Understanding the Trinity - Busy Blessed Women We find it in all four Gospels. The Holy Spirit descended upon Him to equip Him for His ministry. The Trinity is one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. 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. A Simple Way to Explain the Trinity - Keith Ferrin There is only one egg with three different parts. Humans as we are, we cannot fully understand how the three divine Persons, though really distinct from one another, are one and the same God. When discussing God, especially in regards to his nature, being and persons, a simple statement to articulate the Trinity is: God is 1, *. You can also catch up with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok We wont find the word Trinity in the Bible, but the concept is shown in many verses. The Holy Spirit prays for us. A chicken egg consists of a shell, a yolk, and an egg white, yet it is altogether one egg. The more I reflect on Easter, the more Ive realized how much its become a consumeristic holidayeven Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Augustine's typical dialectic is to move from the exterior realities of creation to the interior reality of the human soul where he hoped to encounter God in the image of God, damaged as it is by the fall. And let us once more come to illustrations. 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. Take a moment and give it a try. Its impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. I go to prepare a place for you. The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Memory, Understanding, and Will. 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. Some who deny the Trinity claim 1+1+1=3, and therefore claim we worship three Gods. I'm always interested in ways to encourage you, so feel free to contact me and let me know what areas interest you! I can only shake my head when He does these things! They all exist as fully God, with none of them lacking in any attribute or aspect that defines God. Since these bad analogies tend to lead to a heresy, we will examine the main three areas of heresy concerning the trinity. There was no relational deficiency that prompted God to create us. This view, also known as "modalism", was rejected by the early church. His being is somewhat of a mystery to us. The divine persons are really DISTINCT from one another, and not merely different roles of God at different times. The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith. There is one GOD in three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), 2. This is a bad analogy because it fails at the truth that all three persons comprise the fullness of God. 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). The Unseen Father keeps the Father that is seen, alive. What portion of the analogy holds true with Church Teaching? Lost will be burned up. And we know that because the Persons of the Godhead have perfectly blessed and exalted each other for all eternity. There are many mysteries to our faith. All of the above Bad Analogies would perhaps do more harm than good if used in explaining the Trinity. But we can (and should) have a solid foundation to explain this core belief of our faith. I never thought about it in that way some of these examples Ive never heard of. Is He Jesus side-kick? The Holy Spirit is the shell, Jesus is the egg white, and the Father is the egg yolk. This is the one I used long ago when trying to explain the Trinity to a group of 1st-5th graders. The problem with this analogy is that no one molecule of H2O can actually exist as solid, liquid, and gas at the same time. 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? The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. This view teaches that three separate beings exist. In Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). Armstrong. In other words, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have a unique and unbreakable unity, and their existence together is the being that is God. Im giving God the credit for stirring this memory, and am extremely grateful. This analogy sounds pretty good, but it is fatally flawed in that is describes the Son and Spirit as creations of the Father. I know in the past Ive used analogies that werent the best (more on those later.) Infinite thy vast domain, everlasting is thy reign.. That is heaven in a person. The problem with this analogy is it denies the unity of the God-head. I have the good one. The Trinity is one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. 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). Explaining the Holy Trinity. In part one, we looked at what the Bible has to say about the Trinity. These attributes are: omnipotence (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), and omnipresence (exists in all places). 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). Ontological means the nature or essence of something. As we examine the scriptural witness we see three truths that make up the doctrine of the trinity. Arianism denies the deity of each person in the trinity. For sure, our everyday experience does not include using our finite minds to understand the infinite! He completed a doctorate in 1990, looking at the question of harmonic rhythm in the organ music of J.S. Similarly, in our aquatic analogy, water can appear in three different modes, depending on the environment, but the three are not co-existing. Should Women Really Keep Silent in Church? 1B) This son of Graham and Lois Armstrong is Dave. We worship one God who exists in three persons. Our God is three in one. Trinity Analogies that End Up as Heresies - Medium This analogy denies the distinction of the God-head. As a result, this analogy actually teaches modalism. It is not important merely for the sake of tradition, or because the word itself is taught in the Bible (the word is not). It should bring us to realise that we truly are finite creatures standing before a sovereign, transcendent, divine mystery. The Son is not the Father or the Spirit. I remember asking my Life Group last year, How have you heard the Trinity explained? I braced myself for the inevitable reply. John 17). He was with God in the beginning. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called Jehovah (or Spirit of Jehovah), given divine attributes, and are distinguished from one another. This description that all persons are fully God is called the Ontological Trinity. It is so important that to deny the trinity is to deny Christianity. The Trinity is a concept that is impossible for any human being to fully understand, let alone explain. Haydn Lea is an Associate Pastor in Queensland, and is currently studying his Master of Arts (Theology). Water has three states: solid, liquid, and gas. The Son "proceeds" from the Father, and the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father and the Son.". But this view, too, wont do. A Note on Trinitarian Analogies | Place for Truth - Alliance of 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. 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). Podcast: Common Misconceptions about the Trinity (Fred Sanders) Also, the egg is made up of three distinct and unalike parts. Which ones have you heard? So, the egg analogy doesnt work after all. The military would end up destroying themselves. (Which I just found out is in error). 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. Yet we do not have three gods but ONE God. Among the most popular analogies for the Trinity, two in particular stand out; and most of the others resemble one of them. The God of the Bible is one God. I think the illustration that represents the Trinity most accurately is the egg example. Every kid in Sunday school thinks he knows all about God. Each PERSON is distinct from one another. The problem with this analogy is that an egg yoke is of a very different substance than a shell. 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. They are equally eternal, powerful, sovereign, and worthy of worship. Only the Son became incarnate, took on flesh. It taught there is one nature in God, and that there are two processions, three persons, and four relations that constitute the Blessed Trinity. Part 2. THE TRUTH IS: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three different parts or components of God, but the . In Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9) God created us for community, since God is communal and we were created in His image. Notice the distinction between persons and being. Genesis 1:26- Let us make man in our image, in our likeness The plural us and our show more than one person was involved. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. So, part of understanding the Trinity is realizing that God is personal and relational. Jesus would have remained in the tomb, or hell, had Jesus sinned. Proof texting is when we cite a bunch of bible verses to support a theological stance. The watermelon has a skin, pulp and seeds; the egg is shell, yolk and egg white. This error denies something central to God that makes Him God. But understanding the Trinity is important. The Gospel is theperson, work, and message of Jesus Christ that provides salvation to all repentant believers. But the Father is not the Son or the Spirit. They have a common purpose in making harmonious music, but each note is its own separate entity. What is the Trinity? Living Theologically It is still important that we have some understanding of the concept, however. In the same way, there is a God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. The Holy Spirit and Son do not send the Father. We can always rebut these claims with another equation: 1 x 1 x 1=1. God is not made up of 3 parts like the 3 parts of the egg. For the Trinity, instead of using the formula 1+1+1, we use 1x1x1. However, Christians through the ages believe in the Trinity because the truths it represents are taught in the Bible. 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* What portion is erroneous? 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. The problem here is it describes each part of the Trinity as 1/3 parts of the overall egg. Father, Son, and Spirit are each fully God (their own egg)- not fractions of one. Lost will be ashes under the feet of the righteous. RELATED: Did Jesus Really Rise From The Dead? They say that three separate beings exist, 2. It may not appear to agree with common sense. H2O is a combination of two particles (atoms) of hydrogen and one particle of oxygen and this compound can exist as water (liquid), ice (solid) and vapour (gas). Each one is fully 100% God. Lord of all, we bow before thee. Here many of the creeds help us in clearly articulating the trinity. Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. 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. we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,neither blending their personsnor dividing their essence. God is one. The Trinity is established by 3 Biblical truths, . Believing in the above 3 points leads all Christians to acceptance of the doctrine of the Trinity. Thought of Tim Its amazing to think that everything will be so clear when we het to Heaven! The Holy Trinity Easy as One, Two, Three | by John K Adams 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. - well, sort of. 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). Unfortunately, no analogy is perfect. 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. We believe in only one true God in all existence, in all places, at all times. H2O can exist in three forms: liquid, gas and solid. Father, Son, Holy Sprit : 3 persons, 1 great relationship, Copyright 2023 Fervr | Terms of Service. We believe that it is a revelation that comes from Christ Himself. The idea that the Trinity can be compared to a shamrock is largely attributed to St. Patrick. The idea that the Trinity can be compared to a shamrock is largely attributed to St. Patrick. 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. 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. But God is the eternal Light, which has neither had a beginning, nor shall ever fail. H2O can exist as a solid, a liquid and a gas but they are all still H2O. It is not important merely for the sake of tradition, or because the word itself is taught in the Bible (. As a doctrine (belief), the trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate and distinct persons united in one being- God. An essential factor lacking from those concepts is the relational quality of God. Few topics of discussion in the Christian faith are more confusing than the idea of the Trinity. They are unified in one divine being. 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. PART OF A WHOLE. Not just for explaining it to others, but to bolster our own faith and see how each One works in our lives. How can we explain what it means to have three persons in one being? All Scripture is taken from the NIV version unless otherwise specified, Author Ignace Franz, translated by Clarence A. Walworth. You are an egg! 3:15; John 17:1-4, The Holy Spirit Acts 5:3-4; John 14:16-17, 26; John 16:7-13. Yet, as we view the pages of the Bible, we see that God is a personal and relational 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? God is infinitely greater than we are; therefore, we should not expect to be able to fully understand Him. He taught that the son was at one point created by God the father. Understanding 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. HO may act as water, steam, or ice, but it is still HO. 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). These two analogies are the "water" analogy and the "egg" analogy. THE DISTINCTION AND UNITY of the Trinity is not for us to fully understand because it is a supernatural mystery. But this idea is central to the Christian faith. They say that three separate beings exist 2. The three-leaf clover analogy is OK. Yet, these persons are not separate from one another. Perhaps we must be content to admit that we cannot fully understand Gods nature in our finitude. La da dee dee dum dum (I couldnt remember the in-between parts). Dr. Bruce Ware does an excellent job in his book Big Truths for Young Hearts. He wondered how it was possible that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit could be inseparable, while, in . Therefore, there is one God, who is eternally present in three persons. Analogies for the Trinity exist to explain the unexplainable. The very definition of the heresy known as Modalism/Oneness is that there is one person existing in three different modes or manifestations. It leads to the heresy of MODALISM which teaches that God switches to different modes. This is because the H20 is changing forms in representing each person. 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. Now were going to look at how some people often misunderstand the Trinity. Perhaps youve heard the analogy that the Trinity is like H2O (the molecular symbol for water). Born in England in 1961, Benjamin Waterhouse Benjamin Waterhouse has been the organist of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity since 2000. Each separate being is co-equal, co-powerful and co-eternal. In the same way, at one moment God is the Father, but at different times God morphs or transforms into the Son or Holy Spirit. Each side is co-equal with the others, yet, each side is necessary. If you need to use an analogy, then use a good one. The Unseen Father would have been put into Satans prison. He cares for his creation and his people. 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. Here are eight bible characters that you might not know about, but should. In some ways, it resembles the tritheism view (Misunderstanding 2). The Holy Trinity - A Scientific Analogy - The Fra Angelico Institute "The Egg and i - A Simple Explanation of The Trinity" - cafe Logos Copyright 2023 Christian Today. He has been a member of the Royal Australian Air Force since 2007, and is now training to be an Air Force Chaplain. 2. My intention is merely to address some common erroneous analogies, including water. But while this idea is central to the Christian faith, it is also incredibly mysterious to us. We can touch the cord, but not the power it is insulating. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. The Trinity is not real in my life because of superior knowledge or insight. These three Persons are all equally God and all equally Persons. . But theres one problem: the water analogy is not the biblical picture of God. The Father hears their intercessory prayers. Arius was condemned by the council of Nicea in 325 AD. 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.