You are an egg! But the Bible is CLEAR in its teaching. Father, Son, Holy Sprit : 3 persons, 1 great relationship, Copyright 2023 Fervr | Terms of Service. 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. If you say, "Jesus Christ" then you MAY BE incorrect. This is one of the reasons we say that "God is LOVE". But theres one problem: the water analogy is not the biblical picture of God. You can also catch up with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok Jesus would have remained in the tomb, or hell, had Jesus sinned. 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. So if all of these explanations are heretical, what is a good analogy? The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. It can also be a liquid and called water. 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. All Rights Reserved. Water can exist in liquid at room temperature. Christians believe, then, that only one God exists but this God exists as a unity of three persons: a Trinity. I and My Father are One (John 10:30). Your email address will not be published. show me your glory. Surely this is a better understanding of the water analogy! As a result the water molecule must change forms. These hand embroidered emblems are made with metallic gold-plated thread with silver content, printed on canvas. RELATED: The Biblical Principle Of Baptism By Fire. We find it in all four Gospels. 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). Each one is fully God. Perhaps we must be content to admit that we cannot fully understand Gods nature in our finitude. We can think of it this way: the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. They are unified in one divine being. 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. Pingback: 3 Reasons Why Jesus Humanity Really Matters Her & Hymn, Pingback: 3 Reasons Why Jesus' Humanity Really Matters, Pingback: How Jesus Teaches Us To Be Human Her & Hymn. The Holy Spirit and Son do not send the Father. CafeLogos.orgThe Egg and i -A Simple Explanation of The Trinity In this episode, Fred Sanders discusses what it really means to say that God is a Trinitythree persons in one God. Now God can be in you by His Spirit! This analogy is an invalid comparison to the Trinity and is a heresy called PARTIALISM. 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. If water is inadequate, there are a wide array of alternative analogies we can turn to in modern theological parlance. Some who deny the Trinity claim 1+1+1=3, and therefore claim we worship three Gods. THE DISTINCTION AND UNITY of the Trinity is not for us to fully understand because it is a supernatural mystery. In Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9) The Trinity is like an egg. 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. 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). So cool that God imparted that song in your mind and heart before you even wrote this blog post! Space Analogy God is like space. As a doctrine (belief), the trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate and distinct persons united in one being- God. MULTIPLICATION ANALOGY. 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. Therefore, we would rightly say, within the Ontological Trinity, there is no variation or distinction made. 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. Shively Notice the distinction between persons and being. Common, yes. He is one God in three persons, all at the same time. 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. 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). 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. You are an egg! The Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 but more like 1 x 1 x 1. Light comes from God. Now God can be in you by His Spirit! The Son "proceeds" from the Father, and the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father and the Son.". Water has three states: solid, liquid, and gas. To put it simply, "The problem with using analogies to explain the Holy Trinity is that you always end up confessing some ancient heresy." . These three Persons are all equally God and all equally Persons. Intercession: The Son intercedes as our High Priest before the Father. Analogies that we present would always be insufficient as none of them would equate to the incomprehensible beauty of God. There was no relational deficiency that prompted God to create us. I know in the past Ive used analogies that werent the best (more on those later.) God does not morph from one person to another, nor does God exist as three separate beings. 3 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons. 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*. This is perhaps the most common analogy for the Trinity. Sadly, theres something "rotten" about this egg analogy. 1 Corinthians 8:6: Yet for us there is but one God.. The early church labeled this view "tritheism". 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. 2:5-6; Col. 1:15-17, 2:9; Heb. In contrast to the Ontological Trinity, there is the Economic Trinity. In order to accomplish this union with God and man, He allowed His Shell to be broken with the weight of our sins to cleanse our souls so His holiness can approach, for God cannot look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13). Thus, the Father Himself is not God, nor is the Son, nor is the Holy Spirit, but combining the three, there is one God. 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. The Bible reveals that each person of the Trinity has unique roles, relationships, and functions which are distinct from one another. The mystery is in the "how" this is accomplished; something we will finally understand in heaven. Tritheism denies that there is only one God. If youre interested into diving deeper into the topic of the Trinity, here are some valuable resources that could help. None of the 3 are less divine than the others. Three Gods or one? ANALOGY OF CHARACTERS. It is so important that to deny the trinity is to deny Christianity. Before I even began writing this post, I had an unusual song stuck in my head Holy God, we praise thy name. Three persons is false. 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). Take a moment and give it a try. The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. John introduces us to the Trinity in John 1:1- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and Word was God. Jesus, the Word, was present in Genesis 1. Tritheism denies the unity of the God-head by saying there is just three different gods. Thought of Tim Its amazing to think that everything will be so clear when we het to Heaven! Here are a few of the many verses giving evidence of the Trinity in the Bible: Genesis 1:1&2- In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. The Holy Spirit was an active participant in the creative process. 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). [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. Learn how your comment data is processed. The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith. La da dee dee dum dum (I couldnt remember the in-between parts). In the same way, there is a God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. God is NOT like H2O in that He does not need the right pressure and temperature to exist as three persons. That is why Moses said. 2. He has been a member of the Royal Australian Air Force since 2007, and is now training to be an Air Force Chaplain. Here are a couple "usefully flawed" analogies for the Trinity. I never thought about it in that way some of these examples Ive never heard of. - well, sort of. A single molecule cannot simultaneously exist in three different states. The egg example, while not perfect or complete by any means, will still give us a basic understanding of the primary principle of Biblical Trinitarianism. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. In Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). The problem with this analogy is that it denies the distinction of persons in the God-head. It is the Fathers desire to join His Spirit with all of us as well for He has said They shall be My sons and daughters (II Corinthians 6:18). The Trinity is established by 3 Biblical truths, . The Trinity are three distinct persons who exist apart from each other. But Hes God too, right? Trinity Egg Analogy . What is the Trinity? My prayer is to infuse God's character into your everyday lives with short ( 4-5") devotions and Bible Studies every Monday morning. When they used the word person, they didnt mean it in the same way that we do today. Often these analogies explicitly teach heresy. The egg analogy fails because it denies that each person of the Trinity is of the same eternal essence. Genisis 1:17, KJV. All three persons exist at the same moment in history. Some people falsely claim the Trinity is a form of . 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. H2O can exist in three forms: liquid, gas and solid. This is the Christmas paradox. It is still H20, but just different forms. This is because the H20 is changing forms in representing each person. The concept is literally unthinkable. 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). 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. Believing in the above 3 points leads all Christians to acceptance of the doctrine of the Trinity. 1B) This son of Graham and Lois Armstrong is Dave. Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. 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. I bet I havent sung or heard this song in years! The Gospel is theperson, work, and message of Jesus Christ that provides salvation to all repentant believers. 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. It does not represent 3 persons existing simultaneously. The shell, while important, is no longer needed. There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. And the reason we know that is because the Persons of the Godhead have perfectly loved each other for all eternity. When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. 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. The shortfall of this illustration, and others like it, is that God cannot be divided into "parts." I think the illustration that represents the Trinity most accurately is the egg example. The angel answered (Mary), The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High (referring to the Father, italics mine) will overshadow you. In the Scripture we see "the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" (Col 1:9). When we separate them we can fall into the error of tritheism, which is the worship of three individual deities as one. So comparing God to water isnt really as helpful as it seems on the surface. Modalism is a heresy because it denies the distinction of God. Its impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. 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. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit also exist eternally and concurrently. When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. One of the more traditional analogies is to the states of water. copyright 2009 by H.D. Its hard to explain! H2O can exist as a solid, a liquid and a gas but they are all still H2O. Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. God is like H2O in that the Bible may refer to a specific person of the Trinity but that person is still God. We worship one God who exists in three persons. in which all 3 persons may act or speak as one. Though I find the video to be hilarious and often . He is one God who expresses Himself in three modesFather, Son, and Spirit. The analogy explains that in the same way that one shamrock can have three leaves on it, the Trinity has three Persons that constitute one God. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. Your email address will not be published. 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). Somewhere in the recesses of my mind lived the doctrinal truth about the Trinity. They say that three separate beings exist 2. The visual form of God seperated from Jesus on the cross. Jesus Person is the image of Gods Person (Hebrews 1:3), and the Invisible Spirit of the Father that is in Him - God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (II Corinthians 5:19). For example, an equilateral triangle (a triangle with three equal sides) has three sides. Modalism denies the distinction of person in the trinity. The problem with this analogy is that an egg yoke is of a very different substance than a shell. It is not existing as 3 different parts (persons) at the same time. As John 1:18 says, Jesus is "the only begotten God, in the bosom of [God] the Father.". 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). The meme above discourages the use of analogies in explaining the Trinity. Good and Bad Analogies of the Trinity - Answers . RELATED: What Did Jesus Really Look Like? The Holy Spirit prays for us. Theyve transformed. The analogy breaks down because the three cloves are overly distinct and cannot represent the unity of God. This is the error of Arianism (not to be confused with Aryanism, which is also bad). The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. A good example would be an electrical cord. 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. Understanding 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. Copyright 2023 Christian Today. For example, triangles are not the kinds of things that are personal. But the Trinity is our belief as Christians that God is one being who exists in three Persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. They are three in one egg. His ways are higher than ours, but isnt that a comfort?! Here are 8 Bible Characters Who Should Be More Famous. Each one is fully 100% God. The unseen Father is in Christs mind. As a result, this analogy actually teaches modalism. Have you wondered what is God like? Another wrong illustration is using ourselves: I am one person, but also a wife, mother, and writer. 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. If the Sun existed from eternity past then so were the light rays from the Sun. 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?
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