Haydn describes himself as a five-point Calvinist, but he recognises that many faithful Christians disagree. Jesus loves us so much that he did not obliterate people who died, with power that set stars in the universe. Love was not given to Jesus. in that while water can change into vapour or ice, Jesus cannot change into the Father or the Holy Spirit. Yet there is only one God. This is a bad analogy because it fails at the truth that all three persons comprise the fullness of God. 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 . Explaining the Holy Trinity. and Holy Spirit are only parts of God (egg and sun). God is NOT like H2O in that He does not need the right pressure and temperature to exist as three persons. The three-leaf clover analogy is OK. Another analogy that Tim remembers, being Irish Catholic, is the analogy of the shamrock with its three parts. And the reason we know that is because the Persons of the Godhead have perfectly loved each other for all eternity. As John 1:18 says, Jesus is "the only begotten God, in the bosom of [God] the Father.". It is not existing as 3 different parts (persons) at the same time. We can touch the cord, but not the power it is insulating. The Holy Spirit is the shell, Jesus is the egg white, and the Father is the egg yolk. The Egg and I - Part Two This is the one I used long ago when trying to explain the Trinity to a group of 1st-5th graders. Similarly, people have used the example of the apple in the same way- skin, flesh, and seeds. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. So cool that God imparted that song in your mind and heart before you even wrote this blog post! If then the sun were eternal, the day would never end; but now, for such is not really the state of the case, the day begins with the beginning of the sun, and ends with its ending. Perhaps we must be content to admit that we cannot fully understand Gods nature in our finitude. Take a moment and give it a try. For instance, we know that God is perfectly loving. What is H2O? And for a mere mortal to have dared invent it and be able t. It is still H20, but just different forms. From time to time, Doctors of the Church used analogies, but with care. To become the people we were always created to be. The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. And whos the Holy Spirit? Youre right, theyre all good but not perfect because only God IS perfect. Trinity Egg Analogy . We Christians believe it on faith. Christians believe, then, that only one God exists but this God exists as a unity of three persons: a Trinity. 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 mystery is in the how this is accomplished; something we will finally understand in heaven. They suggest that only one God exists but this God transforms or morphs into each of the different persons Let's begin with the second view. The past is not the present and the present is not the future, yet all three together is what we call time. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called Jehovah (or Spirit of Jehovah), given divine attributes, and, (usually there is no argument that the Father is not God, since every place Jesus speaks to God, he is addressing the Father.). 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. show me your glory. The analogy breaks down because I can simultaneously be a father, husband, and son to any one person. Sadly, theres something "rotten" about this egg analogy. 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 Father hears their intercessory prayers. While an egg has a yolk, a white and a shell to make up the whole, each part is only ever . The problem with this analogy is that it would imply that there is only one Divine Person, who eventually multiplied Himself. The Latin word for trinity (trinitas) combines two words- unitas (unity) and trias (three). These are likewise erroneous or even heretical. 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). THE TRUTH IS: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three different parts or components of God, but the . These three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - exist together in complete unity, with no separation, as one divine being. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Arianism is named after the heretic Arius. The unseen Father is in Christs mind. The mystery is in the "how" this is accomplished; something we will finally understand in heaven. 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). Revelation 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. That would not be had God be three persons. 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. Yet God lovingly chose to create and eventually redeem us anyway (both thoroughly Trinitarian acts), at great cost to Himself. Here are a couple "usefully flawed" analogies for the Trinity. Paul explains our finite understanding of beliefs like the Trinity as looking into a poor-quality mirror- a distorted image; dim and unclear. One cannot remove the Holy Spirit and still have the God as taught in the Bible. So comparing God to water isnt really as helpful as it seems on the surface. In one egg you have the white, the yoke, and the shell composing one full egg. 3:15; John 17:1-4, The Holy Spirit Acts 5:3-4; John 14:16-17, 26; John 16:7-13. 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. Despite its potential obscurity, Trinity Sunday is a great occasion for me to revisit an old article on the Trinity. 1 Corinthians 8:6: Yet for us there is but one God.. Unfortunately, Arianism is still around and can found within the Jehovah's Witnesses teachings. Yet there is still only one God we serve. They are three in one egg. 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. You can throw away one part of an egg (e.g., shell) and still have essentially an egg. The Unseen Father is in Christs mind. Here many of the creeds help us in clearly articulating the trinity. A good follow up verse to help explain is the baptism of Jesus. As a result, this analogy can easily lead to tritheism in which there are three different gods which might share some like substance. The Bible reveals that each person of the Trinity has unique roles, relationships, and functions which are distinct from one another. They are three in one egg. The Son "proceeds" from the Father, and the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father and the Son.". Check out verse four: Holy Author, Holy Word, Holy Spirit, three we name thee; Still, one holy voice is heard; undivided God, we claim thee, and adoring bend the knee, while we own the mystery. . The analogy breaks down because the three cloves are overly distinct and cannot represent the unity of God. 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. RELATED: What Did Jesus Really Look Like? Truly, it is a Mystery. Required fields are marked *. In the same way is God being the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. Because God is utterly unique, all comparisons will fail at some point. Each PERSON is distinct from one another. Jesus was standing in the Jordan River, His Father speaks from heaven above, and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him as a dove. The trinity is a like a Three-Leaf Clover. Each side is co-equal with the others, yet, each side is necessary. If the Sun existed from eternity past then so were the light rays from the Sun. My prayer is to infuse God's character into your everyday lives with short ( 4-5") devotions and Bible Studies every Monday morning. Heat it up, and it turns to vapor. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9). What portion of the analogy holds true with Church Teaching? It is a miraculous invention, the egg. Lost will be burned up. 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. We also know that God didnt create humanity out of loneliness or boredom. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,neither blending their personsnor dividing their essence. 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. Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. However, keep in mind that the one being. The egg shell is the image of the yolk and the white. The scientific analogy that will be provided in a few moments is truly inadequate to describe the Holy Trinity. This is a place to find encouragement and hope from God's Word as you move through your busy life. This is because the H20 is changing forms in representing each person. HO may act as water, steam, or ice, but it is still HO. 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. Yet we do not have three gods but ONE God. The Trinity is Like an Egg How the analogy goes: The Trinity is like an egg. So, the egg analogy doesnt work after all. Sending of another: The Father sends the Son, and both the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit. So while its tough to make sense of the Trinity, the Trinity actually helps us make sense of so many things we believe. But, when it's heated, it turns into a gas (steam) and, when it's frozen, it turns into a solid (ice). 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. 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.) The Trinity is one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. In one of his sermons, he wrestled with the passage in Scripture recounting Jesus' Baptism. 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. But the Father is not the Son or the Spirit. So, I shot down a lot of images that seems to be pretty helpful. How can we ever explain our Most High, exalted, powerful, uncontainable, and most glorious God? For the Trinity, instead of using the formula 1+1+1, we use 1x1x1. The Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 but more like 1 x 1 x 1. 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). Indeed, how can an infinite God be contained in a finite human womb! One day, however, the image will be clear. In other words, one stuffness. However, He exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We came up with several practical implications of this doctrine. Unfortunately, most of them actually give us the wrong idea about what the Trinity is. Here are 8 Bible Characters Who Should Be More Famous. I never thought about it in that way some of these examples Ive never heard of. She would explode!" Devils see that Spirit as a tempestuious fire. It is not important merely for the sake of tradition, or because the word itself is taught in the Bible (the word is not). The Father sends the Son, and both the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit. Below is a compilation of the verses that reference all 3 persons of the one God. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQLfgaUoQCw. The Holy Spirit and Son do not send the Father. Both are one. . In one egg you have the white, the yoke, and the shell composing one full egg. There are some analogies that come close. Just like an egg, none of the parts are co-equal, nor are all of the parts necessary for the egg to exist. 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. Devils cannot grab ahold of them to cast them into Satans prison. The term Economic refers to the roles, functions, and relationships that exist within the Trinity. THE DISTINCTION AND UNITY of the Trinity is not for us to fully understand because it is a supernatural mystery. But we can (and should) have a solid foundation to explain this core belief of our faith. Before I even began writing this post, I had an unusual song stuck in my head Holy God, we praise thy name. . ANALOGY OF CHARACTERS. He completed a doctorate in 1990, looking at the question of harmonic rhythm in the organ music of J.S. In other words, this view denies Gods oneness. Is He Jesus side-kick? The Son is like the light rays that visibly reveal the sun, as Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). Our God is three in one. 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. Trinity is like a Shamrock (or an Apple or an Egg). MULTIPLICATION ANALOGY. Unfortunately, an analogy from the limited realm of creation may not be sufficient in explaining Gods nature. Shively Which ones have you heard? There are many mysteries to our faith. But having lots 6 Bible Study Tools To Help You Dive Deeper. 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. For those, like myself, who are not from a highly-liturgical denomination, it may come as a surprise that June 11 was Trinity Sunday. My interview: https://www.readlotswritelot.com/wp/podcast/episode-21-john-k-adams/, More from Catholicism for the Modern World, https://www.readlotswritelot.com/wp/podcast/episode-21-john-k-adams/. 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. All three persons exist at the same moment in history. God is much bigger than what we can understand yet He is close enough to us so that we can know some things about Him, though not completely and not everything. Stars were made on the forth day. The Trinity are three distinct persons who exist apart from each other. Common, yes. Share your thoughts with us in the comments! Does that make sense? Through the brokenness of the Shell, His Son, the Spirit white pours out into our beings through our faith in what was done and believers are joined with the yolk, for it is by One Spirit we have access to God the Father (Ephesians 2:18). Every kid in Sunday school thinks he knows all about God. He has been a member of the Royal Australian Air Force since 2007, and is now training to be an Air Force Chaplain. However, keep in mind that the one being who is God is a personal being. We can say that the first is egg the shell, the second is egg the albumen and the third is egg the yoke. Some people think that H2O cannot exist in all three states simultaneously but that is not true. 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). RELATED: What Does The Bible Say About Ghosts? It leads to the heresy of MODALISM which teaches that God switches to different modes. Here are some of them: The problem with this is that it leads to the view that God is a Trinity simply because He relates differently to us at different times. He is married to Shamsa Lea, is the father of Amira, and loves running, boxing and studying history and theology. As a doctrine (belief), the trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate and distinct persons united in one being- God. For sure, our everyday experience does not include using our finite minds to understand the infinite! I can only shake my head when He does these things! Martyn Iles Removed as Managing Director of Australian Christian Lobby by Board, Seven Types of Rest to Restore Your Body, Mind and Spirit, 8 witnesses testified against Hillsong founder Brian Houston in court case, wife Bobbie reveals, Why you feel guilty for not going to church, Samaritan's Purse sends 52-bed field hospital to Turkey. I go to prepare a place for you. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. Not just for explaining it to others, but to bolster our own faith and see how each One works in our lives. I think the analogy of the Sun works well. I bet I havent sung or heard this song in years! Eggs are one, yet comprise yolk, shell and albumen. This error denies something central to God that makes Him God. A good example would be an electrical cord. Haydn Lea is an Ordained Minister, and is currently serving as an Air Force Chaplain in Adelaide. Do you know why I keep saying God is like an egg (or H2O) but God is not like an egg (or H2O)? The apple seed alone is not an apple. I remember asking my Life Group last year, How have you heard the Trinity explained? I braced myself for the inevitable reply. We define a person as one having a will and who is distinguishable from another person. 3 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons. The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. The Son is not the Father or the Spirit. 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. Or water can be evaporated and called steam. There is one GOD in three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), 2. In using analogies, we need to acknowledge the demerits and limitations of the said analogy. God is not made up of 3 parts like the 3 parts of the egg. Stars were made on the froth day. I did read about the shamrock analogy! We believe that it is a revelation that comes from Christ Himself. There was no relational deficiency that prompted God to create us. We recommend you adhere these emblems to your vestments by mounting on the material with fabric glue and then stitching them . 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! This analogy actually teaches the heresy of tritheism. Thus, the Father Himself is not God, nor is the Son, nor is the Holy Spirit, but combining the three, there is one God. He is one God in three persons, all at the same time. (Describing God as LOVE is my favorite way of understanding the 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. I dont believe that God wishes us to be confused about the Three that are so apparent throughout the Old and New Testaments. God is like H2O in that the Bible may refer to a specific person of the Trinity but that person is still God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called Jehovah (or Spirit of Jehovah), given divine attributes, and are distinguished from one another. Similarly, in our aquatic analogy, water can appear in three different modes, depending on the environment, but the three are not co-existing. One popular and simple illustration of the Trinity is the egg. The watermelon has a skin, pulp and seeds; the egg is shell, yolk and egg white. A chicken egg consists of a shell, a yolk, and an egg white, yet it is altogether one egg. He also knows how to perfectly love us. Similarly, light and heat are simply creations of the sun, yet it is the heresy of Arianism to claim that the Son or Spirit are mere creations of the Father. I write to see memory and language wrestle with reality. The Egg Analogy - This claims to be a good representation of the Trinity because Eggs have three distinct parts: the shell, the yolk, and the whites. - well, sort of. There are two basic ways that people misunderstand the Trinity: 1. 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 very definition of the heresy known as Modalism/Oneness is that there is one person existing in three different modes or manifestations. Who is God? - well, sort of. But the Bible is CLEAR in its teaching. The Holy Spirit is like the heat that the sun produces, unseen yet powerful and effective in making the sun felt. These two analogies are the "water" analogy and the "egg" analogy. Instead, each person is co-equal, co-powerful and co-eternal. Our words should dissipate and be replaced instead with an awestruck adoration and wonder, as we realise the only appropriate response is to fall to our knees and humbly worship the one truly perfect, unified divine essence, comprising three diverse, co-equal and co-eternal divine persons. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind lived the doctrinal truth about the Trinity. But common sense is intuition based on day-to-day experience. The Father Matthew 27:45-46 (usually there is no argument that the Father is not God, since every place Jesus speaks to God, he is addressing the Father. Each part of the egg make up only one portion of the wholethe yolk is not the fullness of the egg. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of modalism. 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. But while this idea is central to the Christian faith, it is also incredibly mysterious to us. So much of what we know about what God does is wrapped up in who He is. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9). 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). While each person is distinct, they are never separate from one another. I and My Father are One (John 10:30). If you need to use an analogy, then use a good one. John 17). This book is now available in a published format for easy sharing and classroom use. The God of the Bible is one God. Part 2. We believe in only one true God in all existence, in all places, at all times. Tritheism denies the unity of the God-head by saying there is just three different gods. Each separate being is co-equal, co-powerful and co-eternal. Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature. (Lateran Council IV), 4. 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. In this episode, Fred Sanders discusses what it really means to say that God is a Trinitythree persons in one God. 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. This analogy denies the distinction of the God-head. copyright 2009 by H.D. The Trinity is pretty weird: the Father (or Mother), Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are in some sense distinct from one another, but are all unified in another sense. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. For instance at the baptism of Christ, the Father, Son and Spirit are all distinctly present and interacting (Matthew chapter 3 verses 16-17). Or what? He has not yet revealed some mysteries (what did Jesus do in His childhood, when will He return, what does the word Selah mean in the Old Testament- and so many more.). 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). Discover the richness of the old yet living 2,000-year-old religion which built the West. The three parts create a unified whole. The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. 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. Analogies often fall short. In Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9) In reality, I change my role depending on who I am interacting with. Only the Son became incarnate, took on flesh. 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. One thing that Ive found helpful is using the Trinity to illustrate truths we know about God. That is why Moses said. 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. Modalism denies the distinction of person in the trinity. To help you out, here is a comical and silly video that teaches about these bad analogies. You can also catch up with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok Scripture however, doesnt depict God this way. 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. Well, the egg analogy, when applied to God, suggests that only one being exists but this being exists in three different parts. The teaching of the trinity is clearly taught in Scripture and must be preserved as such. There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. 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). These hand embroidered emblems are made with metallic gold-plated thread with silver content, printed on canvas. 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 Trinity is foundational and at the heart of our Christian faith. Depth isnt the same thing as height and height isnt the same thing as width, yet all three together are what comprise space.
Back Of The Yards Chicago Crime Rate, Sam's Club Dino Chicken Nuggets, Articles H