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Although he is one man who is simultaneously a husband, a father, and a student, he would consider it Modalism to suggest that this is a good Trinitarian analogy. Take a moment and give it a try. Although the water changes forms it is still H2O. In one of his sermons, he wrestled with the passage in Scripture recounting Jesus' Baptism. Jesus would have remained in the tomb, or hell, had Jesus sinned. 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. We can think of it this way: the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. She would explode!" Depth isnt the same thing as height and height isnt the same thing as width, yet all three together are what comprise space. These two analogies are the "water" analogy and the "egg" analogy. As John 1:18 says, Jesus is "the only begotten God, in the bosom of [God] the Father.". Sending of another: The Father sends the Son, and both the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit. A good example would be an electrical cord. In the same way, water is all the same molecular structure, expressing itself in three different modes. This error denies something central to God that makes Him God. 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. Devils see that Spirit as a tempestuious fire. Despite its potential obscurity, Trinity Sunday is a great occasion for me to revisit an old article on the Trinity. Eggs are one, yet comprise yolk, shell and albumen. Light comes from God. Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature. (Lateran Council IV), 4. That fire keeps devils away from the saved. The concept is literally unthinkable. If youre interested into diving deeper into the topic of the Trinity, here are some valuable resources that could help. 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). In an attempt to explain the Trinity, there are some bad examples people use, and some better ones. The Trinity is not real in my life because of superior knowledge or insight. 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. It may not appear to agree with common sense. Now, as youve probably guessed, this analogy also breaks down. Water is water, but exists in three different forms: liquid, frozen, or steam. The Holy Spirit is like the heat that the sun produces, unseen yet powerful and effective in making the sun felt. 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). 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. Afterall, we can get rid of a few of its parts - for instance the shell - and still scramble an egg. 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. 2A) Dave is a father of four children: three boys and a . The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. 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.. The three distinct notes come together to make one beautiful sound. Devils cannot grab ahold of them to cast them into Satans prison. If God has existed for all eternity in a perfectly loving Triune relationship, then it shows He is completely self-sufficient and requires no further relationship in order to complete or satisfy Himself. The Holy Spirit is Christs spirit in us guiding us into all truth. We came up with several practical implications of this doctrine. 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 TRUTH IS: The Father, Son, and Spirit are three different persons who are all equally one God. Or what? This analogy denies the unity of the God-head. Understanding 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. In using analogies, we need to acknowledge the demerits and limitations of the said analogy. One is a musical chord with three notes. (It is also why the Jews had an issue with Jesus calling Himself God.). If you only had an apple core, you wouldnt pack it in your lunch. Dont become discouraged if you cant answer the question to your liking. 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. For instance, we know that God is perfectly loving. The Holy Spirit prays for us. Perhaps we must be content to admit that we cannot fully understand Gods nature in our finitude. Analogies that we present would always be insufficient as none of them would equate to the incomprehensible beauty of God. True, we humans are image bearers but nothing in creation serves as an analogy for the Trinity because the Trinity is a doctrine of special (biblical) revelation not nature or reason. Theyve transformed. 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. There are two basic ways that people misunderstand the Trinity: 1. He is one God in three persons, all at the same time. Over the course of church history there have been several heresies that have cropped up that deny one of these three truths. And a voice from heaven said, This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. God the Father spoke from heaven and spoke of His Son, Jesus. The divine persons are really DISTINCT from one another, and not merely different roles of God at different times. 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. Our God is three in one. All three persons exist at the same moment in history. - well, sort of. An egg is made up of shell, white and yolk. There are three different cloves that represent the three different persons of the trinity. All these make up one egg just as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit make up one God. Although he is one he has different roles to different people. 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. MULTIPLICATION ANALOGY. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of modalism. Yet, the trinity is mysterious. The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith. So "son" = "Dave". The Trinity is a concept that is impossible for any human being to fully understand, let alone explain. The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith. The egg shell is the image of the yolk and the white. That is a holding pen for final judgment. My prayer is to infuse God's character into your everyday lives with short ( 4-5") devotions and Bible Studies every Monday morning. Or have you ever tried to teach kids about the Trinity? And the Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son. Thought of Tim Its amazing to think that everything will be so clear when we het to Heaven! Finally, I would suggest that the mere fact that we cannot understand the full depth of the Trinity (even with our myriad of analogies) has implications. But thats not how they understood it. . Thanks, Ann! The idea that the Trinity can be compared to a shamrock is largely attributed to St. Patrick. He is married to Shamsa Lea, is the father of Amira, and loves running, boxing and studying history and theology. For the Trinity, instead of using the formula 1+1+1, we use 1x1x1. Im giving God the credit for stirring this memory, and am extremely grateful. God has revealed some mysteries from the Old Testament in the New Testament (the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the coming of the Messiah, salvation by grace through faith, etc.) Adorn your liturgical vestments with classic images from the Monastery Icons collection. He completed a doctorate in 1990, looking at the question of harmonic rhythm in the organ music of J.S. We wont find the word Trinity in the Bible, but the concept is shown in many verses. Here are a few common illustrations: The Egg- One egg has three parts: shell, whites, and yolk. This view, also known as "modalism", was rejected by the early church. ), The Son Phil. Here are four. Though I find the video to be hilarious and often . Similarly, people have used the example of the apple in the same way- skin, flesh, and seeds. Shively 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. God controls that light. 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). You can throw away one part of an egg (e.g., shell) and still have essentially an egg. 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. Born in England in 1961, Benjamin Waterhouse Benjamin Waterhouse has been the organist of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity since 2000. In some ways, it resembles the tritheism view (Misunderstanding 2). For example, triangles are not the kinds of things that are personal. It does not represent 3 persons existing simultaneously. Can you think of some Bible verses to back up your explanation? 1. 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. Just like an egg, none of the parts are co-equal, nor are all of the parts necessary for the egg to exist. This is the error of Arianism (not to be confused with Aryanism, which is also bad). I remember asking my Life Group last year, How have you heard the Trinity explained? I braced myself for the inevitable reply. A, distinguishes himself from others by saying me, mine, you, yours, etc. A. is the whole nature or essence of something. 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. At times God is Father, or Son, or Holy Spirit. This is a general rule when we study this Mystery using our human weakness since it is absolutely impossible for our human minds to comprehend the Divine. 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 is the Christmas paradox. 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? Notice the distinction between persons and being. But Hes God too, right? Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. That is why Moses said. 5And there are varieties of ministries and the same Lord. 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). One of the more traditional analogies is to the states of water. All of the above Bad Analogies would perhaps do more harm than good if used in explaining 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. Further, his dialectic is guided by the particular consideration of what true love is: a trinity of lover, beloved and the love that binds . St. Augustine, one of the most important Fathers of the Church, wrote a great deal on the doctrine of the Trinity. It is not important merely for the sake of tradition, or because the word itself is taught in the Bible (the word is not). (Describing God as LOVE is my favorite way of understanding the Trinity. The egg analogy fails because it denies that each person of the Trinity is of the same eternal essence. Christians believe, then, that only one God exists but this God exists as a unity of three persons: a Trinity. Common, yes. The Trinity is one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. A single molecule cannot simultaneously exist in three different states. To return to my Life Group anecdote, after our discussion I asked why does it even matter?. In reality, I change my role depending on who I am interacting with. Sure enough, one member answered Well Ive heard that the Trinity is like water: water can be liquid, gas (steam), or solid (ice), but its still the same water. However, it breaks down on the level of equality: No one keeps or eats the shell of an egg. show me your glory. If the Sun existed from eternity past then so were the light rays from the Sun. I dont believe that God wishes us to be confused about the Three that are so apparent throughout the Old and New Testaments. Lost will be ashes under the feet of the righteous. 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! But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. The early church labeled this view "tritheism". However, keep in mind that the one being. Analogies often fall short. Matthew 3:16-17- As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. God is much bigger and much greater than we can understand, and to be honest, I'm ok with that. 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. Copyright 2023 Christian Today. The egg has a shell, the whites and a yoke. Unfortunately, an analogy from the limited realm of creation may not be sufficient in explaining Gods nature. Jesus is in the form of the Holy Spirit. Which ones have you heard? The three parts create a unified whole. Water can be frozen and is called ice. Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. To help you out, here is a comical and silly video that teaches about these bad analogies. The problem with this analogy is that an egg yoke is of a very different substance than a shell. This analogy is an invalid comparison to the Trinity and is a heresy called PARTIALISM. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Trinity is like a Shamrock (or an Apple or an Egg). There are, however, some that work better than others. The watermelon has a skin, pulp and seeds; the egg is shell, yolk and egg white. Son and Holy Ghost are each fully God. We worship one God who exists in three persons. Thus, the Father Himself is not God, nor is the Son, nor is the Holy Spirit, but combining the three, there is one God. The Holy Trinity, one of the five Dogmas of the Church, is an extraordinary and unfathomable mystery. The Holy Spirit is the shell, Jesus is the egg white, and the Father is the egg yolk. There would be three thrones. If you say, "Jesus Christ" then you MAY BE incorrect. When we separate them we can fall into the error of tritheism, which is the worship of three individual deities as one. When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. The Egg- One egg has three parts: shell, whites, and yolk . The military would like to have that power. In other words, God may manifest Himself as the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. I write to see memory and language wrestle with reality. While an egg has a yolk, a white and a shell to make up the whole, each part is only ever . God is infinitely greater than we are; therefore, we should not expect to be able to fully understand Him. How can God be Three in One? The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. Modalism, or Sabellianism, denies the three distinct Persons of the Trinity and claims that God is one Person who appears in different modes at different timesin the Old Testament He appeared as the Father, in the Gospels He appeared as the Son, and from Pentecost onwards He appears as the Holy Spirit. 2 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each God. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. 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. This analogy seems to make a lot of sense, but it actually reinforces a fatal misconception about the Trinity called modalism. show me your glory. Tritheism denies the unity of the God-head by saying there is just three different gods. It should bring us to realise that we truly are finite creatures standing before a sovereign, transcendent, divine mystery. (Which I just found out is in error). They are three in one egg. THE TRUTH IS: From the very beginning, the Blessed Trinity Father, Son, and Spirit was there. But common sense is intuition based on day-to-day experience. That helps explain the concept quite well- the oneness, unity of God with the distinct three persons of God- Father, Son, and Spirit. If all you had were an eggshell, you wouldnt have a very exciting breakfast. and Holy Spirit are only parts of God (egg and sun). To the other major monotheistic faiths (Islam and Judaism), it is rank heresyTrinitarianism is therefore definitional to Christianity. . None of the 3 are less divine than the others. However, Christians through the ages believe in the Trinity because the truths it represents are taught in the Bible. Deuteronomy 6:4- Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. This verse is also the beginning of the Jewish Shema prayer; their confession of faith. When they used the word person, they didnt mean it in the same way that we do today. Dont you know Jesus? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Furthermore, this trinity is related to a shamrock, an apple, or an egg. Infinite thy vast domain, everlasting is thy reign.. He differs from the Father, but was and still is God. 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. Some who deny the Trinity claim 1+1+1=3, and therefore claim we worship three Gods. This analogy denies the distinction of the God-head. Jesus isn't a demigod or partially god. The past is not the present and the present is not the future, yet all three together is what we call time. 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. Now were going to look at how some people often misunderstand the Trinity. Let's use an egg to explain the Holy Trinity! God does not play three roles.. 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. Celebrating Easter Is About so Much More Than One Hour on Sunday. The Son intercedes as our High Priest before the Father. They all exist as fully God, with none of them lacking in any attribute or aspect that defines God. God is not made up of 3 parts like the 3 parts of the egg. I go to prepare a place for you. Haydn describes himself as a five-point Calvinist, but he recognises that many faithful Christians disagree. Do you know why I keep saying God is like an egg (or H2O) but God is not like an egg (or H2O)? If you say, "water" then you are incorrect. These things are referred to as the Economic Trinity. This is the one I used long ago when trying to explain the Trinity to a group of 1st-5th graders. 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. We define a person as one having a will and who is distinguishable from another person. The doctrine of the Trinity tells us that there's ONE GOD who is THREE distinct PERSONS existing as a community of self-giving and loving relationships with each other. The mystery is in the how this is accomplished; something we will finally understand in heaven. The trinity is not a contradiction, but a paradox. However, many of our faithful, and even priests, attempted to simplify the Mystery of the Trinity and made it easier to understand by using MODELS AND ANALOGIES, giving birth to modern-day heresies/fallacies about the Trinity. So cool that God imparted that song in your mind and heart before you even wrote this blog post! On a whim, I looked up the lyrics at a later time. This is a worse analogy than the egg because it is more analogous to the heretical doctrine of Modalism/Oneness than for the Trinity. Similarly, in our aquatic analogy, water can appear in three different modes, depending on the environment, but the three are not co-existing. Located in the heart of Quebec's historic district, it is a source of inspiration for visitors from around the world. But God is the eternal Light, which has neither had a beginning, nor shall ever fail. , 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 Holy Spirit prays for us. In other words, this view denies Gods oneness. For them, a person is someone who could relate to another. 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. It's impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. The term Economic refers to the roles, functions, and relationships that exist within the Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called Jehovah (or Spirit of Jehovah), given divine attributes, and are distinguished from one another. The God of the Bible is one God. Few if any have every tried to teach the heresy of Tritheism, but it needs to be mentioned anyway. If one of the sides were removed, then there would be no equilateral triangle. His ways are higher than ours, but isnt that a comfort?! 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. That is why Moses said. But the Father is not the Son or the Spirit. 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. - well, sort of. If you need to use an analogy, then use a good one. 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. we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,neither blending their personsnor dividing their essence. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. He has been a member of the Royal Australian Air Force since 2007, and is now training to be an Air Force Chaplain. Just as water changes forms so too is the trinity. Your email address will not be published. Arianism denies the deity of each person in the trinity. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of tritheism. If the sun exists, there is also day; if nothing of this be manifest, it is impossible that the sun should be there. The analogy breaks down because I can simultaneously be a father, husband, and son to any one person. It is not important merely for the sake of tradition, or because the word itself is taught in the Bible (. The more I reflect on Easter, the more Ive realized how much its become a consumeristic holidayeven Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Here many of the creeds help us in clearly articulating the trinity. HO may act as water, steam, or ice, but it is still HO. I'm always interested in ways to encourage you, so feel free to contact me and let me know what areas interest you! 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*. 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.
