Modalism denies the distinction of person in the trinity. And we know that because Hes been experiencing perfect love within Himself forever. One cannot remove the Holy Spirit and still have the God as taught in the Bible. An egg is made up of shell, white and yolk. Jesus isn't a demigod or partially god. Basic mathematics tells us that 1x1x1 = 1.. Montreal was home to two Trinity churches built in 1865 The 3 Most Common "Trinity Analogies" (and their limitations) The three most common go-to analogies for explaining the Trinity are water, an egg, and the sun. They that dont have the Holy Spirit in them will talk like the Adversary. In the Scripture we see "the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" (Col 1:9). Born in England in 1961, Benjamin Waterhouse Benjamin Waterhouse has been the organist of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity since 2000. But based on what you know that Jesus is born so that He can save people from their wrongdoings, will you trust Him to forgive you. The Son is not the Father or the Spirit. The shell, while important, is no longer needed. The problem with this analogy is that an egg yoke is of a very different substance than a shell. They've always led to error and have been rejected by the church. For those, like myself, who are not from a highly-liturgical denomination, it may come as a surprise that June 11 was Trinity Sunday. God Himself explains why some things are still a mystery: For as heaven is higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9) Our human minds can never understand all of who God is and how He thinks and acts. Try starting your explanation with a simple definition and then ask for further questions: No one can completely know or understand God. This is the error of Arianism (not to be confused with Aryanism, which is also bad). Despite its potential obscurity, Trinity Sunday is a great occasion for me to revisit an old article on the Trinity. I dont know how our majestic God feels about being compared to watermelons and eggs, but He is also a loving Father, and like any father, I believe God would seek to provide simple explanations so His little children can understand. St. Augustine, one of the most important Fathers of the Church, wrote a great deal on the doctrine of the Trinity. This is why Jesus said, He who has seen Me, has seen the Father (John 14:9). The egg analogy is very simple but it is OK to show something as simple as an egg can be one and yet three. We came up with several practical implications of this doctrine. 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). (Describing God as LOVE is my favorite way of understanding the Trinity. Further, we can label each of the sides. Seven Simple Facts About the Trinity - biblequery.org Unfortunately, most of them actually give us the wrong idea about what the Trinity is. ), The Son Phil. They say that three separate beings exist, 2. 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. According to the first, just as water takes three forms (liquid, vapor, and ice), so too God takes the form of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 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. Do you know why I keep saying God is like an egg (or H2O) but God is not like an egg (or H2O)? Its impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. He was with God in the beginning. FOR CENTURIES, the Church had fought against heresies on the Trinity. Some who deny the Trinity claim 1+1+1=3, and therefore claim we worship three Gods. Likewise we cannot have the Father or His Spirit without the Son I am the Way the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except by Me- John 14:6. How to Explain the Trinity to Children | Free Printable RELATED: What Did Jesus Really Look Like? Haydn describes himself as a five-point Calvinist, but he recognises that many faithful Christians disagree. . Water at room temperature is liquid. There are some analogies that come close. Tritheism denies that there is only one God. Here are 8 Bible Characters Who Should Be More Famous. It does not represent 3 persons existing simultaneously. In the second instance, the truth of Gods Trinity reveals a further aspect of Gods love for His people. 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). If all you had were an eggshell, you wouldnt have a very exciting breakfast. The past is not the present and the present is not the future, yet all three together is what we call time. It may not appear to agree with common sense. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. 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/. Some people have suggested using an egg to explain how God can be both one and three. Thankfully he isnt a cage-stage Calvinist about it all. Each one is fully God. 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. The Trinity is not real in my life because of superior knowledge or insight. Or, we can quote Daniel Webster; a strong Christian- I do not pretend fully to understand the arithmetic of heaven now. . But having lots 6 Bible Study Tools To Help You Dive Deeper. Yet there is only one God. The Gospel is theperson, work, and message of Jesus Christ that provides salvation to all repentant believers. Deuteronomy 6:4- Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. This verse is also the beginning of the Jewish Shema prayer; their confession of faith. There would be three thrones. The white of an egg is the connection between the yolk and the shell. This analogy denies the unity of the God-head. 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. 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 Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. The idea that the Trinity can be compared to a shamrock is largely attributed to St. Patrick. What are some popular illustrations of the Holy Trinity? The problem with this analogy is that it also leads to the heresy of MODALISM. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. This is a bad analogy because it fails at the truth that all three persons comprise the fullness of God. The problem with this analogy is that an egg yoke is of a very different substance than a shell. This is the one I used long ago when trying to explain the Trinity to a group of 1st-5th graders. However, keep in mind that the one being. 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. Being the brightness of the eternal Light, He Himself also is absolutely eternal. God controls that light. Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. THE TRUTH IS: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three different parts or components of God, but the . Surely this is a better understanding of the water analogy! For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength (1 Corinthians 1:25). The Trinity is one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. But this view, too, wont do. The Trinity is distinct in their roles and individuality, but united in their attributes of love, mercy, holiness, knowledge, etc. 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. In other words, one stuffness. However, He exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of tritheism. However, it breaks down on the level of equality: No one keeps or eats the shell of an egg. Space Analogy God is like space. To become the people we were always created to be. But, when it's heated, it turns into a gas (steam) and, when it's frozen, it turns into a solid (ice). We find it in all four Gospels. THE TRUTH IS: From the very beginning, the Blessed Trinity Father, Son, and Spirit was there. Just like an egg, none of the parts are co-equal, nor are all of the parts necessary for the egg to exist. 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. In this analogy, God is compared to a man. 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. 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). So much of what we know about what God does is wrapped up in who He is. God is like H2O in that the Bible may refer to a specific person of the Trinity but that person is still God. Holy Trinity: Some Analogies to Help Us Comprehend One day, however, the image will be clear. Each separate being is co-equal, co-powerful and co-eternal. The more I reflect on Easter, the more Ive realized how much its become a consumeristic holidayeven Did Jesus really rise from the dead? 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. If you only had an apple core, you wouldnt pack it in your lunch. But the Trinity is our belief as Christians that God is one being who exists in three Persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. This analogy is an invalid comparison to the Trinity and is a heresy called PARTIALISM. Music - The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Quebec, Canada Should Women Really Keep Silent in Church? [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. And the reason we know that is because the Persons of the Godhead have perfectly loved each other for all eternity. Why Analogies And Illustrations Of The Trinity Fail What is the best analogy of the Holy Trinity? - Quora Jesus is the Holy Spirit. 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. One sits on the throne looking like Sardine and Jasper stone. That is a holding pen for final judgment. All Scripture is taken from the NIV version unless otherwise specified, Author Ignace Franz, translated by Clarence A. Walworth. Each part of the egg make up only one portion of the wholethe yolk is not the fullness of the egg. 3 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons. If we separate them we still may have God the Egg yolk, God the Holy Spirit Egg white and God the Son, the Egg shell/image, three individual parts of an Egg, but they cannot be a Trinity, or tri-unity unless they are unified and are seen as one Egg, so to speak. 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. 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). And let us once more come to illustrations. 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. Yet we do not have three gods but ONE God. Others compare God to an egg, which is part shell, part white, part yolk. 1 Corinthians 8:6: Yet for us there is but one God.. The unity or oneness of God is also found in the Bible. Each one is fully God. Father, Son, Holy Sprit : 3 persons, 1 great relationship, Copyright 2023 Fervr | Terms of Service. The Father hears their intercessory prayers. The mystery is in the how this is accomplished; something we will finally understand in heaven. 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. What is H2O? 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! - well, sort of. The analogy breaks down because the three cloves are overly distinct and cannot represent the unity of God. But God is the eternal Light, which has neither had a beginning, nor shall ever fail. God is like an egg - VTAide Although the water changes forms it is still H2O. HO may act as water, steam, or ice, but it is still HO. In one of his sermons, he wrestled with the passage in Scripture recounting Jesus' Baptism. These are likewise erroneous or even heretical. In Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). In reality, I change my role depending on who I am interacting with. A good follow up verse to help explain is the baptism of Jesus. 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). A, distinguishes himself from others by saying me, mine, you, yours, etc. A. is the whole nature or essence of something. 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). The idea of God as three-in-one is indeed a mysterious concept, one that is difficult to understand. Trinity Egg Analogy . So comparing God to water isnt really as helpful as it seems on the surface. Here many of the creeds help us in clearly articulating the trinity. RELATED: Did Jesus Really Rise From The Dead? 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. The Trinity is established by 3 Biblical truths, . The three parts create a unified whole. The Cathedral - The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Quebec, Canada Bach, and has released two previous CDs, one . Share your thoughts with us in the comments! If we separate them we still may have God the Egg yolk, God the Holy Spirit Egg white and God the Son, the Egg shell/image, three individual parts of an Egg, but they cannot be a Trinity, or tri-unity unless they are unified and are seen as one Egg, so to speak. The egg analogy fails because it denies that each person of the Trinity is of the same eternal essence. The trinity is like water. Lost will be burned up. The Holy Spirit is Christs spirit in us guiding us into all truth. Now were going to look at how some people often misunderstand the Trinity. Before we look at a few bad analogies that many often use to try to illustrate the trinity, we need to first understand the doctrine itself. He is one God in three persons, all at the same time. Each person is fully God (Phil 2; Acts 5:3-4). The egg (or apple) fails in that the shell, white, and yolk are parts of the egg, not the egg in themselves, just as the skin, flesh, and seeds of the apple are parts of it, not the apple itself. What is the Trinity? Living Theologically This error denies something central to God that makes Him God. Does that make sense? One is a musical chord with three notes. 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). You know, that bearded guy on the throne who looks something like Zeus, right? This is a bad analogy because it fails at the truth that all three persons comprise the fullness of God. 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. What is the Trinity? Jesus was standing in the Jordan River, His Father speaks from heaven above, and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him as a dove. 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. Now God can be in you by His Spirit! 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. These two analogies are the "water" analogy and the "egg" analogy. The scientific analogy that will be provided in a few moments is truly inadequate to describe the Holy Trinity. Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. Haydn Lea is an Ordained Minister, and is currently serving as an Air Force Chaplain in Adelaide. H2O can exist in three forms: liquid, gas and solid. 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. 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. We might call one side A, another side B, and the other C. So, there is a distinction between each of the sides, yet, all three are the same. He got married there in 1965, and his four . 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. To the other major monotheistic faiths (Islam and Judaism), it is rank heresyTrinitarianism is therefore definitional to Christianity. He has the world and our individual lives within His supremely capable hands. MULTIPLICATION ANALOGY. Copyright 2023 Christian Today. Arianism is named after the heretic Arius. 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* It's impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. This is a worse analogy than the egg because it is more analogous to the heretical doctrine of Modalism/Oneness than for the Trinity. Shively In the same way is God being the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. 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. These images fall short, because these components arent enough to be considered a whole on their own. Also, the egg is made up of three distinct and unalike parts. Under Arianism Jesus is less than fully God. Genisis 1:17, KJV. My prayer is to infuse God's character into your everyday lives with short ( 4-5") devotions and Bible Studies every Monday morning. Although he is one man who is simultaneously a husband, a father, and a student, he would consider it Modalism to suggest that this is a good Trinitarian analogy. Here are four. Wow! There is only one egg with three different parts. Discover the richness of the old yet living 2,000-year-old religion which built the West. What does that really mean? H2O can exist as a solid, a liquid and a gas but they are all still H2O. This analogy explains that the Father is like the sun. Your email address will not be published. Perhaps youve heard the analogy that the Trinity is like H2O (the molecular symbol for water). Yet, as we view the pages of the Bible, we see that God is a personal and relational God. In the first place, if we truly claim to love God, then surely we should endeavour to know Him. 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. Yet others have thought that H20 (water) shows us the Trinity since H20 can be three things: solid (ice), liquid (running water) and vapor (steam). We Christians believe it on faith. The Trinity is like an egg. They are three in one egg. Unfortunately, there is a problem with this view of the Trinity. I think the analogy of the Sun works well. He is married to Shamsa Lea, is the father of Amira, and loves boxing and studying Theology. A good example would be an electrical cord. 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. An egg has a shell, white, and yolk, but these three are part of an egg or Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao but the same Philippines. But thats not how they understood it. If one of the sides were removed, then there would be no equilateral triangle. God is NOT like H2O in that He does not need the right pressure and temperature to exist as three persons. The Holy Trinity, one of the five Dogmas of the Church, is an extraordinary and unfathomable mystery. Here are a couple "usefully flawed" analogies for the Trinity. That is why Moses said. The Church should not forget that these heresies still exist in the present day and is even being taught by some priests and catechists. Augustine of Hippo/On The Trinity - Wikiversity A Simple Way to Explain the Trinity - Keith Ferrin God Is Like An Egg - vtaide.com There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The problem with this analogy is it denies the unity of the God-head. 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. 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. . As a doctrine (belief), the trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate and distinct persons united in one being- God. 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. I and My Father are One (John 10:30). Rather, He created us in order to bless us. - well, sort of. 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. In the same way, water is all the same molecular structure, expressing itself in three different modes. 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. Yet, the trinity is mysterious. 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. Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. What happens when an egg hatches? Few if any have every tried to teach the heresy of Tritheism, but it needs to be mentioned anyway. and Holy Spirit are only parts of God (egg and sun). Examples of these different roles would be: The Incarnation: Only the Son became incarnate, took on flesh. Yet the orthodox view is that each person of the Trinity is fully divine. I know in the past Ive used analogies that werent the best (more on those later.) copyright 2009 by H.D. In using analogies, we need to acknowledge the demerits and limitations of the said analogy. The yolk represents Gods Person, His Being, and His Holiness which generates Light that no man can approach (I Timothy 6:16). So, I shot down a lot of images that seems to be pretty helpful. 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.
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holy trinity egg analogy