They are unified in one divine being. 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. Yet, the trinity is mysterious. They say that three separate beings exist 2. Modalism denies the distinction of person in the trinity. H2O can exist as a solid, a liquid and a gas but they are all still H2O. In other words, this view denies Gods oneness. Yet there is only one God. 3. But in the Godhead, each Person is fully and completely God unto Himself (even as they are all one God). The Trinity is like an egg. God is not made up of 3 parts like the 3 parts of the egg. A man might be a father to his children, a husband to his wife, and son to his parents. , 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you., For further reading on the Trinity, I would recommend James Whites, Lastly, below is a helpful graphical chart explaining the doctrine of the Trinity I found from the Christian blog by Tim Challies. Depth isnt the same thing as height and height isnt the same thing as width, yet all three together are what comprise space. We can touch the cord, but not the power it is insulating. Shively, This book is now available in a published format for easy sharing and classroom use. There is one GOD in three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), 2. God does not play three roles.. That is a holding pen for final judgment. This little child cannot look at one without experiencing a profound sense of wonderment and awe. See the depths of Catholicism for yourself! Therefore, there is one God, who is eternally present in three persons. The egg shell is the image of the yolk and the white. None of the 3 are less divine than the others. These things are referred to as the Economic Trinity. . Being the brightness of the eternal Light, He Himself also is absolutely eternal. His ways are not my ways! However, in some instances, the use of carefully chosen analogies may be of help for some of our brethren in learning the teachings of the Church. In using analogies, we need to acknowledge the demerits and limitations of the said analogy. 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. But the Trinity is our belief as Christians that God is one being who exists in three Persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. Another wrong illustration is using ourselves: I am one person, but also a wife, mother, and writer. Learn how your comment data is processed. This is a bad analogy because it fails at the truth that all three persons comprise the fullness of God. The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. Or have you ever tried to teach kids about the Trinity? Water Analogy God is like water, or H2O, which can exist in 3 forms. I and My Father are One (John 10:30). The shell, while important, is no longer needed. It is the Central Mystery of our Christian faith. Only the Son became incarnate, took on flesh. But it cant be that way with God. So while its tough to make sense of the Trinity, the Trinity actually helps us make sense of so many things we believe. For sure, our everyday experience does not include using our finite minds to understand the infinite! 2. Thanks, Ann! 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. Matthew 3:16-17- As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. RELATED: What Does The Bible Say About Ghosts? This is a place to find encouragement and hope from God's Word as you move through your busy life. Also, the egg is made up of three distinct and unalike parts. We also know that God didnt create humanity out of loneliness or boredom. 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. From time to time, Doctors of the Church used analogies, but with care. The Trinity is established by 3 Biblical truths, . Thankfully he isnt a cage-stage Calvinist about it all. In an attempt to explain the Trinity, there are some bad examples people use, and some better ones. 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. When discussing God, especially in regards to his nature, being and persons, a simple statement to articulate the Trinity is: God is 1 what and 3 whos*. As a result the water molecule must change forms. It does not imply Jesus was created if you emphasize that the Sun existed from eternity past. THE TRUTH IS: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three different parts or components of God, but the . 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. Youre right, theyre all good but not perfect because only God IS perfect. He began to play the organ as a chorister in England, before continuing his studies in Qubec and France. Our words should dissipate and be replaced instead with an awestruck adoration and wonder, as we realise the only appropriate response is to fall to our knees and humbly worship the one truly perfect, unified divine essence, comprising three diverse, co-equal and co-eternal divine persons. I go to prepare a place for you. No analogy is perfect, but we want to be careful of using wrong ones that may confuse people. The term Economic refers to the roles, functions, and relationships that exist within the Trinity. So whats one good way to explain what the Trinity is? in that while water can change into vapour or ice, Jesus cannot change into the Father or the Holy Spirit. So comparing God to water isnt really as helpful as it seems on the surface. When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. Notice the distinction between persons and being. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also (John14:2, 3). That is why Moses said. Again, this analogy doesnt work because God doesnt morph, change, or become different aspects of Himself. These are likewise erroneous or even heretical. One is a musical chord with three notes. The egg white represents Gods Spirit. 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. Now, as youve probably guessed, this analogy also breaks down. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:13). And we know that because Hes been experiencing perfect love within Himself forever. Have you wondered what is God like? The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. 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* There's a simple reason they don't work: The Trinity, as such, isn't like anything in creation. This is the Christmas paradox. Believing in the above 3 points leads all Christians to acceptance of the doctrine of the Trinity. 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. Some people think that H2O cannot exist in all three states simultaneously but that is not true. Devils see that Spirit as a tempestuious fire. 1A) Dave is a son of Graham and Lois Armstrong. Modalism teaches that one God just changes forms or modes over the course of scripture. The problem with this analogy is that it would imply that there is only one Divine Person, who eventually multiplied Himself. And in our efforts to grasp it, weve come up with a number of analogies. Jesus is the Holy Spirit. La da dee dee dum dum (I couldnt remember the in-between parts). The Trinity are three distinct persons who exist apart from each other. How can we explain what it means to have three persons in one being? At the Cathedral, we recognize that there are responsibilities that come with . Is He Jesus side-kick? Others compare God to an egg, which is part shell, part white, part yolk. Surely this is a better understanding of the water analogy! Indeed, how can an infinite God be contained in a finite human womb! The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. The angel answered (Mary), The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High (referring to the Father, italics mine) will overshadow you. Its all one person, simply functioning in three different roles. When we speak of someone as being a "person", we often mean an individual who is separate from other people, or we simply mean a human being. 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. 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 three distinct notes come together to make one beautiful sound. The Trinity is not real in my life because of superior knowledge or insight. 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. 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. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. Here are eight bible characters that you might not know about, but should. 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. Jesus is the Holy Spirit that saves us. God is infinitely greater than we are; therefore, we should not expect to be able to fully understand Him. If one of the sides were removed, then there would be no equilateral triangle. However, Christians through the ages believe in the Trinity because the truths it represents are taught in the Bible. They have a common purpose in making harmonious music, but each note is its own separate entity. (Which I just found out is in error). What portion of the analogy holds true with Church Teaching? 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. A good example would be an electrical cord. Yet the orthodox view is that each person of the Trinity is fully divine. 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. The Father sends the Son, and both the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit. So under modalism, God acts as the Father in the Old Testament, the son in the Gospels, and the Spirit in Acts and the Epistles. We believe that it is a revelation that comes from Christ Himself. You know, that bearded guy on the throne who looks something like Zeus, right? This may be my favorite verse of them all. We can think of it this way: the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. In one egg you have the white, the yoke, and the shell composing one full egg. The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith. I believe that the best way to talk about the Trinity is to simply say that God is one God, who eternally exists in three Persons. Each character of the trinity has in one another (cf. Genisis 1:17, KJV. Can you think of some Bible verses to back up your explanation? The trinity is a like a Three-Leaf Clover. So, I shot down a lot of images that seems to be pretty helpful. This would make Jesus something less than fully God. For example, triangles are not the kinds of things that are personal. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. You can also catch up with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok and Holy Spirit are only parts of God (egg and sun). They that dont have the Holy Spirit in them will talk like the Adversary. God is not made up of 3 'parts' like the 3 parts of the egg. And whos the Holy Spirit? If youre interested into diving deeper into the topic of the Trinity, here are some valuable resources that could help. Further, his dialectic is guided by the particular consideration of what true love is: a trinity of lover, beloved and the love that binds . 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 Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. On a whim, I looked up the lyrics at a later time. The water analogy of the Trinity follows this line of reasoning: water can be a solid (ice/frozen water), liquid, and gas (water vapor), and yet all three forms are still water (H 2 O), and likewise, God manifests Himself in 3 different ways in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father., 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. But God is the eternal Light, which has neither had a beginning, nor shall ever fail. Under Arianism Jesus is less than fully God.