Jesus is the Holy Spirit. But we can (and should) have a solid foundation to explain this core belief of our faith. 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 reality, I change my role depending on who I am interacting with. Jesus is in the form of the Holy Spirit. 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). 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. The Holy Trinity, one of the five Dogmas of the Church, is an extraordinary and unfathomable mystery. But this idea is central to the Christian faith. 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). 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 they used the word person, they didnt mean it in the same way that we do today. Love was not given to Jesus. The trinity is a like a Three-Leaf Clover. 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/. For instance at the baptism of Christ, the Father, Son and Spirit are all distinctly present and interacting (Matthew chapter 3 verses 16-17). An explanation that is so common, and seemingly does elucidate how something can simultaneously be three and onecan it really be that bad? What portion of the analogy holds true with Church Teaching? The analogy breaks down because I can simultaneously be a father, husband, and son to any one person. My prayer is to infuse God's character into your everyday lives with short ( 4-5") devotions and Bible Studies every Monday morning. 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. 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. 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. It falls into the heresy of tri-theism. 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). It is not existing as 3 different parts (persons) at the same time. As a doctrine (belief), the trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate and distinct persons united in one being- God. What is the Trinity? This is a bad analogy because it fails at the truth that all three persons comprise the fullness of God. God controls that light. 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. The watermelon has a skin, pulp and seeds; the egg is shell, yolk and egg white. In one egg you have the white, the yoke, and the shell composing one full egg. Genisis 1:17, KJV. One cannot remove the Holy Spirit and still have the God as taught in the Bible. Celebrating Easter Is About so Much More Than One Hour on Sunday. Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. But the Father is not the Son or the Spirit. 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. . He also knows how to perfectly love us. From time to time, Doctors of the Church used analogies, but with care. The Holy Spirit prays for us. In an attempt to explain the Trinity, there are some bad examples people use, and some better ones. 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. His ways are higher than ours, but isnt that a comfort?! How would you explain the Trinity if someone asked you right now? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. I and My Father are One (John 10:30). Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. Dr. Bruce Ware does an excellent job in his book Big Truths for Young Hearts. For them, a person is someone who could relate to another. Understanding 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. One of the more traditional analogies is to the states of water. The shortfall of this illustration, and others like it, is that God cannot be divided into "parts." God is like H2Olike water. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. Surely this is a better understanding of the water analogy! But common sense is intuition based on day-to-day experience. Arius was condemned by the council of Nicea in 325 AD. 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. To put it simply, "The problem with using analogies to explain the Holy Trinity is that you always end up confessing some ancient heresy." . These three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - exist together in complete unity, with no separation, as one divine being. Water can exist in liquid at room temperature. On a whim, I looked up the lyrics at a later time. Trinity Egg Analogy . . Analogies that we present would always be insufficient as none of them would equate to the incomprehensible beauty of God. As we examine the scriptural witness we see three truths that make up the doctrine of the trinity. I think the illustration that represents the Trinity most accurately is the egg example. The white of an egg is the connection between the yolk and the shell. Here's a look at six explanations for why so many people truly believe 3 Ways to Experience The Good Life in Jesus. The apple seed alone is not an apple. I did read about the shamrock analogy! Discover the richness of the old yet living 2,000-year-old religion which built the West. 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. Each person is fully the one God, but is also distinct. So, part of understanding the Trinity is realizing that God is personal and relational. That fire keeps devils away from the saved. Each one is fully God. In using analogies, we need to acknowledge the demerits and limitations of the said analogy. Heat it up, and it turns to vapor. An egg is made up of shell, white and yolk. Proof texting is when we cite a bunch of bible verses to support a theological stance. There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Should Women Really Keep Silent in Church? There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. ORDER from Barnes and NobleAmazon.com or wherever fine books are soldISBN-13: 978-1978167643Return to Cafe Logos Homepage | Bite-Sized Bible Bites. Over the course of church history there have been several heresies that have cropped up that deny one of these three truths. Admittedly, the idea of three distinct persons/expressions that are each fully God is part of the mystery. 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. Tritheism denies that there is only one God. The divine persons are really DISTINCT from one another, and not merely different roles of God at different times. This is a place to find encouragement and hope from God's Word as you move through your busy life. 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). Our God is three in one. Therefore the eternal brightness shines forth before Him, and co-exists with Him, in that, existing without a beginning, and always begotten, He always shines before Him; and He is that Wisdom which says, I was that wherein He delighted, and I was daily His delight before His face at all times.. You can throw away one part of an egg (e.g., shell) and still have essentially an egg. 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). It should bring us to realise that we truly are finite creatures standing before a sovereign, transcendent, divine mystery. 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. For example, triangles are not the kinds of things that are personal. . This is the one I used long ago when trying to explain the Trinity to a group of 1st-5th graders. Notice the distinction between persons and being. This analogy denies the unity of the God-head. In this episode, Fred Sanders discusses what it really means to say that God is a Trinitythree persons in one God. Though I find the video to be hilarious and often . These are likewise erroneous or even heretical. In the same way, there is a God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. [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. 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. You can throw away one part of an egg (e.g., shell) and still have essentially an egg. 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. That is why Moses said. What happens when an egg hatches? When we tend to make an analogy about the trinity we are forced to diminish one of the three trinitarian truths in order to make the analogy work. When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. The very definition of the heresy known as Modalism/Oneness is that there is one person existing in three different modes or manifestations. The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith. Youre right, theyre all good but not perfect because only God IS perfect. The scientific analogy that will be provided in a few moments is truly inadequate to describe the Holy Trinity. The three-leaf clover analogy is OK. The beautiful depth of Gods eternal Triune nature is a sublime reality which should bring an end to our attempts to cognitively master Him. Water can be frozen and is called ice. So, the egg analogy doesnt work after all. Explaining the Holy Trinity. All three persons exist at the same moment in history. Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. This analogy is an invalid comparison to the Trinity and is a heresy called PARTIALISM. 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. So much of what we know about what God does is wrapped up in who He is. But thats not how they understood it. The problem with this analogy is that no one molecule of H2O can actually exist as solid, liquid, and gas at the same time. Indeed, how can an infinite God be contained in a finite human womb! Before I even began writing this post, I had an unusual song stuck in my head Holy God, we praise thy name. 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). There are two basic ways that people misunderstand the Trinity: 1. No analogy is perfect, but we want to be careful of using wrong ones that may confuse people. When the Bible talks about God, it may be referring to Jesus Christ in a specific instance, the Holy Spirit in another and God the Father in a third occasion. A man might be a father to his children, a husband to his wife, and son to his parents. Cool it down, and itll eventually freeze into a solid. Analogies often fall short. The Holy Spirit is the shell, Jesus is the egg white, and the Father is the egg yolk. copyright 2009 by H.D. He has one essenceone substance. To the other major monotheistic faiths (Islam and Judaism), it is rank heresyTrinitarianism is therefore definitional to Christianity. Or water can be evaporated and called steam. Share your thoughts with us in the comments! None of the 3 are less divine than the others. But it cant be that way with God. 2 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each God. Yet we do not have three gods but ONE God. Unfortunately, an analogy from the limited realm of creation may not be sufficient in explaining Gods nature. Light comes from 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 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. For those, like myself, who are not from a highly-liturgical denomination, it may come as a surprise that June 11 was Trinity Sunday. Just as water changes forms so too is the trinity. 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. They've always led to error and have been rejected by the church. Each character of the trinity has in one another (cf. The Trinity is foundational and at the heart of our Christian faith. A person distinguishes himself from others by saying me, mine, you, yours, etc. A being is the whole nature or essence of something. 1:8-12; 1 Pet. Here are a few common illustrations: The Egg- One egg has three parts: shell, whites, and yolk. He is one God who expresses Himself in three modesFather, Son, and Spirit. Time exists as 3 things: past, present, and future. The Unseen Father is in Christs mind. We believe in only one true God in all existence, in all places, at all times. And the Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son. The visual form of God seperated from Jesus on the cross. ), The Son Phil. It is still important that we have some understanding of the concept, however. One thing that Ive found helpful is using the Trinity to illustrate truths we know about God. It does not represent 3 persons existing simultaneously. 2A) Dave is a father of four children: three boys and a . This is just as bad as the Water analogy and leads to the same error. 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 is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Copyright 2023 Christian Today. 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. These attributes are: omnipotence (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), and omnipresence (exists in all places). They suggest that only one God exists but this God transforms or morphs into each of the different persons. we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,neither blending their personsnor dividing their essence. The egg analogy fails because it denies that each person of the Trinity is of the same eternal essence. When we view the egg in its entirety we have the Biblical Trinity, One that is Three. So God performs 3 different roles/relationships but 1 God. Not just for explaining it to others, but to bolster our own faith and see how each One works in our lives. 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. Many of us would use analogies to explain the Trinity. My name is AnnMarie and I'm so glad you're here! Often these analogies explicitly teach heresy. 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. These three Persons are all equally God and all equally Persons. The Bible teaches that the Father is God, that Jesus is God, and that the Holy Spirit is God. . 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. 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. Basic mathematics tells us that 1x1x1 = 1.. For since light is always in existence, it is manifest that its brightness also exists, because light is perceived to exist from the fact that it shines, and it is impossible that light should not shine. The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. 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. This analogy denies the distinction of the God-head. 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. 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. But while this idea is central to the Christian faith, it is also incredibly mysterious to us. 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. A chicken egg consists of a shell, a yolk, and an egg white, yet it is altogether one egg. 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). The Trinity is one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. Although God is transcendent, sovereign, unapproachable light, He has condescended to reveal something of Himself to His creation. It is still H20, but just different forms. I bet I havent sung or heard this song in years! All Scripture is taken from the NIV version unless otherwise specified, Author Ignace Franz, translated by Clarence A. Walworth. For instance, we know that God is perfectly loving. Here are 8 Bible Characters Who Should Be More Famous. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of tritheism. Analogies for the Trinity exist to explain the unexplainable. 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. God does not play three roles.. Stars were made on the froth day. And we know that because Hes been experiencing perfect love within Himself forever. An essential factor lacking from those concepts is the relational quality of God. Dont you know Jesus? Water can be ice and steam, yet they are the same element. The Bible teaches three truths: 1 - there is one God. Each one is fully 100% God. He wondered how it was possible that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit could be inseparable, while, in . The Holy Spirit descended upon Him to equip Him for His ministry. Sending of another: The Father sends the Son, and both the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit. This little child cannot look at one without experiencing a profound sense of wonderment and awe. A good example would be an electrical cord. Jonathon serves as a lay pastor at Gospel Life Church in New Braunfels, TX and currently works as the IT Manager for a non-profit ministry. How can God be Three in One? Vestment Emblems. 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). 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). Revelation 4:3And 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. 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. A good example would be an electrical cord. It's impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. But this view, too, wont do. Despite its potential obscurity, Trinity Sunday is a great occasion for me to revisit an old article on the Trinity. 3 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons. That is a holding pen for final judgment. I know in the past Ive used analogies that werent the best (more on those later.) So comparing God to water isnt really as helpful as it seems on the surface. Haydn Lea is an Associate Pastor in Queensland, and is currently studying his Master of Arts (Theology). The problem with this analogy is that an egg yoke is of a very different substance than a shell. 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. Yet the orthodox view is that each person of the Trinity is fully divine. God is kind of like a man who is a father, a son and an uncle God is kind of like a three-leaf clover, or a triangle; one object, but three different, identifiable leaves, or sides* CafeLogos.orgThe Egg and i -A Simple Explanation of The Trinity There are two basic ways that people misunderstand the Trinity: 1. We recommend you adhere these emblems to your vestments by mounting on the material with fabric glue and then stitching them . And whos the Holy Spirit? But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. It is not important merely for the sake of tradition, or because the word itself is taught in the Bible (. In other words, one stuffness. However, He exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 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. If youre interested into diving deeper into the topic of the Trinity, here are some valuable resources that could help.

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