But its all the same person, operating in three roles or functions. For those, like myself, who are not from a highly-liturgical denomination, it may come as a surprise that June 11 was Trinity Sunday. In contrast to the Ontological Trinity, there is the Economic Trinity. The problem with this analogy is that it teaches that God has three components: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 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). They all exist as fully God, with none of them lacking in any attribute or aspect that defines God. Further, his dialectic is guided by the particular consideration of what true love is: a trinity of lover, beloved and the love that binds . There would be three thrones. and Holy Spirit are only parts of God (egg and sun). How can we explain what it means to have three persons in one being? 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. So, the egg analogy doesnt work after all. Space Analogy God is like space. The white of an egg is the connection between the yolk and the shell. In Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). 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. The shortfall of this illustration, and others like it, is that God cannot be divided into "parts." 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. This analogy seems to make a lot of sense, but it actually reinforces a fatal misconception about the Trinity called modalism. Another analogy that Tim remembers, being Irish Catholic, is the analogy of the shamrock with its three parts. And we know that because Hes been experiencing perfect love within Himself forever. Jesus is in the form of the Holy Spirit. Each PERSON is distinct from one another. This is a quick way to describe the doctrine of the Trinity namely, God is 1 being (the, is Gods nature, essence, being) and 3 whos (the, being Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Now were going to look at how some people often misunderstand the Trinity. 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. In Arianism, the Son is not eternally equal with the Father, but was the Fathers first and best creation. 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. Among the most popular analogies for the Trinity, two in particular stand out; and most of the others resemble one of them. Matthew 3:16-17- As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. Since these bad analogies tend to lead to a heresy, we will examine the main three areas of heresy concerning the trinity. Trinity is like a Shamrock (or an Apple or an Egg). FOR CENTURIES, the Church had fought against heresies on the Trinity. Rather, He created us in order to bless us. Well the issue is, the water analogy is akin to the heresy of Modalism. The past is not the present and the present is not the future, yet all three together is what we call time. There would be three thrones. 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 Trinity is like an egg. Light comes from God. The military would like to have that power. There's a simple reason they don't work: The Trinity, as such, isn't like anything in creation. These two analogies are the "water" analogy and the "egg" analogy. The egg has a shell, the whites and a yoke. Examples of these different roles would be: The Incarnation: Only the Son became incarnate, took on flesh. The Gospel is theperson, work, and message of Jesus Christ that provides salvation to all repentant believers. Copyright 2023 Christian Today. The problem with this analogy is that an egg yoke is of a very different substance than a shell. Hello busy women! This analogy is an invalid comparison to the Trinity and is a heresy called PARTIALISM. Shively Love your blogs! Stars were made on the froth day. we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,neither blending their personsnor dividing their essence. The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. Good and Bad Analogies of the Trinity - Answers . When we speak of someone as being a "person", we often mean an individual who is separate from other people, or we simply mean a human being. Jesus is fully God. In other words, this view denies Gods oneness. 1A) Dave is a son of Graham and Lois Armstrong. This view, also known as "modalism", was rejected by the early church. 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. 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). There are many mysteries to our faith. This analogy explains that the Father is like the sun. Each one is fully 100% God. The mystery is in the how this is accomplished; something we will finally understand in heaven. The idea that the Trinity can be compared to a shamrock is largely attributed to St. Patrick. A certain YouTube page created a famous video titled "St. Patrick's Bad Analogies" (which can be found here), in which the historic St. Patrick meets charming villagers who deride him based on the analogies which he uses in the process of explaining the Holy Trinity. Therefore, we would rightly say, within the Ontological Trinity, there is no variation or distinction made. Unfortunately, Arianism is still around and can found within the Jehovah's Witnesses teachings. Water can be ice and steam, yet they are the same element. How can God be Three in One? For example, I would say, "God is like an egg." The God of the Bible is one God. He cares for his creation and his people. 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. In the second instance, the truth of Gods Trinity reveals a further aspect of Gods love for His people. 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. We believe in only one true God in all existence, in all places, at all times. All three persons exist at the same moment in history. And whos the Holy Spirit? Analogies of the Trinity. In an attempt to explain the Trinity, there are some bad examples people use, and some better ones. Many of us would use analogies to explain the Trinity. 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. And for a mere mortal to have dared invent it and be able t. Three Gods or one? Love was not given to Jesus. RELATED: What Did Jesus Really Look Like? 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. St. Augustine, one of the most important Fathers of the Church, wrote a great deal on the doctrine of the Trinity. What is wrong with what I said? Arianism clearly denies the deity of the three persons. 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. The idea of God as three-in-one is indeed a mysterious concept, one that is difficult to understand. God is not made up of 3 'parts' like the 3 parts of the egg. (Describing God as LOVE is my favorite way of understanding the Trinity. He was with God in the beginning. This may be my favorite verse of them all. The problem with this analogy is it denies the unity of the God-head. That fire keeps devils away from the saved. Lord of all, we bow before thee. Proof texting is when we cite a bunch of bible verses to support a theological stance. Our God is three in one. Each separate being is co-equal, co-powerful and co-eternal. Each character of the trinity has in one another (cf. Your email address will not be published. Jesus loves us so much that he did not obliterate people who died, with power that set stars in the universe. Yet we do not have three gods but ONE God. So while its tough to make sense of the Trinity, the Trinity actually helps us make sense of so many things we believe. It is so important that to deny the trinity is to deny Christianity. To become the people we were always created to be. One cannot remove the Holy Spirit and still have the God as taught in the Bible. But common sense is intuition based on day-to-day experience. We Christians believe it on faith. How can we ever explain our Most High, exalted, powerful, uncontainable, and most glorious God? Over the course of church history there have been several heresies that have cropped up that deny one of these three truths. Heat it up, and it turns to vapor. Sending of another: The Father sends the Son, and both the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit. Some people falsely claim the Trinity is a form of . Infinite thy vast domain, everlasting is thy reign.. While each person is distinct, they are never separate from one another. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. These three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - exist together in complete unity, with no separation, as one divine being. It is still H20, but just different forms. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. For sure, our everyday experience does not include using our finite minds to understand the infinite! It falls into the heresy of tri-theism. The Holy Trinity, one of the five Dogmas of the Church, is an extraordinary and unfathomable mystery. Time exists as 3 things: past, present, and future. 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*. But the Trinity is our belief as Christians that God is one being who exists in three Persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. I think the analogy of the Sun works well. He got married there in 1965, and his four . God is one. Each one is fully God. Theyve transformed. The problem with this analogy is that it also leads to the heresy of MODALISM. As a result, this analogy can easily lead to tritheism in which there are three different gods which might share some like substance. He also knows how to perfectly love us. 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. This means there is a sense in which all 3 persons may act or speak as one. This analogy denies the unity of the God-head. Does that make sense? There are three different cloves that represent the three different persons of the trinity. He has been relationally fulfilled within Himself since forever. He is one God in three persons, all at the same time. Tritheism denies that there is only one God. Dont you know Jesus? Here many of the creeds help us in clearly articulating the trinity. It taught there is one nature in God, and that there are two processions, three persons, and four relations that constitute the Blessed Trinity. The problem with this analogy is that an egg yoke is of a very different substance than a shell. However, keep in mind that the one being who is God is a personal being. Although God is transcendent, sovereign, unapproachable light, He has condescended to reveal something of Himself to His creation. It's impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. Each side is co-equal with the others, yet, each side is necessary. And the reason we know that is because the Persons of the Godhead have perfectly loved each other for all eternity. The Church should not forget that these heresies still exist in the present day and is even being taught by some priests and catechists. Explaining the Holy Trinity. 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. So God performs 3 different roles/relationships but 1 God. But Hes God too, right? Well, the egg analogy, when applied to God, suggests that only one being exists but this being exists in three different parts. Here are four. You are an egg! 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. Therefore, there is one God, who is eternally present in three persons. Son and Holy Ghost are each fully God. Why is it wrong? A good follow up verse to help explain is the baptism of Jesus. The water analogy of the Trinity follows this line of reasoning: water can be a solid (ice/frozen water), liquid, and gas (water vapor), and yet all three forms are still water (H 2 O), and likewise, God manifests Himself in 3 different ways in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.