But the Bible is CLEAR in its teaching. Or have you ever tried to teach kids about the Trinity? 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 other words, this view denies Gods oneness. In part one, we looked at what the Bible has to say about the Trinity. These images fall short, because these components arent enough to be considered a whole on their own. The problem with this analogy is that it teaches that God has three components: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In one egg you have the white, the yoke, and the shell composing one full egg. The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Jesus isn't a demigod or partially 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. Love was not given to Jesus. Dont become discouraged if you cant answer the question to your liking. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. That is why Moses said. If you say, "water" then you are incorrect. For sure, our everyday experience does not include using our finite minds to understand the infinite! He has not yet revealed some mysteries (what did Jesus do in His childhood, when will He return, what does the word Selah mean in the Old Testament- and so many more.). On a whim, I looked up the lyrics at a later time. Wow! This little child cannot look at one without experiencing a profound sense of wonderment and awe. Light comes from God. Unfortunately, there is a problem with this view of the Trinity. In one of his sermons, he wrestled with the passage in Scripture recounting Jesus' Baptism. Here are 8 Bible Characters Who Should Be More Famous. Or water can be evaporated and called steam. This analogy explains that the Father is like the sun. He has been a member of the Royal Australian Air Force since 2007, and is now training to be an Air Force Chaplain. 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. He was with God in the beginning. How can we ever explain our Most High, exalted, powerful, uncontainable, and most glorious God? 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* 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. Understanding 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. We came up with several practical implications of this doctrine. All Scripture is taken from the NIV version unless otherwise specified, Author Ignace Franz, translated by Clarence A. Walworth. An essential factor lacking from those concepts is the relational quality of God. So whats one good way to explain what the Trinity is? The problem with this analogy is that it would imply that there is only one Divine Person, who eventually multiplied Himself. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. 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. Here are four. 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. 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*. Many of us would use analogies to explain the Trinity. Jesus is the Holy Spirit. God is infinitely greater than we are; therefore, we should not expect to be able to fully understand Him. 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. All these make up one egg just as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit make up one God. One is a musical chord with three notes. 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). A good example would be an electrical cord. Analogies of the Trinity. They say that three separate beings exist, 2. It should bring us to realise that we truly are finite creatures standing before a sovereign, transcendent, divine mystery. 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. 2. I go to prepare a place for you. This is a bad analogy because it fails at the truth that all three persons comprise the fullness of God. This may be my favorite verse of them all. RELATED: What Does The Bible Say About Ghosts? Surely this is a better understanding of the water analogy! But it cant be that way with God. The Trinity are three distinct persons who exist apart from each other. We define a person as one having a will and who is distinguishable from another person. I remember asking my Life Group last year, How have you heard the Trinity explained? I braced myself for the inevitable reply. Hello busy women! These hand embroidered emblems are made with metallic gold-plated thread with silver content, printed on canvas. Yet, these persons are not separate from one another. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. God is much bigger than what we can understand yet He is close enough to us so that we can know some things about Him, though not completely and not everything. There would be three thrones. In one egg you have the white, the yoke, and the shell composing one full egg. They are three in one egg. 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. Thanks, Ann! If all you had were an eggshell, you wouldnt have a very exciting breakfast. Trinity is like a Shamrock (or an Apple or an Egg). None of the 3 are less divine than the others. Son and Holy Ghost are each fully God. Every kid in Sunday school thinks he knows all about 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. And for a mere mortal to have dared invent it and be able t. The Unseen Father keeps the Father that is seen, alive. The egg analogy fails because it denies that each person of the Trinity is of the same eternal essence. 1A) Dave is a son of Graham and Lois Armstrong. However, Christians through the ages believe in the Trinity because the truths it represents are taught in the Bible. If you only had an apple core, you wouldnt pack it in your lunch. 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. Each person is fully God (Phil 2; Acts 5:3-4). Water can be frozen and is called ice. My interview: https://www.readlotswritelot.com/wp/podcast/episode-21-john-k-adams/, More from Catholicism for the Modern World, https://www.readlotswritelot.com/wp/podcast/episode-21-john-k-adams/. Here's a look at six explanations for why so many people truly believe 3 Ways to Experience The Good Life in Jesus. To put it simply, "The problem with using analogies to explain the Holy Trinity is that you always end up confessing some ancient heresy." . I think the illustration that represents the Trinity most accurately is the egg example. Here many of the creeds help us in clearly articulating the trinity. God is like H2O in that the Bible may refer to a specific person of the Trinity but that person is still God. There are many mysteries to our faith. RELATED: The Biblical Principle Of Baptism By Fire. This analogy is an invalid comparison to the Trinity and is a heresy called PARTIALISM. The Father hears their intercessory prayers. 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. One day, however, the image will be clear. 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. Notice the distinction between persons and being. In an attempt to explain the Trinity, there are some bad examples people use, and some better ones. The watermelon has a skin, pulp and seeds; the egg is shell, yolk and egg white. God does not just change forms but exists as three persons in unity. Water is water, but exists in three different forms: liquid, frozen, or steam. For them, a person is someone who could relate to another. I never thought about it in that way some of these examples Ive never heard of. Why is it wrong? The word God in this sense is defined as a single being, having all divine attributes. God is not made up of 3 parts like the 3 parts of the egg. 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.. In the second instance, the truth of Gods Trinity reveals a further aspect of Gods love for His people. Similarly, light and heat are simply creations of the sun, yet it is the heresy of Arianism to claim that the Son or Spirit are mere creations of the Father. So, I shot down a lot of images that seems to be pretty helpful. When we view the egg in its entirety we have the Biblical Trinity, One that is Three. Augustine's typical dialectic is to move from the exterior realities of creation to the interior reality of the human soul where he hoped to encounter God in the image of God, damaged as it is by the fall. And in our efforts to grasp it, weve come up with a number of analogies. The military would end up destroying themselves. is not). When you encounter a person or group who denies the Trinity, it is merely a matter of walking through these 3 points, to see where they diverge from Biblical teaching. We define a person as one having a will and who is distinguishable from another person. So God performs 3 different roles/relationships but 1 God. 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 Egg Analogy God is like an egg. 2 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each God. 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. Devils see that Spirit as a tempestuious fire. 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. 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. I write to see memory and language wrestle with reality. If you need to use an analogy, then use a good one. Each one is fully 100% God. The yolk represents Gods Person, His Being, and His Holiness which generates Light that no man can approach (I Timothy 6:16). 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. Jesus would have remained in the tomb, or hell, had Jesus sinned. 1B) This son of Graham and Lois Armstrong is Dave. My intention is merely to address some common erroneous analogies, including water. This view teaches that three separate beings exist. In the Scripture we see "the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" (Col 1:9). 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? 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). How would you explain the Trinity if someone asked you right now? The beautiful depth of Gods eternal Triune nature is a sublime reality which should bring an end to our attempts to cognitively master Him. Adorn your liturgical vestments with classic images from the Monastery Icons collection. So while its tough to make sense of the Trinity, the Trinity actually helps us make sense of so many things we believe. 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). Does that make sense? Your email address will not be published. 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. As a result, this analogy can easily lead to tritheism in which there are three different gods which might share some like substance. In the same way, there is a God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. Do you know why I keep saying God is like an egg (or H2O) but God is not like an egg (or H2O)? So, the egg analogy doesnt work after all. 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. The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. Analogies for the Trinity exist to explain the unexplainable. The Trinity is one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. Though I find the video to be hilarious and often . When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. Jesus is the visual form of God. The divine persons are really DISTINCT from one another, and not merely different roles of God at different times. Therefore it behoves us to know what He has revealed (including the Trinity), and to lovingly worship Him accordingly. Celebrating Easter Is About so Much More Than One Hour on Sunday. The problem with this analogy is that it denies the distinction of persons in the God-head. These are likewise erroneous or even heretical. In the first place, if we truly claim to love God, then surely we should endeavour to know Him. Scripture however, doesnt depict God this way. 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. They that dont have the Holy Spirit in them will talk like the Adversary. Modalism teaches that one God just changes forms or modes over the course of scripture. 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. 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. 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. He is one God who expresses Himself in three modesFather, Son, and Spirit. 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. There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It is the Central Mystery of our Christian faith. So, in God, there are three distinct persons. Or, we can quote Daniel Webster; a strong Christian- I do not pretend fully to understand the arithmetic of heaven now. . But, when it's heated, it turns into a gas (steam) and, when it's frozen, it turns into a solid (ice). 2A) Dave is a father of four children: three boys and a . Infinite thy vast domain, everlasting is thy reign.. Did I leave out any analogies? They have a common purpose in making harmonious music, but each note is its own separate entity. For example, we know that God didnt create humanity because He bored or lonely. Examples of these different roles would be: The Incarnation: Only the Son became incarnate, took on flesh. Few topics of discussion in the Christian faith are more confusing than the idea of the Trinity. But this view, too, wont do. Discover the richness of the old yet living 2,000-year-old religion which built the West. In contrast to the Ontological Trinity, there is the Economic Trinity. Ontological means the nature or essence of something. But common sense is intuition based on day-to-day experience. So cool that God imparted that song in your mind and heart before you even wrote this blog post! To become the people we were always created to be. This description that all persons are fully God is called the Ontological Trinity. Below is a compilation of the verses that reference all 3 persons of the one God. Each one is fully 100% God. God does not morph from one person to another, nor does God exist as three separate beings. 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. . THE DISTINCTION AND UNITY of the Trinity is not for us to fully understand because it is a supernatural mystery. Light comes from God. Haydn Lea is an Ordained Minister, and is currently serving as an Air Force Chaplain in Adelaide. So if all of these explanations are heretical, what is a good analogy? This analogy actually falls prey to the same error of modalism. However, it breaks down on the level of equality: No one keeps or eats the shell of an egg. 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 . So much of what we know about what God does is wrapped up in who He is. He is married to Shamsa Lea, is the father of Amira, and loves boxing and studying Theology. Time exists as 3 things: past, present, and future. One cannot remove the Holy Spirit and still have the God as taught in the Bible. All Rights Reserved. While each person is distinct, they are never separate from one another. Truly, it is a Mystery. Although God is transcendent, sovereign, unapproachable light, He has condescended to reveal something of Himself to His creation. Although the water changes forms it is still H2O. H2O can exist in three forms: liquid, gas and solid. show me your glory. It is a miraculous invention, the egg. As a doctrine (belief), the trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate and distinct persons united in one being- God. Christians believe, then, that only one God exists but this God exists as a unity of three persons: a Trinity. For the Trinity, instead of using the formula 1+1+1, we use 1x1x1. CafeLogos.orgThe Egg and i -A Simple Explanation of The Trinity And whos the Holy Spirit? Three Gods or one? The Holy Spirit prays for us. Analogies often fall short. 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. (Which I just found out is in error). I bet I havent sung or heard this song in years! , 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. The problem with this analogy is it denies the unity of the God-head. As a result, this analogy actually teaches modalism. For instance, we know that God is perfectly loving. 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. Genisis 1:17, KJV. Its hard to explain! 5And there are varieties of ministries and the same Lord. It is not important merely for the sake of tradition, or because the word itself is taught in the Bible (. 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. One thing that Ive found helpful is using the Trinity to illustrate truths we know about 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). The Unseen Father and Father that is seen existed at the same time. 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. Modalism teaches that the trinity is not three distinct persons, but just different modes that God reveals himself to human beings. My prayer is to infuse God's character into your everyday lives with short ( 4-5") devotions and Bible Studies every Monday morning. Father, Son, Holy Sprit : 3 persons, 1 great relationship, Copyright 2023 Fervr | Terms of Service. But God is the eternal Light, which has neither had a beginning, nor shall ever fail. The teaching of the trinity is clearly taught in Scripture and must be preserved as such. We all want to experience the good life. A man might be a father to his children, a husband to his wife, and son to his parents. The Gospel is theperson, work, and message of Jesus Christ that provides salvation to all repentant believers. 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 was created on the forth day. I can only shake my head when He does these things! But Hes God too, right? H2O is a combination of two particles (atoms) of hydrogen and one particle of oxygen and this compound can exist as water (liquid), ice (solid) and vapour (gas). God is like an egg in that He is 3-in-1 God the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. This is the error of Arianism (not to be confused with Aryanism, which is also bad). 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. Some think of God as H 2 O, which is sometimes a solid (ice), sometimes a liquid (water), and sometimes a gas (steam). What is wrong with what I said? The Trinity is established by 3 Biblical truths, . The Bible teaches three truths: 1 - there is one God. Space Analogy God is like space. He began to play the organ as a chorister in England, before continuing his studies in Qubec and France. 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. This analogy denies the unity of the God-head. 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. This analogy denies the distinction of the God-head. This is the one I used long ago when trying to explain the Trinity to a group of 1st-5th graders. Let's use an egg to explain the Holy Trinity! From time to time, Doctors of the Church used analogies, but with care. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Tritheism denies the unity of the God-head by saying there is just three different gods. Our limited intellects are unable to comprehend its reality, yet, our Scriptures and scholarly Tradition makes it known to us. 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. 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 Holy Spirit and Son do not send the Father. Unfortunately, most of them actually give us the wrong idea about what the Trinity is. There is only one egg with three different parts. Check out verse four: Holy Author, Holy Word, Holy Spirit, three we name thee; Still, one holy voice is heard; undivided God, we claim thee, and adoring bend the knee, while we own the mystery. . The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit also exist eternally and concurrently. 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? Depth isnt the same thing as height and height isnt the same thing as width, yet all three together are what comprise space. La da dee dee dum dum (I couldnt remember the in-between parts). This is a bad analogy because it fails at the truth that all three persons comprise the fullness of God. We believe in only one true God in all existence, in all places, at all times. The three parts create a unified whole. He taught that the son was at one point created by God the father. 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). The more I reflect on Easter, the more Ive realized how much its become a consumeristic holidayeven Did Jesus really rise from the dead? To the other major monotheistic faiths (Islam and Judaism), it is rank heresyTrinitarianism is therefore definitional to Christianity. There would be three thrones. His being is somewhat of a mystery to us. These three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - exist together in complete unity, with no separation, as one divine being. This view, also known as "modalism", was rejected by the early church. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQLfgaUoQCw. Despite its potential obscurity, Trinity Sunday is a great occasion for me to revisit an old article on the Trinity. The Holy Trinity, one of the five Dogmas of the Church, is an extraordinary and unfathomable mystery. The Trinity is a concept that is impossible for any human being to fully understand, let alone explain. These attributes are: omnipotence (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), and omnipresence (exists in all places). Arianism clearly denies the deity of the three persons. 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. Revelation 4:3 And 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. The Holy Spirit is the shell, Jesus is the egg white, and the Father is the egg yolk. Lost will be ashes under the feet of the righteous. 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. In Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). You can throw away one part of an egg (e.g., shell) and still have essentially an egg.
Mel Sutcliffe Wife,
My Brother Killed Himself And I Blame Myself,
Unsigned Integer Calculator,
13342616cb38d183b0c45c2f251ad5e61922b Zona Dr Phil Update 2022,
Articles H
