Some people have suggested using an egg to explain how God can be both one and three. Water can be frozen and is called ice. Why analogies of the Trinity fail Youthworks The Father hears their intercessory prayers. Light comes from God. In one egg you have the white, the yoke, and the shell composing one full egg. From time to time, Doctors of the Church used analogies, but with care. What Is the Trinity | Holy Trinity in the Bible | Explore God All these make up one egg just as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit make up one God. There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Truly, it is a Mystery. Jesus Person is joined to the Father by the Fathers Holy Spirit, because Gods Spirit is also Jesus Spirit - "But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you. These hand embroidered emblems are made with metallic gold-plated thread with silver content, printed on canvas. If then the sun were eternal, the day would never end; but now, for such is not really the state of the case, the day begins with the beginning of the sun, and ends with its ending. 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). Water can exist in liquid at room temperature. But common sense is intuition based on day-to-day experience. . His being is somewhat of a mystery to us. If youve been involved in ministries for children or young people, questions about the Trinity have most likely come up. That is a holding pen for final judgment. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9). A Note on Trinitarian Analogies | Place for Truth - Alliance of The trinity is a mystery that cannot be fully comprehended. Here are a few common illustrations: The Egg- One egg has three parts: shell, whites, and yolk. Misunderstanding 1: The transforming trinity Adorn your liturgical vestments with classic images from the Monastery Icons collection. The egg has a shell, the whites and a yoke. 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. - well, sort of. 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. The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. Arianism clearly denies the deity of the three persons. There are three different cloves that represent the three different persons of the trinity. In Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). In part one, we looked at what the Bible has to say about the Trinity. Let's use an egg to explain the Holy Trinity! This is the Christmas paradox. in that He is not made up of three parts one part () the Father, another part () Jesus Christ and a third part () the Holy Spirit. I never thought about it in that way some of these examples Ive never heard of. Your email address will not be published. So while its tough to make sense of the Trinity, the Trinity actually helps us make sense of so many things we believe. And the Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son. Some who deny the Trinity claim 1+1+1=3, and therefore claim we worship three Gods. 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. What portion is erroneous? So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)One of my Sunday School students said, "How could Jesus (God) enter Mary's stomach (womb) and be born? 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). Blessings! One cannot remove the Holy Spirit and still have the God as taught in the Bible. The Holy Spirit prays for us. And let us once more come to illustrations. 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. 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, keep in mind that the one being. You are an egg! The Egg Analogy God is like an egg. TO AVOID HERESIES, LET US LIVE BY WHAT HAS BEEN REVEALED TO US: 1. 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 God. Here are a couple "usefully flawed" analogies for the Trinity. Despite its potential obscurity, Trinity Sunday is a great occasion for me to revisit an old article on the Trinity. If you looked at a single cloverleaf, you wouldnt call it a shamrock. Further, we can label each of the sides. The Trinity are three distinct persons who exist apart from each other. See the depths of Catholicism for yourself! RELATED: What Does The Bible Say About Ghosts? in that while water can change into vapour or ice, Jesus cannot change into the Father or the Holy Spirit. Many of us would use analogies to explain the Trinity. Moreover, the yoke and the whites are no longer as they used to be. Church Adornments & Worship: Vestment Emblems - Monastery Icons This description that all persons are fully God is called the Ontological Trinity. I did read about the shamrock analogy! So comparing God to water isnt really as helpful as it seems on the surface. The watermelon has a skin, pulp and seeds; the egg is shell, yolk and egg white. The yolk represents Gods Person, His Being, and His Holiness which generates Light that no man can approach (I Timothy 6:16). 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. But they are one God. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of modalism. The Unseen Father and Father that is seen existed at the same time. The Son was begotten by the Father IN ETERNITY, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Though I find the video to be hilarious and often . He was with God in the beginning. Being the brightness of the eternal Light, He Himself also is absolutely eternal. The trinity is a like a Three-Leaf Clover. If youre interested into diving deeper into the topic of the Trinity, here are some valuable resources that could help. Again, this analogy doesnt work because God doesnt morph, change, or become different aspects of Himself. Its all one person, simply functioning in three different roles. 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 analogy breaks down because I can simultaneously be a father, husband, and son to any one person. Did I leave out any analogies? The Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 butmore like 1 x 1 x 1.You can throw away one part of an egg (e.g., shell) and still have essentially an egg. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called Jehovah (or Spirit of Jehovah), given divine attributes, and are distinguished from one another. This analogy sounds pretty good, but it is fatally flawed in that is describes the Son and Spirit as creations of the Father. It does not represent 3 persons existing simultaneously. God is much bigger and much greater than we can understand, and to be honest, I'm ok with that. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Cool it down, and itll eventually freeze into a solid. Does that make sense? Jesus then becomes a created being and thus less than fully God. 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. Haydn Lea is an Ordained Minister, and is currently serving as an Air Force Chaplain in Adelaide. Son and Holy Ghost are each fully God. 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. 3:15; John 17:1-4, The Holy Spirit Acts 5:3-4; John 14:16-17, 26; John 16:7-13. You know, that bearded guy on the throne who looks something like Zeus, right? The Unseen Father would have been put into Satans prison. Discover the richness of the old yet living 2,000-year-old religion which built the West. My prayer is to infuse God's character into your everyday lives with short ( 4-5") devotions and Bible Studies every Monday morning. Further, his dialectic is guided by the particular consideration of what true love is: a trinity of lover, beloved and the love that binds . We define a person as one having a will and who is distinguishable from another person. The problem with this analogy is that it also leads to the heresy of MODALISM. Among the most popular analogies for the Trinity, two in particular stand out; and most of the others resemble one of them. But if modalism is true, and the Trinity really is like water, then the story of Jesus (the Son) praying to the Father as recorded in the Bible seems like an awfully strange masquerade. 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 the shell, Jesus is the egg white, and the Father is the egg yolk. At the Cathedral, we recognize that there are responsibilities that come with . The shell, while important, is no longer needed. What is wrong with what I said? As a doctrine (belief), the trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate and distinct persons united in one being- God. Modernizations of this analogy include that of an apple (with the peel, the flesh, and the core) or an egg (with its shell, yoke, and white). Ontological means the nature or essence of something. 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. The Father Matthew 27:45-46 (usually there is no argument that the Father is not God, since every place Jesus speaks to God, he is addressing the Father. 1. The visual form of God seperated from Jesus on the cross. It is not existing as 3 different parts (persons) at the same time. 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.) One thing that Ive found helpful is using the Trinity to illustrate truths we know about God. My intention is merely to address some common erroneous analogies, including water. If one of the persons were not there, then we would not have God. 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). Here many of the creeds help us in clearly articulating the trinity. 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. Why Analogies And Illustrations Of The Trinity Fail But, when it's heated, it turns into a gas (steam) and, when it's frozen, it turns into a solid (ice). The Holy Spirit is like the heat that the sun produces, unseen yet powerful and effective in making the sun felt. ORDER from Barnes and NobleAmazon.com or wherever fine books are soldISBN-13: 978-1978167643Return to Cafe Logos Homepage | Bite-Sized Bible Bites. The more I reflect on Easter, the more Ive realized how much its become a consumeristic holidayeven Did Jesus really rise from the dead? So much of what we know about what God does is wrapped up in who He is. Hello busy women! The military would end up destroying themselves. When we separate them we can fall into the error of tritheism, which is the worship of three individual deities as one. You can also catch up with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok RELATED: What Did Jesus Really Look Like? , 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. We also know that God didnt create humanity out of loneliness or boredom. How can God be Three in One? The problem with this analogy is it denies the unity of the God-head. Analogies for the Trinity exist to explain the unexplainable. Our limited intellects are unable to comprehend its reality, yet, our Scriptures and scholarly Tradition makes it known to us. God is like an egg - VTAide One is a musical chord with three notes. Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. Water Analogy - God is like water, or H2O, which can exist in 3 forms. The Trinity is like waterand other bad analogies Common, yes. They've always led to error and have been rejected by the church. The trinity is like water. 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 it cant be that way with God. 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. 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 . The Son intercedes as our High Priest before the Father. The word trinity is not in the Scriptures, but is a word used to describe the three in one God revealed in the Bible. I know in the past Ive used analogies that werent the best (more on those later.) Podcast: Common Misconceptions about the Trinity (Fred Sanders) Well the issue is, the water analogy is akin to the heresy of Modalism. In other words, God may manifest Himself as the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. Paul leaves the Corinthians with this blessing in 2 Corinthians 13:14- May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.. There are many mysteries to our faith. Water is water, but exists in three different forms: liquid, frozen, or steam. The Son "proceeds" from the Father, and the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father and the Son.". Its impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. Unfortunately, there is a problem with this view of the Trinity. The Trinity is distinct in their roles and individuality, but united in their attributes of love, mercy, holiness, knowledge, etc. What Is A Good Analogy For The Trinity? - Therefore, God Exists We can think of it this way: the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. THE TRUTH IS: From the very beginning, the Blessed Trinity Father, Son, and Spirit was there. The Unseen Father keeps the Father that is seen, alive. They have a common purpose in making harmonious music, but each note is its own separate entity. Yet the orthodox view is that each person of the Trinity is fully divine. He cares for his creation and his people. 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. Relationship Analogy (Husband/Son/Father) God is like a person with different relationships just as a man can be a Dad, but also someones Son, and also someones Husband. An egg is made up of shell, white and yolk. Infinite thy vast domain, everlasting is thy reign.. God is NOT like H2O in that He does not need the right pressure and temperature to exist as three persons. Haydn describes himself as a five-point Calvinist, but he recognises that many faithful Christians disagree. When we view the egg in its entirety we have the Biblical Trinity, One that is Three. The egg shell is the image of the yolk and the white. Many of these analogies have the best of intentions, but God cannot be described in a way we can fully comprehend or rationalize. Some have taken on the task of explaining how Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist as one. These images fall short, because these components arent enough to be considered a whole on their own. Jesus isn't a demigod or partially god. The mystery is in the how this is accomplished; something we will finally understand in heaven. 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. The Holy Trinity, one of the five Dogmas of the Church, is an extraordinary and unfathomable mystery. Now God can be in you by His Spirit! He has one essenceone substance. In some ways, it resembles the tritheism view (Misunderstanding 2). So God performs 3 different roles/relationships but 1 God. Here are eight bible characters that you might not know about, but should. We Christians believe it on faith. Jesus was standing in the Jordan River, His Father speaks from heaven above, and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him as a dove. They that dont have the Holy Spirit in them will talk like the Adversary. A person distinguishes himself from others by saying me, mine, you, yours, etc. A being is the whole nature or essence of something. Each side is co-equal with the others, yet, each side is necessary. If you say, "water" then you are incorrect. Stars were made on the forth day. One day, however, the image will be clear. Jesus loves us so much that he did not obliterate people who died, with power that set stars in the universe. Lord of all, we bow before thee. Celebrating Easter Is About so Much More Than One Hour on Sunday. The Unseen Father is in Christs mind. An explanation that is so common, and seemingly does elucidate how something can simultaneously be three and onecan it really be that bad? Also, the egg is made up of three distinct and unalike parts. So, in God, there are three distinct persons. In this analogy, God is compared to a man. Father, Son, Holy Sprit : 3 persons, 1 great relationship, Copyright 2023 Fervr | Terms of Service. Eggs are one, yet comprise yolk, shell and albumen. Indeed, how can an infinite God be contained in a finite human womb! Or what? Wow! 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). 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.
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