The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. But having lots 6 Bible Study Tools To Help You Dive Deeper. If the sun exists, there is also day; if nothing of this be manifest, it is impossible that the sun should be there. When discussing God, especially in regards to his nature, being and persons, a simple statement to articulate the Trinity is: God is 1, *. To put it simply, "The problem with using analogies to explain the Holy Trinity is that you always end up confessing some ancient heresy." . Space consists of three things: height, width, and depth. These two analogies are the "water" analogy and the "egg" analogy. Admittedly, the idea of three distinct persons/expressions that are each fully God is part of the mystery. For example, I would say, "God is like an egg." God is like an egg - VTAide This analogy actually falls prey to the same error of modalism. The Unseen Father is in Christs mind. This is a worse analogy than the egg because it is more analogous to the heretical doctrine of Modalism/Oneness than for the Trinity. He can even be all three at the same time. 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). The watermelon has a skin, pulp and seeds; the egg is shell, yolk and egg white. Lost will be ashes under the feet of the righteous. 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. There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. 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. Genisis 1:17, KJV. This view, also known as "modalism", was rejected by the early church. Let's use an egg to explain the Holy Trinity! In the second instance, the truth of Gods Trinity reveals a further aspect of Gods love for His people. God is not made up of 3 'parts' like the 3 parts of the egg. The sun comprises the sun itself, its light and its heat. Thanks, Ann! 3 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. 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). St. Augustine's Analogy for Understanding the Trinity Intercession: The Son intercedes as our High Priest before the Father. I never thought about it in that way some of these examples Ive never heard of. As John 1:18 says, Jesus is "the only begotten God, in the bosom of [God] the Father.". In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Son was begotten by the Father IN ETERNITY, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. Before moving on I should note that providing a full theological explanation of Trinitarian doctrine is well beyond the scope of what I can do here. These hand embroidered emblems are made with metallic gold-plated thread with silver content, printed on canvas. in that while water can change into vapour or ice, Jesus cannot change into the Father or the Holy Spirit. Podcast: Common Misconceptions about the Trinity (Fred Sanders) St. Augustine, one of the most important Fathers of the Church, wrote a great deal on the doctrine of the Trinity. An essential factor lacking from those concepts is the relational quality of God. The shell, while important, is no longer needed. In Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9) Your email address will not be published. RELATED: What Did Jesus Really Look Like? Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9). The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. 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. The trinity is like this man. This is because the H20 is changing forms in representing each person. 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). One day, however, the image will be clear. I think the analogy of the Sun works well. He has one essenceone substance. Arianism clearly denies the deity of the three persons. It's impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. Stars were made on the forth day. 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. In reality, I change my role depending on who I am interacting with. (Which I just found out is in error). He has been a member of the Royal Australian Air Force since 2007, and is now training to be an Air Force Chaplain. And in our efforts to grasp it, weve come up with a number of analogies. I did read about the shamrock analogy! To the other major monotheistic faiths (Islam and Judaism), it is rank heresyTrinitarianism is therefore definitional to Christianity. The Trinity Guarding The Gospel (It is also why the Jews had an issue with Jesus calling Himself God.). CafeLogos.orgThe Egg and i -A Simple Explanation of The Trinity 4 Bad Ways to Explain the Trinity (and 1 Good One) There are, however, some that work better than others. Does that make sense? 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. The three parts create a unified whole. God is like H2Olike water. Lost will be burned up. The Trinity is one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. What does that really mean? Here are eight bible characters that you might not know about, but should. This is why Jesus said, He who has seen Me, has seen the Father (John 14:9). They all exist as fully God, with none of them lacking in any attribute or aspect that defines God. God is not made up of 3 parts like the 3 parts of the egg. These attributes are: omnipotence (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), and omnipresence (exists in all places). When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. 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. Jesus is fully God. We can always rebut these claims with another equation: 1 x 1 x 1=1. God is NOT like H2O in that He does not need the right pressure and temperature to exist as three persons. Examples of these different roles would be: The Incarnation: Only the Son became incarnate, took on flesh. The trinity is an essential doctrine to the Christian faith. The military would end up destroying themselves. That helps explain the concept quite well- the oneness, unity of God with the distinct three persons of God- Father, Son, and Spirit. Answer (1 of 25): Cynics assert that the idea of the Holy Trinity is a logical impossibility. Vestment Emblems. Each part of the egg make up only one portion of the wholethe yolk is not the fullness of the egg. One is a musical chord with three notes. They have a common purpose in making harmonious music, but each note is its own separate entity. We find it in all four Gospels. The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. Located in the heart of Quebec's historic district, it is a source of inspiration for visitors from around the world. Among the most popular analogies for the Trinity, two in particular stand out; and most of the others resemble one of them. If you only had an apple core, you wouldnt pack it in your lunch. Sure enough, one member answered Well Ive heard that the Trinity is like water: water can be liquid, gas (steam), or solid (ice), but its still the same water. The Father hears their intercessory prayers. 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. How can God be Three in One? I can only shake my head when He does these things! I and My Father are One (John 10:30). The Trinity is not real in my life because of superior knowledge or insight. Jesus is in the form of the Holy Spirit. He completed a doctorate in 1990, looking at the question of harmonic rhythm in the organ music of J.S. This is a place to find encouragement and hope from God's Word as you move through your busy life. His motto was that "There was a time when the son did not exist". The Trinity is like an egg. The Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 but more like 1 x 1 x 1. 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. For example, an equilateral triangle (a triangle with three equal sides) has three sides. It may not appear to agree with common sense. The Unseen Father keeps the Father that is seen, alive. Jesus is the Holy Spirit that saves us. The visual form of God seperated from Jesus on the cross. But the Trinity is our belief as Christians that God is one being who exists in three Persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. The Egg and I - Part Two This is why Jesus said, He who has seen Me, has seen the Father (John 14:9). Youre right, theyre all good but not perfect because only God IS perfect. Devils cannot grab ahold of them to cast them into Satans prison. How to Explain the Trinity to Children | Free Printable Born in England in 1961, Benjamin Waterhouse Benjamin Waterhouse has been the organist of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity since 2000.