So cool that God imparted that song in your mind and heart before you even wrote this blog post! So God performs 3 different roles/relationships but 1 God. There was no relational deficiency that prompted God to create us. The mystery is in the "how" this is accomplished; something we will finally understand in heaven. As a result, this analogy actually teaches modalism. The Spirit white is connected to Jesus Person I will come to you (John 14:18) and the Fathers Person, We will come to him and make our abode with him (John 14:23). There are, however, some that work better than others. For example, an equilateral triangle (a triangle with three equal sides) has three sides. God is like H2O in that the Bible may refer to a specific person of the Trinity but that person is still God. 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). If you say, "Jesus Christ" then you MAY BE incorrect. Jesus then becomes a created being and thus less than fully God. - well, sort of. So comparing God to water isnt really as helpful as it seems on the surface. 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.). They suggest that only one God exists but this God transforms or morphs into each of the different persons. What happens when an egg hatches? Yet, as we view the pages of the Bible, we see that God is a personal and relational 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.. But in the Godhead, each Person is fully and completely God unto Himself (even as they are all one God). A good example would be an electrical cord. 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. The Sun was created on the forth day. I bet I havent sung or heard this song in years! Each PERSON is distinct from one another. Before I even began writing this post, I had an unusual song stuck in my head Holy God, we praise thy name. 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. 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. 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. The Holy Spirit is the shell, Jesus is the egg white, and the Father is the egg yolk. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of tritheism. 3. None of the 3 are less divine than the others. Both are one. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. This description that all persons are fully God is called the Ontological Trinity. 2. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called Jehovah (or Spirit of Jehovah), given divine attributes, and are distinguished from one another. 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. Yet God lovingly chose to create and eventually redeem us anyway (both thoroughly Trinitarian acts), at great cost to Himself. Therefore, there is one God, who is eternally present in three persons. The Trinity is a concept that is impossible for any human being to fully understand, let alone explain. History, lifestyle, family, music, theology, scripture, literature, the saints, church history, parenting, politics, prayer, the pope, and more. Many of these analogies have the best of intentions, but God cannot be described in a way we can fully comprehend or rationalize. And we know that because Hes been experiencing perfect love within Himself forever. Humans as we are, we cannot fully understand how the three divine Persons, though really distinct from one another, are one and the same God. How can we ever explain our Most High, exalted, powerful, uncontainable, and most glorious God? The Trinity is like an egg. So if all of these explanations are heretical, what is a good analogy? But the Father is not the Son or the Spirit. 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. Water Analogy - God is like water, or H2O, which can exist in 3 forms. The Unseen Father is in Christs mind. This is a bad analogy because it fails at the truth that all three persons comprise the fullness of God. ANALOGY OF CHARACTERS. Few topics of discussion in the Christian faith are more confusing than the idea of the Trinity. It does not imply Jesus was created if you emphasize that the Sun existed from eternity past. There are three different cloves that represent the three different persons of the trinity. God Himself explains why some things are still a mystery: For as heaven is higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9) Our human minds can never understand all of who God is and how He thinks and acts. For the Trinity, instead of using the formula 1+1+1, we use 1x1x1. In other words, God may manifest Himself as the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. Stars were made on the froth day. Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. 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. Part 2. So, I shot down a lot of images that seems to be pretty helpful. The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith. If one of the persons were not there, then we would not have God. When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. These things are referred to as the Economic Trinity. Jesus is the Holy Spirit that saves us. But Hes God too, right? The Trinity is foundational and at the heart of our Christian faith. He taught that the son was at one point created by God the father. If one of the sides were removed, then there would be no equilateral triangle. The Son is not the Father or the Spirit. This little child cannot look at one without experiencing a profound sense of wonderment and awe. His being is somewhat of a mystery to us. So when God created us and revealed Himself to us, what He did was to invite us into the perfect goodness He has always known within Himself. 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. The Trinity is established by 3 Biblical truths, . For instance at the baptism of Christ, the Father, Son and Spirit are all distinctly present and interacting (Matthew chapter 3 verses 16-17). Explaining the Holy Trinity. He has the world and our individual lives within His supremely capable hands. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind lived the doctrinal truth about the Trinity. 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. 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. But it cant be that way with God. Infinite thy vast domain, everlasting is thy reign.. It is a miraculous invention, the egg. 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? 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. Yet there is only one God. A good example would be an electrical cord. No analogy is perfect, but we want to be careful of using wrong ones that may confuse people. Instead, each person is co-equal, co-powerful and co-eternal. And in our efforts to grasp it, weve come up with a number of analogies. RELATED: What Does The Bible Say About Ghosts? Copyright 2023 Christian Today. Afterall, we can get rid of a few of its parts - for instance the shell - and still scramble an egg. The Spirit white is connected to Jesus Person I will come to you (John 14:18) and the Fathers Person, We will come to him and make our abode with him (John 14:23). A man might be a father to his children, a husband to his wife, and son to his parents. Memory, Understanding, and Will. 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/. Water can exist in liquid at room temperature. 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.. God is like an egg in that He is 3-in-1 God the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. In other words, one stuffness. However, He exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith. Why is it wrong? 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). Eggs are one, yet comprise yolk, shell and albumen. This analogy explains that the Father is like the sun. His ways are higher than ours, but isnt that a comfort?! Arianism is named after the heretic Arius. Haydn Lea is an Ordained Minister, and is currently serving as an Air Force Chaplain in Adelaide. Below is a compilation of the verses that reference all 3 persons of the one God. All of the above Bad Analogies would perhaps do more harm than good if used in explaining the Trinity. If water is inadequate, there are a wide array of alternative analogies we can turn to in modern theological parlance. . As a result the water molecule must change forms. 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. I remember asking my Life Group last year, How have you heard the Trinity explained? I braced myself for the inevitable reply. However, Christians through the ages believe in the Trinity because the truths it represents are taught in the Bible. 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? But the Trinity is our belief as Christians that God is one being who exists in three Persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. Here are a couple "usefully flawed" analogies for the Trinity. We Christians believe it on faith. God does not morph from one person to another, nor does God exist as three separate beings. One day, however, the image will be clear. Well, the egg analogy, when applied to God, suggests that only one being exists but this being exists in three different parts. As John 1:18 says, Jesus is "the only begotten God, in the bosom of [God] the Father.". Among the most popular analogies for the Trinity, two in particular stand out; and most of the others resemble one of them. 5And there are varieties of ministries and the same Lord. In the same way, there is a God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. Each one is fully 100% God. 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. Jesus is the Holy Spirit that saves us. I and My Father are One (John 10:30). The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. He completed a doctorate in 1990, looking at the question of harmonic rhythm in the organ music of J.S. The trinity is Like a man who is a father, husband, and son. 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. Each one is fully God. This is one of the reasons we say that "God is LOVE". The word God in this sense is defined as a single being, having all divine attributes. You know, that bearded guy on the throne who looks something like Zeus, right? Devils see that Spirit as a tempestuious fire. While an egg has a yolk, a white and a shell to make up the whole, each part is only ever . 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. Unfortunately, there is a problem with this view of the Trinity. Admittedly, the idea of three distinct persons/expressions that are each fully God is part of the mystery. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of modalism. 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. The Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 but more like 1 x 1 x 1. They are equally eternal, powerful, sovereign, and worthy of worship. This is the one I used long ago when trying to explain the Trinity to a group of 1st-5th graders. They are unified in one divine being. 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. Notice the distinction between persons and being. 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. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,, , Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. Located in the heart of Quebec's historic district, it is a source of inspiration for visitors from around the world. Required fields are marked *. Share your thoughts with us in the comments! 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).

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