Sending of another: The Father sends the Son, and both the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit. He has one essenceone substance. I think the illustration that represents the Trinity most accurately is the egg example. Therefore, we would rightly say, within the Ontological Trinity, there is no variation or distinction made. What makes it hard is that all of our analogies and metaphors fall short of capturing what the Trinity actually is. We worship one God who exists in three persons. They suggest that only one God exists but this God transforms or morphs into each of the different persons. 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.). 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. But they are one God. God is like H2O in that the Bible may refer to a specific person of the Trinity but that person is still God. Youre right, theyre all good but not perfect because only God IS perfect. The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. Notice the distinction between persons and being. TO AVOID HERESIES, LET US LIVE BY WHAT HAS BEEN REVEALED TO US: 1. Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature. (Lateran Council IV), 4. The word trinity is not in the Scriptures, but is a word used to describe the three in one God revealed in the Bible. 3 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons. And for a mere mortal to have dared invent it and be able t. Required fields are marked *. God is much bigger and much greater than we can understand, and to be honest, I'm ok with that. Often these analogies explicitly teach heresy. The Holy Spirit prays for us. The trinity is like water. All Rights Reserved. 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. 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. 1B) This son of Graham and Lois Armstrong is Dave. Jesus loves us so much that he did not obliterate people who died, with power that set stars in the universe. 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. The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. The Holy Spirit is like the heat that the sun produces, unseen yet powerful and effective in making the sun felt. we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,neither blending their personsnor dividing their essence. 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 is one of the reasons we say that "God is LOVE". Each one is fully God. Each character of the trinity has in one another (cf. He has been a member of the Royal Australian Air Force since 2007, and is now training to be an Air Force Chaplain. His motto was that "There was a time when the son did not exist". When we tend to make an analogy about the trinity we are forced to diminish one of the three trinitarian truths in order to make the analogy work. He began to play the organ as a chorister in England, before continuing his studies in Qubec and France. To the other major monotheistic faiths (Islam and Judaism), it is rank heresyTrinitarianism is therefore definitional to Christianity. 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. For instance, we know that God is perfectly loving. So, part of understanding the Trinity is realizing that God is personal and relational. We recommend you adhere these emblems to your vestments by mounting on the material with fabric glue and then stitching them . Hello busy women! They are equally eternal, powerful, sovereign, and worthy of worship. Good and Bad Analogies of the Trinity - Answers . Celebrating Easter Is About so Much More Than One Hour on Sunday. The Holy Trinity, one of the five Dogmas of the Church, is an extraordinary and unfathomable mystery. But its all the same person, operating in three roles or functions. The military would end up destroying themselves. We define a person as one having a will and who is distinguishable from another person. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called Jehovah (or Spirit of Jehovah), given divine attributes, and are distinguished from one another. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength (1 Corinthians 1:25). Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. Let's use an egg to explain the Holy Trinity! 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. Does that make sense? If youve been involved in ministries for children or young people, questions about the Trinity have most likely come up. Thanks, Ann! For the Trinity, instead of using the formula 1+1+1, we use 1x1x1. 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! Though I find the video to be hilarious and often . And in our efforts to grasp it, weve come up with a number of analogies. 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. All Scripture is taken from the NIV version unless otherwise specified, Author Ignace Franz, translated by Clarence A. Walworth. Lost will be ashes under the feet of the righteous. So while its tough to make sense of the Trinity, the Trinity actually helps us make sense of so many things we believe. However, keep in mind that the one being. 2A) Dave is a father of four children: three boys and a . Perhaps we must be content to admit that we cannot fully understand Gods nature in our finitude. He completed a doctorate in 1990, looking at the question of harmonic rhythm in the organ music of J.S. One thing that Ive found helpful is using the Trinity to illustrate truths we know about God. Each one is fully 100% God. Sadly, theres something "rotten" about this egg analogy. The white of an egg is the connection between the yolk and the shell. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. This analogy denies the unity of the God-head. I never thought about it in that way some of these examples Ive never heard of. These attributes are: omnipotence (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), and omnipresence (exists in all places). This analogy explains that the Father is like the sun. They have a common purpose in making harmonious music, but each note is its own separate entity. Here many of the creeds help us in clearly articulating the trinity. The problem with this analogy is that an egg yoke is of a very different substance than a shell. We can admit it is a mystery and accept that our incomplete knowledge cannot fully comprehend it. If you need to use an analogy, then use a good one. Jesus then becomes a created being and thus less than fully God. 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). Our limited intellects are unable to comprehend its reality, yet, our Scriptures and scholarly Tradition makes it known to us. Try starting your explanation with a simple definition and then ask for further questions: No one can completely know or understand God. There would be three thrones. Instead, each person is co-equal, co-powerful and co-eternal. Adorn your liturgical vestments with classic images from the Monastery Icons collection. Indeed, how can an infinite God be contained in a finite human womb! Love was not given to Jesus. When we speak of someone as being a "person", we often mean an individual who is separate from other people, or we simply mean a human being. An egg is made up of shell, white and yolk. To the other major monotheistic faiths (Islam and Judaism), it is rank heresyTrinitarianism is therefore definitional to Christianity. Who is God? This is a worse analogy than the egg because it is more analogous to the heretical doctrine of Modalism/Oneness than for the Trinity. 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. Armstrong. This is because the H20 is changing forms in representing each person. Similarly, in our aquatic analogy, water can appear in three different modes, depending on the environment, but the three are not co-existing. When they used the word person, they didnt mean it in the same way that we do today. Now God can be in you by His Spirit! The egg white represents Gods Spirit. Yet there is only one God. Well the issue is, the water analogy is akin to the heresy of Modalism. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. The Son is like the light rays that visibly reveal the sun, as Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). When we view the egg in its entirety we have the Biblical Trinity, One that is Three. Unfortunately, most of them actually give us the wrong idea about what the Trinity is. From time to time, Doctors of the Church used analogies, but with care. This error denies something central to God that makes Him God. There are, however, some that work better than others. 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). 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. As a result, this analogy can easily lead to tritheism in which there are three different gods which might share some like substance. These three Persons are all equally God and all equally Persons. What portion of the analogy holds true with Church Teaching? This analogy actually falls prey to the same error of modalism. But Hes God too, right? In the same way, water is all the same molecular structure, expressing itself in three different modes. It falls into the heresy of tri-theism. 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. That helps explain the concept quite well- the oneness, unity of God with the distinct three persons of God- Father, Son, and Spirit. The trinity is not a contradiction, but a paradox. Stars were made on the forth day. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. This may be my favorite verse of them all. Take a moment and give it a try. If one of the sides were removed, then there would be no equilateral triangle. Thought of Tim Its amazing to think that everything will be so clear when we het to Heaven! THE TRUTH IS: From the very beginning, the Blessed Trinity Father, Son, and Spirit was there. The egg analogy is very simple but it is OK to show something as simple as an egg can be one and yet three. Light comes from God. I think the illustration that represents the Trinity most accurately is the egg example. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of modalism. He taught that the son was at one point created by God the father. Jesus is the Holy Spirit that saves us. We can say that the first is egg the shell, the second is egg the albumen and the third is egg the yoke. His ways are not my ways! Learn how your comment data is processed. We find it in all four Gospels. 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. But in the Godhead, each Person is fully and completely God unto Himself (even as they are all one God). Its impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. In an attempt to explain the Trinity, there are some bad examples people use, and some better ones. I dont believe that God wishes us to be confused about the Three that are so apparent throughout the Old and New Testaments. in that while water can change into vapour or ice, Jesus cannot change into the Father or the Holy Spirit. The Unseen Father would have been put into Satans prison. It should bring us to realise that we truly are finite creatures standing before a sovereign, transcendent, divine mystery. Water can be ice and steam, yet they are the same element. 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. Vestment Emblems. The Holy Spirit prays for us. And we know that because Hes been experiencing perfect love within Himself forever. So, I shot down a lot of images that seems to be pretty helpful. Again, this analogy doesnt work because God doesnt morph, change, or become different aspects of Himself. Time exists as 3 things: past, present, and future. These three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - exist together in complete unity, with no separation, as one divine being. You can also catch up with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok For example, we know that God didnt create humanity because He bored or lonely. He is one God in three persons, all at the same time. Copyright 2023 Christian Today. Each part of the egg make up only one portion of the wholethe yolk is not the fullness of the egg. But God is the eternal Light, which has neither had a beginning, nor shall ever fail. Now were going to look at how some people often misunderstand the Trinity. Dont grieve the Holy Spirit out of you. 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. One sits on the throne looking like Sardine and Jasper stone. But, when it's heated, it turns into a gas (steam) and, when it's frozen, it turns into a solid (ice). It does not represent 3 persons existing simultaneously. Its hard to explain! Ontological means the nature or essence of something. The beautiful depth of Gods eternal Triune nature is a sublime reality which should bring an end to our attempts to cognitively master Him. He is one God who expresses Himself in three modesFather, Son, and Spirit. I and My Father are One (John 10:30). The trinity is a like a Three-Leaf Clover. 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. Truly, it is a Mystery. The problem with this analogy is that it denies the distinction of persons in the God-head. A person distinguishes himself from others by saying me, mine, you, yours, etc. A being is the whole nature or essence of something. In other words, this view denies Gods oneness. 2:5-6; Col. 1:15-17, 2:9; Heb. Some people falsely claim the Trinity is a form of . Analogies often fall short. According to the first, just as water takes three forms (liquid, vapor, and ice), so too God takes the form of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Your email address will not be published. But the Bible is CLEAR in its teaching. The Bible teaches that the Father is God, that Jesus is God, and that the Holy Spirit is God. However, in some instances, the use of carefully chosen analogies may be of help for some of our brethren in learning the teachings of the Church. Unfortunately, an analogy from the limited realm of creation may not be sufficient in explaining Gods nature. Surely this is a better understanding of the water analogy! The visual form of God seperated from Jesus on the cross. RELATED: Did Jesus Really Rise From The Dead? Each side is co-equal with the others, yet, each side is necessary. Its downright hard to understand. The idea that the Trinity can be compared to a shamrock is largely attributed to St. Patrick. 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. The past is not the present and the present is not the future, yet all three together is what we call time. 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). PART OF A WHOLE. Should Women Really Keep Silent in Church? In part one, we looked at what the Bible has to say about the Trinity. is not). Martyn Iles Removed as Managing Director of Australian Christian Lobby by Board, Seven Types of Rest to Restore Your Body, Mind and Spirit, 8 witnesses testified against Hillsong founder Brian Houston in court case, wife Bobbie reveals, Why you feel guilty for not going to church, Samaritan's Purse sends 52-bed field hospital to Turkey. 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. So if all of these explanations are heretical, what is a good analogy? 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. It is a miraculous invention, the egg. Yet God lovingly chose to create and eventually redeem us anyway (both thoroughly Trinitarian acts), at great cost to Himself. Analogies of the Trinity. Light comes from God. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQLfgaUoQCw. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Sun was created on the forth day. The watermelon has a skin, pulp and seeds; the egg is shell, yolk and egg white. 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. If all you had were an eggshell, you wouldnt have a very exciting breakfast. You can throw away one part of an egg (e.g., shell) and still have essentially an egg. The shell, while important, is no longer needed. No analogy is perfect, but we want to be careful of using wrong ones that may confuse people. Each of the divine persons is GOD WHOLE AND ENTIRE, and there is one 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. [4] The goal of an analogy is to draw out similarities between it and its referent in illuminating ways, not to define the referent itself. When we separate them we can fall into the error of tritheism, which is the worship of three individual deities as one. And let us once more come to illustrations. There is one GOD in three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), 2. The yolk represents Gods Person, His Being, and His Holiness which generates Light that no man can approach (I Timothy 6:16). (It is also why the Jews had an issue with Jesus calling Himself God.). If one of the persons were not there, then we would not have God. The Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 but more like 1 x 1 x 1. 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 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). Paul explains our finite understanding of beliefs like the Trinity as looking into a poor-quality mirror- a distorted image; dim and unclear. A man might be a father to his children, a husband to his wife, and son to his parents. God is not made up of 3 parts like the 3 parts of the egg. In the second instance, the truth of Gods Trinity reveals a further aspect of Gods love for His people. 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. Some people think that H2O cannot exist in all three states simultaneously but that is not true. Do you know why I keep saying God is like an egg (or H2O) but God is not like an egg (or H2O)? The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. There are three different cloves that represent the three different persons of the trinity. One popular and simple illustration of the Trinity is the egg. But its all water. 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. Son and Holy Ghost are each fully God. Since these bad analogies tend to lead to a heresy, we will examine the main three areas of heresy concerning the trinity. It is a miraculous invention, the egg. 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. All of the above Bad Analogies would perhaps do more harm than good if used in explaining the Trinity. We also know that God didnt create humanity out of loneliness or boredom. God is infinitely greater than we are; therefore, we should not expect to be able to fully understand Him. 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. If you say, "Jesus Christ" then you MAY BE incorrect. In other words, one stuffness. However, He exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Lord of all, we bow before thee. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit also exist eternally and concurrently. It is so important that to deny the trinity is to deny Christianity. Therefore, there is one God, who is eternally present in three persons. How so? This description that all persons are fully God is called the Ontological Trinity. 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. 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* Despite its potential obscurity, Trinity Sunday is a great occasion for me to revisit an old article on the Trinity. 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. It is not important merely for the sake of tradition, or because the word itself is taught in the Bible (the word is not). 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. If the Sun existed from eternity past then so were the light rays from the Sun. The Son is not the Father or the Spirit. . The trinity is a mystery that cannot be fully comprehended. The Trinity is one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. 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. A single molecule cannot simultaneously exist in three different states. But common sense is intuition based on day-to-day experience. What portion is erroneous? To become the people we were always created to be. 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). in which all 3 persons may act or speak as one. It is not existing as 3 different parts (persons) at the same time. Being the brightness of the eternal Light, He Himself also is absolutely eternal. When we separate them we can fall into the error of tritheism, which is the worship of three individual deities as one. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. 5And there are varieties of ministries and the same Lord. Thus, the Father Himself is not God, nor is the Son, nor is the Holy Spirit, but combining the three, there is one God. Three Gods or one? They say that three separate beings exist, 2. The Unseen Father is in Christs mind. The egg shell is the image of the yolk and the white. My prayer is to infuse God's character into your everyday lives with short ( 4-5") devotions and Bible Studies every Monday morning. . Basic mathematics tells us that 1x1x1 = 1.. He has been relationally fulfilled within Himself since forever. Share your thoughts with us in the comments! Which ones have you heard? This is the one I used long ago when trying to explain the Trinity to a group of 1st-5th graders. Blessings! He is married to Shamsa Lea, is the father of Amira, and loves boxing and studying Theology. 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. Admittedly, the idea of three distinct persons/expressions that are each fully God is part of the mystery. Understanding 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. The Trinity is not real in my life because of superior knowledge or insight. HO may act as water, steam, or ice, but it is still HO. Moreover, the yoke and the whites are no longer as they used to be. One cannot remove the Holy Spirit and still have the God as taught in the Bible. So comparing God to water isnt really as helpful as it seems on the surface. Or, we can quote Daniel Webster; a strong Christian- I do not pretend fully to understand the arithmetic of heaven now. . Three persons is false. I go to prepare a place for you. RELATED: The Biblical Principle Of Baptism By Fire. So, the egg analogy doesnt work after all. A chicken egg consists of a shell, a yolk, and an egg white, yet it is altogether one egg. For instance at the baptism of Christ, the Father, Son and Spirit are all distinctly present and interacting (Matthew chapter 3 verses 16-17). Misunderstanding 1: The transforming trinity The idea of God as three-in-one is indeed a mysterious concept, one that is difficult to understand. 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. As a doctrine (belief), the trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate and distinct persons united in one being- God. God is one. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind lived the doctrinal truth about the Trinity. 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. Or water can be evaporated and called steam. In the first place, if we truly claim to love God, then surely we should endeavour to know Him. H2O can only ever be one form at a time. Shively, This book is now available in a published format for easy sharing and classroom use. This analogy denies the distinction of the God-head. Answer (1 of 25): Cynics assert that the idea of the Holy Trinity is a logical impossibility. H2O can exist in three forms: liquid, gas and solid. Can you think of some Bible verses to back up your explanation? The Father sends the Son, and both the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit. Water Analogy God is like water, or H2O, which can exist in 3 forms. Yeah its definitely a hard thing to understand, let alone explain to little ones ! The term Economic refers to the roles, functions, and relationships that exist within the Trinity. The more I reflect on Easter, the more Ive realized how much its become a consumeristic holidayeven Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Jesus is in the form of the Holy Spirit. 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. This view, also known as "modalism", was rejected by the early church. 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). In the same way, there is a God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. The egg analogy fails because it denies that each person of the Trinity is of the same eternal essence. In Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9) 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.