we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,neither blending their personsnor dividing their essence. Jesus is the visual form of God. The Trinity is established by 3 Biblical truths, . The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. To help you out, here is a comical and silly video that teaches about these bad analogies. When we separate them we can fall into the error of tritheism, which is the worship of three individual deities as one. We all want to experience the good life. For those, like myself, who are not from a highly-liturgical denomination, it may come as a surprise that June 11 was Trinity Sunday. Perhaps youve heard the analogy that the Trinity is like H2O (the molecular symbol for water). He can even be all three at the same time. If youre interested into diving deeper into the topic of the Trinity, here are some valuable resources that could help. 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. Thought of Tim Its amazing to think that everything will be so clear when we het to Heaven! Does that make sense? 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. They are unified in one divine being. In the first place, if we truly claim to love God, then surely we should endeavour to know Him. Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. The Trinity is not real in my life because of superior knowledge or insight. This little child cannot look at one without experiencing a profound sense of wonderment and awe. The Holy Spirit is like the heat that the sun produces, unseen yet powerful and effective in making the sun felt. 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. 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. This is a place to find encouragement and hope from God's Word as you move through your busy life. So cool that God imparted that song in your mind and heart before you even wrote this blog post! 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). But its all water. The unseen Father is in Christs mind. There are many mysteries to our faith. The Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 but more like 1 x 1 x 1. 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. Often these analogies explicitly teach heresy. I bet I havent sung or heard this song in years! The Father hears their intercessory prayers. The Holy Trinity: Egg Analogy The Holy Trinity is GOD in three divine persons GOD the FATHER GOD the HOLY SPIRIT GOD the SON But together they makeup and are still ONE GOD Like how an egg is made up of three things but is still ONE EGG. I'm always interested in ways to encourage you, so feel free to contact me and let me know what areas interest you! It can also be a liquid and called water. This analogy is an invalid comparison to the Trinity and is a heresy called PARTIALISM. 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. 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. ANALOGY OF CHARACTERS. The egg analogy is very simple but it is OK to show something as simple as an egg can be one and yet three. However, it breaks down on the level of equality: No one keeps or eats the shell of an egg. All Rights Reserved. Arianism denies the deity of each person in the trinity. Well the issue is, the water analogy is akin to the heresy of Modalism. Water can be frozen and is called ice. 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. Rather, He created us in order to bless us. Believing in the above 3 points leads all Christians to acceptance of the doctrine of the Trinity. I remember asking my Life Group last year, How have you heard the Trinity explained? I braced myself for the inevitable reply. The egg shell is the image of the yolk and the white. He taught that the son was at one point created by God the father. What is H2O? The Trinity is distinct in their roles and individuality, but united in their attributes of love, mercy, holiness, knowledge, etc. Jesus would have remained in the tomb, or hell, had Jesus sinned. The egg shell is the image of the yolk and the white. Water at room temperature is liquid. Here are some common analogies that Christians have used about the Trinity: God is kind of like water which can be ice, liquid and steam. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. The Sun was created on the forth day. Under Arianism Jesus is less than fully God. Lost will be burned up. 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. Another analogy that Tim remembers, being Irish Catholic, is the analogy of the shamrock with its three parts. This description that all persons are fully God is called the Ontological Trinity. 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? 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. The three-leaf clover analogy is OK. God is NOT like H2O in that He does not need the right pressure and temperature to exist as three persons. Now God can be in you by His Spirit! But in the Godhead, each Person is fully and completely God unto Himself (even as they are all one God). An egg is made up of shell, white and yolk. So much of what we know about what God does is wrapped up in who He is. So whats one good way to explain what the Trinity is? 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. This analogy actually teaches the heresy of tritheism. So, in God, there are three distinct persons. But if they give us a warped idea of what they are trying to explain, they arent helpful illustrations. Lost will be ashes under the feet of the righteous. But God is the eternal Light, which has neither had a beginning, nor shall ever fail. Below is a compilation of the verses that reference all 3 persons of the one God. Your email address will not be published. John 17). But it cant be that way with God. The concept is literally unthinkable. 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. 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/. Its hard to explain! 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. Yet, the trinity is mysterious. God controls that light. But this view, too, wont do. The Trinity is a concept that is impossible for any human being to fully understand, let alone explain. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Infinite thy vast domain, everlasting is thy reign.. in that while water can change into vapour or ice, Jesus cannot change into the Father or the Holy Spirit. The more I reflect on Easter, the more Ive realized how much its become a consumeristic holidayeven Did Jesus really rise from the dead? An egg has a shell, white, and yolk, but these three are part of an egg or Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao but the same Philippines. In the second instance, the truth of Gods Trinity reveals a further aspect of Gods love for His people. The Bible reveals that each person of the Trinity has unique roles, relationships, and functions which are distinct from one another. 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. The watermelon has a skin, pulp and seeds; the egg is shell, yolk and egg white. And we know that because Hes been experiencing perfect love within Himself forever. But we can (and should) have a solid foundation to explain this core belief of our faith. The God of the Bible is one God. Adorn your liturgical vestments with classic images from the Monastery Icons collection. The Trinity are three distinct persons who exist apart from each other. 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. THE TRUTH IS: From the very beginning, the Blessed Trinity Father, Son, and Spirit was there. 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 idea of God as three-in-one is indeed a mysterious concept, one that is difficult to understand. 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. These are likewise erroneous or even heretical. 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. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength (1 Corinthians 1:25). 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. Each side is co-equal with the others, yet, each side is necessary. Water can be ice and steam, yet they are the same element. Unfortunately, an analogy from the limited realm of creation may not be sufficient in explaining Gods nature. Every kid in Sunday school thinks he knows all about God. . One is a musical chord with three notes. However, Christians through the ages believe in the Trinity because the truths it represents are taught in the Bible. Each of the divine persons is GOD WHOLE AND ENTIRE, and there is one God. The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. Understanding 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. What portion of the analogy holds true with Church Teaching? Our limited intellects are unable to comprehend its reality, yet, our Scriptures and scholarly Tradition makes it known to us. If you looked at a single cloverleaf, you wouldnt call it a shamrock. The problem with this analogy is that no one molecule of H2O can actually exist as solid, liquid, and gas at the same time. Here are a couple "usefully flawed" analogies for the Trinity. He cares for his creation and his people. The trinity is an essential doctrine to the Christian faith. The Church should not forget that these heresies still exist in the present day and is even being taught by some priests and catechists. This book is now available in a published format for easy sharing and classroom use. Analogies for the Trinity exist to explain the unexplainable. The military would like to have that power. The trinity is Like a man who is a father, husband, and son. Afterall, we can get rid of a few of its parts - for instance the shell - and still scramble an egg. But theres one problem: the water analogy is not the biblical picture of God. Further, we can label each of the sides. 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. This is why Jesus said, He who has seen Me, has seen the Father (John 14:9). Each PERSON is distinct from one another. 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. In the same way is God being the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. In other words, one stuffness. However, He exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is one GOD in three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), 2. The unity or oneness of God is also found in the Bible. Yet we do not have three gods but ONE God. There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Heat it up, and it turns to vapor. Dont you know Jesus? You are an egg! 2A) Dave is a father of four children: three boys and a . 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. The Egg- One egg has three parts: shell, whites, and yolk . In other words, this view denies Gods oneness. In one of his sermons, he wrestled with the passage in Scripture recounting Jesus' Baptism. The egg white represents Gods Spirit. Your email address will not be published. Let's use an egg to explain the Holy Trinity! 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). There are two basic ways that people misunderstand the Trinity: 1. 3:15; John 17:1-4, The Holy Spirit Acts 5:3-4; John 14:16-17, 26; John 16:7-13. 6And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons., , The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all., There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. This is one of the reasons we say that "God is LOVE". 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. 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*