holy trinity egg analogy
Yet it appears to be almost entirely misunderstood within contemporary evangelical circles. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit also exist eternally and concurrently. Studying the Trinity poses difficulty to us Catholics. 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? Blessings! This analogy actually falls prey to the same error of modalism. 3 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons. They say that three separate beings exist 2. 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? Devils see that Spirit as a tempestuious fire. In this analogy, God is compared to a man. Son and Holy Ghost are each fully God. Although he is one man who is simultaneously a husband, a father, and a student, he would consider it Modalism to suggest that this is a good Trinitarian analogy. Jesus loves us so much that he did not obliterate people who died, with power that set stars in the universe. 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. The Council's definitions concerning the Trinity are really as easy as one, two, three four. Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature. (Lateran Council IV), 4. Unfortunately, Arianism is still around and can found within the Jehovah's Witnesses teachings. 7But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christs gift., , according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure., , But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith; praying in the Holy Spirit; 21keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.. The past is not the present and the present is not the future, yet all three together is what we call time. 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. Jesus is the Holy Spirit that saves us. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)One of my Sunday School students said, "How could Jesus (God) enter Mary's stomach (womb) and be born? Each one is fully 100% God. But its all water. MULTIPLICATION ANALOGY. I think the analogy of the Sun works well. Your email address will not be published. I remember asking my Life Group last year, How have you heard the Trinity explained? I braced myself for the inevitable reply. Similarly, in our aquatic analogy, water can appear in three different modes, depending on the environment, but the three are not co-existing. Take a moment and give it a try. CafeLogos.orgThe Egg and i -A Simple Explanation of The Trinity So if all of these explanations are heretical, what is a good analogy? Copyright 2023 Christian Today. What is wrong with what I said? This book is now available in a published format for easy sharing and classroom use. A chicken egg consists of a shell, a yolk, and an egg white, yet it is altogether one egg. The Trinity is foundational and at the heart of our Christian faith. For example, we know that God didnt create humanity because He bored or lonely. The Unseen Father is in Christs mind. I know in the past Ive used analogies that werent the best (more on those later.) It does not represent 3 persons existing simultaneously. 1A) Dave is a son of Graham and Lois Armstrong. Furthermore, this trinity is related to a shamrock, an apple, or an egg. If you say, "Jesus Christ" then you MAY BE incorrect. show me your glory. That helps explain the concept quite well- the oneness, unity of God with the distinct three persons of God- Father, Son, and Spirit. Yet, the trinity is mysterious. As we examine the scriptural witness we see three truths that make up the doctrine of the trinity. On a whim, I looked up the lyrics at a later time. I think the illustration that represents the Trinity most accurately is the egg example. Thus the Father is in Jesus " I and My Father are One" (John 10:30), "The Father is in Me" (John 14:10) God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (II Corinthians 5:19). Proof texting is when we cite a bunch of bible verses to support a theological stance. The trinity is a like a Three-Leaf Clover. It is still important that we have some understanding of the concept, however. 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. God is infinitely greater than we are; therefore, we should not expect to be able to fully understand Him. They are three in one egg. St. Augustine, one of the most important Fathers of the Church, wrote a great deal on the doctrine of the Trinity. In the first place, if we truly claim to love God, then surely we should endeavour to know Him. The Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 but more like 1 x 1 x 1. 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). Yet we do not have three gods but ONE God. Admittedly, the idea of three distinct persons/expressions that are each fully God is part of the mystery. He taught that the son was at one point created by God the father. What makes it hard is that all of our analogies and metaphors fall short of capturing what the Trinity actually is. Shively, This book is now available in a published format for easy sharing and classroom use. THE TRUTH IS: From the very beginning, the Blessed Trinity Father, Son, and Spirit was there. This is the Christmas paradox. ), The Son Phil. Check out verse four: Holy Author, Holy Word, Holy Spirit, three we name thee; Still, one holy voice is heard; undivided God, we claim thee, and adoring bend the knee, while we own the mystery. . So while its tough to make sense of the Trinity, the Trinity actually helps us make sense of so many things we believe. The word God in this sense is defined as a single being, having all divine attributes. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called Jehovah (or Spirit of Jehovah), given divine attributes, and are distinguished from one another. We recommend you adhere these emblems to your vestments by mounting on the material with fabric glue and then stitching them . Although he is one he has different roles to different people. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. One is a musical chord with three notes. How can we ever explain our Most High, exalted, powerful, uncontainable, and most glorious God? Another wrong illustration is using ourselves: I am one person, but also a wife, mother, and writer. But thats not how they understood it. As a result, this analogy can easily lead to tritheism in which there are three different gods which might share some like substance. This is why Jesus said, He who has seen Me, has seen the Father (John 14:9). So, the egg analogy doesnt work after all. Haydn describes himself as a five-point Calvinist, but he recognises that many faithful Christians disagree. For those, like myself, who are not from a highly-liturgical denomination, it may come as a surprise that June 11 was Trinity Sunday. But the Bible is CLEAR in its teaching. All of the above Bad Analogies would perhaps do more harm than good if used in explaining the Trinity. 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. 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). The teaching of the trinity is clearly taught in Scripture and must be preserved as such. 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 the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 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). In one egg you have the white, the yoke, and the shell composing one full egg. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:13). Few topics of discussion in the Christian faith are more confusing than the idea of the Trinity. 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). ORDER from Barnes and NobleAmazon.com or wherever fine books are soldISBN-13: 978-1978167643Return to Cafe Logos Homepage | Bite-Sized Bible Bites, The Egg and i -A Simple Explanation of The Trinity. Paul explains our finite understanding of beliefs like the Trinity as looking into a poor-quality mirror- a distorted image; dim and unclear. in that while water can change into vapour or ice, Jesus cannot change into the Father or the Holy Spirit. It taught there is one nature in God, and that there are two processions, three persons, and four relations that constitute the Blessed Trinity. copyright 2009 by H.D. Unfortunately, no analogy is perfect. Although God is transcendent, sovereign, unapproachable light, He has condescended to reveal something of Himself to His creation. All Rights Reserved. Try starting your explanation with a simple definition and then ask for further questions: No one can completely know or understand God. The analogy breaks down because I can simultaneously be a father, husband, and son to any one person. Here are 8 Bible Characters Who Should Be More Famous. When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. In contrast to the Ontological Trinity, there is the Economic Trinity. PART OF A WHOLE. Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. If the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three separate beings, then its not really clear how someone can say that God is one or that only one God exists. The very definition of the heresy known as Modalism/Oneness is that there is one person existing in three different modes or manifestations. For instance at the baptism of Christ, the Father, Son and Spirit are all distinctly present and interacting (Matthew chapter 3 verses 16-17). According to modalism, God does not actually exist in three persons. Some people think that H2O cannot exist in all three states simultaneously but that is not true. But Jesus makes it clear in John 10:30- I and the Father are One. The Greek word for one means one thing, not one person. They are united in their essence (spirit, nature) but not identical persons. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind lived the doctrinal truth about the Trinity. 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. When the Bible talks about God, it may be referring to Jesus Christ in a specific instance, the Holy Spirit in another and God the Father in a third occasion. The Trinity is one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. The Trinity is established by 3 Biblical truths, . H2O is a combination of two particles (atoms) of hydrogen and one particle of oxygen and this compound can exist as water (liquid), ice (solid) and vapour (gas). My intention is merely to address some common erroneous analogies, including water. The divine persons are really DISTINCT from one another, and not merely different roles of God at different times. 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). The more I reflect on Easter, the more Ive realized how much its become a consumeristic holidayeven Did Jesus really rise from the dead? You know, that bearded guy on the throne who looks something like Zeus, right? 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. Trinity Egg Analogy . Jesus isn't a demigod or partially god. You can also catch up with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok Each one is fully God. 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. Lost will be ashes under the feet of the righteous. As a result, this analogy actually teaches modalism. THE TRUTH IS: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three different parts or components of God, but the . It is not important merely for the sake of tradition, or because the word itself is taught in the Bible (the word is not). Infinite thy vast domain, everlasting is thy reign.. But common sense is intuition based on day-to-day experience. Analogies for the Trinity exist to explain the unexplainable. The Father is fully God; Jesus is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God. Understanding 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. Does that make sense? This is a quick way to describe the doctrine of the Trinity namely, God is 1 being (the, is Gods nature, essence, being) and 3 whos (the, being Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). But it cant be that way with God. That fire keeps devils away from the saved. Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. Each one is fully 100% God. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. Memory, Understanding, and Will. That is why Moses said. Why is it wrong? It leads to the heresy of MODALISM which teaches that God switches to different modes. He cares for his creation and his people. Depth isnt the same thing as height and height isnt the same thing as width, yet all three together are what comprise space. This may be my favorite verse of them all. 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. Instead, each person is co-equal, co-powerful and co-eternal. Now God can be in you by His Spirit! They say that three separate beings exist, 2. The idea that the Trinity can be compared to a shamrock is largely attributed to St. Patrick. Yet there is only one God. The doctrine of the Trinity tells us that there's ONE GOD who is THREE distinct PERSONS existing as a community of self-giving and loving relationships with each other. Share your thoughts with us in the comments! (It is also why the Jews had an issue with Jesus calling Himself God.). This analogy actually teaches the heresy of modalism. His being is somewhat of a mystery to us. The Holy Spirit is Christs spirit in us guiding us into all truth. Yet God lovingly chose to create and eventually redeem us anyway (both thoroughly Trinitarian acts), at great cost to Himself. 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. Jesus, visually seen, judges all, not the Unseen Father. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And we know that because the Persons of the Godhead have perfectly blessed and exalted each other for all eternity. The problem with this analogy is that it would imply that there is only one Divine Person, who eventually multiplied Himself. I never thought about it in that way some of these examples Ive never heard of. This analogy explains that the Father is like the sun. Analogies that we present would always be insufficient as none of them would equate to the incomprehensible beauty of God. How so? 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). We all want to experience the good life. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. They've always led to error and have been rejected by the church. The Trinity is a concept that is impossible for any human being to fully understand, let alone explain. Yeah its definitely a hard thing to understand, let alone explain to little ones ! Each separate being is co-equal, co-powerful and co-eternal. The trinity is a mystery that cannot be fully comprehended. How do we make sense of the Trinity? Trinity is like a Shamrock (or an Apple or an Egg). Hello busy women! God is not made up of 3 parts like the 3 parts of the egg. The word trinity is not in the Scriptures, but is a word used to describe the three in one God revealed in the Bible. There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Father, Son, Holy Sprit : 3 persons, 1 great relationship, Copyright 2023 Fervr | Terms of Service. Cool it down, and itll eventually freeze into a solid. Did I leave out any analogies? 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 idea that the Trinity can be compared to a shamrock is largely attributed to St. Patrick. In this episode, Fred Sanders discusses what it really means to say that God is a Trinitythree persons in one God. Learn how your comment data is processed. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength (1 Corinthians 1:25). Therefore, we would rightly say, within the Ontological Trinity, there is no variation or distinction made. 2. 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. 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. But theres one problem: the water analogy is not the biblical picture of God. 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. The egg shell is the image of the yolk and the white. A good follow up verse to help explain is the baptism of Jesus. Indeed, how can an infinite God be contained in a finite human womb! He has been relationally fulfilled within Himself since forever. Examples of these different roles would be: The Incarnation: Only the Son became incarnate, took on flesh. 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. This analogy is an invalid comparison to the Trinity and is a heresy called PARTIALISM. The Egg and I - Part Two Every kid in Sunday school thinks he knows all about God. Love your blogs! This is why Jesus said, He who has seen Me, has seen the Father (John 14:9). The Son "proceeds" from the Father, and the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father and the Son.". I have the good one. The visual form of God seperated from Jesus on the cross. I do not have the time or space to exhaustively demonstrate in scripture these truths, but the Biblical witness teaches these three truths consistently about God. Heat it up, and it turns to vapor. But the Trinity is our belief as Christians that God is one being who exists in three Persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. That is a holding pen for final judgment. Tritheism denies the unity of the God-head by saying there is just three different gods. In the second instance, the truth of Gods Trinity reveals a further aspect of Gods love for His people. We worship one God who exists in three persons. The Sun was created on the forth day. This is the one I used long ago when trying to explain the Trinity to a group of 1st-5th graders. 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*. The meme above discourages the use of analogies in explaining the Trinity. When we view the egg in its entirety we have the Biblical Trinity, One that is Three. These things are referred to as the Economic Trinity. The problem with this analogy is that it also leads to the heresy of MODALISM. They all exist as fully God, with none of them lacking in any attribute or aspect that defines God. - well, sort of. A man might be a father to his children, a husband to his wife, and son to his parents. Here are some of them: The problem with this is that it leads to the view that God is a Trinity simply because He relates differently to us at different times. Born in England in 1961, Benjamin Waterhouse Benjamin Waterhouse has been the organist of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity since 2000. Here are four. 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. When we think about influential New Testament leaders, most names are male. 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). Ontological means the nature or essence of something. There would be three thrones. Some think of God as H 2 O, which is sometimes a solid (ice), sometimes a liquid (water), and sometimes a gas (steam). If then the sun were eternal, the day would never end; but now, for such is not really the state of the case, the day begins with the beginning of the sun, and ends with its ending. This analogy seems to make a lot of sense, but it actually reinforces a fatal misconception about the Trinity called modalism. Dr. Bruce Ware does an excellent job in his book Big Truths for Young Hearts. It became real to me because I have experienced His love, grace, guidance, redemption, conviction of sin, and fellowship that comes from Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The trinity is like this man. Have you wondered what is God like? It is a miraculous invention, the egg. The Holy Spirit prays for us. It does not imply Jesus was created if you emphasize that the Sun existed from eternity past. The sun comprises the sun itself, its light and its heat. 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). I bet I havent sung or heard this song in years! In the same way, there is a God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. The egg (or apple) fails in that the shell, white, and yolk are parts of the egg, not the egg in themselves, just as the skin, flesh, and seeds of the apple are parts of it, not the apple itself. , 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. Light comes from God. 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. and Holy Spirit are only parts of God (egg and sun). Jesus was standing in the Jordan River, His Father speaks from heaven above, and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him as a dove. Just like an egg, none of the parts are co-equal, nor are all of the parts necessary for the egg to exist. The Church should not forget that these heresies still exist in the present day and is even being taught by some priests and catechists. 2A) Dave is a father of four children: three boys and a . Thus, the Father Himself is not God, nor is the Son, nor is the Holy Spirit, but combining the three, there is one God. An egg has a shell, white, and yolk, but these three are part of an egg or Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao but the same Philippines. I did read about the shamrock analogy! is not). Yet the orthodox view is that each person of the Trinity is fully divine. Each one is fully 100% God. THE DISTINCTION AND UNITY of the Trinity is not for us to fully understand because it is a supernatural mystery. The trinity is not a contradiction, but a paradox. In Arianism, the Son is not eternally equal with the Father, but was the Fathers first and best creation. But this idea is central to the Christian faith. What portion is erroneous? The problem with this analogy is that it teaches that God has three components: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. H2O can exist as a solid, a liquid and a gas but they are all still H2O. Here's a look at six explanations for why so many people truly believe 3 Ways to Experience The Good Life in Jesus. At times God is Father, or Son, or Holy Spirit. The watermelon has a skin, pulp and seeds; the egg is shell, yolk and egg white. But the Father is not the Son or the Spirit. HO may act as water, steam, or ice, but it is still HO. - well, sort of. The term Economic refers to the roles, functions, and relationships that exist within the Trinity. The God of the Bible is one God. And for a mere mortal to have dared invent it and be able t. This analogy is an invalid comparison to the Trinity and is a heresy called PARTIALISM. And in our efforts to grasp it, weve come up with a number of analogies. 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. He was with God in the beginning. So God performs 3 different roles/relationships but 1 God. Unfortunately, an analogy from the limited realm of creation may not be sufficient in explaining Gods nature. In Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9) Water Analogy - God is like water, or H2O, which can exist in 3 forms. All Scripture is taken from the NIV version unless otherwise specified, Author Ignace Franz, translated by Clarence A. Walworth. So, I shot down a lot of images that seems to be pretty helpful. The unseen Father is in Christs mind. What is H2O? Or what? There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. So much of what we know about what God does is wrapped up in who He is. A, distinguishes himself from others by saying me, mine, you, yours, etc. A. is the whole nature or essence of something. In humans, our spirits are designed to operate with and be united to the soul which is the person of anyone and so it is with our Egg. We define a person as one having a will and who is distinguishable from another person. Stars were made on the froth day. The problem with this analogy is that an egg yoke is of a very different substance than a shell. How would you explain the Trinity if someone asked you right now?