Vestment Emblems. Theyve transformed. Or, we can quote Daniel Webster; a strong Christian- I do not pretend fully to understand the arithmetic of heaven now. . 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). 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. 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). Analogies often fall short. All three persons exist at the same moment in history. This is a place to find encouragement and hope from God's Word as you move through your busy life. The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, constructed between 1800 and 1804, is the first Anglican cathedral to have been built outside the British Isles. He is one God in three persons, all at the same time. The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. We can touch the cord, but not the power it is insulating. This is the error of Arianism (not to be confused with Aryanism, which is also bad). 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. and Holy Spirit are only parts of God (egg and sun). 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. But this idea is central to the Christian faith. Located in the heart of Quebec's historic district, it is a source of inspiration for visitors from around the world. While each person is distinct, they are never separate from one another. In this analogy, God is compared to a man. 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! What does that really mean? Rather, He created us in order to bless us. So when God created us and revealed Himself to us, what He did was to invite us into the perfect goodness He has always known within Himself. All of the above Bad Analogies would perhaps do more harm than good if used in explaining the Trinity. Jesus isn't a demigod or partially god. I dont know how our majestic God feels about being compared to watermelons and eggs, but He is also a loving Father, and like any father, I believe God would seek to provide simple explanations so His little children can understand. But based on what you know that Jesus is born so that He can save people from their wrongdoings, will you trust Him to forgive you. It is not important merely for the sake of tradition, or because the word itself is taught in the Bible (. God is not made up of 3 parts like the 3 parts of the egg. I have the good one. Light comes from God. 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. Its impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. Some people falsely claim the Trinity is a form of . They that dont have the Holy Spirit in them will talk like the Adversary. One cannot remove the Holy Spirit and still have the God as taught in the Bible. On a whim, I looked up the lyrics at a later time. Space consists of three things: height, width, and depth. 2 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each God. God is not made up of 3 'parts' like the 3 parts of the egg. we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,neither blending their personsnor dividing their essence. What is wrong with what I said? Each one is fully 100% God. If you need to use an analogy, then use a good one. The shell, while important, is no longer needed. In contrast to the Ontological Trinity, there is the Economic Trinity. Before I even began writing this post, I had an unusual song stuck in my head Holy God, we praise thy name. Arianism clearly denies the deity of the three persons. The white of an egg is the connection between the yolk and the shell. In Arianism, the Son is not eternally equal with the Father, but was the Fathers first and best creation. He has one essenceone substance. Indeed, how can an infinite God be contained in a finite human womb! But its all the same person, operating in three roles or functions. This is perhaps the most common analogy for the Trinity. Lastly, below is a helpful graphical chart explaining the doctrine of the Trinity I found from the Christian blog by Tim Challies found at Challies.com. For example, triangles are not the kinds of things that are personal. We believe that it is a revelation that comes from Christ Himself. This means there is a sense in which all 3 persons may act or speak as one. So God performs 3 different roles/relationships but 1 God. Water at room temperature is liquid. As a doctrine (belief), the trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate and distinct persons united in one being- God. The egg shell is the image of the yolk and the white. To the other major monotheistic faiths (Islam and Judaism), it is rank heresyTrinitarianism is therefore definitional to Christianity. 6And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons., , The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all., There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. This analogy sounds pretty good, but it is fatally flawed in that is describes the Son and Spirit as creations of the Father. Sadly, theres something "rotten" about this egg analogy. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. There is what is called the 'triple point' the combination of pressure and temperature at which H2O can exist simultaneously in all three states: solid, liquid and gas. Heat it up, and it turns to vapor. Afterall, we can get rid of a few of its parts - for instance the shell - and still scramble an egg. Hi Im not a theologian and I dont disagree with what you say but when you state that we know the persons of the Trinity have perfectly loved for eternity etc how do we know? Learn how your comment data is processed. This may be my favorite verse of them all. Try starting your explanation with a simple definition and then ask for further questions: No one can completely know or understand God. Jesus is the visual form of God. 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*. Water can exist in liquid at room temperature. There would be three thrones. 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 above picture is a famous work of art by Andrei Rubilev, the great medieval Russian painter of Orthodox icons and frescos. 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. Here many of the creeds help us in clearly articulating the trinity. I go to prepare a place for you. In this episode, Fred Sanders discusses what it really means to say that God is a Trinitythree persons in one God. The Trinity is Like an Egg How the analogy goes: The Trinity is like an egg. Take a moment and give it a try. This is one of the reasons we say that "God is LOVE". The shortfall of this illustration, and others like it, is that God cannot be divided into "parts." Tritheism denies that there is only one God. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9). Celebrating Easter Is About so Much More Than One Hour on Sunday. The Holy Spirit is like the heat that the sun produces, unseen yet powerful and effective in making the sun felt. The problem with this analogy is that it teaches that God has three components: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)One of my Sunday School students said, "How could Jesus (God) enter Mary's stomach (womb) and be born? The trinity is not a contradiction, but a paradox. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind lived the doctrinal truth about the Trinity. For example, we know that God didnt create humanity because He bored or lonely. They are unified in one divine being. ANALOGY OF CHARACTERS. 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. So comparing God to water isnt really as helpful as it seems on the surface. There are many mysteries to our faith. You are an egg! Because God is utterly unique, all comparisons will fail at some point. We worship one God who exists in three persons. Similarly, in our aquatic analogy, water can appear in three different modes, depending on the environment, but the three are not co-existing. The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. When we separate them we can fall into the error of tritheism, which is the worship of three individual deities as one. Born in England in 1961, Benjamin Waterhouse Benjamin Waterhouse has been the organist of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity since 2000. We Christians believe it on faith. How would you explain the Trinity if someone asked you right now? The Holy Spirit is the shell, Jesus is the egg white, and the Father is the egg yolk. There's a simple reason they don't work: The Trinity, as such, isn't like anything in creation. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. Modalism denies the distinction of person in the trinity. CafeLogos.orgThe Egg and i -A Simple Explanation of The Trinity The military would end up destroying themselves. It is still H20, but just different forms. THE DISTINCTION AND UNITY of the Trinity is not for us to fully understand because it is a supernatural mystery. The egg analogy fails because it denies that each person of the Trinity is of the same eternal essence. The problem with this analogy is that it would imply that there is only one Divine Person, who eventually multiplied Himself. These two analogies are the "water" analogy and the "egg" analogy. The problem with this analogy is that no one molecule of H2O can actually exist as solid, liquid, and gas at the same time. Yet we do not have three gods but ONE God. According to modalism, God does not actually exist in three persons. This is the Christmas paradox. 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. The Biblical Principle Of Baptism By Fire, The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything, 3 Reasons Why Jesus Humanity Really Matters Her & Hymn, 3 Reasons Why Jesus' Humanity Really Matters, How Jesus Teaches Us To Be Human Her & Hymn. Here's a look at six explanations for why so many people truly believe 3 Ways to Experience The Good Life in Jesus. In the same way, there is a God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. H2O can exist as a solid, a liquid and a gas but they are all still H2O. We all want to experience the good life. 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). Or water can be evaporated and called steam. 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). 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 Council's definitions concerning the Trinity are really as easy as one, two, three four. If all you had were an eggshell, you wouldnt have a very exciting breakfast. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQLfgaUoQCw. So cool that God imparted that song in your mind and heart before you even wrote this blog post! 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. I dont believe that God wishes us to be confused about the Three that are so apparent throughout the Old and New Testaments. The mystery is in the how this is accomplished; something we will finally understand in heaven. The analogy breaks down because the three cloves are overly distinct and cannot represent the unity of God. Under Arianism Jesus is less than fully God. The visual form of God seperated from Jesus on the cross. To help you out, here is a comical and silly video that teaches about these bad analogies. This is why Jesus said, He who has seen Me, has seen the Father (John 14:9). The apple seed alone is not an apple. Each PERSON is distinct from one another. God created us for community, since God is communal and we were created in His image. - well, sort of. When we separate them we can fall into the error of tritheism, which is the worship of three individual deities as one. They say that three separate beings exist 2. The trinity is a mystery that cannot be fully comprehended. I did read about the shamrock analogy! THE TRUTH IS: The Father, Son, and Spirit are three different persons who are all equally one God. 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). It is a miraculous invention, the egg. This is a quick way to describe the doctrine of the Trinity namely, God is 1 being (the what is Gods nature, essence, being) and 3 whos (the whos being Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Few topics of discussion in the Christian faith are more confusing than the idea of the Trinity. 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. Love was not given to Jesus. A good example would be an electrical cord. The egg white represents Gods Spirit. 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. Required fields are marked *. This little child cannot look at one without experiencing a profound sense of wonderment and awe. The Holy Spirit prays for us. He explains why the doctrine of the Trinity is essential to the gospel even if it seems abstract or confusing, highlights why all analogies and metaphors are of limited value when thinking about the Godhead, and responds to the . The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called Jehovah (or Spirit of Jehovah), given divine attributes, and are distinguished from one another. The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. (It is also why the Jews had an issue with Jesus calling Himself God.). Depth isnt the same thing as height and height isnt the same thing as width, yet all three together are what comprise space. The Unseen Father would have been put into Satans prison. They have a common purpose in making harmonious music, but each note is its own separate entity. Since these bad analogies tend to lead to a heresy, we will examine the main three areas of heresy concerning the trinity. Perhaps youve heard the analogy that the Trinity is like H2O (the molecular symbol for water). He is married to Shamsa Lea, is the father of Amira, and loves running, boxing and studying history and theology. He differs from the Father, but was and still is God. 3 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons. show me your glory. Another analogy that Tim remembers, being Irish Catholic, is the analogy of the shamrock with its three parts. But common sense is intuition based on day-to-day experience. And we know that because the Persons of the Godhead have perfectly blessed and exalted each other for all eternity. Similarly, people have used the example of the apple in the same way- skin, flesh, and seeds. 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. What portion is erroneous? Yet we do not have three gods but ONE God. This analogy is still not perfect because each of the aspect cannot stand as egg like each of the persons in the trinity can stand as God. Unfortunately, an analogy from the limited realm of creation may not be sufficient in explaining Gods nature. 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. Furthermore, this trinity is related to a shamrock, an apple, or an egg. It can also be a liquid and called water. 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 Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 but more like 1 x 1 x 1. It only has 1 person acting in three different roles. Is He Jesus side-kick? 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. The unseen Father is in Christs mind. Jesus is the Holy Spirit that saves us. It is a miraculous invention, the egg. Each one is fully 100% God. 3. It is not important merely for the sake of tradition, or because the word itself is taught in the Bible (the word is not). And the reason we know that is because the Persons of the Godhead have perfectly loved each other for all eternity. This analogy is an invalid comparison to the Trinity and is a heresy called PARTIALISM. The idea of God as three-in-one is indeed a mysterious concept, one that is difficult to understand. H2O can exist in three forms: liquid, gas and solid. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit also exist eternally and concurrently. In Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). It does not represent 3 persons existing simultaneously. Dont grieve the Holy Spirit out of you. This analogy denies the unity of the God-head. But, when it's heated, it turns into a gas (steam) and, when it's frozen, it turns into a solid (ice). Again, this analogy doesnt work because God doesnt morph, change, or become different aspects of Himself. 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). 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. There would be three thrones. The word trinity is not in the Scriptures, but is a word used to describe the three in one God revealed in the Bible. Just like an egg, none of the parts are co-equal, nor are all of the parts necessary for the egg to exist. God is like H2O in that the Bible may refer to a specific person of the Trinity but that person is still God. The watermelon has a skin, pulp and seeds; the egg is shell, yolk and egg white. Lost will be burned up. 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. A single molecule cannot simultaneously exist in three different states. I dont know how our majestic God feels about being compared to watermelons and eggs, but He is also a loving Father, and like any father, I believe God would seek to provide simple explanations so His little children can understand.
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