. The military would end up destroying themselves. A Note on Trinitarian Analogies | Place for Truth - Alliance of The Holy Trinity, one of the five Dogmas of the Church, is an extraordinary and unfathomable mystery. His ways are higher than ours, but isnt that a comfort?! [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. 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. Thanks, Ann! The Trinity is like waterand other bad analogies The Trinity is one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. 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). Required fields are marked *. Water has three states: solid, liquid, and gas. We worship one God who exists in three persons. The problem with this analogy is that it would imply that there is only one Divine Person, who eventually multiplied Himself. 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. The egg white represents Gods Spirit. 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. 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). While an egg has a yolk, a white and a shell to make up the whole, each part is only ever . All three persons exist at the same moment in history. 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. The visual form of God seperated from Jesus on the cross. The white of an egg is the connection between the yolk and the shell. No analogy is perfect, but we want to be careful of using wrong ones that may confuse people. In other words, one stuffness. However, He exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Common, yes. Just like an egg, none of the parts are co-equal, nor are all of the parts necessary for the egg to exist. Intercession: The Son intercedes as our High Priest before the Father. (It is also why the Jews had an issue with Jesus calling Himself God.). In one of his sermons, he wrestled with the passage in Scripture recounting Jesus' Baptism. If you only had an apple core, you wouldnt pack it in your lunch. So comparing God to water isnt really as helpful as it seems on the surface. The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. Do you know why I keep saying God is like an egg (or H2O) but God is not like an egg (or H2O)? All of the above Bad Analogies would perhaps do more harm than good if used in explaining the Trinity. Afterall, we can get rid of a few of its parts - for instance the shell - and still scramble an egg. What portion is erroneous? John 17). God is NOT like H2O in that He does not need the right pressure and temperature to exist as three persons. The sun comprises the sun itself, its light and its heat. When they used the word person, they didnt mean it in the same way that we do today. . The Holy Spirit is like the heat that the sun produces, unseen yet powerful and effective in making the sun felt. 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). Why analogies of the Trinity fail Youthworks A single molecule cannot simultaneously exist in three different states. Water can be frozen and is called ice. John introduces us to the Trinity in John 1:1- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and Word was God. Jesus, the Word, was present in Genesis 1. The idea that the Trinity can be compared to a shamrock is largely attributed to St. Patrick. The unseen Father is in Christs mind. 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? 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. In the same way, there is a God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. Why All Analogies of the Trinity Fall Short - Joshua's Pen Jesus then becomes a created being and thus less than fully God. For the Trinity, instead of using the formula 1+1+1, we use 1x1x1. One sits on the throne looking like Sardine and Jasper stone. So "son" = "Dave". Memory, Understanding, and Will. There are three different cloves that represent the three different persons of the trinity. The trinity is a like a Three-Leaf Clover. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. Here are a couple "usefully flawed" analogies for the Trinity. What is the Trinity? Living Theologically The Unseen Father would have been put into Satans prison. The Holy Trinity Easy as One, Two, Three | by John K Adams As John 1:18 says, Jesus is "the only begotten God, in the bosom of [God] the Father.". As we examine the scriptural witness we see three truths that make up the doctrine of the trinity. Stars were made on the forth day. Unfortunately, an analogy from the limited realm of creation may not be sufficient in explaining Gods nature. St. Augustine's Analogy for Understanding the Trinity Space consists of three things: height, width, and depth. 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. Therefore, we would rightly say, within the Ontological Trinity, there is no variation or distinction made. However, it breaks down on the level of equality: No one keeps or eats the shell of an egg. So, part of understanding the Trinity is realizing that God is personal and relational. The Holy Trinity: Egg Analogy by Sharmaine Pagtakhan - Prezi Depth isnt the same thing as height and height isnt the same thing as width, yet all three together are what comprise space. Light comes from God. I have the good one. 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. 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* 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. A chicken egg consists of a shell, a yolk, and an egg white, yet it is altogether one egg. It only has 1 person acting in three different roles. PART OF A WHOLE. This analogy denies the distinction of the God-head. As a doctrine (belief), the trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate and distinct persons united in one being- God. The teaching of the trinity is clearly taught in Scripture and must be preserved as such. The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith. 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. The best analogy for the Trinity (hold your stones) - The Project on At the Cathedral, we recognize that there are responsibilities that come with . Share your thoughts with us in the comments! It is still H20, but just different forms. However, Christians through the ages believe in the Trinity because the truths it represents are taught in the Bible. The scientific analogy that will be provided in a few moments is truly inadequate to describe the Holy Trinity. Some people have suggested using an egg to explain how God can be both one and three. Stars were made on the froth day. Three persons is false. The Egg- One egg has three parts: shell, whites, and yolk . The Trinity is a concept that is impossible for any human being to fully understand, let alone explain. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called Jehovah (or Spirit of Jehovah), given divine attributes, and are distinguished from one another. Now, as youve probably guessed, this analogy also breaks down. Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. So cool that God imparted that song in your mind and heart before you even wrote this blog post! To help you out, here is a comical and silly video that teaches about these bad analogies. Analogies that we present would always be insufficient as none of them would equate to the incomprehensible beauty of God. Im giving God the credit for stirring this memory, and am extremely grateful. He completed a doctorate in 1990, looking at the question of harmonic rhythm in the organ music of J.S. Son and Holy Ghost are each fully God. The word trinity is not in the Scriptures, but is a word used to describe the three in one God revealed in the Bible. 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. As a result, this analogy actually teaches modalism. 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. How so? Few topics of discussion in the Christian faith are more confusing than the idea of the Trinity. Each part of the egg make up only one portion of the wholethe yolk is not the fullness of the egg. God is Great, I always try to figure out how to explain it to my Sunday school kids and they get confused which i get, how would you explain it to them? Though I find the video to be hilarious and often . But we can (and should) have a solid foundation to explain this core belief of our faith.