than the egg because it is more analogous to the heretical doctrine of Modalism/Oneness than for the Trinity. In an attempt to explain the Trinity, there are some bad examples people use, and some better ones. The trinity is like this man. Indeed, how can an infinite God be contained in a finite human womb! It falls into the heresy of tri-theism. Who is God? For the Trinity, instead of using the formula 1+1+1, we use 1x1x1. Studying the Trinity poses difficulty to us Catholics. Did I leave out any analogies? 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*. There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. St. Augustine, one of the most important Fathers of the Church, wrote a great deal on the doctrine of the Trinity. Often these analogies explicitly teach heresy. This analogy is an invalid comparison to the Trinity and is a heresy called PARTIALISM. Unfortunately, an analogy from the limited realm of creation may not be sufficient in explaining Gods nature. We all want to experience the good life. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Here are eight bible characters that you might not know about, but should. 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. The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith. PART OF A WHOLE. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. The three distinct notes come together to make one beautiful sound. Hello busy women! Below is a compilation of the verses that reference all 3 persons of the one God. However, it breaks down on the level of equality: No one keeps or eats the shell of an egg. An egg is made up of shell, white and yolk. The analogy breaks down because I can simultaneously be a father, husband, and son to any one person. Further, we can label each of the sides. God controls that light. Rather, He created us in order to bless us. 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. It should bring us to realise that we truly are finite creatures standing before a sovereign, transcendent, divine mystery. 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. Stars were made on the froth day. The yolk represents Gods Person, His Being, and His Holiness which generates Light that no man can approach (I Timothy 6:16). This analogy actually teaches the heresy of modalism. What is wrong with what I said? But common sense is intuition based on day-to-day experience. 2:5-6; Col. 1:15-17, 2:9; Heb. Jesus would have remained in the tomb, or hell, had Jesus sinned. 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. It is a miraculous invention, the egg. It does not represent 3 persons existing simultaneously. ORDER from Barnes and NobleAmazon.com or wherever fine books are soldISBN-13: 978-1978167643Return to Cafe Logos Homepage | Bite-Sized Bible Bites. When we use analogies, we need to indicate these things so as to not lead to heresies, A Catholic and Filipino writer interested in theology, philosophy, liturgy, politics, and law. The word trinity is not in the Scriptures, but is a word used to describe the three in one God revealed in the Bible. All three persons exist at the same moment in history. Each one is fully God. When we think about influential New Testament leaders, most names are male. And the reason we know that is because the Persons of the Godhead have perfectly loved each other for all eternity. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. Now God can be in you by His Spirit! I dont believe that God wishes us to be confused about the Three that are so apparent throughout the Old and New Testaments. Though I find the video to be hilarious and often . If one of the sides were removed, then there would be no equilateral triangle. But based on what you know that Jesus is born so that He can save people from their wrongdoings, will you trust Him to forgive you. The visual form of God seperated from Jesus on the cross. Jesus loves us so much that he did not obliterate people who died, with power that set stars in the universe. They've always led to error and have been rejected by the church. 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). The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. Modalism denies the distinction of person in the trinity. 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. What portion is erroneous? He taught that the son was at one point created by God the father. They say that three separate beings exist 2. In contrast to the Ontological Trinity, there is the Economic Trinity. At times God is Father, or Son, or Holy Spirit. They are three in one egg. The egg analogy fails because it denies that each person of the Trinity is of the same eternal essence. Water Analogy - God is like water, or H2O, which can exist in 3 forms. I can only shake my head when He does these things! He also knows how to perfectly love us. THE TRUTH IS: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three different parts or components of God, but the three are all equally one 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. Basic mathematics tells us that 1x1x1 = 1.. 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. Therefore it behoves us to know what He has revealed (including the Trinity), and to lovingly worship Him accordingly. 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. 5And there are varieties of ministries and the same Lord. For example, an equilateral triangle (a triangle with three equal sides) has three sides. In humans, our spirits are designed to operate with and be united to the soul which is the person of anyone and so it is with our Egg. In scripture we see explicit trinitarian references, especially at Jesus' baptism where the Father speaks, the Spirit descends, and the Son is in the water. Blessings! At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. The following verses attest to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). 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. The Son is not the Father or the Spirit. Youre right, theyre all good but not perfect because only God IS perfect. RELATED: Did Jesus Really Rise From The Dead? The Holy Spirit prays for us. Jesus is the Holy Spirit that saves us. Light comes from God. This is why Jesus said, He who has seen Me, has seen the Father (John 14:9). There would be three thrones. His motto was that "There was a time when the son did not exist". 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). I think the illustration that represents the Trinity most accurately is the egg example. This analogy denies the unity of the God-head. But thats not how they understood it. But understanding the Trinity is important. Therefore the eternal brightness shines forth before Him, and co-exists with Him, in that, existing without a beginning, and always begotten, He always shines before Him; and He is that Wisdom which says, I was that wherein He delighted, and I was daily His delight before His face at all times.. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. 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. 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. There is one GOD in three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), 2. As a result, this analogy can easily lead to tritheism in which there are three different gods which might share some like substance. Born in England in 1961, Benjamin Waterhouse Benjamin Waterhouse has been the organist of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity since 2000. It may not appear to agree with common sense. 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. When discussing God, especially in regards to his nature, being and persons, a simple statement to articulate the Trinity is: God is 1, *. If the sun exists, there is also day; if nothing of this be manifest, it is impossible that the sun should be there. Paul explains our finite understanding of beliefs like the Trinity as looking into a poor-quality mirror- a distorted image; dim and unclear. As a doctrine (belief), the trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate and distinct persons united in one being- God. As a result the water molecule must change forms. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9). An essential factor lacking from those concepts is the relational quality of God. Scripture however, doesnt depict God this way. Analogies often fall short. A person distinguishes himself from others by saying me, mine, you, yours, etc. A being is the whole nature or essence of something. 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. Trinity is like a Shamrock (or an Apple or an Egg). He is one God who expresses Himself in three modesFather, Son, and Spirit. The analogy explains that in the same way that one shamrock can have three leaves on it, the Trinity has three Persons that constitute one God. But if they give us a warped idea of what they are trying to explain, they arent helpful illustrations. His being is somewhat of a mystery to us. But the Father is not the Son or the Spirit. As we examine the scriptural witness we see three truths that make up the doctrine of the trinity. To the other major monotheistic faiths (Islam and Judaism), it is rank heresyTrinitarianism is therefore definitional to Christianity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit also exist eternally and concurrently. He has been a member of the Royal Australian Air Force since 2007, and is now training to be an Air Force Chaplain. Revelation 4:3And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. That would not be had God be three persons. Devils cannot grab ahold of them to cast them into Satans prison. God does not play three roles.. So cool that God imparted that song in your mind and heart before you even wrote this blog post! But its all water. None of the 3 are less divine than the others. Each PERSON is distinct from one another. Instead, each person is co-equal, co-powerful and co-eternal. The analogy explains that in the same way that one shamrock can have three leaves on it, the Trinity has three Persons that constitute one God. 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. The problem with this analogy is it denies the unity of the God-head. Others compare God to an egg, which is part shell, part white, part yolk. (It is also why the Jews had an issue with Jesus calling Himself God.). Genisis 1:17, KJV. The Holy Spirit and Son do not send the Father. Finally, I would suggest that the mere fact that we cannot understand the full depth of the Trinity (even with our myriad of analogies) has implications. Its impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. 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). God does not morph from one person to another, nor does God exist as three separate beings. show me your glory. For those, like myself, who are not from a highly-liturgical denomination, it may come as a surprise that June 11 was Trinity Sunday. While an egg has a yolk, a white and a shell to make up the whole, each part is only ever . The Gospel is theperson, work, and message of Jesus Christ that provides salvation to all repentant believers. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of tritheism. 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. How so? To the other major monotheistic faiths (Islam and Judaism), it is rank heresyTrinitarianism is therefore definitional to Christianity. Afterall, we can get rid of a few of its parts - for instance the shell - and still scramble an egg. Bach, and has released two previous CDs, one . The Son was begotten by the Father IN ETERNITY, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Water has three states: solid, liquid, and gas. Should Women Really Keep Silent in Church? One thing that Ive found helpful is using the Trinity to illustrate truths we know about God. We can admit it is a mystery and accept that our incomplete knowledge cannot fully comprehend it. Which ones have you heard? Although the water changes forms it is still H2O. 1. The shell, while important, is no longer needed. Being the brightness of the eternal Light, He Himself also is absolutely eternal. 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. I and My Father are One (John 10:30). Similarly, in our aquatic analogy, water can appear in three different modes, depending on the environment, but the three are not co-existing. Jesus then becomes a created being and thus less than fully God. The white of an egg is the connection between the yolk and the shell. When we view the egg in its entirety we have the Biblical Trinity, One that is Three.
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