The word God in this sense is defined as a single being, having all divine attributes. Here's a look at six explanations for why so many people truly believe 3 Ways to Experience The Good Life in Jesus. This is the Christmas paradox. Three persons is false. Haydn Lea is an Ordained Minister, and is currently serving as an Air Force Chaplain in Adelaide. It is not important merely for the sake of tradition, or because the word itself is taught in the Bible (. But the Bible is CLEAR in its teaching. Each one is fully 100% God. Now, as youve probably guessed, this analogy also breaks down. THE TRUTH IS: From the very beginning, the Blessed Trinity Father, Son, and Spirit was there. However, it breaks down on the level of equality: No one keeps or eats the shell of an egg. Why is it wrong? God does not play three roles.. I'm always interested in ways to encourage you, so feel free to contact me and let me know what areas interest you! The Trinity is distinct in their roles and individuality, but united in their attributes of love, mercy, holiness, knowledge, etc. 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 Cathedral - The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Quebec, Canada 2:5-6; Col. 1:15-17, 2:9; Heb. If you only had an apple core, you wouldnt pack it in your lunch. But the Father is not the Son or the Spirit. One day, however, the image will be clear. And let us once more come to illustrations. They have a common purpose in making harmonious music, but each note is its own separate entity. 5And there are varieties of ministries and the same Lord. 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. The very definition of the heresy known as Modalism/Oneness is that there is one person existing in three different modes or manifestations. This analogy is an invalid comparison to the Trinity and is a heresy called PARTIALISM. A Note on Trinitarian Analogies | Place for Truth - Alliance of What portion is erroneous? Lord of all, we bow before thee. What Is the Trinity | Holy Trinity in the Bible | Explore God I dont believe that God wishes us to be confused about the Three that are so apparent throughout the Old and New Testaments. St. Augustine, one of the most important Fathers of the Church, wrote a great deal on the doctrine of the Trinity. 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. The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. Stars were made on the froth day. I think the illustration that represents the Trinity most accurately is the egg example. Under Arianism Jesus is less than fully God. Your email address will not be published. While each person is distinct, they are never separate from one another. Theyve transformed. But thats not how they understood it. Indeed, how can an infinite God be contained in a finite human womb! There are three different cloves that represent the three different persons of the trinity. 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. The meme above discourages the use of analogies in explaining the Trinity. Who is God? Each separate being is co-equal, co-powerful and co-eternal. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. Dont you know Jesus? It is still important that we have some understanding of the concept, however. Analogies for the Trinity exist to explain the unexplainable. It is so important that to deny the trinity is to deny Christianity. Both are one. Unfortunately, an analogy from the limited realm of creation may not be sufficient in explaining Gods nature. Yet it appears to be almost entirely misunderstood within contemporary evangelical circles. Like modalism, the "three beings" view was rejected by the early church. No analogy is perfect, but we want to be careful of using wrong ones that may confuse people. It leads to the heresy of MODALISM which teaches that God switches to different modes. Water can exist in liquid at room temperature. So "son" = "Dave". It does not represent 3 persons existing simultaneously. You are an egg! That helps explain the concept quite well- the oneness, unity of God with the distinct three persons of God- Father, Son, and Spirit. The Holy Trinity Easy as One, Two, Three | by John K Adams The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of tritheism. In one egg you have the white, the yoke, and the shell composing one full egg. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength (1 Corinthians 1:25). 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. Which ones have you heard? But if modalism is true, and the Trinity really is like water, then the story of Jesus (the Son) praying to the Father as recorded in the Bible seems like an awfully strange masquerade. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. - well, sort of. They say that three separate beings exist 2. It is not existing as 3 different parts (persons) at the same time. Similarly, in our aquatic analogy, water can appear in three different modes, depending on the environment, but the three are not co-existing. 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. You can throw away one part of an egg (e.g., shell) and still have essentially an egg. This is the one I used long ago when trying to explain the Trinity to a group of 1st-5th graders. This analogy denies the distinction of the God-head. The Holy Trinity: Egg Analogy by Sharmaine Pagtakhan - Prezi The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is not real in my life because of superior knowledge or insight. Let's use an egg to explain the Holy Trinity! 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. In other words, one stuffness. However, He exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is only one egg with three different parts. Instead, each person is co-equal, co-powerful and co-eternal. We can touch the cord, but not the power it is insulating. But God is the eternal Light, which has neither had a beginning, nor shall ever fail. I and My Father are One (John 10:30). They all exist as fully God, with none of them lacking in any attribute or aspect that defines God. What does the Bible teach about the Trinity? | GotQuestions.org 3:15; John 17:1-4, The Holy Spirit Acts 5:3-4; John 14:16-17, 26; John 16:7-13. Analogies of the Trinity. HO may act as water, steam, or ice, but it is still HO. CafeLogos.orgThe Egg and i -A Simple Explanation of The Trinity The Trinity is Like an Egg How the analogy goes: The Trinity is like an egg. Perhaps youve heard the analogy that the Trinity is like H2O (the molecular symbol for water). You are an egg! When they used the word person, they didnt mean it in the same way that we do today. The Gospel is theperson, work, and message of Jesus Christ that provides salvation to all repentant believers. And the reason we know that is because the Persons of the Godhead have perfectly loved each other for all eternity. If you say, "Jesus Christ" then you MAY BE incorrect. 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. God is like H2Olike water. The following verses attest to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). 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 more I reflect on Easter, the more Ive realized how much its become a consumeristic holidayeven Did Jesus really rise from the dead? In humans, our spirits are designed to operate with and be united to the soul which is the person of anyone and so it is with our Egg. This means there is a sense in which all 3 persons may act or speak as one. How can God be Three in One? But in the Godhead, each Person is fully and completely God unto Himself (even as they are all one God). Dr. Bruce Ware does an excellent job in his book Big Truths for Young Hearts. We define a person as one having a will and who is distinguishable from another person. Arianism clearly denies the deity of the three persons. Take a moment and give it a try. But theres one problem: the water analogy is not the biblical picture of God. The white of an egg is the connection between the yolk and the shell. There are two basic ways that people misunderstand the Trinity: 1. The problem with this analogy is that no one molecule of H2O can actually exist as solid, liquid, and gas at the same time. The mystery is in the how this is accomplished; something we will finally understand in heaven. La da dee dee dum dum (I couldnt remember the in-between parts). The Bible teaches three truths: 1 - there is one God. Tritheism denies the unity of the God-head by saying there is just three different gods. 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. Although the water changes forms it is still H2O. Despite its potential obscurity, Trinity Sunday is a great occasion for me to revisit an old article on the Trinity. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind lived the doctrinal truth about the Trinity. Lost will be burned up. You know, that bearded guy on the throne who looks something like Zeus, right? Now God can be in you by His Spirit! All three persons exist at the same moment in history. 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.. Few if any have every tried to teach the heresy of Tritheism, but it needs to be mentioned anyway. The Holy Spirit is like the heat that the sun produces, unseen yet powerful and effective in making the sun felt. We Christians believe it on faith. In using analogies, we need to acknowledge the demerits and limitations of the said analogy. To help you out, here is a comical and silly video that teaches about these bad analogies. The Holy Spirit descended upon Him to equip Him for His ministry. If one of the sides were removed, then there would be no equilateral triangle. The problem with this analogy is it denies the unity of the God-head. Yet, the trinity is mysterious. Its downright hard to understand. Holy Trinity: Some Analogies to Help Us Comprehend All Scripture is taken from the NIV version unless otherwise specified, Author Ignace Franz, translated by Clarence A. Walworth. To return to my Life Group anecdote, after our discussion I asked why does it even matter?. I and My Father are One (John 10:30). 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). And the Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son. Son and Holy Ghost are each fully God. Yet we do not have three gods but ONE God. RELATED: The Biblical Principle Of Baptism By Fire. The past is not the present and the present is not the future, yet all three together is what we call time. Each side is co-equal with the others, yet, each side is necessary. These things are referred to as the Economic Trinity. The trinity is a mystery that cannot be fully comprehended. 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. Some have taken on the task of explaining how Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist as one. Or water can be evaporated and called steam. ), The Son Phil. There was no relational deficiency that prompted God to create us. Answer (1 of 25): Cynics assert that the idea of the Holy Trinity is a logical impossibility. Few topics of discussion in the Christian faith are more confusing than the idea of the Trinity. In other words, this view denies Gods oneness.
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