This is a bad analogy because it fails at the truth that all three persons comprise the fullness of God. 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. When discussing God, especially in regards to his nature, being and persons, a simple statement to articulate the Trinity is: God is 1, *. We believe that it is a revelation that comes from Christ Himself. Thankfully he isnt a cage-stage Calvinist about it all. Each of the divine persons is GOD WHOLE AND ENTIRE, and there is one God. When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. 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). The Holy Spirit is Christs spirit in us guiding us into all truth. Proof texting is when we cite a bunch of bible verses to support a theological stance. While an egg has a yolk, a white and a shell to make up the whole, each part is only ever . Stars were made on the forth day. The Unseen Father and Father that is seen existed at the same time. To return to my Life Group anecdote, after our discussion I asked why does it even matter?. But Jesus makes it clear in John 10:30- I and the Father are One. The Greek word for one means one thing, not one person. They are united in their essence (spirit, nature) but not identical persons. Learn how your comment data is processed. A good follow up verse to help explain is the baptism of Jesus. I never thought about it in that way some of these examples Ive never heard of. We Christians believe it on faith. Each Person in the Trinity (or the Godhead) is fully God and fully a Person. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. Haydn Lea is an Associate Pastor in Queensland, and is currently studying his Master of Arts (Theology). However, keep in mind that the one being who is God is a personal being. 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. 3. 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 Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. HO may act as water, steam, or ice, but it is still HO. 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. The trinity is Like a man who is a father, husband, and son. They suggest that only one God exists but this God transforms or morphs into each of the different persons. Water can be ice and steam, yet they are the same element. We can think of it this way: the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. The egg analogy fails because it denies that each person of the Trinity is of the same eternal essence. 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. 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). The problem with this analogy is that an egg yoke is of a very different substance than a shell. At times God is Father, or Son, or Holy Spirit. Or have you ever tried to teach kids about the Trinity? Born in England in 1961, Benjamin Waterhouse Benjamin Waterhouse has been the organist of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity since 2000. 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. Dont grieve the Holy Spirit out of you. 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. God is not made up of 3 parts like the 3 parts of the egg. This was first used by Patrick of Ireland (yes there really was a Patrick of Ireland and he was a great guy), around 400 A.D. 2. The Sun was created on the forth day. Jesus is the Holy Spirit that saves us. Just like an egg, none of the parts are co-equal, nor are all of the parts necessary for the egg to exist. THE TRUTH IS: From the very beginning, the Blessed Trinity Father, Son, and Spirit was there. Each one is fully 100% God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Here's a look at six explanations for why so many people truly believe 3 Ways to Experience The Good Life in Jesus. God controls that light. This is a worse analogy than the egg because it is more analogous to the heretical doctrine of Modalism/Oneness than for the Trinity. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQLfgaUoQCw. 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. in which all 3 persons may act or speak as one. 2:5-6; Col. 1:15-17, 2:9; Heb. What is the Trinity? Yet we do not have three gods but ONE God. And the reason we know that is because the Persons of the Godhead have perfectly loved each other for all eternity. Arianism clearly denies the deity of the three persons. It is not important merely for the sake of tradition, or because the word itself is taught in the Bible (. The sun comprises the sun itself, its light and its heat. This view, also known as "modalism", was rejected by the early church. So, I shot down a lot of images that seems to be pretty helpful. 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 they are one God. We can always rebut these claims with another equation: 1 x 1 x 1=1. The Gospel is theperson, work, and message of Jesus Christ that provides salvation to all repentant believers. God controls that light. The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, constructed between 1800 and 1804, is the first Anglican cathedral to have been built outside the British Isles. At the Cathedral, we recognize that there are responsibilities that come with . Because God is utterly unique, all comparisons will fail at some point. The Trinity is one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. Here are four. Genesis 1:26- Let us make man in our image, in our likeness The plural us and our show more than one person was involved. Trinity Egg Analogy . 3 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons. So comparing God to water isnt really as helpful as it seems on the surface. In this episode, Fred Sanders discusses what it really means to say that God is a Trinitythree persons in one God. The yolk represents Gods Person, His Being, and His Holiness which generates Light that no man can approach (I Timothy 6:16). If you say, "water" then you are incorrect. This is a bad analogy because it fails at the truth that all three persons comprise the fullness of God. That helps explain the concept quite well- the oneness, unity of God with the distinct three persons of God- Father, Son, and Spirit. Notice the distinction between persons and being. Not just for explaining it to others, but to bolster our own faith and see how each One works in our lives. See the depths of Catholicism for yourself! He has the world and our individual lives within His supremely capable hands. These two analogies are the "water" analogy and the "egg" analogy. But thats not how they understood it. We also know that God didnt create humanity out of loneliness or boredom. It may not appear to agree with common sense. I write to see memory and language wrestle with reality. If youve been involved in ministries for children or young people, questions about the Trinity have most likely come up. The beautiful depth of Gods eternal Triune nature is a sublime reality which should bring an end to our attempts to cognitively master Him. The egg shell is the image of the yolk and the white. This means there is a sense in which all 3 persons may act or speak as one. 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. He is one God who expresses Himself in three modesFather, Son, and Spirit. A good example would be an electrical cord. They've always led to error and have been rejected by the church. 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. When they used the word person, they didnt mean it in the same way that we do today. An essential factor lacking from those concepts is the relational quality of God. The very definition of the heresy known as Modalism/Oneness is that there is one person existing in three different modes or manifestations. However, keep in mind that the one being. The trinity is not a contradiction, but a paradox. The Holy Spirit and Son do not send the Father. The shortfall of this illustration, and others like it, is that God cannot be divided into "parts." At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. Perhaps youve heard the analogy that the Trinity is like H2O (the molecular symbol for water). Many of us would use analogies to explain the Trinity. Basic mathematics tells us that 1x1x1 = 1.. They say that three separate beings exist, 2. Jesus would have remained in the tomb, or hell, had Jesus sinned. The Father hears their intercessory prayers. show me your glory. The above picture is a famous work of art by Andrei Rubilev, the great medieval Russian painter of Orthodox icons and frescos. Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. Haydn describes himself as a five-point Calvinist, but he recognises that many faithful Christians disagree. 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. Dont you know Jesus? It falls into the heresy of tri-theism. Love your blogs! 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. Common, yes. In Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). But this view, too, wont do. How can we explain what it means to have three persons in one being? There are two basic ways that people misunderstand the Trinity: 1. Part 2. 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. The Trinity is foundational and at the heart of our Christian faith. 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. Jesus is the Holy Spirit that saves us. Truly, it is a Mystery. It does not imply Jesus was created if you emphasize that the Sun existed from eternity past. The Unseen Father is in Christs mind. One of the more traditional analogies is to the states of water. But in the Godhead, each Person is fully and completely God unto Himself (even as they are all one God). Each one is fully 100% God. This analogy is an invalid comparison to the Trinity and is a heresy called PARTIALISM. Jesus is the Holy Spirit. For instance, we know that God is perfectly loving. If you say, "Jesus Christ" then you MAY BE incorrect. As a doctrine (belief), the trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate and distinct persons united in one being- God. Unfortunately, no analogy is perfect. 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. Despite its potential obscurity, Trinity Sunday is a great occasion for me to revisit an old article on the Trinity. One is a musical chord with three notes. RELATED: The Biblical Principle Of Baptism By Fire. It leads to the heresy of MODALISM which teaches that God switches to different modes. They are three in one egg. None of the 3 are less divine than the others. We define a person as one having a will and who is distinguishable from another person. RELATED: What Did Jesus Really Look Like? Youre right, theyre all good but not perfect because only God IS perfect. If water is inadequate, there are a wide array of alternative analogies we can turn to in modern theological parlance. Hello busy women! The Father hears their intercessory prayers. So while its tough to make sense of the Trinity, the Trinity actually helps us make sense of so many things we believe. 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. The divine persons are really DISTINCT from one another, and not merely different roles of God at different times. The visual form of God seperated from Jesus on the cross. 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. Therefore, there is one God, who is eternally present in three persons. Celebrating Easter Is About so Much More Than One Hour on Sunday. All three persons exist at the same moment in history. Dont become discouraged if you cant answer the question to your liking. The Son is not the Father or the Spirit. 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. While each person is distinct, they are never separate from one another. Here are a few common illustrations: The Egg- One egg has three parts: shell, whites, and yolk. The yolk represents Gods Person, His Being, and His Holiness which generates Light that no man can approach (I Timothy 6:16). [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. This is a place to find encouragement and hope from God's Word as you move through your busy life. 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). There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. 1. She would explode!" Therefore, we would rightly say, within the Ontological Trinity, there is no variation or distinction made. His ways are not my ways! I bet I havent sung or heard this song in years! How can we ever explain our Most High, exalted, powerful, uncontainable, and most glorious God? This is because the H20 is changing forms in representing each person. My intention is merely to address some common erroneous analogies, including water. The egg white represents Gods Spirit. To help you out, here is a comical and silly video that teaches about these bad analogies. Christians believe, then, that only one God exists but this God exists as a unity of three persons: a Trinity. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9). This is why Jesus said, He who has seen Me, has seen the Father (John 14:9). Lost will be burned up. Matthew 3:16-17- As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. In this analogy, God is compared to a man. I go to prepare a place for you. Your email address will not be published. Arius was condemned by the council of Nicea in 325 AD. As a result, this analogy actually teaches modalism. I can only shake my head when He does these things! And let us once more come to illustrations. How would you explain the Trinity if someone asked you right now? That is a holding pen for final judgment. Eggs are one, yet comprise yolk, shell and albumen. And whos the Holy Spirit? The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit also exist eternally and concurrently. Yet it appears to be almost entirely misunderstood within contemporary evangelical circles. . The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. In one of his sermons, he wrestled with the passage in Scripture recounting Jesus' Baptism. 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. FOR CENTURIES, the Church had fought against heresies on 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. Further, we can label each of the sides. We worship one God who exists in three persons. 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 we examine the scriptural witness we see three truths that make up the doctrine of the trinity. The egg shell is the image of the yolk and the white. I'm always interested in ways to encourage you, so feel free to contact me and let me know what areas interest you! This is the error of Arianism (not to be confused with Aryanism, which is also bad). Time Analogy God is like time. This analogy explains that the Father is like the sun. We can say that the first is egg the shell, the second is egg the albumen and the third is egg the yoke. In contrast to the Ontological Trinity, there is the Economic Trinity. . 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). Do you know why I keep saying God is like an egg (or H2O) but God is not like an egg (or H2O)? ), The Son Phil. The problem with this analogy is that it also leads to the heresy of MODALISM. 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.
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