In the first place, if we truly claim to love God, then surely we should endeavour to know Him. As a result, this analogy actually teaches modalism. It is still H20, but just different forms. 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. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. They suggest that only one God exists but this God transforms or morphs into each of the different persons Let's begin with the second view. God controls that light. None of the 3 are less divine than the others. The Egg- One egg has three parts: shell, whites, and yolk . 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 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). Here are 8 Bible Characters Who Should Be More Famous. (Which I just found out is in error). This is the Christmas paradox. Depth isnt the same thing as height and height isnt the same thing as width, yet all three together are what comprise space. Do you know why I keep saying God is like an egg (or H2O) but God is not like an egg (or H2O)? Also, the egg is made up of three distinct and unalike parts. He also knows how to perfectly love us. It does not imply Jesus was created if you emphasize that the Sun existed from eternity past. 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. 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. Another wrong illustration is using ourselves: I am one person, but also a wife, mother, and writer. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. In one egg you have the white, the yoke, and the shell composing one full egg. Jesus is the visual form of God. Analogies often fall short. This is the error of Arianism (not to be confused with Aryanism, which is also bad). He differs from the Father, but was and still is God. When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. Admittedly, the idea of three distinct persons/expressions that are each fully God is part of the mystery. If the Sun existed from eternity past then so were the light rays from the Sun. The Bible reveals that each person of the Trinity has unique roles, relationships, and functions which are distinct from one another. 3. It should bring us to realise that we truly are finite creatures standing before a sovereign, transcendent, divine mystery. Instead, each person is co-equal, co-powerful and co-eternal. If one of the sides were removed, then there would be no equilateral triangle. These are likewise erroneous or even heretical. Sadly, theres something "rotten" about this egg analogy. The Trinity is foundational and at the heart of our Christian faith. Many of these analogies have the best of intentions, but God cannot be described in a way we can fully comprehend or rationalize. is not). 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. His motto was that "There was a time when the son did not exist". Each side is co-equal with the others, yet, each side is necessary. Yeah its definitely a hard thing to understand, let alone explain to little ones ! You can also catch up with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok The military would end up destroying themselves. 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. Hello busy women! Well, the egg analogy, when applied to God, suggests that only one being exists but this being exists in three different parts. The watermelon has a skin, pulp and seeds; the egg is shell, yolk and egg white. Its impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. And we know that because Hes been experiencing perfect love within Himself forever. in which all 3 persons may act or speak as one. Notice the distinction between persons and being. 2. The white of an egg is the connection between the yolk and the shell. The term Economic refers to the roles, functions, and relationships that exist within the Trinity. 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. Unfortunately, an analogy from the limited realm of creation may not be sufficient in explaining Gods nature. (Describing God as LOVE is my favorite way of understanding the Trinity. God does not morph from one person to another, nor does God exist as three separate beings. What is H2O? The divine persons are really DISTINCT from one another, and not merely different roles of God at different times. This analogy denies the unity of the God-head. The idea that the Trinity can be compared to a shamrock is largely attributed to St. Patrick. Memory, Understanding, and Will. If the sun exists, there is also day; if nothing of this be manifest, it is impossible that the sun should be there. 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. And let us once more come to illustrations. In this episode, Fred Sanders discusses what it really means to say that God is a Trinitythree persons in one God. Haydn Lea is an Ordained Minister, and is currently serving as an Air Force Chaplain in Adelaide. The Trinity is pretty weird: the Father (or Mother), Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are in some sense distinct from one another, but are all unified in another sense. Under Arianism Jesus is less than fully 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. 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 with this analogy is that it also leads to the heresy of MODALISM. Many of us would use analogies to explain the Trinity. However, keep in mind that the one being who is God is a personal being. They've always led to error and have been rejected by the church. They say that three separate beings exist, 2. In using analogies, we need to acknowledge the demerits and limitations of the said analogy. The Holy Spirit and Son do not send the Father. Every kid in Sunday school thinks he knows all about God. At the Cathedral, we recognize that there are responsibilities that come with . This is just as bad as the Water analogy and leads to the same error. 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? Paul leaves the Corinthians with this blessing in 2 Corinthians 13:14- May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.. 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. 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). For example, we know that God didnt create humanity because He bored or lonely. This is a worse analogy than the egg because it is more analogous to the heretical doctrine of Modalism/Oneness than for the Trinity. In Arianism, the Son is not eternally equal with the Father, but was the Fathers first and best creation. Dont become discouraged if you cant answer the question to your liking. One thing that Ive found helpful is using the Trinity to illustrate truths we know about God. While each person is distinct, they are never separate from one another. Each person is fully the one God, but is also distinct. This would make Jesus something less than fully God. Over the course of church history there have been several heresies that have cropped up that deny one of these three truths. For sure, our everyday experience does not include using our finite minds to understand the infinite! copyright 2009 by H.D. . He taught that the son was at one point created by God the father. The problem with this analogy is that it denies the distinction of persons in the God-head. That fire keeps devils away from the saved. What does that really mean? The Egg Analogy God is like an egg. Now, as youve probably guessed, this analogy also breaks down. Similarly, in our aquatic analogy, water can appear in three different modes, depending on the environment, but the three are not co-existing. Tritheism denies the unity of the God-head by saying there is just three different gods. Yet there is still only one God we serve. We have the creeds for just that reason. The Holy Spirit prays for us. The problem with this analogy is that it teaches that God has three components: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What is wrong with what I said? There are three different cloves that represent the three different persons of the trinity. Holy Trinity, the downtown Greek Orthodox church that was partially destroyed by fire 11 years ago, was a special place for 57-year-old Georgiou. 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. This is a bad analogy because it fails at the truth that all three persons comprise the fullness of God. Unfortunately, there is a problem with this view of the Trinity. 3 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons. Or have you ever tried to teach kids about the Trinity? The egg white represents Gods Spirit. So much of what we know about what God does is wrapped up in who He is. I know in the past Ive used analogies that werent the best (more on those later.) ANALOGY OF CHARACTERS. The Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 but more like 1 x 1 x 1. The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. Afterall, we can get rid of a few of its parts - for instance the shell - and still scramble an egg. Unfortunately, most of them actually give us the wrong idea about what the Trinity is. 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. 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. Jesus was standing in the Jordan River, His Father speaks from heaven above, and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him as a dove. In other words, this view denies Gods oneness. What is the Trinity? The visual form of God seperated from Jesus on the cross. They are three in one egg. However, Christians through the ages believe in the Trinity because the truths it represents are taught in the Bible. 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 it would imply that there is only one Divine Person, who eventually multiplied Himself. Others compare God to an egg, which is part shell, part white, part yolk. The idea that the Trinity can be compared to a shamrock is largely attributed to St. Patrick. 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. Sending of another: The Father sends the Son, and both the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit. If water is inadequate, there are a wide array of alternative analogies we can turn to in modern theological parlance. The trinity is an essential doctrine to the Christian faith. Analogies that we present would always be insufficient as none of them would equate to the incomprehensible beauty of God. Armstrong. Some think of God as H 2 O, which is sometimes a solid (ice), sometimes a liquid (water), and sometimes a gas (steam). . When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. Paul explains our finite understanding of beliefs like the Trinity as looking into a poor-quality mirror- a distorted image; dim and unclear. 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. In some ways, it resembles the tritheism view (Misunderstanding 2). The Holy Spirit prays for us. . These images fall short, because these components arent enough to be considered a whole on their own. RELATED: Did Jesus Really Rise From The Dead? 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. You can throw away one part of an egg (e.g., shell) and still have essentially an egg. It's impossible to be an Orthodox Christian without professing belief in the Triune nature of God. ), The Son Phil. He has one essenceone substance. This view teaches that three separate beings exist. But the Father is not the Son or the Spirit. He completed a doctorate in 1990, looking at the question of harmonic rhythm in the organ music of J.S. The Trinity is established by 3 Biblical truths, . The Father sends the Son, and both the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit. It is a miraculous invention, the egg. Jesus then becomes a created being and thus less than fully God. The Church should not forget that these heresies still exist in the present day and is even being taught by some priests and catechists. If youre interested into diving deeper into the topic of the Trinity, here are some valuable resources that could help. It is not existing as 3 different parts (persons) at the same time. Yet the orthodox view is that each person of the Trinity is fully divine. Being the brightness of the eternal Light, He Himself also is absolutely eternal. Water is water, but exists in three different forms: liquid, frozen, or steam. The yolk represents Gods Person, His Being, and His Holiness which generates Light that no man can approach (I Timothy 6:16). The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith. If all you had were an eggshell, you wouldnt have a very exciting breakfast. It is not important merely for the sake of tradition, or because the word itself is taught in the Bible (the word is not). As we examine the scriptural witness we see three truths that make up the doctrine of the trinity. Water can be ice and steam, yet they are the same element. 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. If you only had an apple core, you wouldnt pack it in your lunch. Wow! On a whim, I looked up the lyrics at a later time. This analogy sounds pretty good, but it is fatally flawed in that is describes the Son and Spirit as creations of the Father. One sits on the throne looking like Sardine and Jasper stone. Modalism is a heresy because it denies the distinction of God. To return to my Life Group anecdote, after our discussion I asked why does it even matter?. I write to see memory and language wrestle with reality. The yolk represents Gods Person, His Being, and His Holiness which generates Light that no man can approach (I Timothy 6:16). The problem with this analogy is that an egg yoke is of a very different substance than a shell. Space Analogy God is like space. copyright 2009 by H.D. Jesus is the Holy Spirit that saves us. This analogy explains that the Father is like the sun. But in the Godhead, each Person is fully and completely God unto Himself (even as they are all one God). Tritheism denies that there is only one God. This is perhaps the most common analogy for the Trinity. One cannot remove the Holy Spirit and still have the God as taught in the Bible. Now God can be in you by His 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. Thought of Tim Its amazing to think that everything will be so clear when we het to Heaven! You are an egg! He got married there in 1965, and his four . Explaining the Holy Trinity. This analogy seems to make a lot of sense, but it actually reinforces a fatal misconception about the Trinity called modalism. Intercession: The Son intercedes as our High Priest before the Father. - well, sort of. Lost will be ashes under the feet of the righteous. we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,neither blending their personsnor dividing their essence. This analogy is still not perfect because each of the aspect cannot stand as egg like each of the persons in the trinity can stand as God. It is so important that to deny the trinity is to deny Christianity. These attributes are: omnipotence (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), and omnipresence (exists in all places). And then theres Jesus, Gods son. We believe in only one true God in all existence, in all places, at all times. 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. Perhaps we must be content to admit that we cannot fully understand Gods nature in our finitude. The Bible teaches that the Father is God, that Jesus is God, and that the Holy Spirit is God. And we know that because the Persons of the Godhead have perfectly blessed and exalted each other for all eternity. The Holy Spirit is the shell, Jesus is the egg white, and the Father is the egg yolk. No analogy is perfect, but we want to be careful of using wrong ones that may confuse people. John 17). A person distinguishes himself from others by saying me, mine, you, yours, etc. A being is the whole nature or essence of something. The watermelon has a skin, pulp and seeds; the egg is shell, yolk and egg white. God controls that light. In an attempt to explain the Trinity, there are some bad examples people use, and some better ones.
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